1 Corinthians 15:50-57
Our Final Victory
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Context
- Why can’t ‘flesh and blood inherit the kingdom of God’? (John 1:12-13, 3:3-6, Matthew 16:17, 1 Corinthians 15:42-44)
Reflection
- What happens when the last trumpet sounds? How quickly will it all happen? (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 2 Peter 3:10)
- How is ‘death swallowed up in victory’? (Isaiah 25:8, 2 Corinthians 5:4, 1 Peter 5:8) Where is death’s sting? (Hosea 13:14-15, Hebrews 2:14, Revelation 1:18)
- What’s so deadly about sin-that Paul calls it ‘the sting of death’? (Romans 3:10-13, 23, 6:23, James 1:15)
- How is the law ‘ the strength of sin’? (Romans 7:7-14, Galatians 3:10-13, 24)
- To Whom do we give thanks, and through Whom does our victory come? (Psalm 100:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, John 19:30, Romans 8:37, Philippians 4:13, 1 John 5:4, Jude 24, 25)
Testimony Time
- How ready am I for that trumpet to sound?
- What in my life right now is keeping me from living in His resurrection victory? (Psalm 37:4, John 15:5, Romans 6:8-14, Galatians 5:16)