The Victory Of Christ's Resurrection
THE VICTORY OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (ESV)
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 imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Happy Resurrection Sunday to everyone! If you have been a believer for many years now or had been a part of BCI for quite some time, for sure, you are a little bit uncomfortable celebrating the Resurrection Day of Jesus Christ at your own home. With my more than twenty plus years of being the pastor of BCI, this would be the first Resurrection Day that we didn’t have a big musical concert. Yes, we are all missing the trimmings or side dishes, but we should not be missing the main event and the main reason why we are uniting today to worship – To celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
Without a doubt, if there was ever a time we desperately need to be reminded about it, it would be our time today – when life is truly hard and uncertain, when people are in so much pain and heartache, and deaths are all around us. This is really the best time to remind ourselves about our great and sure hope in Christ, which is clearly demonstrated through His resurrection from the dead.
When you examine the New Testament, it is quite evident that the resurrection of Jesus Christ became the most important message of the apostles. For example, on the day of Pentecost, after the Holy Spirit came and filled the early believers, Peter stood up and preached to thousands of people declaring that the crucified Christ was raised from the dead as David had prophesied in the book of Psalms (Acts 2:24-35). As a result, this preaching resulted to about three thousand people (3,000) believing in Jesus Christ, Then, you also have the apostle Paul declaring in the book of Romans that if there was something that will really prove the deity of Jesus Christ, it would be His resurrection.
Romans 1:3-4 (ESV) 3 Concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Notice the statement in verse 4 – “declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.” So, in other words, if there’s anyone who is wondering if Jesus is really God Himself, His resurrection totally proves it. Why? This is impossible for any human to do. Only God could do it!
This leads us to the biggest resurrection chapter in the New Testament, which is 1 Corinthians 15. In here, the apostle Paul thoroughly tackled the doctrine discussing why it is so important for us to believe it. You see, during those days, there were some Christians in the church of Corinth who were denying the possibility of a bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yes, they believed in life after death, but simply in a spiritual existence and not a bodily resurrection. For this reason, Paul spent a great amount of time explaining and proving it. In fact, he identified to them in verses 12 to 19, the six direct results of rejecting this doctrine. Here are they:
Their preaching was in vain (v.14)
Their faith was in vain (v.14)
The apostles were false witnesses (v.15)
The Corinthian believers were still in their sins (v.17)
The believers who died in Jesus have perished (v.18)
The Christians who placed their hope in Christ were of all people to be pitied (v.19)
Obviously, this doctrine is very much the goal why Christian churches have set aside a specific time every year to celebrate this event – In order that we can continually appreciate what Jesus Christ has accomplished through His resurrection.
This morning, in light of our present situation, I thought it would be fitting to study together 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, emphasizing the theme - THE VICTORY OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION. Clearly, this is directly drawn from the words of verse 57, saying, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” What kind of victory are we talking about? Allow me to show this revelation to you by explaining three precious doctrines tied to our victory in Jesus:
I THE CULMINATION OF THE VICTORY (vv. 51-52)
In these two verses of our text, first, the apostle Paul summarizes the basis of our greatest hope in the resurrection by talking about the culmination of our victory, which is the “Rapture of the Church” or the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Of course, we don’t see the word, “rapture” in these verses. However, if you compare this passage with 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, it would be noticeable that Paul was talking about the same event.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 (ESV) 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Both passages address the concern about those who “fell asleep” in Jesus. This was the common description that Paul used to refer to believers who died believing in Jesus. Apparently, he did it to magnify the fact that it was a temporary state. Generally speaking, when someone is sleeping, they wake up after a while. The same is true for all the believers in Christ because of His victory over death.
I would like us to pause and think of the tragedy of death for a second. You see, more than the decay the dead body will experience, death is most tragic because it brings separation between the one who died and the ones he or she has left behind. Then, if a person is not a believer in Christ, death will ultimately bring the eternal separation from God. These are all the things that Jesus Himself had taken away when He victoriously overcame death. The decomposition of the body and the separation from loved ones and God have been removed because of Christ’s victory over death.
Going back to the “rapture of the church,” Jesus has appointed this event to be the time for all believers to be resurrected into their glorified form. With the word “rapture,” this teaching was directly taken from the phrase of 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “will be caught up.” The word “rapture” is a transliteration of the Latin word “rapturo,” which literally means “caught up” or “take away.” So, during the second coming of Jesus Christ, all of those who died in him will be resurrected and will be transformed. But, the transformation will not be limited to those who already died in Christ. This glorious change will also include those who are alive when Jesus Christ returns – “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”
Now, in verse 51, Paul mentioned that this is a “mystery.” Well, in the New Testament, whenever this particular word is used, it is always a reference to a truth that was hidden to the Old Testament prophets, but it was revealed to the believers in the New Testament. So, the resurrection of the believers who are still alive when Jesus returns will be changed and transformed. This truth was not revealed to the great prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, and others. But it was revealed to us. Thus, we can eagerly look forward to it.
I would like also to highlight the words in verse 52, “in a moment” and “in the twinkling of an eye.” Both of these phrases suggest that our resurrection will happen quickly. It has been said that the “twinkling of an eye” is the fastest and the quickest movement of the human body. Just imagine, as Christ enters the first heaven, probably, in less than a second, this very exciting event will be over.
Today, with everything that is going on, with life on earth going harder and harder, I would not hesitate to say that the world stage is very much set for the second coming of Jesus Christ when all the saints in Christ will be resurrected. I hope you are actively preparing for it.
II THE CONVERSION OF THE VICTORS (vv. 53-57)
As we come to our next point highlighting verses 53-57, the main discussion will center on the conversion of the human body from perishable into imperishable bodies and from the mortal into immortal bodies. The first part of these verses says, “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
When we analyze the descriptions used in these verses regarding the conversion that will take place with the human bodies, you will find that Paul was directly addressing the two groups of believers who will participate in the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
A. Those who died in Christ
When Jesus returns, there will be believers who died and their bodies had already experienced decomposition or decay. So, to them the apostle Paul said, “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable.”
B. Those who are alive in Christ
The second group of believers is those who are alive and are subject to death. However, when Jesus returns, their conversion will also take place. To them, Paul said, “this mortal body must put on immortality.” Again, although these believers did not experience death, they will experience the change in their bodies.
Therefore, all believers will experience a glorious change during the second coming of Jesus Christ. In fact, the quality of our imperishable and immortal bodies will be as glorious as what Christ himself possessed after His resurrection. Paul stated this plainly in Philippians 3:20-21 (ESV):20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Notice the phrase in verse 21, “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.” This should be one of the reasons why we should look forward to our resurrection. We will have the same glorious body that Jesus has today.
If you are wondering what a glorified body looks like. Dr. Henry C. Thiessen enumerated four significant descriptions of it:
It was a real body that could be touched and with flesh and bones (Matt. 28:9; Luke 24:39).
It was recognizable as the same body, not another (John 20:27; Luke 24:41-43; Rev.1:7).
The body is different because it can pass through closed doors and does not need to eat or sleep. (John 20:19).
He is now alive forevermore (Romans 6:9-11; 2 Tim. 1:10)
Going back to the text, after Paul emphasized these glorious transformations of the believers, he would, then, plainly declare the victory that Jesus gained over death, saying, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Death has been rendered powerless by Jesus Christ and should no longer be considered as dreadful by the believers. Why? It is because Jesus has removed its “sting” or the “pains” attached to it. Yes, I know we experience some pains in our hearts when we lose a parent, a son or daughter, a sibling, or a friend. But it is not as painful; it does not cut as deep if they are believers in Christ, because we know that the separation is just for a short time and is temporary. We can always look forward to the time when we will be reunited with them for eternity. As someone has aptly said: “The Christian does not consider death to be the end of his life, but the end of his troubles.”
III THE COMPULSION OF THE VICTORS (v. 58)
Lastly, Paul concludes this resurrection chapter with a challenge concerning on how we as believers should live while waiting for our resurrection day. I refer to this hope as “compulsion” because I want us to treat our prospect of the resurrection as our “driving force” in living for Jesus Christ. Paul said, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Obviously, with the conjunction, “Therefore,” it is clear that the coming exhortations in this last verse are direct results of our victory in Jesus Christ. Now, because He was not passive, but was active in helping us overcome our greatest problem, which is death, then, it should affect how we live today. How?
A. Be Steadfast and Immovable
When Paul started with chapter 15, his exhortations in verses 1-2 was that the believers should “stand” and “hold fast” in the Word. So, he returns to them at the end and says the same thing. As believers, we should never waiver and abandon our faith and commitment towards Jesus Christ. In difficult and challenging times, we should never doubt the Word of God, but hang on to them. We need to continually believe that we will be victorious in our present battles because Jesus has already won the fight.
B. Be Superabundant in Service
Next, since we are going to live forever and what we are doing today will be appropriately rewarded in heaven, it should be our highest incentive to excel and overflow in our services to God.
How are you living your life today? Are you reflecting Christ’s resurrection victories in your day-to-day life? Remember, there is a huge connection with our belief in Christ and our behaviors today. Bill Gaither perfectly captures this truth in the chorus of his hymn, “Because He Lives:”
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
-Dr. Jeremiah Leapsana