What Should be the Result of the Resurrection?

© 3/19/26 by C. O. Bishop

1^st Corinthians 15:50-58

“⁵⁰ Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹ Behold, I shew 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 trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall 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 shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have 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 thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

 ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Introduction:

We have talked several times about the Importance of the Resurrection, and the Hope of the Resurrection, and how it applies to us, as believers. We need to examine how the Resurrection of Jesus, and the sure hope of our own resurrection should affect our lives as believers.

The Necessity of the Resurrection

For the vast majority of believers, the general rule given in Hebrews 9:27 holds true: “…it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Thus, for all practical purposes, we all die, as Paul confirms in Romans 5:12. And yet, he confides to us the mystery of the Rapture in 1^st Corinthians 15:50-53, and in the process, he shares the necessity of the resurrection.

God simply does not permit our natural, flesh-and-blood bodies to enter there. (That does raise a good question as to where Elijah and Enoch are currently existing, since neither of them died….) I cannot give you a solid answer to that question, but I can say, authoritatively, that at least as a general rule, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.”

So, one way or another, we have to “get past death” to arrive before the throne. And, as a general rule, all of us achieve that, as believers, simply by physically dying. Death separates our immaterial parts, (soul and spirit) from our material part…our physical, mortal body: the vehicle in which we travel Planet Earth.

But, here in this passage, Paul unveils a “mystery:” something that God previously had hidden, but which He is now allowing Paul to reveal.

We Shall Not All Die, but We Shall All be Changed!

The necessity of taking on immortality is the real hurdle. Usually, we do that, as believers, by dying, and inheriting immortality as a direct result of our position “In Christ.” But at the end of the Church Age, (which is simply a “parenthesis” between the 69^th and 70^th “weeks” of Daniel’s prophecy: See Daniel 9:23-27) something unusual occurs. God has chosen to remove all His followers at once: All those in Christ, both the living and the dead. We have read about that, recently, in 1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18. I encouraged you all to memorize that passage.

Why is this Transformation so Important?

This is the way that God is able to defeat the strength of Death. God said in Isaiah 25:8 “He shall swallow up Death in Victory…” And the Holy Spirit, speaking through Paul, said, “⁵⁴ So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have 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 thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

On that day, we will see God’s victory over death, in our own lives. But, if we look back and read 1^st Corinthians 15:26, we can see that Death will be the last enemy destroyed. And God will bring about that final victory at the Great White Throne judgment, when He will cast Death and Hell into the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:14)

The Sting of Death is Sin

Hebrews 2:15 points out that the fear of death has enslaved us all (to one degree or another) all our lives. An unbeliever might argue, saying, “But that is just the natural instinct for self-preservation! Even animals feel this!” And that may be true, but humans can choose to deny their instinct for self-preservation, and sacrifice themselves to save another, or they may commit suicide, because they are more fearful of life than of death.

But we humans have a problem, which the animals do not share. It is the awareness that we are guilty sinners. God has condemned the entire Human Race to eternal judgment. Unless we have received God’s only provision for redemption, that fear underlies all other fears. We recognize that God is the Eternal, Righteous Judge, and that we do not measure up to His Righteousness. Romans 3:23 confirms this truth, saying “For ALL have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” (That is why Adam and Eve fled from the voice of the LORD, as He was walking in the Garden in the cool of the day. They knew they were guilty.

How Did God Remove The Sting of Death?

But God says that in securing our salvation, and guaranteeing our resurrection, He has removed the “sting of Death,” and removed the “strength of Sin,” by fulfilling the Law on our behalf.  Galatians 2:19 says, “I, through the Law am dead to the Law, that I might live unto God.”

Jesus completely fulfilled the righteous judgment of God on our behalf, by dying as our representative. The moment you trusted in Jesus as your Savior, the Holy Spirit placed you into the Body of Christ. And by doing so, He permanently identified you with Jesus in His perfect life, His death, His burial, His resurrection, and His ascension. (Romans 6:1-5; Ephesians 2:6) In fact, He says we are already seated in the throne with Jesus. (Wow!)

So, What Effect Ought That Truth to Have in Our Daily Lives?

The first effect it truly ought to have, in 1^st Corinthians 15:57,is that we should be able to give fervent thanks to God for the victory that He brought about and which He gives to us, through Jesus! If you want to see how that victory is applied to your life, read 1^st John 5:4, 5. He says He has applied His victory to us through faith. And by that faith, He says that we have overcome the world. Does that mean that I will always “FEEL” victorious? No, it does not!

Feelings are not a reliable reflection or indication of Reality! Paul said (2^nd Corinthians 1:8) that during some of the trials he and his entourage went through, they “…despaired of life itself.” That does not sound like “feeling victorious!” But the reality… Thesimple fact, is that Jesus has already secured the Victory at the Cross! And our victory over sin and death is secure…in Him!

How Should We Then Live?

To begin with, as verse 57 pointed out, the giving of thanks should characterize our lives. We should be the most grateful people on Earth, regardless of our other circumstances, as we have already received Eternal Life.

Together, we recently read in 1^st John 5:11-13, that we not only already have eternal life, but God wants us to know that we already have eternal life. We are not “waiting to find out” whether we “made the team.” Ephesians 2:6 says we are already seated in the Throne in Heaven with Him.

And Verse 58 Says What The Result Should Be:

⁵⁸ Therefore, (as a direct result of the Resurrection) my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

• Steadfast: Firm, not wavering in Mind or action.
• Unmoveable: Not affected by the actions or arguments of the World around us.
• Always abounding in the Work of the Lord: Our lives belong to Him, so it makes sense that our primary objectives should match His primary objectives.

Jesus’s Example

In John 4:34, Jesus said, “My food is to do the Will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His Work.” This is a clear picture of “what motivated Jesus.” This was the focus of His life. It makes sense that if we are His disciples, our focus should be the same as His.

Give this some thought: A baby can’t be a disciple: he or she has not learned to walk, yet, or at least not reliably. Discipleship is what we are supposed to grow into, and not dawdle around about it. Ephesians 4:11-17 says we are to grow up into Him and not be tossed around by every new thing we hear, but rather, to be stable in our walk with Him. Think about the following:

• A baby cannot walk securely: Babies are very wobbly and unstable…they fall easily.
• Babies cannot talk clearly, and have very limited understanding to draw upon in talking.
• Babies cannot dress themselves: They need someone else to clothe them.
• A Baby cannot clean himself up when he has made a mess of any kind.
• Babies have not learned enough about the world they live in to be able to make good decisions and stay safe.

What is the Problem, Here?

There is nothing “wrong” with any of the above things, when the person in question is a baby: But babies are not supposed to remain babies. We are called to grow up:

• We are called to learn to walk with Jesus.
• As we learn the Word of God, we learn to talk: to speak His words clearly.
• As we grow, we learn to clothe ourselves in the armor of God. (Babies can’t use armor.)
• We go to 1^st John 1:9 and we confess our sins, so that God can cleanse us.
• We learn the principles of Life and Godliness, and we make decisions guided by God.

All of these “parallels” to normal human children are also realities in the Normal Christian Life. If a human child fails to learn the things we just listed, we are concerned because they are not progressing in a healthy way. We take them to a physician to find out why they are not developing at a normal pace. But, we should be even more concerned that believers are not learning to function as disciples. When a believer has no hunger for God’s Word, or for fellowship with other believers, there is something amiss.

Make it Personal!

We can examine our own lives and ask ourselves where we fit in: Am I walking with Jesus? Am I able to share the Grace of God coherently with others? Can I put on the Armor of God, (and do I know how to use it?) Do I quickly recognize sin in my life and immediately confess it to the Lord, so as to restore fellowship? (Or do I usually “wallow in it” for a while?) Finally, how do I make decisions? Have I learned the principles of God’s values well enough that they guide my thoughts and plans and His Word guides what I do and the choices I make?

All of these things result from Jesus’s Resurrection, but they also directly result from the reality Jesus accomplished at the Cross, and of your identification with Him.

Give these things some thought. God asks all of us to take it seriously.

Lord Jesus, raise us up to walk with You as Your true Disciples. Help us to set aside the traps and deceptive treasures of babyhood and seize upon the freedom and the true treasures and rewards of Discipleship.