The Coming Victory

April 20, 2025|The Coming Victory|1 Corinthians 15:50-58

JD Cutler

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For the church Easter Sunday is such a morning of joy and celebration, as we celebrate our risen savior.

I pray that you have experienced that as we have sang together this morning.

We have sang lyrics like…

Oh to see my name written in the wounds For through Your suff'ring I am free Death is crushed to death life is mine to live Won through Your selfless love

I will not boast in anything No gifts no pow’r no wisdom But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection 

Is anyone able to break the seal and open the scroll The Lion of Judah who conquered the grave

The common theme throughout is both the death and the resurrection of our savior.

You see Easter is only a celebration because of what preceded it, the dark day of the crucifixion on Friday, the silent day and night of Saturday, and then bursting forth on Sunday morning, our savior lives.

I don’t know about you but I think Easter’s joy shines so brightly because of the darkness of death. That great looming enemy of humanity. Who here, except maybe some of our younger congregation, does not know the pain of death. Who here, has not tasted the bitterness of having a loved one ripped from this world by that cruel, unnatural, ever present, enemy?

It is the one thing that unites us across generations, nationalities, cultures, backgrounds, and socio-economic statuses. It is both the great enemy and the great uniter of humanity. This, is what makes the message of Easter such a powerful proclamation. Death does not get the final word.

A few weeks ago, we began looking at the fifteenth chapter of the book of 1st Corinthians, written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. A chapter where the Apostle focuses on the resurrection, both Christ’s past resurrection and the future resurrection of those who belong to Him.

I’d like to walk you through that chapter briefly this morning, leading up to where we will be in our text. 

(chapter 15)

The Resurrection of Christ-Paul begins by establishing the importance of the resurrection of Christ to the gospel, as well as establishing the assurance we have Christ is risen.

The Resurrection of the Dead-Next Paul connects Christ’s established resurrection to the resurrection of the dead. If Christ is raised, then believers will be raised, in their own time. He also calls the believers top live in light of the resurrected Christ and their future resurrection.

The Resurrection Body-Paul continues digging into the resurrection, answering questions about the nature of the resurrected body. His arguments include, that in nature, life often comes from death as well as the difference in what is sown and what is becomes. Additionally in nature there are different kinds of flesh, there are different kinds of bodies. All of this supports the assertion that the resurrected body will be different, from natural to spiritual, from being of dust to being of heaven.

Mystery and Victory-Paul now concludes his argument for the resurrection by addressing the coming resurrection, expounding on his statement verse 24-26. (The last enemy to be destroyed is death) From his argument from the sowing of the natural body, some might misunderstand and conclude that we will all die, so Paul addresses the coming resurrection for those who will still be alive. In that moment, the final enemy death will be swallowed up in victory. This is our foundation, this is our hope, and this is our future. 

Let’s pick up in verse 50 of chapter 15. We will read all eight verses and then go back through a few at a time, looking at three realities for those who put their faith in the risen Christ. 

1 Corinthians 15:50–58 ESV

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 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.

Our main idea this morning is this, if you don’t get anything else from today, please get this.

The promised victory believers have in Christ ought to motivate us to unwaveringly dedicate our lives to His service.

The first reality comes from verses 50 through 52, we will be…

I. TRANSFORMED FOR THE KINGDOM 

1 Corinthians 15:50–52 “50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 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.” 

In verses 42-44 that we looked at last week, Paul contrasted the physical body as perishable, dishonorable, and weak. While the spiritual body is imperishable, glorified, and raised in power. He contrasts Adam as the giver of our physical body and Christ the giver of our spiritual body, saying that just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. The reason Paul has labored on this distinctive between bodies is fully realized in verse 50, where he says, I tell you this, or as it is translated in other english versions, what i am saying is this. 

Here is his point. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Remember, in chapter 15 Paul has been arguing against those that say there is no resurrection of the dead. His final argument is then we are in trouble because we cannot inherit the imperishable kingdom of God as perishable flesh and blood or bearing the image of the natural man. There is a tension here we need to acknowledge.

Jesus says that his kingdom is not of this world. When he stood before Pontius Pilate he said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

So if Christ’s kingdom, here called the kingdom of God, elsewhere called the kingdom of heaven, if it is not of this world, how can those who are of this world fully participate in it, or as Paul says, inherit it?

We can’t, not fully.

We know there is an already and a not yet when it comes to the kingdom. We who belong to Christ are already being ruled spiritually in our hearts but there is coming a day when His kingdom will be fully manifested. If there is no resurrection from the dead, then we have no hope in participating in that kingdom.

But. There is a resurrection from the dead, this has been Paul’s whole argument in chapter 15.

If Christ is raised, we who belong to him will be raised. He is the firstfruits of the resurrection and will be followed by those who belong to him at his return. This is the encouragement the apostle has been giving for those who have seen their brothers and sisters in Christ die. They don’t have to mourn as those without hope, because the dead in Christ will be raised when Christ returns. Amen!

But, and the question naturally follows, what about those who are still alive when he comes. Whenever God’s timing is complete and Christ returns with that great shout and the last trumpet, what about those who are still alive? There will be a generation of believers alive when Christ returns, what about them? Paul has talked about the body sown like a seed, he has talked about what has been sown does not come to life unless it dies. If those who are alive at His return have not died, how will they participate in the resurrection?

Behold Paul says. In the Greek behold is an exclamative cry for attention. Paul says, don’t miss what I am about to tell you, pay attention. I tell you a mystery. (used of certain single events decreed by God having reference to his kingdom or the salvation of men)

We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed- did you know that is one of the most famous verses in the church, usually put up somewhere in the nursery. 

The word changed there can mean simply to change, or sometimes it is used to indicate an exchange, and here it is used with the idea of being transformed. In the verb form that Paul uses, it means literally to ‘become other’, to become something different than what we are, to be transformed. Sleep is a term that the NT uses for those who die in Christ.

So Paul says, we shall not all die, but we shall all be changed.

When will this happen? At the last trumpet. Jesus places this trumpet as the end of the great tribulation in Matthew 24 when he says.

English Standard Version Chapter 24

31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Paul describes it in 1 Thessalonians 4. 

English Standard Version Chapter 4

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. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

We do not need to understand the timeline of eschatological (or end time) events to grasp what Paul is saying here.

When God’s timing is complete and the Father declares that it is finished, the last trumpet will sound and Christ will return for his bride. This is the revelation of the New Covenant that was not fully revealed in the Old Covenant scriptures. 

Second, look at how fast Paul says this will happen. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.

Moment- Paul uses the greek word (at'-om-os) where we get the english word atom from. In Greek the word means that which cannot be divided. In essence, Paul says it will be instantaneous.

He describes it a second way to make sure that we understand the immediacy of the transformation, in the twinkling of an eye. The literal Greek word is in the jerk or stroke of the eye. Twinkling sounds better doesn’t it?

If Paul has in mind how quickly we can move our eye, or even how quickly we blink, we are talking about less than half a second, they are measured in milliseconds. Again, his point is that it will be instant. Before we could blink, we will be transformed. 

Every believer will be changed into the likeness and image of the man of heaven in a moment, in a flash, transformed, leaving behind this sinful body of flesh and putting on the resurrected body so that we may inherit or receive the kingdom of God that Christ secured for us in his death, burial, and resurrection. 

As I said a few weeks ago, every Sunday is a celebration of the risen savior, but on this Easter Sunday, when we especially focus our hearts and minds on the empty tomb and the risen Savior, we not only celebrate Christ’s victory over the grave, but we are reminded of our hope in Him, that all those who belong to Him will be transformed for the Kingdom when he returns. 

That which has been made for the earth, corrupted by sin, and redeemed through faith in Christ will be transformed for the kingdom of God. The victory of that day is what Paul turns his attention to next. Not only will we be transformed for the kingdom, our second reality this morning is that we will be…

II. TRIUMPHANT IN CHRIST

1 Corinthians 15:53–56 “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.” 

In verse 53, Paul restates  his application of verse 50. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

So the perishable body must put on the imperishable, the mortal must put on immortality.

The word must implies a necessity. Because of the nature of eternity, it is necessary that we be changed. Some after death and some in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, but all at the last trumpet. 

When this happens, when the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall victory over death be fully consummated. At Easter we celebrate the resurrection of Christ, often saying that he rose victorious over sin and death, and while that victory has been secured eternally, that victory has not been fully realized in time. 

Paul says when Christ returns, then it shall come to pass and quotes two Old Testament scriptures. 

Isaiah 25:8 “8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” Words which we find again in John’s Revelation. 

Revelation 21:1-4 (ESV) 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

This wonderful reality causes Paul to draw from another OT scripture, almost in a taunt. Hosea 13:14 “14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting?…

What a wonderful thought. Death, which has reigned from Adam on, death, who has been unbeatable for man, death which has overcome every Christian that has gone before us and if Jesus tarries will overcome us. This seemingly complete victory over man, will be reversed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye.

For the believer, death is not final, death does not claim victory over those who belong to Christ.

Paul cries out, death, you enemy of man, you vile robber of life, destroyer of families and fountain of grief, you unnatural thing, where is your victory?

Personifying death, Paul asks, at the resurrection of Christ’s people, where will your victory be then?

None who belong to Christ, none you have taken, none you have cut down will be yours, they will all be raised in imperishable immortality. 

How can Paul so clearly declare this victory in the present tense, even though believers will still die in this life? Talking about the future resurrection and it not having occured, what causes Paul such confident hope to declare death’s defeat?

Because Christ has been raised, we who are in him will be raised. Because of his confidence in a risen savior, he sees death already in the process of being defeated fully. 

You see it is Christ’s victory over death that we participate in, not our own. Paul says in verse 56, the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

In Romans, Paul’s most complete theological letter, he expounds on this reality. 

Romans 5:18–21 ESV

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Elsewhere in Romans he says, (ESV) 23 For the wages of sin is death. The just payment, or what we deserve for sin is death.

And elsewhere, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.The sting of death is sin, or to say it another way, sin is what brings death. Paul goes on and says the power of sin is the law. In Romans he describes it this way. Romans 7:5 (ESV) 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

God’s law reveals sin and therefore we are born under the law and stand condemned because of our sin, and furthermore, the more we understand God’s perfect law, the more fully we understand that we are sinful violators of that law in thought and deed. The Bible makes it clear that this is the condition of every single human being, condemned to death because of our willful sinful actions. Rightfully receiving what is due, not just physical death, but everlasting death, eternally separated from the Holy and Just God we rebelled against. 

But, Christ came, lived a righteous life of perfect obedience that we could not live, and then bore our sins on a Roman cross, both perfectly fulfilling the law of God and yet bearing the full weight of his people who had willingly violated God’s law. This is why Easter is so important. It was on that first Sunday morning when the tomb was found empty and the risen Lord appeared that we see that the lamb of God who bore the weight of the world’s sins was not crushed under it, but rose again victorious over it. Amen!

Because He lives, those who trust him in faith through the over-abounding, unfathomable, endless grace of God, can live again. So yes, friends, death may seem to win in this life, and if Christ tarries, we will all feel the sting of death, but in Christ it has lost its power. We are triumphant in Christ and Christ alone. 

Listen to Paul’s victory cry in Romans. 

English Standard Version Chapter 8

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,                   “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;       we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In all these things, tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword, we are more than conquerors. If the great enemy of death has been defeated, what is left to defeat us?

And if our physical death cannot separate us from Christ, what is there left to fear? This is the victory we have in Christ, who triumphed over sin, death, and the grave.

Which brings us to Paul’s conclusion, if all of this is true, then what does it mean for you and I today?

Our last reality is that we should be…

III. THANKFULLY STEADFAST IN THE PRESENT

1 Corinthians 15:57–58 “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.” 

verse 57 is the exclamation point on our last division, we have received victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Friends, what could that produce in you except a deep and abiding sense of gratitude?

Thanks be to God. Amen and Amen.

Therefore- So then, since we have such a gracious gift of victory through our Lord Jesus Christ over death, what should we do?

This is common in Paul’s writing, he will have a section of doctrine or teaching and then he will transition to application. In this case, he has given 57 verses of teaching and a singular imperative, or command. 

Who is Paul commanding? He says my beloved brothers. As many problems as he has addressed within the Corinthian body,  and as stern as he has been, he never operates out of anything but love for the church at Corinth. But Paul’s command is for more than just the Corinthian church, it is for anyone who has victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have the hope and assurance of victory over death in the final resurrection, this command is for you. 

So what is Paul commanding? I find this so interesting, and I hope you do to. The only imperative here is the little word ‘be’, which means to become. Paul says, if you are rooted in the truth of the gospel, if you have the hope of the Lord, become steadfast, immovable. Do you know why I love the word become? Because Paul calls us to make progress not achieve perfection. You can become more steadfast and immovable today. You can become even more steadfast and immovable the day after, and so forth. And if you stumble, you are not defeated, you take your mind back to the cross and the empty tomb, you firmly fix your trust and hope in Jesus Christ and you pick up where you left off, becoming more and more like your Lord. 

What does Paul call us to become?

Steadfast and immovable. These two words are closely related, and Paul may be simply stressing his point, but I think Paul is trying to tell us something as well. The two adjectives carry a very similar meaning, to be fixed firmly in place, unable to be moved, but their emphasis is slightly different. First, we must personally be fixed firmly, steadfast. We need to keep our minds and our hearts firmly focused in the faith of our coming resurrection.Second, we must resist being moved by others. Remember, this is the problem Paul is addressing, there were those in the Corinthian church that were questioning the resurrection and causing others to be unsettled. 

Paul says don’t let yourselves wander from the truth and don’t let anyone else cause you to wander from the truth of the gospel.

The Apostle Peter says something similar in his second epistle. 

2 Peter 3:14-18 (ESV) 14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Why?

Because, as both Paul and Peter say, when we are rooted and grounded in the scriptural truth of the gospel it allows us to abound in the work of the Lord or to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.With a strong foundation we are able to press on in kingdom work, fully assured of our future hope, knowing that in the Lord, our labor is not in vain. It is not wasted. 

There is coming a day when we will not only be raised, but the Bible says we will be rewarded as Paul said in chapter 3. 

1 Corinthians 3:8 “8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.” 

Friends, here is the Apostle Paul’s encouragement for us.

Death will not rob us of one penny of the rewards God will bestow on those who labor for his kingdom.

And because our future is secure, because our rewards are laid up in heaven, there is nothing to fear.

We are empowered to labor in the Lord, fully secure in our future resurrection in Christ. 

Gratefully steadfast, laboring for our Lord in full security and trust. This ought to be the reality for everyone who names the name of Christ. 

Are you becoming more steadfast in the faith? Are you abounding in the work of the Lord?If the reality of the victory of Christ over death is yours, this is what scripture commands of us.

Easter reminds us that the last enemy has been defeated, that there is coming a day when Christ will return and gather up those who belong to him, raising them to imperishable immortality. While we are here, we labor for the kingdom, faced with death, but not fearing it, because we trust in Christ. 

For those of you who know me, you know I am a Tolkien fan, or nerd, whichever you want to call it.

When I started preparing for this sermon, one scene from Lord of the Rings kept coming to mind.

There is a moment in the battle of helm’s deep where all hope is lost, the enemy is overwhelming the forces of good and their defeat seems inevitable. Enemy forces have taken all but the innermost room of the keep. Death is imminent and defeat looming, not just for them, but for the world of men. Then one of the characters mentions that it is almost dawn, as the light begins to shine in the window nearby, reminding Aragon of something Gandalf said, look to the east on the dawn of the fifth day and so the characters, trusting that promise, ride out against impossible odds to find a lone figure in white atop a white horse with the sun at his back and as he and the army he brought descends into the battle, light floods the dark and the seemingly unbeatable enemy is defeated. 

Tolkien included many scriptural themes in his writings, so it is not hard to see the parallel the filmmakers were going for.

Even when life seems to be hopeless, even when we are facing the seemingly insurmountable enemy of death, we who have the hope and promise of a risen savior, remember that he is returning for those who are is and death will be defeated.

We can charge forth, laboring for the kingdom because we know death is not final, because we know our savior lives.

Let us pray.