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.
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.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
I Corinthians 15:51-58
There’s a lot happening in 1 Corinthians 15—more than we can get into here. Although, if you only skimmed through the verses above, I might recommend that you read them again a little more slowly. In it, the Holy Spirit reveals an important truth about the future.
Looking closer, we are reminded that one day, in a moment, everything will change. In just the twinkling of an eye, the final trumpet will sound. And at that time, we will be changed. The dead will rise. The perishable will be clothed with the imperishable. The mortal will be clothed with immortality. And even death itself will be swallowed up in victory.
What a breathtaking promise! In an instant, sometime very soon, all will be changed.
But then comes the final verse.
“Therefore,” Paul writes, “stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord…”
“Because,” as he tells us, “you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.”
It is interesting to me that Paul places his instruction between two important truths. First, he tells us, there is a time coming, when the trumpet sounds, that everything will be turned upside down. So, stand firm in the Lord and give yourselves fully to His work.
But after that, he continues to encourage us with another promise. Not only do we work for the Lord because He will be victorious in the end, but we also devote ourselves fully to the work of Christ because our labor is never in vain.
That’s a powerful reminder—especially when our efforts feel slow, unnoticed, or discouraging.
Maybe you’ve been faithfully sowing seeds of the gospel in your friend’s life, but he still hasn’t accepted your invitation to church.
Maybe you’ve been praying for years for a breakthrough in your child’s life that hasn’t come.
Maybe you’ve been serving every week at your local church and wonder if it’s even helping at all.
Maybe you’ve been giving faithfully to a missionary and are unsure what good it is accomplishing.
Or maybe you are that missionary in a foreign land wondering if your work will ever bear fruit.
This verse is for you!
God sees you. God knows you. And you can find strength to persevere knowing your labor is never in vain when it’s done for Him.
Paul understands the difficulty of faithfulness and surrendering ourselves to God in a fallen world. He has experienced persecution firsthand. That’s why he places his exhortation between two amazing promises:
- Christ will win.
- Our work is never in vain.
Victory is coming. Stand firm. Devote yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. Because none of it is wasted.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, we look forward to the day You return and death is swallowed up in victory. But until that day, help me stand firm and give myself fully to Your work. Keep me encouraged to that end. In Jesus’s Name, Amen.