1 Corinthians 15:51-57

Friday Devotions - The Mystery of Jesus Christ

Today we dive deep into the first two verses in this passage. Links to the study websites for this devotion are provided at the end.

1 Corinthians 15:51 “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”

• This is Paul’s answer to a question he anticipates being asked. He already described one avenue of entrance to heaven and that is through death.
• “If the perishable bodies of believers cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, what will happen to believers who are still in their perishable bodies when Christ returns?”
• BEHOLD= second person singular aorist middle imperative of eidon (draw attention to, Do it now! Don’t delay!)
• MYSTERY= Strong’s Concordance #3446 musterion….a truth never previously known, and a truth which human intellect could never discover, but one which has now been made known by divine revelation. Truths which are part of God’s plan and can only be understood as He reveals them by His Spirit.
• WE WILL NOT ALL SLEEP= Not all will physically die.
• BUT WE WILL ALL BE CHANGED= All means all without exception, except all excludes “all” who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Redeemer. They will not be changed, but will only change locations from this temporal home to their eternal home. In other words, all believers will receive their resurrection bodies at the time of the return of Christ. THERE IS A GENERATION OF CHRISTIANS THAT IS NEVER GOING TO DIE. Scripture clearly anticipates this. It’s the generation that is living when Christ returns.
• CHANGED= Strong’s Concordance #236 allasso….has the literally meaning of to make otherwise. To make it other than it is. To cause one thing to cease and another to take its place.

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 imperishable, and we shall be changed.”

• MOMENT…Strong’s Concordance #823 atomos…literally m eans something too small to be cut and gives us our word ATOM as if it could not be divided or split. (Atom bomb). In context of time, it means an indivisible point in time.
• IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE…When Christ returns, it will transpire so suddenly and so completely that we will not even be aware of it happening. One moment here and mortal, the next moment with Christ and immortal and in that state forever and ever.
• AT THE LAST TRUMPET for THE TRUMPET WILL SOUND…In the OT the trumpet signaled the appearance of God (Exodus 19:16).
  • Note that Paul does not have an “and” here, which would strongly suggest that the MOMENT, the TWINKLING, and the TRUMPET are simultaneous.
  • There will be no prior warning to alert you to get ready, you will either be ready or you will be left behind.
• AND THE DEAD WILL BE RASIED IMPERISHIBLE…In the grave the dead bodies are decomposed, decayed, perishing, but when they are raised they are in a state that is no longer subject to death or decay.
• AND WILL BE CHANGED…This is part of the mystery. All living or dead will receive a “Divine Makeover”

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+15%3A51-57&version=ESV

https://www.preceptaustin.org/1-corinthians-15-commentary