Death has been swallowed up in victory.

1 Corinthians 15:31-58 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible 

I affirm, brothers and sisters, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily. ³² If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what good is it to me? If the dead are not raised, let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. ³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” ³⁴ Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

³⁵ But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” ³⁶ You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; ³⁷ and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. ³⁹ All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of mankind, another flesh of animals, another flesh of birds, and another of fish. ⁴⁰ There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. ⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; ⁴⁴ it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So also it is written: “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” The last Adam was a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As is the earthy one, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly. ⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

⁵⁰ Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 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 will be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; ⁵⁷ but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   In today’s text Paul say:  Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God.  As believers we are to influence the world for good, not to allow the world to corrupt us.   While we are to love others, Romans 12:9 says:  Love must be free of hypocrisy. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. If we truly love people, we will not embrace sin, but rather by doing good, we will shine the light of Christ so that they may see.

Paul says:  Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 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 will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “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, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  In John 12:24, Jesus speaking of His own death says:  “Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”  The fruit of Jesus death was our victory over sin. It is the resurrection, through which we have both eternal life and a victorious life on earth. We have victory over both sin and death in Christ Jesus. We inherit the kingdom of God in Christ.

Today’s text ends saying:  Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.  Because we are victorious in Christ, our labor is not in vain. We can bear fruit for the kingdom as we live and shine His light to the world. When our days on earth come to an end, we ourselves have the fruit of eternal life in Christ and as the perishable seed of our life dies, the work that we did for Christ lives on through those who we touched. Paul touched hundreds, perhaps thousands while he lived, but the fruit of his life has touched millions, since he died.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for the victory I have over sin and death. May I live victoriously through You and for You. May I bear fruit for the kingdom both in my life and my death. “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”   Amen.