Spend time in prayer and silence with God, asking Him to meet with you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
I declare to you, brothers, 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 (die), 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, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
– 1 Corinthians 15:50-58a
Devotion
Paul closes out this powerful section of Scripture with a declarative statement concerning the victory and the power of the resurrection. Death has lost its sting! Because of the resurrection, we are able to look beyond death. Death is not finality. Death is a doorway that opens up the vast regions of eternity. This assurance of the resurrection is why Paul could write, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain!” Only someone who is assured of the resurrection can make such a statement. The sting of death is sin. It is sin that has the real stinger. The strength of sin is the Law. The Law is the mirror that shows us we are sinners. But grace and forgiveness come through the second Adam, Jesus. Thanks be to God for the victory we experience through our Lord Jesus Christ! Paul then encourages the Corinthians to stand firm concerning the Gospel they had heard. He did not want them wavering from the truth concerning the resurrection.
The Big Question
Are you able to say, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain?” How has this passage of Scripture shaped your view of life and death? How does this passage encourage you today?
Conclude your time in prayer and silence, reflecting on what God revealed to you today.