Dwell in the Word 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Consider these questions as you dwell in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58:

1. How does Paul's description of the resurrection body provide believers with confidence and hope for the future?

2. What is the significance of the truth that "death does not have the last word" and how does this understanding impact the way Christians approach life and death?

3. According to Paul, how should believers respond to the assurance of their future imperishable bodies? What does he emphasize in terms of their actions and labor in the Lord?

Transcript:

 Well, if this is not just a very, uh, powerful passage, this is one of those passages you just wish you could inject right into your veins, right? I mean, this one gets you going. Because it talks about the ultimate victory that Christ has had over sin, death, and hell, and the devil. And it gives us a confidence in what is in store for us in the future.

And so, Paul is continuing this conversation that he's been having about... What the resurrection body is going to look like and so Paul has basically said, you know, there's a mystery to this We don't fully understand it, but it is going to be imperishable. You're not going to be Resurrected to a body that will perish right?

And so Paul says hey, I'm going to tell you a mystery Not everyone's going to sleep. Not everyone is going to die There will be some people alive when Christ returns at the end of history to deliver his kingdom to his father And, then in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, the trumpet will sound, the dead shall be raised imperishable, and then we shall all be changed.

These, these perishable bodies that we have will put on the imperishable. Okay? We will no longer be mortal, but God will give us bodies that will not. Uh, parish. And so this is what Paul has to tell us. This is amazing news that this, this stuff that, uh, it, it creaks, it cracks a little more every day, right?

It gets worse over time, but Paul is saying that ultimately in one day this shall be restored. And so, uh, Paul says when Christ returns, when immortality is put on. Then we shall set be able to say that death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death. Where is your victory? Oh death Where is your sting? What powerful words from the Apostle Paul here that ultimately?

Well, it feels as though Death has victory because when we lose a loved one, we don't see them again. We have to learn to deal with that loss, we have to learn to cope. Um, and we have hope, of course, but we've got to learn to deal with that. And it feels, it always feels like death has the last word, uh, all the time.

And if you've been to a funeral that I've done, I do often say, no, death does not get the last word. Alzheimer's does not get the last word. Cancer does not get the last word. That's not how it works. God gets the last word.  And the last word is, is that, oh death where is your victory? Oh death where is your sting?

Death does not have the last word, God does. And we see that, that we have victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so, Paul puts a therefore on this, uh, in verse 58, and it's an awesome one. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast.  Immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

So, this therefore is, hey, knowing that you will be raised imperishable, knowing that your body will be restored, work for the Lord, live for the Lord, do not move. Always be doing good works because whatever you do for the Lord is not in vain because it has eternal consequences. And so, may we be thinking about that today.

May we remember all this good news that we have in here. That we will have an imperishable body. And ultimately, we can say, oh, death, where is your victory? Because Christ is victorious.

Death does not have the final word. The Lord does.  And so, may we also use that as a motivation. To live our lives in gratitude, serving God today, knowing that what we do, the labor that we do for the Lord, has eternal, um, consequences.

It has an eternal good attached to it. So may the work that we do today be motivated by this good news that Christ has won the victory in His life, death, and resurrection. And we serve Him because He has first loved us and given us this great gift.