The Necessity of the Resurrection

Sunday, April 21, 2019

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

1 Corinthians 15:1–4

The message of the gospel is not just the cross—it is also the empty tomb. As we celebrate the resurrection on Easter, we are commemorating the ultimate triumph of God’s plan over all the powers of evil that Satan could muster. It was not for lack of effort on the part of the enemy that Jesus arose. The empty tomb proves that there is no force—human or demonic—which could bind Jesus Christ. They could place a huge stone in front of the door and post guards outside, but they could not stop Life from bursting forth. They could spread false stories to obscure the truth, but this fact remains at the core of our faith: He is risen indeed.

R. A. Torrey said, “This was the glad tidings, first, that Christ died for our sins and made atonement; and second, that He rose again. The crucifixion loses its meaning without the resurrection. Without the resurrection, the death of Christ was only the heroic death of a noble martyr. With the resurrection, it is the atoning death of the Son of God. It shows that death to be of sufficient value to cover all our sins, for it was the sacrifice of the Son of God. In it we have an all-sufficient ground for knowing that the blackest sin is atoned for. Disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ and Christian faith is vain.”

Today's Growth Principle: 

The tomb is empty, and the risen Lord is our assurance of an eternity with Him in Heaven.