The King Would Not Rule

... if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain (I Cor 15:14).

To assist your celebration and worship of the resurrected Christ this weekend, another comment from Piper, but dealing with the implications of the resurrection. Tomorrow, we will move past the ellipsis to uncover the purpose of the resurrection.

But there would be no gospel if Jesus had stayed dead… The King would not rule over a ransomed people if he were not raised from the dead. And if the King of kings is not ruling, there is no gospel. Jesus made clear that he would rise from the dead [cf. Matt 12:40; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34; John 2:19], and Paul made clear that this was an essential part of the gospel: “Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel” (2 Tim 2:8). Therefore, the living God, the Creator, the King of the universe has come in his Son, Jesus the Messiah, and has died for our sins and has been raised from the dead. All this is the gospel...

- John Piper, God is the Gospel, 29-30