If I had been Paul, I think I would have ended my writings on resurrection with 1 Cor 15:57 – ‘But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ That’s a fantastic verse, reminding us of the help God gives us because of the resurrection. Because Christ has destroyed the power of sin and death on the cross, we have hope of deliverance and victory. This hope is in the present tense and indicates that it is God’s characteristic to give victory. The implication is that we participate in that victory now and that we participate in it daily! What better way to end the chapter?!
But Paul does not end the conversation there. Instead, in the next verse we read, ‘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 labour in the Lord is not in vain.’ (1 Cor 15:58)
Paul is never content to leave us with theology that is not tied to practical application. The fact that Christ has died for our sins and been raised for our justification has enormous present-day relevance, shaping how we live our everyday lives right now. This hope enables us to stand firm, to be steadfast, to be immovable, not to be swayed by every whim or fancy (see Eph 4:14). It gives us a good grip on life, better than the bottle openers for those struggling with arthritis!
This hope makes us as unshakable as the ship which ran aground on the island of Malta, whose bow stuck fast and could not be moved (see Acts 27:39-41). It also provides the motivation for our service to God. Paul reminds us that just as the death and resurrection of Christ were not in vain (empty, worthless), so our labour in the Lord is not in vain. That labour can be hard work indeed! (see 1 Cor 11:23, 27; 2 Cor 6:5; 2 Thess 3:8) – but is as nothing compared to the sacrifice of Christ and the reward promised to God’s people. Confidence in the resurrection moves us to both stability and service. John Piper says, ‘Christ has come. He has died for you. He took all your sins on himself. He satisfied the demands of the law for you. The sting of death is removed. There is no condemnation. No hell. No fear. Though your body be laid in the grave, Christ will come and the trumpet will sound, and this mortal body will put on immortality and this decomposing, decaying body will become imperishable. Death is swallowed up in a great, blood-bought, Christ-wrought victory. To die is gain. Away from the body, at home with the Lord.’ If we keep these things in mind, our stability and service are assured.