Read 1 Corinthians 15:29–58
Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57
The heavenly kingdom is not made for the kind of bodies we now
have: bodies of flesh and blood. So when Jesus returns, the bodies of
living believers will instantly be transformed to be like His body (vv.
50–54; 1 John 3:1–3), and the dead believers will be raised with new
glorified bodies.
Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychiatry, wrote: “And finally
there is the painful riddle of death, for which no remedy at all has
yet been found, nor probably ever will be.” Christians have victory
in death and over death! Jesus said: “Because I live, you also will live”
(John 14:19).
We share the victory today. The literal translation of 1 Corinthians
15:57 is, “But thanks be to God, who keeps on giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We experience “the power of
his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10). First Corinthians 15:58 is Paul’s hymn
of praise to the Lord as well as his closing admonition to the church.
Because of the assurance of Christ’s victory over death, we know that
nothing we do for Him will ever be wasted or lost. We can be steadfast
in our service, unmovable in suffering, abounding in ministry to others, because we know our labor is not in vain.
Something to Ponder
Do you have fears and concerns about death? If so, what are they?