1 Corinthians 15:55-57 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

What Is This Thing We Call “Death”?

1 Corinthians 15:55 O death, where is thy sting?

In my news feed on Friday, July 8 2022 I read:

“Prolific actor James Caan passed away late Wednesday at the age of 82, according to a statement from family members yesterday”. I first saw James Caan in a movie called El Dorado – its one of my favorite movies. Caan did quite a few movies over the years. I’ll not quote them all, because it’s quite a list. But I wanted to note the end of the article, which said: “A cause of death was not specified”. The man was 82 years old.

As a dear friend of mine said the other day,
“It’s age related”.

We don’t live forever in our current state of being – though scientists are trying hard to overcome death. In another article from Breakpoint Daily,

“Harvard Medical molecular biologist David Sinclair is combining innovation in the lab with innovation in language. In a recent CNN article, one of Sinclair’s financial backers described the goal of his research as changing the definition of the word “aging.” He wants to “make aging a disease.” Sinclair claims to have successfully interrupted the aging process in mice by turning adult cells back into stem cells. … His ultimate aim, of course, is to develop anti-aging therapies for humans.”

Humans do not like to think about death. Yet we shall all eventually die – become inanimate – in this current home we call our bodies. Death is a part of life. Wise King Solomon wrote, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die ” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2). The Apostle Paul wrote, “ it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). We have learned how to extend human life by the use of drugs and medical science. But we cannot eliminate death.

Death is not what God originally intended for us, but it is a part of the Fall of Adam. God told Adam (Genesis 3:19) “in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”. Physical death – the cessation of life in this body – was NOT the punishment that Adam and his heirs received for disobeying God and eating the forbidden. Do you remember the command that God gave Adam:

Genesis 2:16-17 … the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

God told Adam “IN THE DAY”, the very day that he disobeyed and ate of the forbidden fruit “THOU SHALT SURELY DIE”. God was not talking about PHYSICAL death. How do we know this?

First, because God cannot make mistakes.
Hear the Scripture!

Psalm 18:30 tells us “God—His way is perfect”.

Proverbs 30:5 states “Every word of God proves true”.

Numbers 23:19 declares, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind”.

Our God does not make mistakes. “Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure” (Psalm 147:5).

God did not tell Adam “you will eventually die”, but “in the day” that he disobeyed he would die.

If you will look at the Scripture, you will see that after Adam’s sin he went on to live a very long time. Adam lived to be 930 years old. God was not referring to PHYSICAL death as a punishment of Adam’s sin. When God ushered Adam and his family out of Eden, He did so because of the Tree of Life.

God did not design us to live forever in these bodies. As long as Adam loved God, he and his own had access to the Tree of Life. You remember, there were TWO TREES in the midst of the Garden: The Tree of Life, and the Forbidden Tree, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve had access to the Tree of Life as long as they walked with God. Yet when Adam sinned, he and his family were cast out of Eden to keep them from the Tree of Life.

Genesis 3:22-23 … the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden

Physical death itself is not a punishment from God. Our current bodies were meant to wear out – they were not meant to be permanent. As long as Adam and his family had access to the Tree of Life, they had life. Once Adam sinned, he and his family were restricted from the Tree of Life. Here’s the point:

Preach!: If you want access to LIFE, you must have access to GOD. There is no LIFE without GOD. ADAM DIED SPIRITUALLY the day he sinned against God, and because he was SPIRITUALLY dead, he eventually suffered PHYSICAL death.

The Tree of Life is only in Paradise, in the place where God is. (Revelation 2:7; 22:2, 14). The Tree of Life is only available only to those who love the Lord. God gives life to those who love Him.

What I am saying may sound new to you, but it is Biblical truth. The Forerunner Commentary states:

“The death that entered the world through Adam’s sin was not physical death. Adam was a flesh-and-blood human being, so his body was naturally subject to entropy {to gradual decline}. The fact that he was created as flesh meant that, at some point, his heart would stop, and the breath of life would leave. Even if he had lived a sinless life, he still would have died when his body ceased to function. Adam was never immortal; he needed to eat of the Tree of Life to live forever (Genesis 3:22). When Adam sinned, he immediately entered a state of spiritual—not physical—death, which contributed to the foundation of Satan’s deception that life continues after sin.”

So, what is this thing we call “Death”? It is not PHYSICAL death, but SPIRITUAL death. Death is the life lived apart from God.

Death is a life lived separate from God.

When the Bible says … Romans 5:12 (NKJV) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

It’s not talking about PHYSICAL death, but SPIRITUAL death. It’s talking about living a physical life apart from God Who makes life.

1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

It is sin that brings separation from God. “The sting of death is sin”. It is sin that separates us from God. Sin always separates – stings – it is venomous, the bite of a viper. Sin has given us “Pride Month”, a way of life unendorsed by God, a way of life outside of God’s design. Sin has given us mass shootings. Sin has given us racism, and hatred. Sin creeps into local Churches and turns them into Peyton Places. Sin endorses evil, and twists truth.

the strength of sin is the law

Preach!: God says “Don’t do it”, and sin grows and drags us toward death. Sin is the scourge that is destroying America today. Sin is the mother demanding the right to abort her baby. Sin is the self righteous gathered in crowds, mocking the lost instead of inviting them to meet the Savior. Sin is the man who will not be a father to his child and a husband to his wife. Sin is the gossip who spreads evil as a knife spreads jam on toast. Sin is the grudge carrier. Sin is to love self more than God. Sin is to ignore the Word of God, the Scripture, in favor of the word of man. “The strength of sin is the law”. God is righteous, holy, and just. God has a standard, and anything against God’s standard causes God to reject our presence. When Adam sinned, though God clothed both Adam and Eve, they were ushered out of the Garden of Eden.

Calvary Shows Us What God Thinks Of Sin

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We only have victory over sin and death through “our Lord Jesus Christ”. What did Jesus do to cover our sins? The Bible says:

1 Corinthians 15:3 …. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

“Christ died for our sins”. The word “Christ” means “The Chosen One”. We as sinners could not pay for our sins. We are born SPIRITUALLY dead. We enter this life enslaved to sin. A sinner cannot pay for sinners.

But God can.

God sent His Son Jesus into this world to be the Christ, the Chosen One to make payment for our sins. The Bible declares:

Romans 3:25 {It is Jesus Christ Who} God {the Father} set forth to be a propitiation {a covering} through faith in His Blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins …

God the Son willingly became Man, Perfect Man, to make payment for our sins. Jesus spoke of His death saying,

Matthew 26:28 … This is My Blood of the New {Covenant}, which is shed for the remission of sins …

Sin is no trifle, no small thing. Sin is a creature with death as its sting. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The strength of sin is the Law. “Sin worked death in me by that which is good {the Law}” (Romans 7:13). Sin caused God the Father to “deliver” His Son unto judgment for us:

Romans 4:24 {Jesus} was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For {God the Father} has made {Jesus} to be sin for us, Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Jesus died a horrible death on the Cross for our sins. Every evil that we did or would do was put on His soul, so much so that He cried out in anguish. “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46; Psalm 22:1). Our sins caused His death. And yet, Jesus willingly went to the Cross for our sins. The Scripture says:

Galatians 1:4 {Jesus Christ} gave Himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

Jesus did not die for us that we might continue in sin, but died for us to BRING US TO GOD. We are moved from a state of SPIRITUAL DEATH to a state of SPIRITUAL LIFE when we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We are no longer in the embrace of the Curse.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Jesus Christ died for your sins and mine. When we receive Him as He is, our sins are forgiven. Jesus Christ offered ONE SACRIFICE for sins FOREVER (Hebrews 10:12). Why did He do this?

1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Jesus did not just die on Calvary to get us into Heaven. Jesus died on Calvary so that He might get Heaven into us! He gave His life to BRING US TO GOD.

Jesus changes the life that He saves. Jesus “loves us, and WASHES us from OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD, making us KINGS and PRIESTS unto God and His Father” (Revelation 1:5-6). We are moved from darkness to light when we receive Jesus as Savior. We are changed for sinner apart from God to Child of God bound to God when we receive Jesus as Savior. The Grace of God changes us, and works in us.

When You See Jesus, He Changes You FOREVER

1 Corinthians 15:8-10 And last of all {Jesus} was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Before the Apostle Paul met Jesus, he was known as “Saul”, a persecutor of the Church. But meeting Jesus on the Damascus Road, Saul became Paul, and the Persecutor became an Apostle. The Apostle said “by the grace of God I am what I am”. Where God’s Grace is, there is changed life. Where salvation is, there Jesus IS LORD.

Where Grace is, the Holy Spirit is. The Bible says that, once we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, God the Holy Spirit comes to us. The Scripture says,

Romans 8:9 … if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

How can you know that you are saved? Just as Paul said,

I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me

Where Grace is, there will be evidence. Where the Spirit of God is, there will be evidence. The Bible says that the “fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance …” (Galatians 5:22-23). You are not a Christian because YOU say so. You are a Christian because the SPIRIT OF GOD IS IN YOU, and the output of your life is the “fruit of the Spirit”.

You are to love, not hate. You are to willingly obey the Savior Who is your Lord. Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him Who sent Me.” (John 6:38). Jesus said, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46). Jesus said, “I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37).

If you are SAVED, dear professing Christian, then the OUTPUT of your LIFE will be LOVE. You will do what Jesus said because you LOVE Jesus. Jesus said,

John 14:15 If you love Me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS.

John 15:10 If you KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS, you shall abide in My love …

The Christian follows the Lord in love. You cannot be right with God if you are not loving even your greatest enemy. What did Jesus command? Hear His Words:

Matthew 5:23-24 (ESV) … if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

You cannot carry a grudge, and uphold the Cross of Christ. You must love. You MUST love. You WILL love, because the Spirit will move you to it. Again we read:

Matthew 5:43-45 (ESV) … You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

There is not a person in this Church or under the sound of my voice that is not broken. We come to Church because we are broken. But we gather together as a Church welcoming the broken. We forgive offenses quickly, because God Who indwells us demands that we do so. We cannot sin and walk with God. Jesus said:

Matthew 6:14-15 (ESV) For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The Cross Defeats Death, That Is, Separation From God

1 Corinthians 15:20-26 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Those who have given themselves to God by faith
in Christ need not fear death.
Jesus Christ is the death of Death.

If you are in Spiritual Death you should fear Physical Death. If you live WITHOUT Christ on this earth, you will go to a place where death – separation from God – forever is. Those who refuse to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, AWAY FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD and from the glory of His might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). This is what hell is. Hell is where God forever is NOT. Oh, dear friend, do not put off coming to the Lord Jesus. For the Christ follower “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). To die physically for those IN JESUS is to have a THIRD BIRTH, not a death. Our first birth was when we entered this world through our mother. Our second birth was when we were “born again” of the Spirit. But dear Christian, physical death to us is not a separation, but a glad reunion day. Absent from this body, I will be present with the Lord. “Oh death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory?”. Jesus has defeated Spiritual Death. Jesus has defeated Physical Death. Will you not come to Him without delay this very day? May God the Holy Spirit bring you to to Christ the very moment. Amen and Amen!