BECAUSE HE LIVES, WE LIVE!

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25, 26). The man who spoke these words was a man struck by a terrible disease and in great pain. Death could come at any time. His wife told him to curse God and end his life. Yes, that may be what most people would do if faced with such a predicament. Not Job. Without hesitation he rebuked his wife, “Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” (Job 2:10).

In another place Job said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15). This was the kind of faith Job had in his God and Saviour. No matter what happened, God is always great, God is always good. “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:21, 22).

When death stares us in the face,  are we able to say like Job, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him”?

“For I know that”

What enabled Job to say such brave words? What was the source of His spiritual power? It was the knowledge of the resurrection of Christ. Job said, “I know that my redeemer liveth”. Job knew his Saviour. The knowledge here is not merely an acquaintance but a relationship. It is not “I know about Him” or “I know of Him” but I know Him for real. I know Him and He knows me. He is my very close and personal Friend, and more than a Friend, my Master and Saviour. It is the same kind of knowledge Paul had when he affirmed, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Tim 1:12).

The knowledge that powers our Christian life is the knowledge of faith (“I know whom I have believed”), conviction (“and am persuaded”) and dependence (“that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day”).

“my redeemer”

Job’s faith was not in any ordinary person but in an eternal Redeemer. He confessed, “my redeemer liveth.” Note that he did not say my Redeemer shall live, but that He lives. This speaks of His Redeemer’s eternal self-existence—He lived in eternity past, He lives right now, He lives forever more—“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb 13:8).

Jesus Christ lives not merely for Himself but for us as well. That is because He is our Kinsman-Redeemer (Goel). He is our Kinsman because He as God became Man. He is God with us (Immanuel). John 1:14 says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Our God and Saviour had to be 100% Man in order to be our perfect Representative and Substitute. As our Representative, He kept the Law without fault in order to earn the righteousness we need to enter heaven. Christ was “made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Gal 4:4, 5). As our Substitute, He died on the cross in order to pay the penalty of our sin so that we might be accepted by God. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal 3:13).

“liveth”

This Redeemer of ours is not dead but alive. Yes, Jesus died and was buried, but know that on the third day, He rose from the dead. We do not have a dead Saviour but a living Saviour. And because He lives, all who believe in Him will also live and never die. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” (John 11:25, 26). If you believe, you live; if you don’t, you die. John 3:18 makes it very clear, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

“and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth”

The Lord Jesus Christ has ascended to heaven, but promised to return to earth one day. That was what the angels said to His disciples at the ascension, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11).

“And though after my skin worms destroy this body”

When we die, our bodies will decompose and rot away—“worms destroy this body”. But one day, this body of ours will be raised up and “in my flesh shall I see God.” Know that our resurrection is not a spiritual but a physical one. The resurrected body of Christ is “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39). John said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2).

Know also that it is not reincarnation into another sinful and weak body, but resurrection into a sinless and powerful body. As Paul said, “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: … So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:42, 43, 54-57).

“yet in my flesh shall I see God”

When will this happen? It will happen at the Second Coming of Christ. When He comes back, He will raise us up to be with Him eternally. That was why Job said, “And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God”. This was also what Paul said will happen on that blessed day, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thess 4:16, 17).

We remember our late founding pastor—Rev Timothy Tow—sitting on his wheelchair in this park on Easter Sunday, 12 April 2009, four years ago. A week later, on 20 April 2009, the Lord called him home at the age of 88. He was buried on 23 April 2009. His spirit is now with the Lord in heaven. But I am sure he is looking forward to the day when his body will be raised from the grave together with all the saints—“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1 Cor 15:53). We shall see him again when that day arrives, but more importantly we shall see our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ face to face, and together with all the saints we shall worship Him for all eternity. Are you ready? JK