1 Corinthians 15:50-58 says...
Today's verses are 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, which read,
v.50 - Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Paul is going to conclude today his instruction on the resurrection of the dead and the resurrection of Jesus. We have looked at the nature of things. We have looked at Paul's determination in the teaching of this from the Lord Jesus Christ. We have looked at the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ Himself as our pattern. The bodies that we will receive at the resurrection will not be like the bodies that we have right now. They will be unique like the stars but they will not have the perishable qualities of the bodies we have now. Now this instruction will go from the resurrection of the dead to the reason why for the resurrection of the dead.
v.51, 52 - Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
This is a mystery because this process of the saints being with the Lord in their resurrected bodies was not revealed in the pages of the Old Testament. There will be a time when the followers of Christ will leave this earth, dead or alive. Dead or alive, they will all be changed. It will happen in the fastest movement that Paul would have known, a twinkling of an eye. The trumpet will sound and God's children, dead or alive will rise and all will have their resurrected bodies.
v.53-55 - For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
The key word here is the word "must." Where the saints are going can not be perishable or mortal. Where the saints are going must be imperishable and immortal. There is a sting to death and there is a victory by Satan for someone to die with no hope, but what of the one who dies in Christ? The sting of death is gone and the victory of no hope is gone because the saint will rise someday to be with the Lord in glory. The sting and victory of death are gone.
v.56-58 - The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
What a finish to this chapter. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the sin that stings us and holds us in bondage has met its match. Paul calls his brethren "beloved" as an added descriptor of his affection for them to follow what he is going to say next. If we could paraphrase from an illustration we have used through this chapter it would be, "Don't let the domino of the resurrection from the dead fall. Be steadfast in holding up that domino and be immovable to outside forces working against it and you."
How do we stand strong in the Lord and the teachings of the Lord? Part of the process is to abound in the work of the Lord. Serving the Lord is crucial to our understanding the things of the Lord. To know is part of the process but to know is always with the goal to do and when you do it is not in vain or without purpose for the sake of Christ. Application based upon knowledge completes the circle of worship of Jesus. Application strengthens our muscles to hold up that domino of the faith called the resurrection of the dead because of the resurrection of Christ Jesus that we are to believe in.
"Lord, what a great long chapter that I think is more important to the church in Corinth that any other. Thank you for inspiring Paul to write so extensively on a tenet of the faith that means so much to everything else we believe. May I see that my service of You is so paramount to my faith in You and what You have said and did in relation to the time to come. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.50 - Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Paul is going to conclude today his instruction on the resurrection of the dead and the resurrection of Jesus. We have looked at the nature of things. We have looked at Paul's determination in the teaching of this from the Lord Jesus Christ. We have looked at the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ Himself as our pattern. The bodies that we will receive at the resurrection will not be like the bodies that we have right now. They will be unique like the stars but they will not have the perishable qualities of the bodies we have now. Now this instruction will go from the resurrection of the dead to the reason why for the resurrection of the dead.
v.51, 52 - Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
This is a mystery because this process of the saints being with the Lord in their resurrected bodies was not revealed in the pages of the Old Testament. There will be a time when the followers of Christ will leave this earth, dead or alive. Dead or alive, they will all be changed. It will happen in the fastest movement that Paul would have known, a twinkling of an eye. The trumpet will sound and God's children, dead or alive will rise and all will have their resurrected bodies.
v.53-55 - For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
The key word here is the word "must." Where the saints are going can not be perishable or mortal. Where the saints are going must be imperishable and immortal. There is a sting to death and there is a victory by Satan for someone to die with no hope, but what of the one who dies in Christ? The sting of death is gone and the victory of no hope is gone because the saint will rise someday to be with the Lord in glory. The sting and victory of death are gone.
v.56-58 - The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.
What a finish to this chapter. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the sin that stings us and holds us in bondage has met its match. Paul calls his brethren "beloved" as an added descriptor of his affection for them to follow what he is going to say next. If we could paraphrase from an illustration we have used through this chapter it would be, "Don't let the domino of the resurrection from the dead fall. Be steadfast in holding up that domino and be immovable to outside forces working against it and you."
How do we stand strong in the Lord and the teachings of the Lord? Part of the process is to abound in the work of the Lord. Serving the Lord is crucial to our understanding the things of the Lord. To know is part of the process but to know is always with the goal to do and when you do it is not in vain or without purpose for the sake of Christ. Application based upon knowledge completes the circle of worship of Jesus. Application strengthens our muscles to hold up that domino of the faith called the resurrection of the dead because of the resurrection of Christ Jesus that we are to believe in.
"Lord, what a great long chapter that I think is more important to the church in Corinth that any other. Thank you for inspiring Paul to write so extensively on a tenet of the faith that means so much to everything else we believe. May I see that my service of You is so paramount to my faith in You and what You have said and did in relation to the time to come. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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