Victorious

 

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

—1 Corinthians 15:54

How do we know when we’ve won? When the buzzer sounds at the end of the last period in basketball? When the last out is made at the bottom of the final inning in baseball? When the last hole is played in golf by the golfer with the fewest number of strokes? When the fastest runner crosses the finish line? When the king is captured in chess? When the shot is put the farthest at the Olympic games?

In most every contest in life, an endpoint arrives and a winner emerges. That’s true in our spiritual lives, too. Notice what the Apostle Paul writes, as found in 1 Corinthians 15:54:

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

At the end of the age, when the reality of Christ’s resurrection is fully realized, as described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.

The Protestant Reformed theology described in The Westminster Confession of Faith puts it this way:

32.1: After death the bodies of human beings decompose and return to dust, but their souls, which do not die or sleep, have an immortal existence and immediately return to God who created them. The souls of the righteous are then perfected in holiness and are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory and wait for the full redemption of their bodies. The souls of the wicked are thrown into hell, where they remain in torment and complete darkness, set apart for the great day of judgment. Scripture recognizes only these two places, and no other, for souls separated from their bodies.

32.2: Those who are alive at the last day will not die but will be changed. At that time all the dead will be raised with the very same bodies and no other than the same bodies they had before, although with different characteristics, which will be united again to their souls forever.

32.3: By the power of Christ the bodies of the unjust shall be raised to dishonor, but by his Spirit the bodies of the just will be raised to honor and be made according to the pattern of his own glorious body.

As we begin a new day, let us rejoice that, as the old gospel song by Albert E. Brumley states: ¹

“This world is not my home. I’m just a-passin’ through.”

Amen and Amen.

 

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1 Brumley, Albert E. “ I Can’t Feel At Home Any More.” Public Domain. This Hymn is included in various Hymnals that are copyrighted by the publisher of the Hymnal. Though this citation is noted to be in the Public Domain, in the case of anyone claiming Copyright protection of this material, citation of any Copyrighted material is made on this blog post strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

We Will All Be Changed

 

“Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.”

—1 Corinthians 15:51-53

You’ve likely heard of the mom who, with tongue in cheek and a smile on her face, painted the wall of the church’s nursery that faced the entrance door with these words from 1 Corinthians 15:51:

We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed …

Her wonderful sense of humor made many a parent smile, as they brought their little one to the nursery on Sunday morning.

But, the thrust of this passage of Scripture has far greater implications in our Christian lives than a mere wink at the ambiguities of the English language. In fact, part of the greatest expression of our faith in the life-transforming power of the living Lord Jesus Christ is contained in these words of the Apostle Paul found, more completely, in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53:

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

For now, we live on this earth as Christ’s ambassadors. God has chosen us to belong to Himself. He has redeemed us from the penalty of our sin through the shedding of the precious blood of His one and only Son, Jesus. God has claimed victory for us over sin, death, and Satan, through the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.

Once our sojourn on this earth is done, we will pass into glory and spend eternity with God. We cannot imagine what heaven will be like. Some believe that the Book of Revelation indicates we will actually spend eternity on this earth. But, it will be a new heaven and a new earth. All sin will be gone. Only light and life will remain.

Whatever eternity turns out to be for us, we know that spending it with God will be more marvelous than we can ever possibly imagine. So, as we begin a new day, let’s follow the instruction of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews, found in Hebrews 12:1-3:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Ineed! Let it be so! Amen.

 

_{Copyright © 2025 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}