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§51 Apocalyptic Revelation (1 Cor. 15:50–58)

Paul completes this long and complicated discussion of the resurrection of the dead with these nine verses. Verse 50 is a significant declaration that forms a bridge from the preceding analogies and arguments to the question that was posed and left unanswered in verse 35a, “How are the dead raised?” Then, verses 51–57 speak of the “mystery” of the resurrection of the dead and the end. Finally, verse 58 issues a concluding exhortation that extends from the full range of eschatological teaching that Paul offered in chapter 15.

15:50 / Verse 50 introduces a new idea or line into the reflection. In a sense, the concern is the same as that named explicitly in verse 35a. Now, however, as Paul re-presents the issue, quite naturally, from Paul’s statement that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, one would ask, “Then how? How are the dead raised?” Paul assumes that unstated question and uses the following lines to answer the query.

In this verse Paul’s subtle point about the unsuitability of that which is perishable for that which is imperishable is lost in the ring of his bold and poetic declaration at the outset of the verse. Nevertheless, this more subdued statement registers Paul’s conviction of the incompatibility of the form of this world and God’s new creation or kingdom. The transformation that Paul is about to discuss, the resurrection of the dead, is both necessary because of God’s incomparable goodness and made real by God’s gift of grace in Jesus Christ.

15:51–52 / The anticipated transformation of “flesh and blood” into the God-given spiritual body is a mystery. As Paul tells it, this mystery is known, not by reason but, if at all, by God’s revelation of this truth. Thus, in the very presentation of the account of the “mystery,” told as it is in dramatic apocalyptic-eschatological terminology and images, Paul scores the point that the transformation of earthly existence into spiritual reality is purely God’s work. In turn, as Paul writes in traditional terms and language of divine transformation, he uses mysterious images designed to inspire awe and confidence. One may compare his similar teachings at 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 5:11. He continues by extending his reasoning in a didactic fashion, never afraid to repeat himself, “We shall be changed!”

15:53 / Verse 53 offers a prophecy that will be fulfilled at an appointed time in God’s future, again repeating the language and the logic of the discussion in verses 35–49.

15:54–55 / Paul looks to the time of the resurrection of the dead, and as he does so he offers a prooftext for his point from Isaiah 25:8. The victory is God’s, through Christ, and this divine victory has implications for Christian hope and life (v. 54). To amplify his position Paul adds the words in victory to Isaiah’s phrase death has been swallowed up. Then, Paul continues in verse 55 with a quotation from Hosea 13:14, which he again adapts, tailoring the language of the biblical material to suit the context.

One sees the intricacy of Paul’s logic throughout this chapter, but especially by noticing that Paul introduces both quotations from the LXX at this point in relation to the statement he made earlier in 15:26, “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” In declaring the inevitable demise of death, Paul originally quotes the OT (see v. 27) to validate this message of hope. Here again he issues a scriptural warrant to assure the readers that God’s word is trustworthy.

15:56 / Verse 56 is Paul’s own exegesis of the quotations from the prophets in the previous verses. One sees his hand clearly in the mention of law at the end of the line. This concern of Paul’s, well-known from other letters and in other heated discussions, is not a concern for Paul in this conversation with the Corinthians. This mention of the law does not reveal the depth of Paul’s reflection on the topic that can be seen in Galatians or Romans, where Paul wrestles with the issues and implication of the law for Christian life. Here he only mentions the law somewhat unfavorably, associating it with death and the sting of death, which is sin; indeed, he says the power of sin is the law. To restate the declaration that Paul never elaborates or explains, the law is the power of sin, which is the sting of death, which is the final enemy of Christ. One may infer that Paul did not see a place for the law in the reality of the resurrection of the dead. In brief, however, verse 56 is a concise attempt to state the magnitude and reality of God’s future resurrection of the dead.

15:57 / Lest the readers become uneasy by the future cast of Paul’s discussion of the resurrection of the dead, in this verse he continues with a doxological declaration of the meaning of all that he has written, especially in relation to the present. In the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and in the establishment of his lordship in the context of earthly existence, God had already anticipated and actualized in an anticipatory form the ultimate victory that will come in the mysterious end about which Paul has been writing.

This energetic word of thanksgiving to God for the victory given through the Lord Jesus Christ recognizes the present significance of what God is already doing and mitigates against the misperception that what God is doing in Christ has little to do with life in this world. Yet, the dominant future bent of Paul’s reflections is an important corrective to the denial of the resurrection of the dead.

15:58 / At last, verse 58 follows, issuing a final admonition (therefore) that Paul appears to base on the traditional materials he presents throughout this chapter. The command is not a mere work ethic. Rather, Paul once again calls for action and issues an assurance of the Lord’s preserving of vital Christian efforts (cf. 3:10–15). Thus, Paul argues for the reality of resurrection, basing his argument on God’s work in Christ and calling for the Corinthians to embrace his teaching as the basis for their future hope and current living. Paul’s use of eschatological materials is remarkably similar in 1 Thessalonians. There, in two dramatic segments of apocalyptic teaching, Paul informs the readers about the truth of God’s future and directs them to action. Here he says, Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord; and he explains that the Corinthians are able to do so, because they know that their labor in the Lord is not in vain. They have such knowledge from what Paul has told them about God’s resurrection of the dead. Similarly, in 1 Thessalonians 4:18, Paul admonishes, “Therefore encourage each other with these words”; and in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, he advises, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” Paul consistently moves from eschatological teaching to ethics, from instruction about God’s future and its meaning for believers to directions for the shape and substance of life in the Christian community.