The resurrection is a window through which we glimpse eternal triune life. Initially, this is perhaps more clearly seen when attending to the Father and the Son. Yet, according to Romans 8:11, while the Father raises the Son, just as He eternally generates Him, He does so through the Holy Spirit. The resurrection by the Spirit confirms Jesus’ sonship while also confirming the loving eternal fatherhood of the Father.

This Easter, many will joyfully sing modern classic “In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. Its lines beautifully detail the riches stored up for us in Christ as a result of His work on our behalf. The third verse contains that work’s turning point:

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

While this verse speaks the biblical truth of Christ’s resurrection, it leaves open the question of who raised Jesus from the dead.

Every Easter, we are invited to consider many striking truths about this world-changing event: the significance of Christ’s bodily resurrection. The import of eyewitnesses and the historicity of the resurrection. Our union with Christ as He died and rose again. Resurrection power that pulsates through the body of Christ, the church. The list goes on. The resurrection spans heaven and earth and supplies our faith with unending treasures.

But what about the ultimate source of those treasures? A dimension of Easter that is often left unexplored is its Trinitarian nature. Perhaps this is because we are not entirely clear on how the resurrection is Trinitarian.

Again, who raised Jesus from the dead? Was it the Father who raised His Son? Did the Son do it Himself? Or was it the Holy Spirit?

Yes.

Despite the fact that it was the Son who rose from the dead, the Bible does not allow us to isolate Him, or either of the other two persons, as the singular agent involved in the resurrection. The resurrection is a Trinitarian reality with countless dimensions. We will explore, appropriately enough, three dimensions of the resurrection: its triune shape, its triune reservoir, and its triune power.

Triune Shape

As the Gospel writers present the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, they punctuate the narrative with key events where the Father and the Holy Spirit appear along with the incarnate Son.

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