1 Corinthians 15:50-58 (NIV)
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. 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?”
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.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Paul has made a complete argument in favor of the resurrection and eternal life and has given some idea of the indescribability of the resurrection body. Now he turns his final attention in this section to the fate of those who are still alive at the time of Jesus’ return.
The word mystery in the biblical sense is not something that must be investigated and solved. Instead, it stands for something that is not discoverable at all by human senses or human logic. It must be revealed to our hearts by the Holy Spirit or we will never even know that it exists, let alone have any chance of understanding it. And even after the Spirit reveals it to us, the mystery is often not entirely comprehensible to the human mind.
The mysteries is that when Jesus returns, those who have died will be raised in their new, imperishable, resurrection bodies. And at the same moment, in the blink of an eye, those who are still alive shall be transformed, receiving our new bodies on the spot.
This is essential, and makes perfect sense, because our physical bodies are doomed to decay and death. The problem is solved through transformation. Our new bodies will not be subject to sickness, decay, infirmity, or death, designed instead to live forever in God’s presence.
In that single moment, death will be swallowed up in victory, taken out of the way so that it never intrudes again. And at the same moment, the law will be done away with. All that will remain will be the invitation, no longer the command, to love God with all our entire being, something that all of us who have been gathered around His throne for all eternity will do willingly.
Father, what an amazing “mystery”. It does seem impossible in this world, but all things are possible with You, and You always keep every promise You have made to us. Help us all, as Paul urges, to keep our focus continually on the future You have planned for us, so that we can keep moving Your plan forward in your power, until we see that glorious day! Amen.