We look at the second half of Paul's discussion of the resurrection body in Chapter 15. In it we find one of the most familiar, and most comforting, verses regarding the eventual death of death itself.
In yesterday's passage Paul compared the burial of our bodies to the planting of seeds. The seed we plant in the garden looks very different than what grows from it. The seed is often quite ugly and small, whereas the plant that rises from it may be a plant that provides food or it may be a plant that provides beauty. Our bodies are going to rise in the same way. Our mortal flesh that is so weak and so prone to sin will be planted in the earth to rise someday in a much more beautiful and glorious form. "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body." (1 Corinthians 15:42-44a)
Paul isn't saying we are resurrected in spirit only. In fact, that's the Gentile ideology he's been arguing against in this letter. Much of the Gentile world believed in a spiritual life after death, but most of them did not believe in a bodily resurrection. What Paul is saying is that the body we plant in the ground is the body that had the fallen nature; the body that rises has a spiritual (holy and incorruptible) nature. "If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: 'The first man Adam became a living being;' the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man." (1 Corinthians 15:44b-49) We have borne the image of the first Adam, the one who fell from grace. We who are in Christ (who is the last Adam) will bear the image of the One who is perfect and sinless.
"I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed---in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality." (1 Corinthians 15:50-53) Corinth was a Roman colony, and it was a practice of the Roman military to blow three trumpet calls as an army broke camp. The first trumpet told the soldiers to take down their tents and pack up, the second trumpet told them to line up, and the last trumpet was the order to move out. Many Bible scholars think this is the practice Paul is referring to when he mentions the last trumpet. A day is coming when Christ will call those who are His to move out of this world. When this happens, those who have already died in faith will rise from the grave in immortal bodies, and those who are still living will experience an immediate change from a mortal body to an immortal body. Just like a soldier who dresses in his military gear and moves out when he gets his marching orders, we too must put on the proper "clothing" when we move out.
"When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: 'Death has been swallowed up in victory.' 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?'" (1 Corinthians 15:54-55) He quotes Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14. Both these prophets were speaking of the eventual destruction of death itself. We are going to receive bodies that can never die. Death is already a defeated foe, so the prophets were able to say to this enemy, "You are powerless! You aren't even real! The only thing you are able to kill is these mortal bodies, but you aren't able to stamp out our existence. Even while absent from the body, our souls are alive, and our souls will someday be reunited with our bodies which will be like our Lord's body. So why do you brag about what a mighty foe you are? You've already lost the fight."
"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Corinthians 15:56-57) Sin came into the world and this necessitated the giving of the law to deal with sin. But we don't have to live under the power and penalty of sin. Through Christ we have redemption for our sins. Because we are in Christ, the sting of sin is taken away, for when we die we are not going to our judgment but are going to be with the One who redeemed us. When we die we are with Christ while we are absent from the body. (2 Corinthians 5:8) And on resurrection day our bodies will rise incorruptible to be reunited with our souls. So where is the sting of death for the believer? It does not exist. Death is merely the vehicle that delivers us to our God and King.
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