"He is Risen!"

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

"He is Risen!"

Today's Text: He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. Luke 24:6, 7

The Message:      The Sabbath was past, and Mary Magdalene came early in the morning, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher. Other women were to meet her there, but Mary was the first at the sepulcher. They had prepared the sweet spices to anoint the body of their Lord. The women were greatly terrified, and buried their faces in the earth, for the sight of the angels was more than they could endure. The angels were compelled to hide their glory yet more decidedly before they could converse with the women. The women trembled with awe. The angels said, "Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."...      There was no more weeping for Mary. Her heart was filled with joy and rejoicing.... While Mary was absent, He [Christ] appeared to the women who had come to the sepulcher from another direction.... "Go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him." As yet there had been no revelation of Christ to the eleven, and the women went to tell the disciples the wondrous news.... Thus Christ made an appointment for a public meeting with His followers in Galilee. Who was it that reminded the women who were seeking Christ in the tomb of what the Saviour had said to them previously? It was Christ who had risen, as He had told them He would.      In this connection Mark gives a most precious statement that must not be overlooked. The angel said to the women, "Go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee." What a comforting message was thus given to the women to give to Peter. The last look Jesus had given Peter was after the disciple's thrice-repeated denial. Peter was not forgotten by Christ, and this mention of his name signified to him that he was forgiven....      The wonderful instruction that Christ had given His disciples was never to lose its force, but they had to be reminded of the lessons that Christ had repeatedly given them while He was yet with them. "Remember," said the angel, "how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again." The disciples were surprised that they had not thought of these things before.-Manuscript 115, 1897.

Commentary: My friend, we serve a risen Savior, who was crucified in our behalf that we may forgiven of our sins and brought back into favor with God.  How precious is the promise to us saying "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).  The salvation that was wrought at the cross is more than just forgiveness of sin, but is the promise to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Sin is much more than just transgressing the law of God.  Sin leaves an indelible mark upon our characters and leads us deeper into sin.  One sin leads to another and yet another, until we are in open rebellion against God.  One sin stains the whole life and corrupts the soul, therefore our redemption is more than just forgiveness of sin.  It must cleanse the whole life.  Therefore, the perfect life that the Son of God lived here on this earth, is offered to us in place of our own.  "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:" (Colossians 1:27). The Comforter that Jesus said would come, was not another being, but that He would come to them in another form, by His Spirit.  Jesus said "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John 14:16, 17).  The Comforter that was to come was not another being but Himself, for He said "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." (Verse 18).  The trinity teaches that the Comforter is the Holy Spirit, the third being of the Godhead, but the Scriptures say that the Comforter is Jesus Christ the righteous. The same word that is used for Comforter in John 14:16 is the same word used as Advocate in 1 John 2:1 saying "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate [comforter] with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:" My friend, the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, and the Comforter is Jesus Christ the righteous.  They are one and the same.  That is why the mystery of godliness, which is how we are transformed into the image of God, is the Spirit of Christ living within us.  It is the very life of Christ that transforms us.  The trinity is a lie for it teaches that it is that the Holy Spirit, a separate being from the Father and the Son, that lives within us.  The prophet Isaiah wrote under inspiration "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isaiah 8:20).  The trinity speaks against the law and the testimony, therefore there is no light in it. May you see the light of truth that is in Jesus Christ, the true Son of the one true Living God today. God bless,

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