I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
- 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Paul has been discussing the resurrection for this entire chapter, and he finally comes to his conclusion here, though this passage still leaves questions in our minds of exactly what will happen when the dead are raised.
In verse 50, he continues the contrast he brought up in the previous section about the perishable versus the imperishable. Our sinful bodies that we currently possess are not able to fully inherit the kingdom of God because they are perishable. These decaying bodies cannot be a part of the perfection that awaits us in eternal life. For us to experience eternity with God, our bodies must be changed so that they are perfect and imperishable. This is why our resurrected bodies are required to be different in some way than our current earthly bodies, as Paul previously discussed.
Paul acknowledges in verse 51 that a lot of this is mysterious to us. The Corinthians did not fully understand the details, and neither do we, though Paul will attempt to inform them (and us). When Paul says that not all of the believers will “fall asleep,” he implies that some will still be alive when Christ comes back for His second coming, as referenced in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17.
All believers will receive some kind of body that is changed at the second coming of Christ. Verse 52 indicates that this change will be instantaneous – “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye.” Those who already died will be raised in their imperishable bodies, and those who are alive will be instantly changed and transformed.
What does that change look like? Paul clarifies it a bit more in verse 53 by saying that the perishable will be “clothed” with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality. Those whose physical, earthly bodies are decaying in the grave will be given new, imperishable bodies. Those who are mortal – still alive in this world – will be given immortal bodies that will last for eternity. All of our new bodies will never die or decay so that we can experience eternal life with Jesus Christ.
Why is all this necessary? As Paul says in verse 54, “The saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’” This saying is reminiscent of Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14. Paul further references the rhetorical questions from Hosea in verse 55: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Death does not have victory over us when we have our imperishable and immortal bodies. There is no sting of death when we will live forever with Jesus Christ.
What is the sting of death? Paul tells us in verse 56 that it is sin. Sin is the only reason that death exists. Sin only has that power because of the law, which explains God’s perfect standards to us. Because we sin and we are not able to live up to the perfect standards set in God’s law, our punishment is death (Romans 6:23a).
But, as the second half of Romans 6:23 tells us, “the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul reiterates that here in verse 57 by saying, “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is only because of Jesus Christ that we have this victory and will not succumb to the sting of death that we deserve. As Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil — and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
But what does all of this mean for our daily lives as followers of Jesus? Paul tells us in verse 58: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Because of all of this that Paul has explained to us, we should fully work out whatever God has for us to do. Even if things are rough in this world, we know that we will have true victory, perfection, and immortality in the life to come.
Our bodies will be broken, sinful, and decaying while in this world, but because of Jesus Christ, we know that we will have perfect bodies in the future eternal life that we will share with Him. We should work toward that goal with everything that we do in this life, knowing that perfection awaits us one day because of the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus!
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
0 comments:
Post a Comment