Word of Salvation – Vol.51 No.33 – July 2006
The Final Victory!
A Sermon by Rev John Haverland on 1 Corinthians 15:50-58
Scripture Readings: 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; Isaiah 25
Theme: Believers who are living when Christ comes will be gloriously changed and death will be defeated through Christ.
Purpose: To encourage you to continue to work for the Lord because of our hope in Christ’s return and the final victory over death.
Congregation.
These words we have just read (1 Cor 15:50-58) are often heard at a Christian grave side service. As friends and relatives and church members stand around the grave of a loved one about to be buried, the minister will read these words.
They are words of comfort, of hope, of victory!
They are words that come as a fitting climax to this glorious chapter about the resurrection of the dead.
This is Paul’s great conclusion to his defence of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and his explanation of the resurrection of all who believe in Jesus.
In this chapter he has defended the resurrection of Jesus and has explained that this is the basis of our resurrection. He wrote about the spread of the kingdom of Christ that will continue until Jesus returns and hands the kingdom back to God the Father. He also told them about the new bodies that would be given to believers who had died.
All this left him with one more matter – what would happen to believers who were still living when Jesus came back? Would their bodies be changed? How would their situation compare with that of those who had died?
In response to these questions Paul explained that:
1. They would be suddenly changed, and so;
2. They would win a complete victory over death, and then;
3. Based on all this, he went on to give them a practical exhortation about what they should be doing.
1. First of all, WE WILL BE CHANGED (vss 50-53)
When he wrote about this subject, the Apostle Paul included himself in all this – vs 51: “We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.” From this some have concluded that Paul expected Jesus to return during his lifetime and that he would be among those who would be changed. But he wasn’t saying this. Yes, he and the other apostles knew that they were in the last days, but no one knew how long those “last days” were going to last. No one knew when Jesus would return (Acts 1:7).
What’s more, Paul often included himself with those he was describing without implying that he was one of them or that he would participate in the events he was explaining (e.g., 1 Cor 6:14-15; 10:22).
Further to this, when he wrote a second letter to the Thessalonians, he explained a number of events that needed to happen before Jesus returned (2 Thess 2). So when Paul wrote, “we will not all sleep”, he meant that some believers would be alive when Jesus returned; he was referring to all these Christians generally.
The believers who are living at that time will need to be changed because “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (vs 50). “Flesh and blood” refers to life here and now; our present physical existence. These bodies of ours are suited to living on this earth and in this world but they are not suited to the future kingdom of God. So these bodies of ours will need to be changed.
This will happen suddenly, “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye”! “In a flash” translates the Greek word ‘atomos’, from which we get our word atom. It refers to the smallest possible unit; to something that cannot be divided. The word “twinkling” referred to a very rapid movement. Today we would say, “in a split second”, or, “in a fraction of a second”.
This will happen “at the last trumpet” (vs 52) which will sound when Jesus returns. “The last” does not refer to a series of trumpets but rather that this will be the last event on earth – this will be the end of the world as we know it.
The sound of the trumpet in the Old Testament was connected with the presence of God. When the Lord came to speak to Israel at Mt Sinai, “there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast.” As they came out to meet the Lord, “the whole mountain trembled violently and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder” (Ex 19:16; 18-19).
The last trumpet that will sound at the return of Christ will be heard all over the world. With that sound the Lord Jesus will raise all men and women, believers and unbelievers – although the focus of this chapter is on what will happen to those who have believed.
At the sound of the trumpet “the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” The dead will be raised with their new bodies and those believers who are living will be changed into their new bodies. “For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality” (vs 53). These are the new bodies Paul described earlier in this chapter – bodies that will be raised in power and in glory; bodies that are spiritual; bodies that will “bear the likeness of the man from heaven” (vs 49). This is what we can expect in the future. This is what we can look forward to – whether we have already died or whether we are still living.
2. When these bodies of ours are changed we will also, secondly, WIN A COMPLETE VICTORY (vss 54-57).
Death will be “swallowed up in victory” (vs 54).
This had been predicted by the Old Testament prophets. Isaiah had prophesied a time in the distant future when the Lord would prepare a “feast of rich food for all peoples… he will swallow up death forever. The sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces” (25:7-8).
And through Hosea the Lord had promised: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where O death are your plagues? Where O grave is your destruction?”
These prophecies looked ahead to the return of the Lord Jesus and are quoted by Paul. This will be a complete victory because the Lord Jesus has dealt with the root cause of the problem of death, which is sin. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law” (vs 56).
Death itself is an enemy – the last enemy. Death is a consequence of sin – one of the results of our disobedience. Yet death itself is not the worst enemy because for the Christian it is a passing from death into life; it is a gateway from the suffering of this world into the joy of the next.
The real difficulty with death is sin. “The sting of death is sin.” Paul pictures death like the sting of a scorpion – a sting that is painful, destructive, lethal. Our sin makes us guilty before a holy God. God will punish that sin with eternal death in hell. “The wages of sin is death,” wrote Paul in Romans 6:23.
“And the power of sin is the law.” This is because the law exposes our sin; it makes us aware of our disobedience. It is through the law that we become conscious of sin. Not only that, it is the law that condemns us. The law itself is holy, righteous and good, but it shows us up for what we are – fallen and feeble sinners before a perfect and just God.
Paul does not dwell on this theological explanation of sin and the law. He only mentions this to show that we have been delivered from this situation. Jesus Christ has removed the sting of death by fulfilling all the requirements of the law in his life, by taking our sin on himself in his death, by bearing the punishment of God for sin on the cross, by going through the depths of hell for us in those three hours of darkness. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal 3:13).
This is why Paul can sing:
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
This is also why he can go on to rejoice in the complete victory that we have through the Lord Jesus. Verse 57: “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Or, as he had already stated in verse 54, “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
That already happened in principle in the death and resurrection of Jesus. There Jesus won the victory and we now share in that. We are already reigning with Christ in heaven. We already share in our new life in Christ. We already have eternal life in him. But we don’t yet enjoy the full benefits of this victory. This victory will be complete at his return. The return of Christ and the resurrection of the dead will mark the final and total defeat of death.
Consider all the sadness and grief and turmoil caused by death over the centuries. Think of the millions of people who have died. Think of scenes of battle through the years; think of relatives gathered around the deathbed of a father, or mother, or child. Think of families standing with tears by a grave side. Death is an enemy.
At present death destroys life; but one day death itself will be destroyed.
At present death swallows up life; but one day death will be swallowed up in victory!
On the day of resurrection we will share in that victory! God will give us this victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
3. Finally, Paul concludes this with A PRACTICAL EXHORTATION.
In view of all this, how should you live here and now? What should you be doing in the present? This is how Paul closes this great chapter: [Read verse 58….]
He closes with an exhortation to stability: “Stand firm. Let nothing move you.” These two phrases are closely related together. Don’t be easily swayed, don’t be bowled over; be stable; stand strong when you face opposition and difficulty; be faithful; keep at your task.
There are many things that could destabilise you personally or us as a church: Trials, sickness, discouragement, criticism, disunity, tiredness, the volume of work you face, difficulties in your marriage or in your family or in relationships. All of us will face these difficulties at times. When you face trials and troubles be sure to stand firm and let nothing move you.
Paul also exhorts us to activity: “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord.” “The work of the Lord” covers all that God wants us to do; all the duties appropriate for a Christian; all that you are called to do in fulfilling God’s will; anything that promotes God’s glory and advances his kingdom. The work of the Lord is to love God and to love your neighbour; to seek the lost out of a motive of compassion and a love for fellow sinners; to do works of mercy.
Do this “always”. Not now and then. Not just when the mood comes on you. Not occasionally or when you feel inspired. No, always, all the time.
And give yourselves “fully” to the work of the Lord. Another translation has “abounding”. The word has the sense of overflowing, of running over. God has shown us the fullness of his grace and we ought to respond by fully applying ourselves for him.
Are you doing all this?
Are you standing firm?
Are you immoveable?
Are you always giving yourself to the work of the Lord, in every way?
Are you applying yourself to this fully?
Remember that this is “the work of the Lord”. It is labour “in the Lord”. These words “in the Lord” are the last words in the Greek text. That highlights the significance of being in Christ – in him. All you do is to be done in him and for him and in his strength. I can do all things through him who gives me the strength.
Do all this keeping in mind a great encouragement from the Apostle Paul: “…because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.”
Paul began this chapter on the resurrection by urging them to hold firmly to the word he preached to them so that they would not have believed in vain. In the middle of this chapter he told them that if Christ had not been raised then their faith would be in vain.
As he closed this great passage he reassured then that their labour in the Lord would not be in vain. It won’t be empty, it won’t be useless. This is put as an understatement.
We could also express this positively! Your work in the Lord will be richly rewarded! There will be an eternal inheritance waiting for you! You will share in the resurrection of the dead! You will receive a new, spiritual, glorious body that will bear the likeness of the Lord Jesus himself.
The return of Christ and the resurrection to come is held out as a great incentive to keep you going, especially in difficult times.
Sometimes our labour for the Lord will be difficult; at other times it will be unexciting; and there will also be disappointments along the way. Let’s not give up. Let’s keep going.
Don’t work for any present reward or for the successes we might enjoy here and now, because they will come and go – the church will have ups and downs, times of growth and decline.
Rather, keep your eye on the return of the Lord Jesus and the glorious future, the resurrection of the dead, and on the eternal reward that is coming, knowing that your labour in the Lord is not in vain!
Amen.