“The Lord is risen indeed” is a refrain that is appropriate for every Lord’s Day. The Christian Sabbath was moved to the first day of the week precisely because that was the day on which our Lord was raised from the dead. Celebrate it annually, if you wish, but also celebrate it each Sunday! And don’t only look back to Christ’s resurrection. Recognize, as Paul tells you in 1 Corinthians 15:54, that your resurrection is part of his being raised — and that makes very practical changes in how you live.
You will be changed. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. A change is necessary because of the fall. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul is dealing with the bodily resurrection. Some Christians from a Greek background had no problem with the idea of an immoral soul, but failed to understand the resurrection of the physical body. 21st century westerners may face similar skepticism. Paul can argue from a natural body to a spiritual one, verse 44b. However, that argument goes back to pre-fallen Adam, and from him, to the last Adam, Jesus Christ. These two represent their own groups. The resurrection of the last Adam guarantees yours. The first Adam fell. There are lasting consequences because of that fall. Adam’s sin brought death, decay, and corruption into the world. Your present body is not suited for heaven.
The perishable does not inherit the imperishable. Paul goes beyond the weakness and decay of our physical bodies. By nature we are corrupt and sinful, the antithesis of all that heaven is. Our life on earth, as well as death and burial, are described by the quadruple “sown” of verses 42–44. It is sown perishable, in dishonor, weakness, a natural body. One of the themes of C. S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce is that even if given the opportunity, fallen man prefers the separation of hell to the glory of God’s presence in heaven. Sinners are unsuited for the reality of heaven.
A change must take place, verse 52. The trumpet will sound! This is the sign of God’s activity for his people. Its origins lie in the trumpet blast each day before the nation of Israel set out through the wilderness, Numbers 10:5–9, 35, 36. Here it is a sign of judgment on God’s enemies and vindication for his people. This is the last trumpet, the introduction to the events of the last day, God’s final act in redemptive history. The dead will be raised. Those asleep in Christ, verse 18, are in view. They are raised incorruptible. (Though all the dead are raised at his point, Paul’s focus is on the dead in Christ.) There is no evidence of two or three separate resurrections. This is the last trumpet. The dead are raised with “spiritual bodies,” verse 44. These are not immaterial (saints in glory don’t sit around on clouds), but are bodies characterized by the Holy Spirit. All will be changed. Even those who don’t sleep (who are still alive) will be changed, verse 51. They undergo a change similar to that of the dead in Christ. Because this is the resurrection of the harvest of which Christ was the firstfruits, verse 20, your change parallels that effected in his human nature by the Savior’s resurrection. Through his resurrection he was constituted Son of God with power by the Spirit of holiness, Romans 1:4. In a somewhat parallel way, your resurrection marks your adoption as sons, Romans 8:23. His resurrection body was real, substantial, capable of eating. Your resurrection is the culmination of your union with Christ.
“We can measure the upreach of our faith, the depth of our love, and the outreach of our hope by the extent to which we gravitate in our thought to that event when the Lord himself will be finally glorified and when the people of God shall enter into the complete fellowship of him in that exalted and final glory.”
Collected Writings of John Murray, Vol. 3, pp.245–246
Because he was raised, death is swallowed up in victory! Death is defeated. Corruption and mortality end. This marks the end of the illness, sorrow, and decay of our world. Death itself is defeated. Death is still an enemy. There is still a place for mourning, but you do have hope, even as you face death. Your hope is not just your immediate presence with the Lord, but, beyond that, the glory of the resurrection. Death is swallowed up, verse 54. Paul quotes from Isaiah 25:8. Even the prophet recognized that great messianic feast involved the destruction of the shroud of death that had covered the nations. Isaiah, from his prophetic perspective, may have anticipated it sooner. We know that it follows the first coming of the Messiah by at least nearly 2000 years. Your resurrection is the direct result of (or better, part of) Christ’s resurrection.
“By his own bodily resurrection, as the ‘firstfruits,’ death’s final and complete destruction has already occurred for Christ personally an so is assured for the rest of the the harvest. But for them their actual, bodily participation in that destruction has yet to occur. Further, verses 50–52 make clear that the future victory over death in verses 54–55 will be at the time of the ‘last trumpet,’ that is, the final judgment (cf. 1 Thess. 4:16; Matt. 24:31).” “the culminating note on which the chapter ends (vv. 57–58) is consonant with this conclusion. Paul assures Christians, ‘your labors are not in vain in the lord,’ and that is so because of ‘God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. But, from the immediately preceding verses (the references to victory in vv. 54–55), for them that death-destroying victory, while secured and certain, is still future.”
Richard B. Gaffin Jr., “Justification and Eschatology” in Word and Spirit: Selected Writing in Biblical and Systematic Theology, pages 637 & 638
The strength of sin is broken. Join in the cry of victory. Paul’s song of triumph quotes Hosea 13:14. Death’s sting is sin. Sin is transgression of God’s law. But, Christ has triumphed, verse 57. He is the second Adam. His death paid the penalty for sin. He fulfilled God’s law. His death, and particularly his resurrection are the victory over death. The Eritrean death wail and our culture’s neo-pagan fascination with death can be replaced with the cry of victory in Christ. Be unmovable. Be steadfast, despite opposition. Be confident, even in the face of death. The Bible’s teaching about what we call the last things (eschatology) is not ivory tower speculation. Because Christ has been raised, your life is shaped by what he has done. Do the work God has given you. Trust Christ’s victory. Remember that you are called to serve God. Serve Christ, despite the cost, in all that you do.
The Biblical teaching of the resurrection leads, not to speculation, but to comfort and encouragement in obedience. Because Christ has been raised, because you will be changed, serve your Lord faithfully this week.