What Our Bodies Will Be Like 1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed The answer is in the form of a mystery. As previously stated, a mystery is a truth previously unknown, but now revealed by God to the apostles and made known through them to us. We shall not all sleep, that is, not all believers will experience death. Some will be alive when the Lord returns. But whether we have died or are still alive, we shall all be changed. The truth of resurrection itself is not a mystery, since it appears in the OT, but the fact that not all will die and also the change of living saints at the Lord’s Return is something that had never been known before. 1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. The change will take place instantly, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. The last trumpet here does not mean the end of the world, or even the last trumpet mentioned in Revelation. Rather, it refers to the trumpet of God which will sound when Christ comes into the air for His saints (1 Thess. 4:16). When the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. What a tremendous moment that will be, when the earth and the sea will yield up the dust of all those who have died trusting in Christ down through the centuries! It is almost impossible for the human mind to take in the magnitude of such an event; yet the humble believer can accept it by faith. 1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. This corruptible refers to those whose bodies have returned to the dust. They will put on incorruption. This mortal, on the other hand, refers to those who are still alive in body but are subject to death. Such bodies will put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” Isaiah 25:8"He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken." Mackintosh writes: What are death, the grave, and decomposition in the presence of such power as this? Talk of being dead four days as a difficulty! Millions that have been mouldering in the dust for thousands of years shall spring up in a moment into life, immortality and eternal glory, at the voice of that blessed One. 1 Corinthians 15:55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” This verse is a direct challenge to death's power, asking, “You think you're so powerful, death? Where's your ability to inflict lasting pain now?” The “sting” refers to the pain, fear, and finality associated with death, which, through Christ's victory, is removed for believers. When Paul asks, “O Hades, where is your victory?” he's essentially saying that death's power to hold people captive is gone. He's declaring that death's apparent victory is empty because Jesus Christ has already broken its power. This means that death can no longer claim a true victory over those who believe in Jesus, because Jesus has already won that victory for them. This verse is a cornerstone of Christian hope, proclaiming that death is not the end and attributing the triumph over mortality to Jesus Christ's resurrection. It offers comfort and assurance, giving believers confidence in the promise of eternal life and a future resurrection. 1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. Death would have no sting for anyone if it were not for sin. It is the consciousness of sins unconfessed and unforgiven that makes men afraid to die. If we know our sins are forgiven, we can face death with confidence. If, on the other hand, sin is on the conscience, death is terrible—the beginning of eternal punishment. The strength of sin is the law, that is, the law condemns the sinner. It pronounces the doom of all who have failed to obey God’s holy precepts. It has been well said that if there were no sin, there would be no death. And if there were no law, there would be no condemnation. 1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through faith in Him, we have victory over death and the grave. Death is robbed of its sting. It is a known fact that when certain insects sting a person, they leave their stinger imbedded in the person’s flesh, and being thus robbed of their “sting,” they die. In a very real sense death stung itself to death at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. In view, then, of the certainty of the resurrection and the fact that faith in Christ is not in vain, the Apostle Paul exhorts his beloved brethren to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that their labor is not in vain in the Lord. The truth of resurrection changes everything. It provides hope and steadfastness, and enables us to go on in the face of overwhelming and difficult circumstances. 1 Corinthians 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: