1 Corinthians 15:50-58, “Death is Destroyed!”

The Hymn “Because He Lives” has a wonderful refrain:

Because He lives I can face tomorrow. Because He lives all fear is gone. Because I know He holds the future and life is worth the living just because He lives.

Think about that! Because Jesus lives, we can have a better life now. Because Jesus lives, we have eternal life. Because Jesus lives, we will see our departed loved ones who also belong to Him.

Jesus Christ provides hope for today and tomorrow. Christianity is much more than just waiting around to die in order to go someplace better.

Paul is describing the difference between the bodies we are in now, and the resurrection bodies we will be given for Heaven. This is indeed a “mystery,” i.e., “the secret counsel,” the “hidden message of God,” something unknown until the Lord revealed it to Paul.

Our bodies are mortal and are not designed for Heaven; so, for those who are going to heaven, our bodies must be changed! That is what Paul says is saying (vv. 35-49), that although we die, we will be raised in a body like Christ was, a new and perfect body.

Death is a door of hope for those who know the Lord, allowing the spirit to be free from the prison of this body to await the day when the body is resurrected from the grave or changed in flight as we ascend into heaven, as did Jesus.

Verses 50-53... Paul reveals the truth that some of the Lord’s people will not have to pass through the door of death, but that they will be “changed,” “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye,” (1Thessalonians 4:16-17).

When that moment comes, Jesus will call His redeemed people home to be with Him- the dead will rise first in their resurrection bodies; the living will then be instantly changed, and we all will go up together to meet the Lord Jesus in the clouds. This great “mystery” was revealed to the believers in the New Testament.

The word “flash” (v. 52, NIV) is rendered “moment” (NASB), from the word from which we get “atom,” referring to “something that is indivisible.” And so this speaks of the “smallest amount of time imaginable.”

The word “twinkling” was often used to refer to “the flap of a wing; the buzz of a gnat; or the twinkling of a star.” Note: Scientists have estimated that a blink of the eye takes place in 1/30th of a second. A twinkle of the eye takes place in 1/10,000th of a second.

In other words, when Jesus comes for us, it will be instantaneous; it will not be a process, but will happen so fast it will be over before we even know it started! One moment we are here and the next we are gone! It makes no difference whether we are dead in the grave or alive on the earth; all of God’s people will be taken away suddenly! That is why Jesus said (Matthew 24:44), “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Notice, verse 51 uses the words “we” and “all” - referring to those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. Only those who trust in Christ will be given their heaven suits, i.e., Jesus is coming for those who have been “born again,” (John 1:12-13; 3:3-7, 16-18). If that doesn’t describe you, then you need to get right with God, right now, through His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 10:9-10, 13).

Those who are left behind at the Rapture won’t even realize what has happened, but they will remain in their lost, without Jesus. Those are left behind, will enter the Great Tribulation, where they will experience the closest thing to Hell on earth before they die and go to Hell for all eternity.

That is not a happy thought, but it is the truth (Hebrews 9:27), “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” If you have never trusted in Jesus, do it now, make sure you are ready for His return!

God says there is coming a day when those who died in faith (v. 52), “shall be raised imperishable [incorruptible].” They may have died of old age, or from cancer, or in a fire, or plane crash, but they will be raised with a body that can’t get sick or die. Your loved ones are not gone forever if they belonged to Jesus, for He will bring them back to life by glorifying their bodies and you will see them again!

Paul says “we will be changed,” meaning “one thing will cease and another will begin,” one minute we are here, the next we are there,for we are going to “put on” a new redeemed body and a new life.

The last sound we will hear before this happens will be the sound of God’s trumpet, calling us up to meet Him! No wonder John writes (Revelation 22:20), “Come Lord Jesus!”
Verses 54-57... Our greatest enemies will be defeated: death and the grave, sin and the Law. The Bible says “the sting of death is sin,and the power of sin is the law.” But, in Jesus, we have victory over sin, death, the grave, and the Law.

Sin devastates our lives and dooms us to Hell, it separates us from the Lord and corrupts every part of our lives, but in Jesus, sin is defeated! For although the law shows us that we are sinners, revealing our true nature as lawbreakers, in Jesus the Law is fulfilled and we are free from accusation (Romans 3:21-26; 6:23).

To those in Jesus, there is no longer any power in sin, death, the grave, or the Law, for we have victory in Jesus, and (Romans 8:1), “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

God’s Son came to this world, put on the flesh of Jesus, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and rose from the dead on the third day, just like He said He was going to do (Matthew 16:21), “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”

When the Lamb of God suffered death on the cross and then rose from the grave, death was no longer a threat to those who trust in Christ (John 11:25-26), "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die,” (2Corinthians 5:1-5).

Jesus came to this world as the Son of Man, although He was the Son of God. He perfectly kept the Law, not failing at one point, and so He fulfilled the Law, destroyed sins power, and saved all who will believe in Him.

Verse 58... Because of all that Jesus did for us, we are to take our stand for Him, to live our lives for Him, refusing to be minimized or marginalized from speaking out for Him, or moved from where He wants us to be.

For you see, this world is not all there is for us. We have a special purpose, and we have God’s provisions to accomplish what He wants us to do.

We are here to bear fruit for the Lord, for it is Him working through us (John 15:5, 8), "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

As we yield to Him, He will live through us, as we honor Him, He is glorified and His will is done (Ephesians 2:10), “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Paul is saying that to live for Jesus is our purpose. Christ has conquered all our enemies through His own death and resurrection; therefore, we need not fear the Law or sin, or death or the grave, for we have a risen Savior, through whom we have received forgiveness for sins and eternal life.

You see, the good news is that Christ was victorious on the cross, and out of the tomb, and therefore we can give ourselves fully to His work, allowing Him to live through us (Galatians 2:20), “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

We will receive resurrection bodies in the presence of the Lord, along with all our loved ones who have died in the Lord, and we will enjoy a new heaven, a new earth, and a new universe forever, never again will there be death, disease, or pain.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.