July 14, 2024
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
“Total Transformation”
Service Overview: There is coming a day when those in Christ will be transformed in a way unlike any transformation experienced in this life, because this transformation will stick! While our physical bodies perish and fade on this fallen earth, those in Christ are promised new bodies that will last forever. And this was made possible through Christ’s death and defeat of death via the resurrection. Who’s ready for a new body?
Memory Verse for the Week:
“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.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (NIV)
Background Insights:
- Paul recognizes that the going has gotten a bit thick in verses 45–49, so he breaks off and starts again by summarizing his argument so far: “What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (v. 50). This sounds, of course, a good deal like what those Corinthians who denied the resurrection of the dead must have said; however, by this time in the argument, we recognize that Paul is simply reiterating his argument that the resurrection body must be imperishable (the same word has already been used in v. 42; cf. vv. 52–54) and therefore different in kind from our present bodies. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 273)
- (v. 52) In the Bible, trumpets are used for various purposes. The trumpet blast gathered the people of Israel to meet their God (Exod. 19:16-19; Isa. 27:13). It also was to herald the coming of the Day of the Lord—a time of fierce wrath and judgment on the earth (Joel 2:1). By referring to the “last trumpet,” Paul looks forward to the end times, the final gathering of the rescued saints prior to the judgments of the Great Tribulation (Rev. 3:10). (Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Corinthians, 253)
- Given the Corinthians’ tendency to divorce theology from ethics, Paul’s conclusion (v. 58) remains telling. It is just like him to conclude his discussion with very practical applications. Here he reminds us that it is the resurrection hope, and only this hope, that keeps believers in every place and time from despair and helps them stay faithful in Christian service. In fact, the resurrection demonstrates four sweeping principles that affect all of life: truth is stronger than falsehood, good is stronger than evil, love is stronger than hatred, and life is stronger than death. (Craig L. Blomberg, 1 Corinthians, 428)
What more could we possibly glean from Paul about resurrection and the afterlife from this text?
- Physical things, able to break, can’t fully participate.
(vv. 50-53 | Ecc. 12:7; Rom. 6:23; 14:17; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 John 3:4)
Our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These bodies cannot go into God’s eternal kingdom because these present bodies were not made to last forever—otherwise they would. (Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 235)
Contrary to the ideas that held sway in much of Hellenistic antiquity, we are not ethereal souls imprisoned in bodies. Rather, our identity is bound up inextricably with our bodily existence. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 278)
This statement about flesh and blood might seem contrary to Paul’s teaching earlier in this chapter that we will inherit the kingdom of heaven in new bodies. But note that Paul doesn’t say, “A body cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” We know that a body can inherit the kingdom of God, because Jesus himself ascended to heaven in a body, having been raised in bodily form (Acts 1:9). It should be remembered that when Jesus was resurrected, he did, in fact, have “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39), that is, a real physical body, though it had become perfect and immortal. (Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Corinthians, 251)
- Christ’s victory is our victory.
(vv. 54-57 | Ps. 16:10; Prov. 21:31; Is. 41:13; John 16:33; 2 Cor. 5:1; Heb. 11:16)
Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind. (C.S. Lewis, Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3)
Where the grave was once a period to close the sentence of life, Jesus has made it a comma. (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, 295)
Because of the assurance of Christ’s victory over death, we know that nothing we do for Him will ever be wasted or lost. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Wise, 169)
Those who bear the image of the man from heaven in their resurrected bodies (v. 49) will be set free not only from death, but from sin as well. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 276)
Never again will we grieve the loss of a loved one. Never again will we worry about terminal diseases. Never again will we cope with the frailties of old age. Never again will we plan funerals, execute wills, and worry about the loved ones we leave behind. Never again will we need to nurse the lingering emptiness and grief we feel when a spouse, a child, or a parent is taken from us by the enemy. On that day, death’s sting will be permanently gone. What a magnificent promise! (Charles R. Swindoll, Insights on 1 & 2 Corinthians, 254)
Conclusion… What’s Paul’s word for us in light of these truths?
A. Stand firm.
(v. 58 | Proverbs 3:26; Isaiah 41:10; Romans 8:37; 15:13; 2 Corinthians 3:5; Philippians 4:13; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 10:35-36; 13:6; James 1:2-4)
Those who affirm the truth of Christ’s resurrection will be given the moral confidence to live in a way that shows that their hope is not in vain. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 277)
In a culture that evades telling the truth about death, the teaching of the resurrection comes as a blast of fresh air. (Richard B. Hays, First Corinthians, 278)
Endurance in the midst of suffering, not success, health, or wealth, is the mark of a genuine Christian life. Furthermore, it is faith and hope in the midst of suffering, not miraculous deliverance from it, that display most clearly the all-sufficiency of God to a despairing world. (Scott Hafemann, The God of Promise and the Life of Faith, 167)
The fear of death is ingrafted in the common nature of all men, but faith works it out of Christians. (Vavasor Powell, A Puritan Golden Treasury, 71)
B. Give yourselves fully.
(v. 58 | Ps. 1:1-6; Mark 8:36; Rom. 12:1-2; Col. 3:2; 3:17; Heb. 4:11-13; 1 Peter 1:13)
The best use of one’s life is to spend it for something that will outlast it. (Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, 93)
We are saved by God’s grace when we believe in Jesus and put our faith in him, but biblical belief is more than something we confess with our mouths; it’s something we confess with our lives. (Kyle Idleman, Not A Fan, 104)
Because of the resurrection, nothing believers do for the Lord is in vain. (Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, 238)
We have the promise of the resurrection before us. We have the person of the resurrection above us. We have the power of the resurrection already at work within us. Until that day comes, when we are raised up or taken up, we each should use the body that we have now to do all the good we can for as long as we can, knowing we are getting ready for the body that is unlike any other body that has ever been born. (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, 296)
It is hard to imagine anyone suiting up for the (football) game without an awareness of the sometimes bloody struggle that is about to ensue. But I have yet to see a player remove his helmet and head for the stadium exit because he finds it all just too rough. Yet when it comes to Christian living, the field is evacuating quickly because the players have never read the rules nor understood the game plan. (Alistair Begg, Made For His Pleasure, 108)
Gospel Connection…
Want victory in life and over death? Turn to Jesus, whose victory is yours by faith in him.
(John 3:16-17; 6:40; 16:33; Romans 8:37; 1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 1:9)
Jesus never sinned, never broke God’s law. Yet he gave his life for ours at the cross, taking the sting out of death and, in coming out of his tomb, ensured his people will one day come out of their own. (Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in 1 Corinthians, 296)
Sin, death, and the law go together. The law reveals sin, and the “wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Jesus bore our sins on the cross (1 Peter 2:24), and also bore the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). It is through Him that we have this victory, and we share the victory today. (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Wise, 169)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- Do you believe that God has planted within every person a desire for an eternal existence after this life? Why or why not?
- What would you say to a skeptic who does not believe that a natural sinful body can become a supernatural spiritual body?
- How would you explain the major differences between the bodies we live in today and the bodies we will live in for all eternity?
- What does the certainty of our future resurrection say to us about both the life that is to come and the kind of lives that we are to live now?
Quotes to note…
We are burdened with this corruptible body; but knowing that the cause of this burdensomeness is not the nature and substance of the body, but its corruption, we do not desire to be deprived of the body, but to be clothed with its immortality… If Adam had not sinned, he would not have been divested of his body, but would have been clothed upon (superinvested) with immortality and incorruption, that his mortal (body) might have been absorbed by life; that is, that he might have passed from his natural body to the spiritual body. (Augustine, Cited in Philip E. Hughes, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, 171)
True belief in both heaven and hell radically changes the way we live on earth. We are encouraged by the hope of heaven, and we are compelled by the horror of hell. We know that this world is not all that exists. We know that every person on the planet is only here for a brief moment, and an eternity lies ahead of us all – an eternity that is either filled with ever-increasing delight or never-ending damnation. (David Platt, Follow Me, 87)
For the child of God, death is not the end but merely the door into a higher and more exalted life of intimate contact with Christ. Death is but the dark valley opening out into an eternity of delight with God. It is not something to fear, but an experience through which one passes on the path to a more perfect life. (Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, 76)
The day of our death is the day of our glorification. Death is the grand entrance, the door that swings into eternity. Eventually it will open in God’s time and in God’s way to let another child come home where he or she belongs. (Erwin Lutzer, One Minute After You Die, 133)
We pilgrims walk the tightrope between earth and heaven, feeling trapped in time, yet with eternity beating in our hearts. Our unsatisfied sense of exile is not to be solved or fixed while here on earth. Our pain and longings make sure we will never be content, but that’s good: it is to our benefit that we do not grow comfortable in a world destined for decay. (Joni Eareckson Tada, Heaven: Your Real Home, 112)
The biggest threat to the church today is fans who call themselves Christians but aren’t actually interested in following Christ. They want to be close enough to Jesus to get all the benefits, but not so close that it requires anything from them. (Kyle Idleman, Not A Fan, 25)
The Christian life is a positive allegiance to Jesus Christ. It is becoming so occupied with Him that the values and standards of the world around us have little influence. (George Sweeting, Who Said That? 146)
When you leave this world, will you be known as one who accumulated treasures on earth that you couldn’t keep? Or will you be recognized as one who invested treasures in heaven that you couldn’t lose? (Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle, 49)