Resurrection

The Victory of Jesus' Resurrection

Satan exercised all his power, crucified Jesus, and fulfilled his desires. A condition was thus established for God to exercise His divine power according to the principle of restitution. Satan crucified Jesus.

God, in turn, raised Jesus from the dead. Since Jesus had already defeated Satan by forgiving those who crucified him, the resurrection of Jesus was beyond Satan's accusation and constituted a realm completely separated from Satan's interference.

The cross of Jesus had been a victory for Satan, but the resurrection was God's victory. From this time on, Satan was on the defensive, and Jesus was in the aggressive position spiritually.

Although Jesus could not accomplish the worldwide restoration both spiritually and physically, God was able to start a new dispensation of spiritual salvation through the resurrected Jesus.

The 40-day foundation that Jesus had laid in the wilderness had been invaded by Satan because of the faithlessness of the disciples. It was destroyed with Jesus' crucifixion. To start the worldwide dispensation of spiritual salvation, Jesus had to establish another foundation based on the number 40.

Jesus' three days in the tomb echoed the three-day pattern of separation from Satan that had been followed by Abraham and Moses in their courses. The risen Jesus did not ascend into heaven immediately, but remained on earth with his disciples for 40 days, teaching them, testifying to them about the second coming of the Son of man, and strengthening their faith.

Thus, Jesus reestablished the victorious Foundation of Faith. At this point, the resurrected Jesus stood spiritually in the position of Abel.

The faithful disciples stood in the position of Cain. By believing in Jesus and following him devotedly, they were in a position to establish the indemnity condition to remove the fallen nature and restore the spiritual Foundation of Substance.

God thus hoped to open the way for all humanity to be engrafted with the resurrected Jesus and thereby receive spiritual salvation and rebirth.

Pentecost and the Foundation of Substance

The very disciples who had abandoned Jesus and fled in fear when he was arrested now confidently declared their faith in the risen Lord.

They replaced the fallen Judas with Matthias and resolved to continue their mission, determining to follow Jesus at the risk of their lives, even if it meant taking up their crosses as he did.

Through their unity with the risen Jesus, the disciples finally succeeded in establishing the Foundation of Substance. Jesus no longer stood in the position of John the Baptist but could now act with full spiritual power as Christ, the Son of God, and the new Adam.

The descent of the Holy Spirit now occurred, and God could begin a new dispensation with the risen Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:2-4)

The Christian Church was established on this foundation. Now any person, by inheriting the Foundation of Faith through believing in Jesus and setting up an individual Foundation of Substance by resolving to follow him, can receive Jesus as Christ and savior and be reborn through the Holy Spirit.

Whoever unites with the risen Jesus and the Holy Spirit stands on the same foundation as Jesus and is freed spiritually from the accusation of Satan. (Rom. 8:1-2)

When a Christian accepts Jesus, a base of four positions is created with Jesus in the position of the spiritual Adam, the Holy Spirit in the position of the spiritual Eve, and each new believer in the position of their spiritual son or daughter. (Rom. 8:14)

Thus, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the spiritual True Parents of every Christian.

This is the true meaning of being "born again." Because Jesus' body was killed before he could establish the tangible base of four positions together with the Bride and their physical children, the physical restoration of the world is yet to come.

Even though we may be faithful with Jesus in spirit, our bodies are still liable to Satan's attack, as was the case with Jesus himself. In other words, our physical salvation remains unaccomplished. (Rom. 8:23) We are still born in sin.

However, if we believe in the resurrected Jesus, through God's grace, we can enter spiritually his realm of resurrection, which is invulnerable to satanic invasion.

There, we are released from the conditions that allow Satan to accuse us, and we are spiritually saved. (Rom. 8:37-39)

Jesus and the Holy Spirit have been leading the worldwide spiritual restoration for the last 2,000 years by expanding the base of spiritual salvation and guiding the course of the history of the Christian church.

However, Satan, the "god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4), has also been very active in tempting and distracting Christians and thwarting God's will of manifesting Jesus' teachings in deed as well as in word.

To complete Jesus' unfinished mission, the Second Advent of Christ must come to pass. (Heb. 9:28). This Jesus prophesied and promised. (Rev. 22:20)

Note on Christology

Christology has been one of the most controversial subjects in Christian theology. Was Jesus God Himself in a human body who was born without a human father?

Was he only a man? If the former, how could God so limit Himself? If the latter, how did Jesus differ from other men? Was he half divine and half human?

Did he exist before his birth?

When did he become aware of his Messiahship? What is his relationship to the Holy Spirit? The Principle will shed light on these age-old questions and clarify them.

Jesus, a Man

None of Jesus' contemporary followers thought he was God Himself. St. Paul also knew that Jesus was a man and said so in several of his epistles:

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (I Tim. 2:5)

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. (Rom. 5:19)

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (I Cor. 15:22-23)

Paul called Jesus the last Adam. (I Cor. 15:45) Because Adam, the first man, did not fulfill his mission of reaching perfection, another man has to come in his place, as a man. Jesus made a sharp distinction between himself and God, and Paul called Jesus the last Adam. (I Cor. 15:45)

Because Adam, the first man, did not fulfill his mission of reaching perfection, another man had to come in his place, as a man. Jesus made a sharp distinction between himself and God and said, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." (Luke 18:19)

The God of infinite spirit never takes a finite form by confining Himself to the body of one man. Thus, it is a great error to think that Jesus was God Himself. Jesus was not essentially different from other men. Therefore, even his brothers failed to recognize his identity. (Mark 3:21)

Because of his human qualities, Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. He often went to a lonely place to pray because, as a man, he needed strength from God. Like anyone else, he was hungry, thirsty, sleepy, and tired at times.

Jesus was disheartened at the disbelief of his people. He was filled with distress when his followers betrayed him and the chosen nation rebelled. If Jesus—as a human being—were not subject to the temptations of Satan, how could Jesus overcome him and free mankind? (Heb. 2:17-18; 4:15)

If Jesus were not a man, his words, his life, and his example would hold no meaning for humanity. Jesus was morally flawless because he never allowed himself to transgress God's law or will.

Jesus was different from other people in his mission and not in his human nature. The most important fact is that Jesus was to accomplish his Messianic role as a human being. However, Jesus was different from other people in that his spiritual background was unique.

Jesus' ancestors formed a special lineage in which enough indemnity had been paid to make a condition for Jesus to be free from original sin. Nevertheless, Jesus' human quality remained intact.

His mission as Messiah was to subjugate Satan and be the first man to attain perfection by fulfilling the three blessings that Adam failed to fulfill. He would then be the Everlasting Father prophesied in Isaiah, and all other men and women would be perfected only through him.

Jesus referred to himself as the true vine and to his followers as its branches; only as part of the tree could they bear good fruit. He was the temple of God, and all others could become temples by uniting with him. In this divine mission, Jesus was unique, but he was to fulfill it as a man.

The Holy Spirit

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

That the Word was with God in the beginning does not mean that Jesus, the man, had pre-existed his birth. It means that the Word, God's idea of perfect man, had pre-existed its expression into human form.

The Word or Logos was God's idea for His creation. Since God has polarity and all things created by Him have polarity, the Word must also have polarity. Adam and Eve were created by the Word and were to be the incarnation of the Word.

Because of their fall, however, they could not fulfill the Word nor realize the tree of life. God created one man, Adam, for whom he made a woman, Eve. God must, then, restore one man first in Adam's position and, through him, one woman in Eve's position.

Adam and Eve were to marry with God's blessing, thus to be the perfected Parents of mankind. Coming in Adam's place, Jesus was to take a bride in Eve's place.

Thus, he referred to himself as the Bridegroom (Mark 2:19; Matt. 25:1), and hinted at his role in a parable:

"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast, but they would not come." (Matt. 22:2-3)

If Jesus' marriage had been realized, Jesus and his Bride would have been the true Parents of mankind. Because of Jesus' premature death, he could not fulfill his mission of a blessed marriage.

However, after his resurrection, God gave him the Holy Spirit with whom to fulfill his mission spiritually. The Holy Spirit is a mother spirit or female spirit who works with Jesus in Eve's place.

She cleanses sins that originated from the first Eve. To make restitution for Eve's sinful act, the Holy Spirit moves and comforts the hearts of people, thus leading them back to God. (John 14:16-18)

Children are born through the love of their parents. Through the give and take of love, Jesus and the Holy Spirit give spiritual rebirth to those who follow them.

The Trinity

Through divine marriage in Perfection, Adam and Eve would have formed a trinity with God. This trinity was to be the model for all future marriages.

A single person, even though bearing within himself masculine and feminine qualities, cannot fulfill this ideal of the trinity.

Having united with Satan, Adam and Eve failed to establish the trinity with God; rather, they created a trinity centered on Satan. By uniting with the Holy Spirit, Jesus established the trinity for the first time — but only in spirit.

The divine ideal of the trinity will be completely realized when the Lord comes in the glory of his Father (Matt. 16:27) and fulfills the Tree of Life amid the City of God.

Then he will be with his Bride, inviting all people to the marriage supper of the Lamb. (Rev. 19:7-9) He and his Bride will be the true Parents. All mankind will be restored to God by forming trinities with Him.

All will then be trees of life themselves. All will then fulfill the ideal of creation. In this way, one family will be established on earth.

Today, 2,000 years after Christ, the prophecy of Joel is being fulfilled:

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit. (Joel 2:28 -29)

Extrasensory perception has recently become a topic of great interest, and spiritual phenomena are freely discussed. If spirits are contacting people on earth more frequently now, what is the purpose of their intervention?

Why are they particularly active at this time? To understand these things, one must have a full knowledge of the resurrection.