The Father and the Resurrection of Christ


The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of Christian faith and the radiant culmination of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. Often, we reflect on Christ’s triumph over death, but the Scriptures also lead us to see the intimate and active role of God the Father in the resurrection. From eternity past to the resurrection morning and beyond, the Father was working in perfect unity with the Son through the Holy Spirit to accomplish the salvation of the world.

1. The Father's Eternal Purpose

Before the foundation of the world, the Father chose and appointed His Son to be the sacrificial Lamb. Christ's death and resurrection were not reactions to human failure but the unfolding of a divine plan.

“He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you”
(1 Peter 1:20)

The resurrection was the crowning act of a plan ordained in eternity—a divine response of love and justice to redeem humanity.

2. The Suffering and Resurrection: The Father's Will

Christ's passion and resurrection took place according to the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God the Father.

“Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands… whom God raised up”
(Acts 2:23–24)

The cross was not a tragedy—it was a triumph scripted in the heart of the Father.

3. The Father Raised Jesus from the Dead

The New Testament boldly affirms that God the Father raised His Son from the dead:

“This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses”
(Acts 2:32)

This resurrection is the ultimate declaration of Christ’s innocence, obedience, and victory—and of the Father’s faithfulness and power.

4. The Father Saved Jesus from Death

Though Jesus tasted death, He was not abandoned in it. The Father heard His cries:

“He offered up prayers... to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard…”
(Hebrews 5:7)

The grave could not hold Him, for the Father’s power reached into the depths and brought Him forth in glory.

5. The Father Was in Christ in His Death and Resurrection

The unity between the Father and the Son remained unbroken, even in the darkest hour. Jesus said:

“I am in the Father, and the Father in Me”
(John 14:11)
“The Father has not left Me alone”
(John 8:29)
“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit”
(Luke 23:46)

This eternal communion affirms that the Cross and the Resurrection were not acts of isolation, but of divine unity and love.

6. The Father Revealed the Risen Christ to Chosen Witnesses

Christ did not appear to all people indiscriminately after the resurrection, but to those whom the Father had chosen:

“God raised Him up… and showed Him openly… to witnesses chosen before by God”
(Acts 10:40–41)

The resurrection is both a historical event and a divinely revealed truth, entrusted to faithful witnesses.

7. The Resurrection Reveals the Love Between the Father and the Son

Jesus laid down His life out of love for the Father—and the Father exalted Him out of love for the Son:

“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life…”
(John 10:17)
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him”
(Philippians 2:9)

This mutual love is the divine heartbeat behind the resurrection.

8. The Father’s Power Toward Us in the Resurrection

The resurrection is not only a past event—it is a present power at work in believers:

“…what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe… which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…”
(Ephesians 1:19–20)

The same power that raised Jesus now works in us to strengthen, sanctify, and lead us in victory.

9. The Father Unites Us with Christ’s Death and Resurrection in Baptism

Through baptism, the believer is mystically united with Christ’s death and resurrection:

“…we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life”
(Romans 6:4)

The resurrection becomes our reality: we die to sin and rise to a new life of righteousness.

10. The Resurrection as Power Toward Our Future Resurrection

The power of the resurrection is our daily strength and our future hope:

“…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection… if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead”
(Philippians 3:10–11)

The Father's purpose is not only that Christ be raised, but that all who are in Him will rise to eternal life.

Conclusion: The Father Glorified in the Resurrection

The resurrection of Jesus is the glorious act of the Father’s will, love, and power. It proclaims the Father’s faithfulness, reveals His divine glory in the Son, and assures us that death no longer has the final word.

Let us live as people of the resurrection—united with Christ, walking in the newness of life, and trusting the power of the Father who raises the dead.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”
(1 Peter 1:3)


Fr. Abraam Sleman

 #ResurrectionOfChrist #GodTheFather #PowerOfTheResurrection #RisenLord #FaithInGod #GloryToTheFather #NewLifeInChrist #ChristIsRisen

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