Final Victory

1 Cor 15:50 – 58

 

Connection/Tension

I just spoke at my aunt’s funeral on Tuesday. A week before that on a video call with her, I said goodbye. It was clear death was claiming her body.

Most of us in this room our past our physical prime. Therefore, every day, our life edges a bit closer to dying, and the evidences gradually mount with each passing year. Try as we might to fight against death- we eat multiple times a day, many of us exercise, or take supplements- it inevitably gets the upper hand and defeats us. We are in a fight we cannot win. Being in a fight we cannot win often gives us a sense of despair and meaninglessness- one that the cultural narratives around us fuel.

How do we fight against the despair that comes from the inevitability of death and live fully with meaning, not regretting a moment, and not paralyzed by the fear of death even for a moment? In other words, how can we gain a victory over death in this life by letting another reality, other than the fact that we are dying, shape us?

And if you don’t think that you are shaped by the reality that you are dying in unhealthy ways, listen to this quote from the book Practicing the Way,

“Western culture is arguably built around the denial of death through the coping mechanism of distraction.”[1] If you are addicted to distraction at any level- all kinds of screens and entertainment, our culture of death denial and avoidance has shaped you as well and you are not living the full and meaningful life God means for you to.

Context

We’ve heard three sermons on death so far, and this text is Paul’s climactic finish! Let’s hop in, 

Revelation

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

Paul begins his final thoughts on death by reminding the Corinthians of something. It’s not something they are ignorant of, but something they should remember anew: those who are dying cannot give themselves life, those who are perishing cannot make themselves live.

In our “flesh and blood” that is, in our bodies in this disordered world of death, we cannot produce the life or the hope we need to endure. Our deepest longings will remain unfulfilled. There is nothing of meaning worth devoting ourselves to. We might as well give ourselves to momentary pleasures since that’s all we have left if the grave is coming swiftly for us.

Our modern world, further separated than ever from spiritual things, seems to become more aware of this every year. Could any word other than “despair” better describe the cultural mood and climate of our late modern culture? Have people ever been so isolated and devoted themselves to private pleasures as they do now? Has we ever seen such plummeting mental health?  

Yes, our bodies are dying- yet in another way, so many of us have already died the death of despair. Our hearts have died since this world, if it’s all we have to hope in, kills whatever expectation or life would otherwise be within us.

Some of you have been in dark places where there seemed like there was no way out; some have contemplated suicide; some who are listening might be there right now. Despair is in the air and we need an answer to it if we are going to escape the dismal mood and meaninglessness of our culture.

And that is precisely what God provides us through Paul,

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.

Paul speaks to our hopelessness with “a mystery.” In the Bible, a mystery is something we can’t figure out on our own- God must tell it to us. Another word for “mystery” is “revelation.” Paul is going to give us a glimpse of reality, the truth behind the curtain of the world, to dispel the despair that would otherwise set in.

First, “we shall not all sleep,” that means, die. There will be some alive at the time of the return of the king who will never suffer death. There will be others who will die. The metaphor of sleep for death captures the temporary nature of its condition for God’s people.

What then will happen for God’s people instead of permanent death? We Will All Be Changed. The way this world is and the way you are is not the way things will always be.

Death will either consume you or change you- it will unmake you or remake you, depending on if you know the man from heaven. If in fact death changes you, it will be the most wonderful of all things.

Now, look at the manner of this coming transformation: It will happen in a moment- or the twinkling of an eye. Calvin points out that the eye is the fastest moving body part. I think the idea Paul is getting at here is the surprise of it all, like a sudden catch of the breath at something wonderful.   

Have you ever daydreamed what it might be to speak to someone you love who has died? This sudden turn, this surprise, will be as if you were reminiscing about being with this person, and you don’t understand how, but you suddenly find yourself in a happier time and place with this person alive and well.

Except, the person we will go to most of all will be the king Jesus and alongside with us will be our dearest spiritual family whom we lived and suffered with.

One day, you’ll find yourself in an orchard on a warm, sunny day with a steam bubbling nearby- and you strangely won’t be able to remember what made you sad or afraid anymore or what it’s like to be lonely. We shall all be changed.

This will all happen at a trumpet blast- that is the royal summons of the Lord Jesus of his people to gather to him. So mighty will be this summons that even the dead will answer and come forth as did Lazarus from his tomb when Jesus commanded him to come.

In the back of our minds, we will have a warm sense of confidence that this will never end- that we have arrived at “imperishability.” We won’t know whether to laugh, cry, sing, dance, or just to stand in amazement.

53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

How I love this word, “must”! Not, “should,” or “hopefully” or “possibly,” but “must!” There is necessity behind the resurrection of God’s people from death. If our resurrection is the result of the resurrection of king Jesus, then the degree to which he was victorious over death is the degree that it is necessary for us to rise. Was the Lord Jesus victorious? Then to that degree, it is necessary that we who trust in him, who belong to him, will experience the same victory. Our victory is that we will put on glorious versions of our bodies just as Jesus did with his own following his resurrection.

When this necessary victory is complete, and all is accomplished, it will fulfill the ancient words of the prophets who anticipate this very thing,

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?”

“Death is swallowed up in victory” is a quote of the prophet Isaiah chapter 25 when he foretells a day where God defeats the enemies of his people. Yet, his victory is so complete that he even defeats their most ultimate and long lasting enemy- death. Then comes this epic line that “death is swallowed up.”

The word, “swallowed” describes a deadly animal or monster devouring its prey. [2] The word “sting” also refers to a dangerous part of an animal that can bring death.[3] In other words, Paul is portraying death as a devouring or deadly animal- like the serpent of old who first brought it into God’s world and devoured the lives of our first parents.

So then, for death to be “swallowed” is a grand irony indeed! The monster dead comes after us to devour us. Yet, when our champion Jesus steps forth to defend us, it is not he or we who are devoured, but death. The devouring animal gets devoured. The stinging monster gets stung.

You could imagine an enormous snake about to devour your own child or a child you love. Think what hatred and spite you would feal toward that fowl beast. Think what elation and joy you would feel if it was suddenly snatched away and ripped apart instead and your child was safe. Death is an enemy whom we must rejoice at its downfall!

Jesus was “stung” by nails that pierced his wrists and feet. He was “consumed” by mockery and hatred from the crowds. Yet, on the third day, he strode forth from the grave and left death defeated in his place. His resurrection is the picture of his total victory over his opponent death- and a picture of our coming victory as his people.

His victory is so complete that the Apostle Paul references these words from the prophet Hosea,

55            “O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

Here we have words that are quite spectacular- we have words that are taunting death. [4] The Lord Jesus won so greatly, that all that’s left to do is to taunt. Taunting usually crosses a line- yet with this hated enemy of us all, that comes for us and takes everything from us and leaves us decaying beneath the Earth- I love to hear this taunt.

You are meant to feel anger and hatred as a human. You are not supposed to feel it towards other humans, but rather toward what is destroying humans, and so Paul taunts death.

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

Paul now speaks of the process that the Lord Jesus reverses. The “sting of death” that is, the mechanism that brings death to us is our own sin. The serpent deceived us into authoring our own deaths by our own choices.

“the power of sin” comes from the law. That likely means that God’s law arouses our sinful impulses and reveals them.[5] We rebel with even greater evil because there is a law to rebel against. So, our rebellion to law brings about our sin which produces death.

Yet, this process into death is no longer the case for God’s people! Jesus has overcome sin and the resistance in our hearts towards God’s law and sent us on a path towards life and intimacy rather than one towards death and destruction.

57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

My friends, we must refine victory for ourselves. Victory is not ultimately getting the job you want, getting your house completely clean and under control, it’s not marrying the right person, having the right friendships, or going on the right vacations. It’s knowing the one who conquered death and then rising with him at the end of all things! This is the one great victory we align our lives behind. Here is what this looks like in the day to day,

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.

“Therefore” means this is the lifestyle that’s the consequence of king Jesus’s victory. For the Christian, the biggest reality in the world shapes everyday life, down to the grittiest details. That’s how our lives become holy in an unholy time.

“Be steadfast, immovable,” We live with defiance towards our evil age and the temptation to live for momentary pleasure rather than everlasting reward. You cannot follow Jesus without grit- the opposition is too great. And, if you are regularly losing to your demons and temptations, I submit to you that part of the answer is to pray for and then live in greater spiritual grit and toughness. The Lord Jesus slew death with ferocity and power, and he calls us to follow him in every way, meaning we must also live with an inner strength and gravity that does not yield to opposition- either temptation within or without. Do someone need to ask God for that this morning, I wonder?

So, then, if you are steadfast and immovable against every temptation, what then are you giving yourself to? An abundance of God’s works. We ruthlessly destroy sins footholds in our life so that we can abound in being with the Father, loving his family, and making disciples.

“knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” This statement gets back to where we started the sermon- that battle against despair. If there is no resurrection at the end of it all, sacrifice in the present is meaningless. You are left with nothing but indulgence in the present as your only path toward meeting your deepest needs. If you functionally live like there is no resurrection, you are functionally living in despair and slowly committing spiritual suicide. Living without surrender and without sacrifice means you are living according to the desires of this world and of your sinful flesh and they are robbing you of God’s endless pleasures.

 If there is indeed resurrection at the end, then in spiritual sacrifice for king Jesus is the best way in the world to spend you life- because you get it all back and more.

The evidence says that you are temporary, and you are dying, so you might as well get as much as you can right now because that’s all you have. We defy that narrative. Matthew Dickerson, a Tolkien scholar, calls us into, “not a hope that denies reality, but one that sees more of reality.”[6]  We can see more than just the fact that our bodies our dying; we also see that our Lord Jesus is living. And if our Jesus is living, we can defy the lie that all we have is what’s right in front of us. We can pass through suffering to make the sacrifices necessary to obey and love. We can trust that this is just a prelude to the story that beings after we rise.  

How have you given into despair, especially in the form of distraction, rather than feeding your soul with the true story that you will rise again? I thought my attention was more free of the news cycle than I’ve found it out actually is lately. Yet, I don’t need everything to be fixed in this world here and now if my life belongs to another one. And ironically, when I’m freed from preoccupation with this life, I can pour my life out to make the biggest difference possible before I die in a few years and then rise with Christ forevermore.

Let’s pray.

 

[1] Comer, John Mark. Practicing the Way (p. 84). PRH Christian Publishing. Kindle Edition.

[2] William Arndt et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 524.

 

[3] Ibid, 539.

 

[4] Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, ed. Ned B. Stonehouse et al., Revised Edition., The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014), 890.

 

[5] Calvin, John. Calvin’s Commentaries on I and II Corinthians. Second Volume. Translated by Henry Beveridge. Vol. XX. BakerBooks, 2009.

 

[6] Following Gandalf, 143.