Reading 

• 1 Cor. 15:1-16:24
• Acts 19:23-20:1 

Devotional

Today we conclude our four-day look at 1 Corinthians. Today’s devotional centers around truths regarding the resurrection of the dead, which Jesus promised would occur at His return. It is the resurrection of Jesus from the dead which proves, once and for all, that Jesus is the Christ and that GOD would day raise all of His saints’ bodies from the dead, as He did Jesus’ body.

²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. ²⁴ Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
(1 Cor. 15:21-25 NIV)

Referencing Jesus’ earlier teachings regarding His return, Paul says: 

⁵⁰ I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² 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. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 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.”

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! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁵⁸ 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.
(1 Cor. 15:50-58 NIV) 

What wonderful and encouraging promises from GOD! We can only imagine what it will be like to receive our new, glorified bodies and go to heaven to be with GOD and Jesus forever.