1 Corinthians 15:50-58
50 “Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.51 Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will 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 will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.55 Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, 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 and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Flesh and blood: The perishable body is not ultimately compatible with Heaven. Therefore, we are given a new imperishable body. Paul, therefore, seems to be describing the physical body as a shell for our inner, spiritual nature. When we die, we are given a new resurrection shell for our spirit.
Last trumpet: Paul does not seem to believe that there is a long wait for believers to receive their resurrection bodies. Instead, it happens in the twinkling of an eye at the sound of the last trumpet.
Death has been swallowed up in victory: In a moment that which is invisible, our imperishable existence, will come into full reality at our resurrection. When this happens Christ’s victory over death, which occurred through the resurrection will come into full reality.
The power of sin is the Law: Paul contrasts the bondage to sin excited by the law with the victory given through Jesus Christ. Paul is likely mentioning this because the law is associated with sin, which is associated with death, and death has been utterly destroyed through Christ’s resurrection.
Labor is not in vain: Paul is encouraging an eternal perspective as believers experience persecution and hardship. Paul wants Christians to see this eternal reality in everything they do as they express the Holy Spirit.
