O Death, Where Is Your Sting?

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

Summary
In 1 Corinthians 15:50–58, Paul brings his great chapter on the resurrection to a triumphant conclusion: death is not merely a natural part of life to be accepted, but an enemy Christ has conquered. Because Jesus has been raised, all who belong to him will one day be changed, the perishable will put on the imperishable, and the mortal will put on immortality. This victory does not come through human progress, technology, or effort, but through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, Christians can face death with hope, give thanks to God, and remain steadfast in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labor in him is not in vain.

Discussion Questions

1. Paul says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” What does this teach us about the kind of change we need in order to enter God’s kingdom?
2. Paul calls the resurrection change a “mystery.” Why is it important that this is something God must reveal to us, not something we could figure out on our own?
3. What stands out to you about the suddenness of the change Paul describes: “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye”?
4. How does the promise of being changed help you endure the slow, often frustrating process of sanctification in this life?
5. Paul says, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” Why does the resurrection allow Christians to speak so boldly about death?
6. In what ways does our culture try to solve, soften, ignore, or explain away the problem of death?
7. Why is it important to say that Christianity does not take death less seriously than the world, but more seriously?
8. Paul says, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” How does Christ remove the sting of death for those who belong to him?
9. What does it mean to receive this victory as a gift rather than something we achieve for ourselves?
10. Paul moves from resurrection hope to this command: “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” Why should future resurrection lead to present faithfulness?
11. Where are you tempted to feel that your labor in the Lord is “in vain”?
12. Where might the risen Christ be calling you to greater courage this week?

Quotes
“Now the most terrible thing of all is death, for it is the end and when a man is dead, nothing, we think either good or evil can befall him anymore.”
–Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics (Book 3, 6-7)

“It’s a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you say it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship.” –CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory