The Triumph of the Resurrection:

An Examination of 1 Corinthians 15:5158

by Ron J. Bigalke Jr.

The Corinthians did not believe the truth of the eschatological resurrection of
believers. Although the text does not explicitly state it, they were likely
influenced by the Greek teaching on the immortality of the soul, and possibly
by a pre-Gnostic belief in the evil of physical matter. Therefore, Pauls
discussion of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 is pertinent.
First Corinthians 15:1216 implies that the Corinthians preached Christs
resurrection from the dead and possibly realized that His triumph over death
must be demonstrated by His bodily resurrection. However, it appears that
they did not see it as anything more. Therefore, Paul returned to the basics in
1 Corinthians 15. He began with the resurrection of Christ and worked his
way to the relationship between Jesus resurrection and the eschatological
resurrection of believers.
The centrality and certainty of Jesus resurrection is set forth in 15:119.
The resurrection of Christ is true based on its historical verification (511)
and is central to the salvation of sinners and the gospel message (14), to the
eschatological resurrection of believers (1213, 16, 19) and the remission of
their sins (14, 17), and to the preaching of the apostles (15:1415).
Jesus resurrection guarantees the resurrection of believers (2028) and is
the dynamic for their lives and for their subsequent suffering (2934). The
nature of the resurrection body is described in verses 3550. Finally, Paul
addresses the mystery of the resurrection in verses 5158.

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed. (15:51)

The mystery of the resurrection is that some believers will not die, yet all
believers will overcome death either through translation or resurrection at the
coming of Christ. The Greek particle translated behold is emphatic. It
demands attention to the mystery that Paul was writing about. As Morris
wrote, it has the effect of focusing attention on what follows.
1
A mystery is a truth that has not been previously revealed by God, though
it is not something that God intends to keep secret. Rather, in due course of
time, God reveals it. Such is the case here. When God does reveal a mystery,
He intends for it to be recorded and taught (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:1).
Paul made use of the word mystery 21 times. There are various mysteries
given in Scripture. There are the mystery of the kingdom of heaven or
kingdom of God (Matthew 13), the mystery of the resurrection and translation

1
Leon Morris, 1 Corinthians, 2nd ed., Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (1958,
1985; repr., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 227.
34 CTS Journal 12 (Spring 2006)


of church saints (1 Corinthians 15:5058; 1 Thessalonians 4:1417), the
mystery of the church being composed of both Jews and Gentiles in equality
(Ephesians 3:111), and the mystery of Christ and the church (Ephesians
5:2832). The incarnation was a mystery (Colossians 2:2, 9; 1 Corinthians
2:7). The sin arising in the presence of a holy and righteous God was the
mystery of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Israels present blindness is a
mystery (Romans 11:25). There is the mystery of the seven stars (Revelation
1:20) and of the harlot (Revelation 17:5, 7). There is even the mystery of
Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). Barnes commented on
the usage of mystery:

The word here does not mean anything which was in its nature unintelligible,
but that which to them had been hitherto unknown. This commences the third
subject of inquiry in this chapterthe question, what will become of those
who are alive when the Lord Jesus shall return to raise the dead? This was an
obvious inquiry, and the answer was, perhaps, supposed to be difficult, and
says that they will undergo an instantaneous change, which will make them
like the dead that shall be raised.
2


The first mystery that Paul revealed to the Corinthians is we shall not all
sleep. The Greek suggests that believers shall not all sleep in the future. In
other words, some believers shall not die physically before the eschatological
resurrection of the saints. When Paul wrote, we shall not all sleep, he was
clearly referring to physical death,
3
and not to soul sleeping, which would
be in contrast to Philippians 1:23. The mystery is that when the resurrection
occurs, there will be believers who are still living.
The use of the first plural for sleep would mean that Paul included himself
with those facing the possibility of being translated while living.
4
Clearly,
Paul anticipated this resurrection as an imminent event that could occur in his
own lifetime because there were no events preceding this resurrection (cf.
Titus 2:13).
Radmacher commented, There may be delay, but there would be no
necessary prophesied event before the coming of Christ for His church.
5

Morris believed this was an illegitimate view: The plain fact is that Paul did
not know when these events would take place, and nowhere does he claim to

2
Albert Barnes, Notes on the First Epistle to the Corinthians (London: Gall & Inglis,
1847), 383.
3
BDAG, s.v. koima.
4
See Charles Hodge, Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), 354355; A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New
Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1931), 4:198.
5
Earl Radmacher, The Imminent Return of the Lord, in Issues in
Dispensationalism, ed. Wesley R. Willis and John R. Master (Chicago: Moody Press,
1994), 258.
The Triumph of the Resurrection 35
know. When he says we he means we believers, Christians alive at that
day.
6
In response, if the passage could mean Christians alive at that day,
then this would include the Apostle Paul. Without doubt, Paul regarded the
imminent resurrection, which could occur while he was yet living, as an
incentive for holy living (1 Corinthians 15:51; Philippians 3:20;
1 Thessalonians 4:17; Titus 2:13).
The other truth that Paul told the Corinthians is we shall all be changed.
A believers body may be dead or alive at the time of the resurrection
(1 Thessalonians 4:1318). Regardless, all will be changed.
7
This answers the
question, What will happen to believers who do not die prior to the
resurrection? How shall they take part in the resurrection of the body? Flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, so there must be a
transformation (1 Corinthians 15:50; cf. Philippians 3:21). The transformation
for some will be while they are still living.
It must be stated that the doctrine of the resurrection itself is not a
mystery, since it is taught in the Old Testament (Job 14:14). The truth that not
all will die, but that the resurrection and translation will occur for some still
living is a mystery previously unknown. There will be a group of believers
who will not experience the intermediate state which follows physical death
and precedes the resurrection of the body (2 Corinthians 5:10).

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
changed. (15:52)

The translation will take place instantlyin a moment, in the twinkling
of an eye. The Greek word for moment denotes something that cannot be
cut or an indivisible period of time. The change will occur so quickly that it
could be said it happened in the smallest existing unit of time. A double
emphasis is given with the use of the Greek noun translated twinkling,
meaning a wink, flutter, or jerk of an eyelid.
8
Beet remarked that the phrase
in the twinkling of an eye dwells upon, and intensifies, the idea of
suddenness.
9
The suddenness of the change is given great emphasis.
The instantaneous change will occur at the last trumpet. The Jewish
understanding regarding the last trumpet is that it will be seventh in a series of

6
Morris, 1 Corinthians, 227.
7
Pauls statementswe shall all be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51) and even so
God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:14)negate
the idea of partial rapture.
8
Barnes, Notes on Corinthians, 384.
9
Joseph Agar Beet, Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Albany: Ages
Software, Version 6.02, 1998), 753.
36 CTS Journal 12 (Spring 2006)


trumpet blows resulting in the dead being raised and clothed with immortality
in order to stand before the Throne of Glory.

In the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will resurrect the dead. How will
He do it? He takes the Great Shofar and blows it seven times. At the first
blast, the whole world shakes and suffers pangs like a woman in childbirth.
At the second, the dust is scattered and the graves open. At the third, the
bones gather together. At the fourth, the limbs are stretched out. At the fifth,
skin comes into being. At the sixth, spirits and souls enter the bodies. At the
seventh, they live and stand up on their feet in their clothes.
10


The New Testament uses the noun trumpet 11 times (Matthew 24:31;
1 Corinthians 14:8; 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Hebrews 12:19; Revelation
1:10; 4:1; 8:2, 6, 13; 9:14). The verb to sound a trumpet is found twelve
times in the New Testament (Matthew 6:2; 1 Corinthians 15:52; Revelation
8:6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13; 9:1, 13; 10:7; 11:15). The four noun uses and ten verb
uses in Revelation 811 refer to the seven trumpet judgments of the
tribulation. The noun usage in Matthew 24:31 is in reference to a great sound
of a trumpet following Christs coming in the clouds after the tribulation of
those days (Matthew 24:29). The trumpet mentioned in the Olivet Discourse
gathers the elect who have survived the tribulation and have been scattered
throughout the earth as a result of the horrors of this period. In the above
mentioned passages, there is no mention of translation or resurrection in
connection with the trumpets. First Corinthians 15:52 and 1 Thessalonians
4:16, on the other hand, do not have any reference to judgment; rather, they
refer to the resurrection and translation. There is an obvious dissimilarity.
First Thessalonians 4:16 emphasizes the trumpet of God that would
seem to be logically equated with the last trumpet in 1 Corinthians 15:52.
Both passages speak of a resurrection of believers who are in Christ Jesus.
The purpose of this coming of Christ is not to judge and then reign, but rather
to meet His saints in the air and to have them changed. Therefore, it is
perfectly logical to understand that this last trumpet is referring to the end of
the dispensation of the church. It is best identified as referring to the rapture
of the church prior to the tribulation, since the trumpets mentioned in the
tribulation have to do with the coming of Christ in judgment to establish His
visible kingdom on earth.
Some equate the last trumpet with the seventh trumpet in Revelation
11:15 and the trumpet in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24:2931). One of
the arguments given by posttribulationalists is that the resurrection passages
make no reference to an earlier, separate resurrection of all believers but place
the resurrection of all believers at a point prior to the millennium (cf.

10
Rabbi Akiba, Pesiqta Hadta, BhM 6:58, quoted in Raphael Patai, The Messiah Texts
(Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1979), 203.
The Triumph of the Resurrection 37
1 Corinthians 15:2324; Revelation 20:14). The simplest explanation is that
this is because the rapture of the church is a mystery doctrine (1 Corinthians
15:51) that was previously unrevealed.
Robert Gundry challenged the pretribulational response. He firmly
believes the last trumpet of 1 Corinthians might have looked back to the
trumpet at the end of the age in the oral tradition of Jesus discourse on the
Mount of Olives. According to Gundry, the superintendence of the Holy
Spirit would have brought about a harmony of meaning between the trumpet
references in the Olivet Discourse, 1 Corinthians 15:52, and the seven
trumpets of Revelation.
11
Certainly, it is theoretically possible that the last
trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15 could later be connected with the seven trumpets
of Revelation. God does, indeed, reveal things progressively.
The problem in arguing that God connected the last trumpet of
1 Corinthians with later revelation has to do with the context. The Corinthians
would have understood Paul as speaking of an imminent return (in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye) of their Lord at the last trumpet. There
is nothing in the context of 1 Corinthians that would indicate a time of intense
tribulation upon the whole world that would precede the return of their Lord.
Posttribulationalists are interpreting the passage by forcing the content of
Revelation into what is clearly a rapture passage. The interpretation of the last
trumpet in 1 Corinthians would be changed by the revelation of the seventh
trumpet in Revelation.
The issue centers on whether or not last is limited only to a given
chronological sequence. The usage of the word last is not limited to the last
in a given chronological sequence; it can also refer to the end of a specific
period (or epoch).
12
Therefore, last can refer to the end of something
chronologically, as in the seven trumpets of Revelation, or to the end of a
specific period, e.g., the dispensation of the church. Gerald Stanton rightly
stated, the fact of subsequent trumpets is no problem for a pretribulational
interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:52.
13
Even amillennialist Barnes noted,
The word last here does not imply that any trumpet shall have been before
sounded at the resurrection, but is a word denoting that this is the
consummation or close of things; it will end the economy of this world; it will
be connected with the last state of things.
14

Although Gods programs for Israel and the church are distinct, both
programs appear to end with the sounding of a trumpet. However, these
trumpets are not identical. The last trumpet of 1 Corinthians 15:52 is not a

11
Robert H. Gundry, The Church and the Tribulation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1973), 149150.
12
J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1964), 189.
13
Gerald B. Stanton, Kept from the Hour (Miami Springs: Schoettle, 1991), 194195.
14
Barnes, Notes on Corinthians, 386.
38 CTS Journal 12 (Spring 2006)


reference to the last in any preceding sequence, but is related to the end of a
specific age, namely, the dispensation of the church.
The significance of the last trumpet in verse 15:52 may be twofold.
First, the last trumpet may be a technical phrase denoting the end of the
dispensation of the church. The word last is quite common when referring
to events surrounding the end of the church age (Acts 2:17; 2 Timothy 3:15;
Hebrews 1:1; James 5:3; 1 Peter 1:5, 20; 1 John 2:18; Jude 18). Second, last
trumpet may also be a technical phrase indicating the gathering together of
the church. E. Schuyler English noted that the sounding of a trumpet in
Numbers 10 was to gather an assembly of the people. Therefore, last
trumpet would be a rallying call indicating that the church is changing
locations much like Israel changed camps in the wilderness (1 Corinthians
15:23).
15
The resurrection of Christ made Him the firstfruits, the first
resurrected from the dead. Christs resurrection is the firstfruits of many to be
raised.
The dead shall be raised incorruptible. In other words, they will never
die again. The dead ones are now raised immortal at the sound of the last
trumpet and as such are now partakers of the future life.
16
Once the trumpet
sounds, we shall all be changed. The dead will be changed because of the
resurrection and the living will not be denied participation in this grand event.
There will not be a single believer whose body does not undergo change.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality (15:53).
17

The present active indicative of must (dei) means that the incorruptible is
binding, necessary, proper, and inevitable.
18
It is necessary that the
earthly corruptible body be changed into a spiritual, incorruptible body that is
suitable to exist in the eternal realm. Vincent described endusasthai as the
metaphor of clothing. Furthermore, he commented, Incorruption and
immortality are to invest the spiritually-embodied personality like a
garment.
19

Both those who are dead (corruptible) and those who are living
(mortal) at the time of the rapture are brought to the readers attention. It is
necessary that the mortal body, which will face corruption unless raptured, be

15
E. Schuyler English, Re-Thinking the Rapture (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers,
1954), 109.
16
BDAG, s.v. aftharsia.
17
In the New Testament, immortality is only mentioned here and 1 Timothy 6:16.
18
William Mounce, The Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1993), 132.
19
Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (Peabody: Hendrickson,
n.d.), 3:286.
The Triumph of the Resurrection 39
likewise changed into an incorruptible, immortal body fitted for the eternal
realm.
Paul emphasized the difference between the present earthly body and the
future glorified body by his four parallel uses of the word this: this
corruptible and this mortal two times in verses 53 and 54.
20
Pauls point
answered the question of verse 35: How are the dead raised up? and with
what body do they come? A transformation of the present earthly body is
essential for believers to attain the destiny of becoming like Christ the first
fruits (1 Corinthians 15:23) who shall change our vile body, that it may be
fashioned like unto His glorious body (Philippians 3:21). Even though all
will not experience death, all will experience the necessary change from
corruptibility and mortality to incorruptibility and immortality. Endusasthai
points to the fact that the present body is not the eternal body. It is only its
clothing, noted Morris.
21


So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death
is swallowed up in victory. (15:54)

This verse strengthens the teaching of the former. Paul wrote in the aorist
tense (endustai) to emphasize the certainty that the corruptible will be
clothed in incorruption and the mortal will be clothed in immortality. It is at
this time that Gods words to the prophet Isaiah will be fulfilled: Death is
swallowed up in victory (Isaiah 25:8; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:54b). The adverb
tote adds definiteness to the hoped-for moment.
22

It is when Christ returns for the living and dead saints that the saying that
is written shall come to pass. Beet commented, What is now a written
word will then become fact.
23
The quotation of Isaiahs prophecy
emphasizes the total defeat and utter destruction of death. Commenting on
this prophecy, John Gill wrote: That is, the Messiah shall by his death, and
resurrection from the dead, obtain such an entire victory over death, not only
for himself, but for all his people, that in the resurrection-morn, when they
will be all raised from the dead, death will be so swallowed up, that it will be
no more.
24

Death is referenced as a personal enemy (cf. 15:26) that plagues every
living person. It will, however, be swallowed up in victory. The verb
katepoth is an old verb from katapin, meaning literally to drink down or

20
Beet, Exposition of First Corinthians, 755; Morris, 1 Corinthians, 229.
21
Morris, 1 Corinthians, 229.
22
Beet, Exposition of First Corinthians, 758.
23
Ibid.
24
John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (London: Hill, 18521854;
repr., Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980), 6:272.
40 CTS Journal 12 (Spring 2006)


swallow down.
25
Death will be utterly overwhelmed by the power of the
triumph of Christs resurrection from the dead. Barnes notes, the idea may be
taken from a whirlpool, or maelstrom, that absorbs all that comes near it.
This is a picture of Christs resurrection abolishing or removing death.
26
The
apostles point was to emphasize that death would not continue as a victor
over the redeemed of God.
Death will be taken in victory. The idea is that death will be taken to its
inevitable end. As death has swallowed the lives of many, this enemy awaits
its destruction. C. H. Mackintosh expounded upon this victory as follows:
What are death, the grave and decomposition in the presence of such power
as this? Talk of being dead four days as a difficulty! Millions that have been
mouldering in the dust for thousands of years, shall spring up in a moment
into life, immortality, and eternal glory, at the voice of that blessed One. . . .
27

O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?
(15:55)

This verse comes as a shout of victory for believers. There is a textual
variant here between the Majority and Alexandrian texts. However, on either
reading, Paul was emphasizing that death no longer has victory over the living
and dead believers because they will be either resurrected or translated
instantaneously.
The apostle personified death in this verse as a cruel enemy. The reason
for the shout of victory, though, is that the sting of death has been removed.
The word kentron can refer to the sharp point of a human weapon (Acts
26:14) or the sting of an animal (Revelation 9:10). The sting of death is a
plague to mankind. There are those Christians who claim that the sting of
death is completely gone now and that believers should not lament over the
passing of loved ones. However, even Christ wept at Lazarus tomb. Death
will continue to bear its sting until the last trumpet sounds when the dead are
raised and the living believers receive their new bodies. Faussett believed this
verse to be written in the form of a lawsuit and rightly so, as will be seen in
the following verse.
28


The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. (15:56)


25
Robertson, Word Pictures, 4:198.
26
Barnes, Notes on Corinthians, 386.
27
C. H. Mackintosh, The Mackintosh Treasury: Miscellaneous Writings (Neptune, NJ:
Loizeaux Brothers, 1879), 125.
28
A. R. Faussett, The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, in Robert
Jamieson, A. R. Faussett, and David Brown, Commentary on the New Testament
(Albany: Ages Software, Version 6.02, 1998), 2:344.
The Triumph of the Resurrection 41
The noun, kentron, means a sharp point, a prick, or stimulus.
29
It is
this stingsinthat produces death. There would be no death without sin
(Romans 5:12). Paul again personified the character of death. It is clearly sin
that gives the enemy (death) its strength.
Morris contended that it is not death specifically that is so harmful. Death
has a sting because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). In another
passage, Paul spoke of death as a gain to believers, since death takes the
believer into the presence of the Lord (Philippians 1:2123). A sinner must be
reconciled to his Creator through the death and resurrection of Christ
(1 Corinthians 15:13). If a condemned sinner does not believe in the gospel
message, then he will inevitably experience sin as the sting of death.
30

The power of sin is found in the Law of God. Paul spoke of the Law as
holy and just and good (Romans 7:12). However, he also stated, I would
not have known sin except through the law (Romans 7:7). Without the Law,
sin would have no power over humanity. Godet explained, The throne of
death rests on two bases: sin, which calls for condemnation, and the law
which pronounces it. Consequently, it is on these two powers that the work of
the Deliverer bore.
31
The reason for the power of sin is that the Law cannot offer salvation to
mankind. Salvation is always by grace through faith alone. The Law sets forth
Gods standard of righteousness. The Greek word for sin literally means to
miss the mark. In classical Greek, archers who failed to hit the bulls eye in
their target used the word hamartia. Gods target is perfection, but sin
prevents mankind from meeting Gods holy standard. Furthermore, because of
the condemnation, man is left powerless over the effects of sin, so the only
hope for deliverance from the body of death is found in the believers
identification with Christs death and resurrection (Romans 6).

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

De, which introduces this verse, is set in stark contrast to the victory that
defeats death, sin, and the Law. This victory is in Jesus Christ. Paul expressed
his thanks to God for providing the victory over death and sin through Jesus
Christ. Robertson noted that Pauls thanksgiving was for triumph through
Christ over sin and death as in Romans 7:25.
32
Kenneth Wuest has a
remarkable explanation of the Greek word for grace: Charis is used in the
New Testament of that spontaneous act of God that came from the infinite

29
Mounce, Analytical Lexicon, 279.
30
Morris, 1 Corinthians, 229.
31
Frederic Louis Godet, Commentary on First Corinthians (Edinburgh: Clark, 1889),
446.
32
Robertson, Word Pictures, 4:199.
42 CTS Journal 12 (Spring 2006)


love of His heart, in which He stepped down from His judgment throne to
take upon Himself the guilt and penalty of human sin, thus satisfying His
justice, maintaining His government, and making possible the bestowal of
salvation upon the sinner who receives it by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who
became a Sin-offering for him on the cross (Romans 3:24).
33
Charis is used over 166 times in the Bible. The Hebrew word is often
translated as favor. The word literally means to bend or stoop in kindness
to an inferior.
34
Grace is said to have come by Jesus Christ (John 1:17) and is
now reigning through righteousness leading unto eternal life (Romans 5:21).
There is even reference to an epiphany of grace that was a mystery (Titus
2:11). It is a marvelous word of the sovereign work of God in salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ points the reader to the divine program
of God. It is by the work of His hands that this will take place. Man will
contribute nothing (Psalm 98:1). The present participle didonti emphasizes
that God alone is to be credited with the victory. The use of didonti also marks
the certainty of the future victory.
35
The victory is both present and future.
The present tense has reference to the resurrection life of believers now
through Jesus Christ (cf. Philippians 3:10). It is the resurrection of Christ in
the historical past that has implications for Christians in the present. For
instance, the believer has a newness of life as a result of the resurrection
(Romans 6:14). However, Pauls main emphasis in this verse is on the
eschatological victory.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
(15:58)

The verse concludes the passage by giving instructions for daily living.
The tenderness of the charge is indicated with the address, beloved
brethren. The Corinthians were instructed to be steadfast. This word is
derived from the Greek word translated seat. In other words, the believers
are to remain settled and confident in the content of this revelation. They
are to remain solid and firm as when one sits and is confident of the support
of the chair.
The believers are to be immovable (ametakintoi). This word is derived
from a and metakine, which is translated to move away. The addition of
the negative, a, instructs the Corinthians that they were not to be disturbed or
swayed in their faith. Morris offered the following comment: The

33
Kenneth S. Wuest, Studies in the Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961), 138139.
34
James Strong, The New Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: Nelson,
1990), 85.
35
Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, 286.
The Triumph of the Resurrection 43
Corinthians were prone to fickleness, shifting without reason from one
position to another. Let them get a firm grip on the truth of the resurrection,
on Gods final plan for all people and all things, and they will not be so
readily shaken.
36
The use of the imperative, ginesthe, emphasizes the urgency of being
steadfast and immovable. Always abounding in the work of the Lord is
not a suggestion. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, believers are
charged to be busy about the work of the Lord. In other words, they are not to
be inactive in their service of the Lord even though the rapture is imminent.
The church is to be earnestly expecting the rapture, but she is also instructed
to be busy fulfilling Gods commands.
Abounding implies that the church is to excel in the work of the Lord.
The reason for this is that such labor is not in vain. That which the believer
does for the Lord has eternal reward and is not to be considered futile or
meaningless. Christians do not need to face discouragement because their
work is in the Lord.
The Christian has a great hope in Jesus Christ. All of mankind is
condemned before God, but victory over the wages of sin is by grace through
faith in Jesus Christ alone as ones Savior. He alone can provide the victory
through either resurrection or translation. The rapture of the church is to have
a purifying effect on the body of Christ since at any moment the church saints
could be in His presence. The rapture should also cause Christians to be active
in fulfilling the Great Commission, since Christ could come at any moment.
Certainly, the church should be active in the work of the Lord so that when He
returns to gather His church, she will not have any shame, but rather
confidence because of a life lived in obedient, privileged service of the
coming King.

Ron J. Bigalke Jr. (M.Apol., M.T.S., Ph.D.) is an author and lecturer. He is the
founder and director of Eternal Ministries, a discipleship and evangelistic ministry,
and associate pastor of Grace Community Church (Rincon, GA). Dr. Bigalke has
taught classes for Moody Bible Institute, Tyndale Theological Seminary, and
secondary schools and has served as a Christian school administrator and board
member. He is a member of several Christian professional societies. His email
address is bigalke@eternalministries.org.



36
Morris, 1 Corinthians, 230.