Jesus’ resurrection from the dead reveals something about God’s nature that might not be recognized immediately, as the focus primarily centers on the miracle itself and its glorious implications. But a careful look at who raised Jesus from the grave reveals an unmistakable fact about God.
The New Testament plainly states that God raised Jesus from the dead. This fact is evidenced in passages like Acts 5:30, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross.” It also states in Acts 2:24, “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.” Additionally, Acts 2:32 says, “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.”
However, the Scriptures also reveal that Jesus raised Himself from the grave. John 2:19-21 says, “Jesus answered and said to them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body.” Jesus also said in John 10:17-18, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
Adding to the intrigue over who raised Jesus from the grave are various passages stating that the Holy Spirit resurrected Jesus. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Additionally, 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.”
Considering the various and seemingly “conflicting” New Testament revelations about who raised Jesus from the dead, one of two things is true: either the Bible contradicts itself and is, therefore, uninspired and unreliable. Or God is a Triune Being (One God eternally existing in three distinct Persons), with God the Father raising Jesus from the dead, Jesus resurrecting Himself from the dead, and the Holy Spirit bringing Jesus back from the grave.
The first option that the Bible is uninspired and unreliable is impossible because every verse in the Bible is directly and divinely inspired by God, who cannot lie. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” It also says in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man, that He should lie,” and in Hebrews 6:18, “It is impossible for God to lie.” (Click here for additional evidence of the Bible’s divine inspiration.)
Therefore, the second option, that God is a Triune Being, is the only interpretation and conclusion that harmonizes the various Scriptures on who raised Jesus from the dead without contradiction. Hence, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God since only God gives life and raises the dead.
It is important to note, however, that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are not three Gods nor are they three parts of God. Rather, they are One God existing eternally in three distinct Persons, with each One coequal, co-powerful, co-eternal, divine, and One in essence and nature, yet separate and distinct from each other. In other words, the Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit; the Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit, nor is the Holy Spirit the Father or the Son. Yet, they are One God. (Click here for further evidence of the Trinity.)
I hope this brief look at various passages on Jesus’ resurrection illuminates the reality of God’s Triune nature.
