We hear much about the “Millennial Generation” (i.e.: Americans born just around the turn of the century). Their life motto seems to be: “So What?” Actually, most Millennials care about the meaning of life, but haven’t found a cause worthy of their commitment. In First Corinthians, Paul calls for dedication to Christ because He arose from the dead. Nonetheless, Millennials still ask, “What difference does it make for me?” In this two part series studying I Corinthians 15, we are examining how the Apostle Paul tells why Jesus’ resurrection matters for each one of us. In Part One he showed that Jesus’ resurrection is the heart of the Gospel and presented eye-witness evidence why we can believe it actually occurred. To read Part One go here: https://www.marketfaith.org/2026/01/why-jesus-resurrection-matters-part-1/
In this second installment we look at what Paul says are the personal consequences for each of us because of the truth of Jesus’ resurrection.
Paul founded the Corinthian church about AD 50 during his first missionary journey. He stayed with them eighteen months before moving on to continue his evangelistic and discipling mission in other locations. However, reports reached Paul that various problems and conflicts were intensifying within the Corinthian fellowship. Apparently one major issue building to a crisis level was that some people were questioning the doctrine of the future resurrection of Christians, especially those already dead.
In the first installment of this two part series we looked at what Paul presented as indisputable evidence that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead. He cited the testimonies of numerous eyewitnesses of the resurrected Jesus, including himself (1 Cor. 15:1-8). For Paul, this evidence confirmed the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection in time and space. Jesus was dead, was buried, and was raised again. It really happened. He was seen alive by friend and foe alike. Jesus’ victory over death was complete. Paul reminds them that if Christ was not raised, then their faith is worthless and they were without hope for the future. In fact, he says, they were just plain pitiful! (1 Cor. 15:.9-19) But now Paul absolutely refutes that contention.
20 But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21 For since by a man death came, by a Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:20-22 NASB)
In verse 20, Paul insists that such a denial of the resurrection is absolutely false. He says emphatically, “But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead…” This stands in direct juxtaposition to the preceding negative assertion. Christ was undeniably raised from the dead. Paul already settled that issue earlier in the chapter by citing the evidence and testimonies he had collected. So anyone trying to discredit his contention was bound to fail.
As a result, the final destiny of true believers is now inevitably set in motion. Paul is certain that Jesus’ resurrection was the “first fruits” guarantee of the future resurrection of His followers. “First fruits” is a metaphor based on the Mosaic Law that required farmers to bring their “first” or best crops to be dedicated to the House of the Lord. Those goods included grain, wine, and oils to support the priests (Num. 18:12; Deut. 18:4). Proverbs promises those honoring the Lord with their first fruits will be blessed (Prov. 3:9-10).
This harvest metaphor is used numerous times by Paul and others in Scripture to describe things that are first in time and/or eminence. Jeremiah referred to Israel as God’s first fruit (Jer. 2:3). The Holy Spirit is the first fruit of God’s promised presence (Rom. 8:23). James described believers as a “kind of first fruits” (James 1:18). New converts in an area are the first fruits of those yet to come (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:15).
For Paul, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is a down payment on the resurrection and eternal life of all believers. So is the gift of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Eph. 1:14). Even those “in Christ” (vs. 22) “of those who are asleep” (dead) will be raised at the final harvest when Christ returns.
The next two verses (21-22) are a parallel double contrast to further clarify Paul’s promise of the resurrection of the dead in verse 20. Paul recounts how, through the sin of “a man,” that is, Adam, death came into the world (Note: in Hebrew the word for man is adam). In Adam the destiny of mankind was established for all his prodigy who followed. Adam disobeyed God’s one commandment in the Garden of Eden. God forbade him from eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or face death. However, Adam and Eve succumbed to the serpent’s lie and tasted the fruit (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-24). That’s all it took to darken the path of mankind’s earthly future and eternal destiny.
Thus, out of Adam’s disobedience came “original sin.” That essential Christian doctrine declares that all humans inevitably sin against God. It is part of our fallen nature in a fallen world (Rom. 3:9-23). This tenet does not mean humans have no choice in the matter. We choose to sin. Consequently, the curse of death still rules the game.
But Paul shows how the rules have now changed. He contrasts the reality of sin and death by one man, to the fact that “by a Man also came the resurrection of the dead.” He assures his readers that “so also in Christ all will be made alive” at the coming of Christ when “the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thess. 4:16).
Paul, therefore, has established a duel theological principle. First, all humanity will die because of Adam’s sin. But, second, all believers in Christ, whether alive or dead, because of His death, burial, and resurrection, will indeed share in His resurrection. In Paul’s perspective, those in Corinth who were questioning that truth were ignoring the facts of history and his own definitive teaching. Paul next lays out chronologically how that ultimate restoration will play out.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, 24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:23-28 NASB)
Paul has made the case that, though the fall of Adam began the inevitable riptide of death, Jesus’ resurrection had diverted the current. Death no longer reigns. Yet there is a problem. All people, even believers, still physically die. So, beginning in verse 23, Paul presents a timeline of how God’s victory over death will eventually be realized. He says events will happen, “each in his own order” (tagmati – “position” or “rank”). Originally a military term meaning a unit of marching soldiers, the word is here applied to the order of the events leading to “the end” (vs. 24).
First, of course, is what has already occurred and is the foundation upon which all that will follow rests: “Christ, the first fruits.” Paul returns to the analogy he used earlier to portray Jesus’ accomplished historical resurrection as the guarantor of what is yet to come in the future.
Paul then leapfrogs from the near past to what he regards as the imminent future. He says at Jesus “coming,” all who “are Christ’s,” that is both alive and dead believers in Christ, will be raised and made alive forever (Gal. 3:29; 5:24). “Coming” is parousia and can be translated as “presence.” In this context it is used in reference to the events surrounding the Second Coming of Christ, “the blessed hope” (Titus 2:13). Jesus told his disciples to always be ready for His return. Paul, and other believers in the First Century, probably thought it would be in their lifetimes. However, Jesus gave no details as to when it would occur and cautioned against setting dates (Matt. 24:36-44; Mark 13:32).
The promise of Christ’s return still remains today, as does Jesus’ warning against forecasting when it will happen. Historically, many well-meaning Bible teachers have tried to predict the time when the Lord would come. They have all been embarrassingly wrong. While Christians should prepare and anticipate with joy Christ’s Second Coming, we should be careful not to get caught in the maze of prophetic confusion.
It should be noted, Paul says nothing at this point about the future destiny of unbelievers. It is not really his concern in this context. We must look elsewhere in Scripture for information regarding the awful eternal fate of the lost (Matt. 8:11-12; 22:13; 25:30; Rev. 19:15; et.al.).
Thus, he says in verse 24, following the resurrection of Christ (already done), His coming again (future), and the resurrection of believers, will come “the end” (to telos). Here is the culmination of the age. At that stage, Jesus will accomplish two specific tasks for redemption of the universe. First, He will turn the kingdom (rule of the universe) over to the Father. Second, Paul says, this reign will include the abolishment of “all rule and all authority and power.” Those are the evil powers, both spiritual (Satanic) and physical (earthly) that are the enemies of God and His people. Christ was crucified and raised from the dead. So He is victorious, and those enemies are already as good as defeated, but not yet entirely.
Meanwhile then, verse 25, He (Jesus) must continue to reign until all God’s enemies are conquered forever. That is, “until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” Paul’s analogy (“under his feet”) is probably an allusion to two Old Testament prophetic Messianic images. In Psalm 110:1, David says, “This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’” In Psalm 8:6, David declares, “You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet.” Ultimately He will have total and complete triumph over all enemies, defeated one by one.
Paul then shifts back to the specific subject at hand. He says in verse 26, “The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” Of course, Paul has made it clear that victory over mortality is already assured by Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, the “first fruits.” Nonetheless the final destruction of that scourge is yet to come when God’s people are raised in the harvest of souls at the Lord’s return. So, while physical death continues to exist, it is no longer an effective enemy. Just as the Allies’ success on D-Day cemented the inevitable defeat of Nazi Germany, Christ’s resurrection was God’s D-Day against death.
Six times in verses 27 and 28 Paul uses the Greek verb hupotasso (“to subject” or “to put under”). He first says God “has put all things in subjection under His feet.” The reference is again to the Messianic Psalm Paul previously cited (Psalm 8:6). Through His resurrection Christ is Lord over everything (panta) in the universe, death being the last defeated enemy. However, there is one exception who Paul underscores. “It is clear,” he says, “everything” does not include God the Father, who, in essence, is the One who put everything under Christ’s subjection. Paul does not mean that God the Father is somehow more divine than God the Son. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One God in Three Persons (Trinity). The Son, nonetheless, is willingly and functionally subordinate to the Father in the eternal plan and work of redemption.
In verse 28, Paul elaborates further on this theme of subjection. In this final statement he summarizes his thesis, reiterating what he said in verse 24. At the end of all things Christ will hold everything in subjection. But He will then place Himself under subjection to the Father (who had put everything under Christ’s subjection to start with). Christ then will hand everything over to the Father. Christ will have completed His mission and God will then again be the undisputed ruler of the universe.
Paul summarizes it this way, “so that God may be all in all” (panta en pasin). This unusual phrase should not be interpreted as do some pantheistic pseudo-Christian cults. They take “all in all” to mean “God is all”, that is, God is one with the universe itself. That is not what Paul suggests. He simply means, when all is done, God will reign over every dimension of creation (spiritual and physical) in every way forever, as is His right (see Rom. 8:19-22; 11:36; Col. 1:15-20).
In chapter 15 Paul has made his case for the resurrection of Christ and for the ultimate resurrection of His followers. He also had shown how, in the last days, God will have complete victory over all His enemies – death included. In verses 29- 34 he continues his argument for life-after-death for Christians. He says that fact is why he could willingly put himself in harm’s way and, because of it, they should live correctly.
He also provides (vs. 35-49) a detailed revelation of “the mystery” of what kind of body Christians will have after their resurrection. He contrasts the mortal “earthly” bodies humans now inhabit to the immortal “heavenly” bodies believers will inherit at the return of Christ. He says God’s people, living and dead, in a “twinkling of an eye,” will be transformed from mortality to immortality (vs. 50-53). Theologians call this the doctrine of Glorification. He then goes on to elaborate on the assurance of our victory over death in our sharing in Christ’s resurrection.
54 But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. 55 Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:54-58 NASB)
In verse 54, Paul uses an analogy to illustrate the change made in the glorified body. He says the “corruptible”, or “perishable” clothing (i.e.: the body) must be converted into an “incorruptible” or “imperishable” garment. When that happens, as inevitably it will because Jesus was raised first, then Paul says Old Testament promises will be fulfilled. He paraphrases two significant passages. First, he cites Isaiah 25:8: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Victory” is nikos. Most of us are familiar with the shoe company called “Nike.” Appropriately, Nike was the Greek goddess of victory. The Romans called her Victoria. Paul says that death has been devoured by the Lord’s victory on the cross and by His resurrection.
Paul then, in verse 55, references another passage, Hosea 13:14, which taunts death as a defeated enemy, “Where O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” The point of these passages is that when the resurrection occurs at Christ’s return and believers are transformed, God will abolish death forever. In 1739, Charles Wesley, co-founder with his brother John of the Methodist Church, borrowed this phraseology in his great hymn Christ the Lord is Risen Today.
“Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!”
For Paul, death is already defeated. So it has lost its “sting” (kentron). Bees, wasps, scorpions, and other insects can puncture the skin with painful and poisonous pricks. Some may even be fatal. Jesus’ resurrection has detoxified death’s stinger. He has extracted its venom so it no longer carries the dread it once held for Christ’s followers. Though they still die physically, Paul says the victory is already a present reality. Thus, he wants the Corinthians to know confidently their dead loved ones will live again, as will they. Death itself is as good as dead.”
Paul now identifies the exact nature of the deadly venom (verse 56). He says, “The sting of death is sin.” Death is not a natural part of life. It is a punishment for mankind’s sin. Death did not need to exist and would not exist if not for man’s disobedience to God. But Christ’s victory over death was also a victory over sin.
Paul then states a key theological tenet often found in his writings. He says that sin gets its power or force from the law (nomos) God gave to Moses. Paul’s writings delineate several essential principles concerning the law. First, Paul acknowledges that the law is good, holy and just (Rom. 7:12, 14; 1 Tim. 1:8). But, second, he contends that the law could not and cannot save anyone (Gal. 3:11-25). In Paul’s day, the Pharisees thought following the letter of the law (as they interpreted it), made them righteous in God’s sight. Paul consistently controverts their assumptions, as did Jesus who called out their hypocrisy. Third, in Paul’s perspective, God’s primary intention for giving the law was to convict people of their innate sinfulness (Rom. 3:20-23; Gal. 3:19-25). Finally, Paul asserts that Christ has freed believers from the impossible requirements of the law and its consequences of death. God’s grace, through faith in Christ, is what saves, not keeping the law or doing good works (Eph. 2:8-9).
The Apostle reiterates, in verse 57, that God has won the victory through the death and resurrection of “our Lord Jesus Christ!” The only response possible to such saving grace is thanksgiving. Though we are sinners who would be lost in death, Jesus Christ, the Lord God incarnate, has defeated death and sin for all who trust in Him.
Finally, in verse 58, Paul concludes this part of his letter with a word of exhortation and application. When he begins with “Therefore,” we know he is basing what he is about to express on the principles he already imparted. Notice how he address his readers as “my beloved brothers and sisters.” Paul has a deep affection for those in the Corinthian church. That is why he has written his letters to them. He finishes this section right where he began in verse one where he initiated his reiteration of the plain Gospel to them. Now they have a responsibility to live accordingly. He urges them to be steadfast and allow nothing to move them from what they know to be the truth. This unwavering stance is especially imperative regarding the resurrection of Christ and His followers.
In a practical sense their faith should also be expressed in doing the Lord’s work. In Paul’s mind, though salvation is by grace through faith, true faith always produces good works for the Lord’s sake (Eph. 2:10). He says they can rest assured their labors will not be in vain. Christians are promised that serving Christ through ministry of His word will never return to God void (Isa. 55:11; Col. 3:16-17).
© 2026 Tal Davis