Thursday: Final Victory Over Death
Daily Lesson for Thursday 20th of August 2026
Read 1 Corinthians 15:54-57. What does this passage tell us about our ultimate victory over death?
Paul begins the last paragraph in 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 with an intriguing statement: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 15:50, NKJV). Many Bible readers use this declaration to say that Paul defends an immaterial existence in heaven. But the context indicates otherwise. The parallelism of 1 Corinthians 15:50 suggests that “flesh and blood” is in parallel with “corruption,” such as “the kingdom of God” is in parallel with “incorruption.” Just as happened in 1 Corinthians 15:42-49, here, as well, Paul is contrasting the body now (or even the corpse) to the resurrected body. The buried body is marked by corruption and mortality, whereas the resurrected body is characterized by incorruption and immortality (1 Corinthians 15:50,53-54). Simply put, Paul is saying that our bodies need to undergo a radical transformation in order to inherit heaven.
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In short, Paul uses the ideas of corruption and mortality to refer to our sinful nature. In Jewish writings, “flesh and blood” is a phrase for fallen humanity, which is why our bodies must be transformed and purged of all imperfection at His return.
Only when our sinful nature is removed (1 Corinthians 15:54) and we go through the experience of glorification (1 Corinthians 15:51-53, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17) will the proclamation “ ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:54, NKJV) be fulfilled. Then, this bold and defiant hymn will be sung: “ ‘O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ ” (1 Corinthians 15:55, NKJV). This all will take place at the second coming of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).
Think about it: we close our eyes in death, and the next thing we will experience is the second coming of Jesus, when He raises us from the dead. No matter when a believer died, even thousands of years ago, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” they will be made alive “at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52, NKJV).
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Who hasn’t bemoaned how quickly life passes us by? In our own experience, that’s how quickly the second coming of Jesus will seem. Perhaps our first thought at His return will be “Wow, Lord, Your coming really was soon!” How does this idea help us better come to terms with what is seen as “the delay”? |
We can easily get caught up in the metaphysics and physics of the resurrection and eternal life, but there are a couple of verses in the Bible that really give us the perspective:
I like the idea that we will be changed. I am over 80 and my body is starting to become high maintenance. My body is wearing out, and I know the meaning of corruptible. Something has to change if we are to become immortal.
I also take on board that it is a mystery and that we cannot even imagine it. We speculate a little, as I did yesterday, but in all honesty, We have no idea how immortality will work.
But, I understand what John is saying. He is essentially pointing out that we need to get the relationship right now. Jesus comes after us with his love and all we need to do is accept it. That does not mean we do nothing, but we cooperate with God as he changes us. We are already his children.
Rev 6:2. And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
I really like the phrase ‘Conquering and to conquer’ it’s hope filled making me feel comfortable with the idea that my challenges and even death are not bigger than my Saviour, of course He won the victory over them when He walked among men here on earth. He is still conquering and will destroy all at His second appearing.
Few days ago I remembered my late maternal grandmother who died many years ago. I was feeling cold and was contemplating more measures to employ in combating the challenge, suddenly I remembered ‘Robb’ ointment (a balm) it was prominent when we were growing up. Every Sabbath after service my late grandmother will take the four of us to her house, after serving us extraordinary launch, forced siesta on us and hot bathing, she will apply cream on us and apply Robb on our lips and in our noses. Properly rejuvenated we will march from her little house like princes and princess to Sabbath vesper service. In my young mind I planned so many beautiful things for her in order to appreciate all she has done for me and my siblings, unfortunately she passed in 2005 and I wasn’t able to fully repay her. So you can understand why the idea of the dead in Christ coming back to life has become an indelible hope for me and makes me look forward to it with happiness and gratitude. I pray God grants me the grace to see on the resurrection morning my late grandmother and hug her once again.
Whom is it that you cannot wait to hug again?
What a joy of hope!!!!!
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55-56, NLT).
Resurrection is not simply God giving His people another life, but it is a final answer to death and Satan. Satan had claimed victory over God by bringing death to God’s creation through sin. Death is the greatest enemy of God’s creation, and now this great foe is eternally defeated and never to rise again. Now thanks and glory be to God who has given us victory through His Son Jesus Christ. This victory is ours, only awaiting to be manifested when Jesus comes.
It is critical to note Paul’s concluding remark in Corinthians Chapter 15. With the knowledge, understanding and assurance that resurrection is a spiritual reality, so now, what next?
“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 labour in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV).
Paul is simply telling us, “Do not abandon Christ when life becomes tough”. “Do not let suffering make you feel that you have lost”. Your labour in Christ will never go in vain. Our waiting for our Lord should not be “idle waiting”. Meanwhile, there is productive work to be done.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ (Matthew 25:37-39, NIV).
Death is a stark reminder that our present bodies are temporary and perishable. No matter how strong or healthy we may be, our bodies eventually weaken, decay, and return to the dust. Yet the Christian hope is not that death will simply be ignored or forgotten; it is that God has decisively defeated death through the promise of resurrection. As Paul declares, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26). What appears to be the end is, in Christ, only the doorway to a life that death can never destroy.
The resurrection, therefore, is God’s final victory over death and the complete redemption of the human body. Paul declares, “What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable,” and “what is sown in weakness” is “raised in power” (1 Corinthians 15:42–43). The body that now grows old, becomes weak, suffers decay, and eventually dies will be raised by God’s power and clothed with immortality. The resurrection body will no longer be subject to sickness, aging, corruption, or death. God will not abandon the body He created; He will redeem, transform, and glorify it. In the resurrection, death will have lost its final word, and God’s people will experience the fullness of His promise: death defeated, the body redeemed, and life everlasting.
Last week, I was told by someone on the medical staff of my orthopedic doctor that an MRI of my back, done to determine the cause of my leg pain, had revealed tumors in my uterus. I immediately panicked, thinking about my own mortality and the possibility that my life might soon be coming to an end.
But in the midst of my fear, my thoughts shifted—from the dread of dying to the hope of the resurrection.
I thought about Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 15: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (v. 20) Because Christ lives, death is not the end. There is a resurrection hope beyond the grave.
As I focused on that hope, peace replaced my anxiety. My circumstances had not yet changed, but my perspective had.
Praise God, when I saw my doctor yesterday, I learned that the findings were not as alarming as they had initially been reported. They were more accurately described as fibroids, not tumors.
I am grateful for that good news, but I am even more grateful for the lesson God taught me: our ultimate hope is not merely in living longer; it is in the resurrection through Jesus Christ.
“Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 15:57
Notice the statement by Jesus after He was resurrected;31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
Matt 22:31-32 (KJV)
Our God is the “Living God”, and because He lives, we too shall live. Our bodies are diseased, and dying, but in the resurrection, we shall be “changed”, and given a living body, one free from sin and disease. For this promise we praise God!
We must strive to enter the straight (strict) gate, obey God, worship Him, and share the message to others. “Go ye therefore” we must obey, and we shall receive power to give the message “that certain sound”, Before the final trumpet sounds.
The resurrection of Jesus was a sample of the final resurrection of all who sleep in Him. The risen body of the Saviour, His deportment, the accents of His speech, were all familiar to His followers. In like manner will those who sleep in Jesus rise again. We shall know our friends even as the disciples knew Jesus. Though they may have been deformed, diseased, or disfigured in this mortal life, yet in their resurrected and glorified body their individual identity will be perfectly preserved, and we shall recognize, in the face radiant with the light shining from the face of Jesus, the lineaments of those we love. {FLB 180.3}
Genesis 1:7 “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him: male and female created He them.”
Genesis 1:31 “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”
I would consider that if God initially created man in His image, He very well could re-create us into the “very good” image at His coming to take us home.
I haven’t heard the word translated yet today. The righteous living will be translated into incorruptible bodies. Those who have died in Christ will be resurrected with incorruptible bodies as described before this week. Whether resurrected to immortality or translated live, the dead in Christ rise to meet Christ in the air first, those standing to meet Christ in the air for the journey to heaven will follow those who are resurrected as Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. Whatever group we are in it will be glorious, worth living in Christ, allowing Christ to work in us. With Christ working in us we imitate Christ.
“Grave Robber” is a song by the Christian band Petra from their 1983 album Not of This World, written by Bob Hartman. The song focuses on the theme of resurrection and features a chorus about Jesus coming as a “Grave Robber” to steal believers away from death.
I never thought of Jesus being a “grave robber” but in a sense at the first resurrection He will be. I am reminded of Jude 1:9 where Michael the Archangel came to resurrect Moses body and Satan tried to lay claim on it because of Moses’s sin. Michael didn’t argue but merely rebuked Satan saying, “the Lord rebukes you Satan.” Satan has no claim over those who have died in Christ. They are safe from his torments and temptations forever. The saved will be raised incorruptible in perfect new bodies that will never age or suffer illness or death again. What a glorious day that will be. I long to see so many people that I knew and loved hopefully come up in the first resurrection.
Death, disease, suffering and tears seem to mark this mortal life. I’m living for the day that they die forevermore in the lake of fire. Nevermore to afflict in God’s Holy Kingdom. Approximately 160,000 to 175,000 people die each day globally. This averages out to roughly two deaths every second. I’m looking for the return of the “Grave Robber” to rescue His people from this suffering planet.
The song “Grave Robber” focuses on the victory over death, featuring lyrics that discuss life’s fleeting nature, the inevitability of death, and the hope found in Jesus. The lyrics include:”Where is the sting, tell me, where is the bite? When the Grave Robber comes like a thief in the night Where is the victory, where is the prize? When the Grave Robber comes and death finally dies”
I’m living for the day when death finally dies. How about you?
Just lost my mum last week. This week lesson means a lot for me. She closed her eyes last week and when she will open them she will see Jesus. This is hope.
Amen! Dina, the “Blessed Hope” is really our only hope. It takes some of the sting out of death. I know your pain and also your hope.
Amen! LORD help us to remain faithful to the very end.
My condolences to you.
My condolences. May the GOD of all comforts, hold you and yours in His everlasting arms. Praise be to GOD, death is not the end of but the pause button of life
Thanks and joyful sabbath
If we believe that we have our life in Jesus Christ then:
1 John 3:3 – ”… everyone who really believes this will try to stay pure because Christ is pure.”
1 Cor.15:50
”Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.”
1 Cor.15:53-54
”For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 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.”
Yes, I agree “that our ‘bodies’ need to undergo a radical transformation in order to inherit heaven.” Though, what is meant by our ‘body’ which is transformed? Is it only the body, or is it the whole of the human existence – body and spirit?
Ezekiel 18:20 speaks to the “soul that sinneth, it shall die”. In a previous lesson we learned that when being baptized to confirm our faith in Jesus, we agree to die to self to be able to receive the new, born-again nature. This new nature is established by the Grace of God through our willingness to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit according to God’s Word by faith. We deny the old nature’s influence of our heart and mind.
As I understand it, the final victory over death then means that by living our life in Jesus Christ by faith overcomes the corruption of the old, sinful nature enslaved to the spirit of this world. Therefor, having this ‘body of flesh and blood’ transformed in the resurrection includes everything related to mortality – flesh and spirit – our whole existence/being.
How does the promise of resurrection and the ultimate victory over death in 1 Corinthians 15 provide hope and encouragement to believers facing the reality of death and suffering? Thank you, regards!
Puti – I encourage you to read the many comments provided by the participants of this blog. All shared their thoughts and experience in response to 1 Cor. 15, and reading their comments carefully will provide the answers to your question.
My very short answer would be: through faith and gratitude.
Everyone alive faces death and suffering, but the believer has accepted faith to keep his mind focused on trusting the Word of God in difficult times, and gratitude for having accepted to become a part of the family of fellow believers that share in God’s blessings as well as share them with others.