⁵⁰ I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall 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 shall be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
⁵⁵ “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

1) Humans are flesh and blood; why does the verse say we cannot inherit God’s Kingdom?
To understand these final verses in chapter 15, we need to back up and see the full context of Paul’s argument. There were many who were questioning the validity of the gospel because they held that it was impossible for the dead to be raised to life, which, of course, the entirety of the Christian faith hinges upon. Paul’s point was that if God allows a kernel of corn to be buried, die in the ground, and then produce 100 times itself, how much more so could that same God who hung the planets and created the solar system design for our bodies to die and then be brought to life in a manner that could support eternal life? Our flesh and blood bodies will die here in this temporal earth, but we will be resurrected and changed in order to live in the coming Kingdom of God forever.

2) What is the mystery that is referred to?
The grand mystery that Paul is bursting at the seams to share is that “we will all be changed”! Not slowly, not in the long, laborious groans of childbirth, like we are now slowly being shaped into the image of Christ through His Spirit in the hearts of believers, but in a momentary twinkling of the eye. A trumpet blast loud enough to literally wake the dead and joyously summon the entire collective Bride of Christ will announce a triumphant final victory and our earthly bodies will be transformed into heavenly ones perfectly suited for our new eternal home!

3) What is the good news here?
Aside from new bodies and the sure promise of a coming future that will last forever and be far beyond all our imaginings, the greatest news here is that death is swallowed up by life. For. Ever. Death is the sting of the human race. Physical, definitely, but spiritual even more so. And both will be eradicated! Physical perishable bodies exchanged for imperishable perfect ones that we will be able to fully experience true life as it was meant to be lived without the ache of sin or sorrow. No grief, no heartache, no abuse, no injustice, no ugly pride or wounding shame. No Death. No Sin. Only sweet, unadulterated grace, truth, and freedom!

1) Humans are flesh and blood; why does the verse say we cannot inherit God’s Kingdom?
So much about what happens in life doesn’t add up. Disasters, sickness, devastating loss, wounds, and deep heartache are all the “norm” in this broken world. My spirit longs so deeply for restoration when I see all the shattered hearts around me, and I’m so gratefully reminded that we were indeed made for so much more. We weren’t created for brokenness. All the senselessness parts of life are opportunities to be encouraged, even in dark sorrow, that the Father will bring change. Justice is coming. Righteousness will win. We will be set free to love Him as He has so loved us! Take heart, beloved!

2) What is the mystery that is referred to?
I don’t know about you, but there’s a great deal of encouragement offered to me in the promise of newness! A new body that will be able to keep step with all the new heart passions and interests and loves that we were designed to live out that couldn’t be experienced in this sin-wrecked skin of humanity is incredible to think about! To love fully and perfectly isn’t possible with the restrictions of this human “tent” of a body as Paul liked to refer to himself, but eternal glorified change is a guaranteed promise!

4) What is the good news here?
This incredible good news of being remade for eternity is rooted in the solid truth of Christ’s own death and resurrection. He swallowed death with His own death. He defeated sin with His own sinlessness. He is our blessed hope and sure confidence. He has proven Himself trustworthy, and He invites us in to life. Deep life. Not to keep this abundance to ourselves, but to share it! My sweet beauties, we have been given this imperishable treasure (of Jesus Christ) in jars of clay (that’s our perishable bodies), that we might share Him with the world while there’s still time before that trumpet sounds! We’ve been invited in to much, let’s extend that embrace as far as the Father takes us and as long as we have breath in these perishable lungs!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
See all past studies in Flourishing!