PHIL. iii. 10. “That I may know the power of His resurrection.”
THE power of His resurrection may signify the power
which effected it, or the power of the fact itself as a
Christian fact, or the power with which Jesus Christ was
endowed at His resurrection.
Paul found Christian life not very easy but very difficult.
So it was the object of his life to know the power of the
resurrection, and with him Christian objects were always
primary.
What did Paul mean by knowing as a matter of per-
sonal experience and as a point in spiritual life the power
of Christ’s resurrection?
1. The resurrection of Christ is an example of the mighty
power of God. To know the power of His resurrection is
to be conscious of the same power at work within ourselves.
2. To know the power of the resurrection is to feel
assured that the Son of Mary is the Christ of God.
3. It is to see the Gospel of Christ sealed, not by His
blood only but by His hand in the newness of His glorious
life.
4. The resurrection of Christ is adapted to strengthen
our trust in Him. How entirely we ought to trust our-
selves with one who died for us and rose again.
5. It is to become the subjects, by its influence, of new
and enlarged expectations and desires.
6. It is to feel our souls lifted thereby into newness of
life.
7. It is to feel strengthened in heart to endure all the
will of our God.
8. It is to have removed from us the fear of death. It
certifies to the believer that he has the life of God, and
that he will live in a yet newer and a yet higher life.
Samuel Martin
All those dying in infancy, as well as those so mentally incapacitated that they are incapable of making an informed choice, are among the elect of God chosen by Him for salvation before the world began. The evidence for this view is scant, but significant.
1. In Romans 1:20 Paul describes people who are recipients of general revelation as being, “without excuse.” Does this imply that those who are not recipients of general revelation (i.e., infants) are therefore not accountable to God or subject to wrath? In other words, those who die in infancy have an “;excuse” in that they neither receive general revelation nor have the capacity to respond to it.
2. There are texts which appear to assert or imply that infants do not know good or evil and hence lack the capacity to make morally informed and thus responsible choices. According to Deuteronomy 1:39 they are said to “have no knowledge of good or evil.”
3. The story of David's son in 2 Samuel 12:15-23 (esp. v. 23)… What does it mean when David says “I shall go to him?” If this is merely a reference to the grave or death, in the sense that David, too, shall one day die and be buried, one wonders why he would say something so patently obvious! Also, it appears that David draws some measure of comfort from knowing that he will 'go to him.' It is the reason why David resumes the normal routine of life. It appears to be the reason David ceases from the outward display of grief. It appears to be a truth from which David derives comfort and encouragement. How could any of this be true if David will simply die like his son? It would, therefore, appear that David believed he would be reunited with his deceased infant.
4. There is consistent testimony of Scripture that people are judged on the basis of sins voluntary and consciously committed in the body. See 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 20:11-12. In other words, eternal judgment is always based on conscious rejection of divine revelation (whether in creation, conscience, or Christ) and willful disobedience. Are infants capable of either? There is no explicit account in Scripture of any other judgment based on any other grounds. Thus, those dying in infancy are saved because they do not (cannot) satisfy the conditions for divine judgment.
5. We have what would appear to be clear biblical evidence that at least some infants are regenerate in the womb, such that if they had died in their infancy they would be saved. This at least provides a theoretical basis for considering whether the same may be true of all who die in infancy. These texts include Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:15.
6. Some have appealed to Matthew 19:13-15 (Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15-17) where Jesus declares, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Is Jesus simply saying that if one wishes to be saved he/she must be as trusting as children, i.e., devoid of skepticism and arrogance? In other words, is Jesus merely describing the kind of people who enter the kingdom? Or is he saying that these very children were recipients of saving grace?
7. Given our understanding of the character of God as presented in Scripture, does He appear as the kind of God who would eternally condemn infants on no other ground than that of Adam's transgression? Admittedly, this is a subjective (and perhaps sentimental) question. But it deserves an answer, nonetheless.
Sam Storms