Understanding How God Raises Man

Introduction 

The question “How does God raise man?” lies at the very heart of the Christian gospel. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture presents humanity as fallen, dead, enslaved, and helpless—yet never abandoned. God, in His sovereign mercy, does not merely repair what is broken; He raises what is dead. This raising is not a single event but a multifaceted, eternal work that touches every dimension of human existence: spirit, soul, body, status, destiny, and relationship with God Himself. To understand how God raises man is to understand the entire sweep of redemptive history.

I. The Necessity of Being Raised: The True Condition of Fallen Man

Before we can grasp the manner of God’s raising, we must first see why raising is necessary. The Bible does not portray humanity as slightly bruised or morally confused. It portrays us as spiritually corpses.

Ephesians 2:1-3 is unflinching: “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked… by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” Death here is not physical but covenantal and spiritual. A corpse cannot decide to live again. It cannot cooperate with the undertaker. It can only be acted upon. Romans 8:7-8 adds that the mind set on the flesh “is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.” The unregenerate will is not merely weak; it is bound. The heart is stone (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26). The image of God remains, but it is defaced, blinded, and enslaved to sin, Satan, and death.

This doctrine of total depravity is not misanthropic; it is the dark backdrop against which the glory of grace shines brightest. Only those who are utterly dead need resurrection. Only those who cannot raise themselves can be raised sovereignly.

II. The Pattern of Divine Raising: Christ the Firstfruits

Every act by which God raises fallen humanity is rooted in and flows from the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead” (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5). The resurrection of Jesus is not merely an event in history; it is the prototype, the guarantee, and the power source for every subsequent raising.

1. Christ was raised by the Father (Acts 2:24; Romans 6:4).  

2. Christ was raised by His own power as God (John 10:18).  

3. Christ was raised by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11).  

Thus the entire Trinity is involved in resurrection, and the same triune power that raised Jesus is pledged to raise believers (Romans 8:11; Ephesians 1:19-20).

III. The Stages of God’s Raising Work

God’s raising of man is not a single moment but a golden chain of divine acts stretching from eternity past to eternity future.

A. Election: Raised in God’s Eternal Purpose

Before the foundation of the world, God chose a people “in Christ” to be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4-5). This choice was not based on foreseen faith or merit but on the good pleasure of His will. In the divine decree, the elect were already viewed as raised with Christ, destined for adoption, redemption, and glory. Election is the first act of divine raising—lifting a people out of the mass of fallen humanity before they have done anything good or evil (Romans 9:11)..

B Predestination and Union with Christ

Believers are predestined “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). Even more astonishingly, God “raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6)—past tense. In God’s reckoning, the moment Christ was raised, all who are united to Him by faith were raised too. Our resurrection is already an accomplished fact in the divine law-court and in our federal Head.

C. Effectual Calling and Regeneration: Raised from Spiritual Death

The outward call of the gospel goes to all, but the inward, effectual call raises the dead. When the Spirit applies the Word with power, the spiritually dead hear the voice of the Son of God and live (John 5:25). Regeneration is the implantation of new life. Ezekiel’s vision of the dry bones (Ezekiel 37) is the classic picture: sinews, flesh, breath—all supplied by sovereign command. “I will put My Spirit within you, and you shall live.”

Regeneration is monergistic—God’s work alone. The new birth is “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). Like Lazarus, we do not cooperate with the command “Come forth!” until after we have been made alive.

D. Conversion (Faith and Repentance): The First Movements of the Raised Soul

Immediately upon being made alive, the regenerate soul believes and repents. These are not the cause of regeneration but its inevitable fruit. Faith is the empty hand that receives Christ; repentance is the turning of a heart that has already been turned (Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25). Even these graces are gifts: “For it has been granted to you that… you should believe in Him” (Philippians 1:29)..

E. Justification: Raised to Legal Righteousness

Justification is the divine verdict: “Not guilty—indeed, perfectly righteous.” It is a forensic act whereby God declares the believing sinner righteous because Christ’s obedience and death are imputed to him (Romans 5:18-19; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The resurrection of Christ is the public demonstration that the debt is paid: “He was raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). In justification we are raised from condemnation to acceptance, from enmity to sonship.

 F. Adoption: Raised into the Family of God

At the same moment of justification, we are adopted. “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15). The prodigal is not merely forgiven; he is clothed, ringed, and feasted as a son. We are raised from orphans and enemies to heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

G. Sanctification: Raised Day by Day into Practical Holiness

Though positionally holy, we still battle remaining sin. Sanctification is the progressive raising of our practice toward our position. The same Spirit who regenerated us now indwells and empowers us (Romans 8:13). We are to “work out” what God is “working in” (Philippians 2:12-13). This is not self-improvement but resurrection power applied daily: “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Romans 8:13).

 H. Perseverance: Kept and Continually Raised by Divine Power

No truly raised person can finally fall away. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Philippians 1:6). The same power that raised Christ keeps us (1 Peter 1:5; Jude 24-25). Our perseverance is evidence that God is continually raising us, guarding us through faith unto final salvation.

 I. Glorification: The Final Raising of the Body

The raising is not complete until the last day. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye… the dead will be raised imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:52). The bodies that once housed sin will be transformed into bodies like Christ’s glorious body (Philippians 3:21). Mortality will put on immortality; corruption, incorruption. The entire person—body and soul—will be fully and finally raised into the likeness of the risen Christ.

 IV. The Means God Uses in Raising Man

God is sovereign, but He delights to use means.

1. The Word of God – “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” (Romans 1:16).  

2. Prayer – The Spirit helps us in our weakness, interceding according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).  

3. The Sacraments – Baptism signifies and seals our union with Christ in His death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4); the Lord’s Supper nourishes us with Christ’s risen life.  

4. The Church – God raises individuals into a body (1 Corinthians 12). We are raised together.  

5. Providence and Suffering – Even trials are tools in the Father’s hand to conform us to the image of the Son (Romans 8:28-29; James 1:2-4).

 V. The Glory of Grace in the Raising

Every stage of this divine raising magnifies grace. We contributed the sin; God contributes everything else. We were dead; He made us alive. We were guilty; He justified us. We were slaves; He adopted us. We were corrupt; He is renewing us. We will die; He will raise us incorruptible.

This is why Paul erupts in doxology: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… He chose us… He predestined us… In Him we have redemption… He lavished upon us grace… To the praise of His glorious grace” (Ephesians 1:3-14).

VI. Practical Implications

1. Humility – If God raised us when we were dead, boasting is excluded (Ephesians 2:8-9).  

2. Confidence – The power that raised Jesus is at work in us (Ephesians 1:19-20). No sin is stronger than resurrection power.  

3. Compassion – We once were dead; therefore we extend the gospel to the spiritually dead around us.  

4. Worship – The Christian life is one continual response of gratitude to the God who raises the dead.

 Conclusion

To be raised by God is to be lifted from the lowest pit to the highest heaven—from death to life, from wrath to love, from slavery to sonship, from corruption to glory. It begins in eternity, invades time through Christ’s resurrection, is applied by the Spirit through the gospel, and will be consummated when we see Him face to face. The entire story can be summed up in four words spoken over a tomb two thousand years ago: “Lazarus, come forth!” That same voice still speaks today, and the dead still hear and live.

This is how God raises man: not by human striving, not by moral improvement, not by religious ritual—but by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. And because He lives, all who are united to Him will live also. To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.