Victory At Last (1 Corinthians 15:50-58)

It is worth noting, given the problems in the church in Corinth, how Paul addresses his readers in this section. In verse 50, as he begins the section, he calls them ‘brothers’ and in verse 58, as he closes the section, he calls them ‘my beloved brothers’. Clearly, thinking about the future glory of the church had warmed the heart of Paul towards believers in the church in Corinth, despite their errors.

Paul, as we have seen, has said a great deal about the resurrection, including the resurrection of Jesus on the third day and the resurrection of his people in the future. I suppose two responses could be given to Paul here. One response would be why do we need to experience this future resurrection and the other response would be to ask Paul how he knows all the details. He answers the first response in verse 50 and he answers the second response in verse 51. Then he mentions several consequences of what he has been told.

No doubt, attentive readers will observe that Paul, in this section, repeats some of the information he mentioned in the previous section. This is a reminder that when something is in dispute, as the resurrection was in the church in Corinth, it is a good method to keep on repeating the truth.

The problem (v. 50)

Paul speaks about inheritance in this verse. He describes the inheritance in two ways and he mentions two features that will not be involved in the inheritance. The apostle says that the inheritance of Christians is the kingdom of God and what he calls ‘the imperishable’. There are many ways by which the kingdom of God could be described and when Paul says that it is imperishable he means that there are no defects within it or any possibility of decay. So if we are believers, we will find ourselves then in the perfect world.

The problem that we all have, says Paul, is the unsuitability of our current humanity which he calls by two names – ‘flesh and blood’ and ‘the perishable’. What marks our current human state is that it is perishable, and death is the obvious evidence of that reality. Something must happen to our bodies if we want to experience glory.

What is a mystery? (v. 51)

Usually, when we use the word ‘mystery’ we mean something that is obscure or impossible to understand. We might assume that this is how Paul and his first readers would have understood the word. Yet, in fact, the idea of mystery here means the exact opposite. Instead of being something hidden, the word describes something that has been revealed, and revealed by God to his apostles.

There are several mysteries mentioned in the New Testament. Paul refers, for example, to the mystery of godliness which states that Jesus is God and man. He refers to the mystery of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2, which describes a formidable opponent of Christ’s kingdom. In Romans 11, he explains the mystery of Israel’s blindness. In Ephesians 3, he explains the mystery of the church and how Jews and Gentiles are equal members of it.

When the Corinthians heard, when the letter was read to them, that Paul was going to describe a mystery, they would not have said to themselves, ‘He is going to mention something really obscure.’ Instead they would have expected the opposite. They would have said, ‘Paul is going to explain God’s will to us.’

What about the living? (vv. 52-53)

The apostle mentions that part of the truth revealed to him concerns those believers who are alive when Jesus returns. So far, in this chapter, Paul has been explaining what will happen to the Christians who have died. They will be resurrected and given new bodies. What about those who will be alive on that day?

They will be changed simultaneously – he stresses that ‘we shall all be changed’. They will be changed suddenly – ‘in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.’ They will be changed strategically – this will happen when the trumpet sounds. This is a reference to a military practice – the sounding of the trumpet was a call to be ready to engage in something. They will be changed sequentially – as Paul also says in 1 Thessalonians 4, the dead in Christ will be raised first and then they and the living will be glorified together.

What does the change involve? Paul has already indicated some features of what will happen to believer. They will become incorruptible, powerful, honourable and under the control of the Spirit. We should also bring in another detail that Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 5 where he likens our current body to a tent and our future body to a house. Probably, by referring to a tent he was describing the fragility of our current body, and by referring to a house he was describing the stability of our resurrection body.

The change will include something else that Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 5. There he describes a dead believer as naked because he has lost the adornment of his body. But he says that instead of being unclothed (losing his body), he would rather be clothed upon. Instead of putting something off, he wants the experience of putting something on. The something he wants to put on will be glory. Imagine the resurrection day. The dead have been raised and are now beside the living. Immediately both the resurrected and the living are glorified – that is the change. They are now immortal.

The mention of immortality is a reminder that the Bible stresses that it is the body that is immortal, and that it is the bodies of believers that will experience immortality. Immortality is more than the length of one’s existence, it is also the quality of one’s existence. Immortality means virtually the same as does eternal life.

What does victory mean? (vv. 54-57)

Paul points out that it will be the defeat of death, a defeat that had been predicted in the Old Testament by the prophet Hosea, whom he quotes. The apostle depicts someone making a surprising announcement, followed by a brief explanation, and then a tremendous declaration.

The surprising announcement is that death does not have the victory. It had seemed to be that way, all down the long history of the human race, as one by one in an almost endless stream people died. But on the resurrection day, it will be seen that death is not the victor. And the scripture will be fulfilled that a role reversal has occurred. Instead of death swallowing everyone, death will be swallowed in the victory of Jesus and his people.

The brief explanation says that ‘the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.’ Paul says that death has a poisonous ability, likened to a sting, and that ability is sin. It brings death to everyone. Sometimes a person gets stung by an insect and dies. Paul here says we have been stung with sin, our own sin, and therefore we will die. Yet because sin is disobedience to God, it means that we are also condemned by the law of God. We are in a terrible state, infected by a disease with endless consequences, and condemned by a law that required endless payment of the penalty.

Yet because Jesus rose, and in doing so defeated death, so we who trust in him will be given a wonderful blessing by God the Father. The great blessing that all believers will receive is victory over our powerful conqueror. One came who was mightier than the mighty and liberated his people forever.

What should be our response? (v. 58)

Paul appeals to his fellow Christians and reminds them that faith in the risen Christ brings about a certain kind of Christian living. They are to be marked by a determination not to move away from the gospel and its contents. But how will we know that a person is steadfast and immovable? Paul gives the answer. It will be known by the amount of work they are doing for the Lord.

After all, the word that Paul uses to describe the degree of work is abounding, and he connects that with consistency when he uses the word always. This is a reminder that we are saved to serve, although Paul here is saying that such service flows from the hearts of those who are grateful to Jesus for bringing such a great salvation to them. Surely, this is a very challenging statement.

The obvious response cannot be to ask how little we can do for the Lord. Rather the response has to be that we will do as much as possible for him. Maybe the tasks seem daunting, but the reality is that the one who calls his people to work for him never suggests that they should engage in any activity in their own strength. Instead, through the Holy Spirit, he supplies them with what they need for any task they engage in. Whatever we feel, we cannot avoid the application of the apostle that work done for Jesus must be done abundantly.

One amazing feature of the work of the Lord is that we can do it all day long. When we go to work for our employer we are working for the Lord. When we come home and do something around the house we can do it for the Lord. We may sense that a neighbour needs some help and we can do it for the Lord. We may recall that an aged believer is alone and we go to speak with her because we want to work for the Lord. Or we may know that another Christian is struggling and we call round to offer words of encouragement. Then we can spend some time in prayer and that is part of the work of the Lord. There are many other activities that can be slotted in, and in each of them the Lord gives grace. But whatever it is, it has to be done for him.

We can also note that Paul describes this work as the work of the Lord. He does not say that it is work for the Lord. I suppose what the apostle is stressing here is that when we engage in the work of the Lord he is at work with us and through us. It is unlikely that Jesus will do without us what he intends to do through us. He could do it without us, but often he does not. Is this not one of the ways in which we have fellowship with him as we engage in his work?

Paul reminds the Corinthians of one other consequence of the resurrection and one that he says they already knew, which was that any work down for Jesus will not be in vain. We can say that serving Jesus is the only work with an endless bonus. Is this not the point of the description of the Day of Judgement found in Matthew 25 where believers are commended for the various activities they engaged in in order to help one another make progress in the faith?

It is useful for believers to keep that day in mind. While we know that their service does not merit salvation we also know that the Saviour will be delighted to acknowledge the various ways in which they served him. After all, the Bible often uses the illustration of books to highlight that the Lord does take note of all that they have done for him. And the degree of reward will reveal that their labour for him was not in vain. He will have taken their efforts of love and turned them into ways through which blessings came to others, and perhaps in most cases they were unaware of what the outcomes of their service had been. Thinking about that day can be a means of encouragement day by day in this life.