Death, Where Is Your Sting

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1, ESV)

†CALL TO WORSHIP based on Romans 12:1

Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: Sons and daughters of the living God, why are you together on this Lord’s Day?

Congregation: By the mercies of God, we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is our spiritual worship.

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You are the Lord; Creator, Sustainer, and the Ruler of all things. You are our Lord, the God who gave His own Son for our salvation; who has called us out f darkness and into your marvelous light. Come, O God, inhabit the praises of your people. Send the Spirit that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. Receive our worship, as you receive our prayer.

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #252

“This Is My Father’s World”

† CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 1:7-14

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2, ESV)

Minister: Christians, we are called not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. He has given us the Holy Spirit, and, by testing, we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Congregation: But many times, and in a variety of ways, we have failed to discern and failed to do God’s will. We have much to confess.

Pastoral Prayer of Confession

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Minister: Christians, in him we have redemption through his blood.

Congregation: In him we have the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will. In him we have obtained an inheritance, according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to the counsel of his will. When we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, and believed in him, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. All to the praise of his glory, amen!

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Exodus 16:13-36

Paul Mulner, Elder

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†HYMN OF PREPARATION #444

“Come to the Waters”

SERMON 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 // Death, Where Is Your Victory?

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Guide us, O God, by your word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in you truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

TEXT 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

1 Corinthians 15:50–58 ESV

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where 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, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The ordinances of the Lord are sure, and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold.

INTRO

Paul has been reminding the Corinthians that the resurrection is of most importance. We can easily, frequently do, minimize it by saying in a sort of shorthand way that the gospel is that “Jesus died for me”. And of course that is true enough, but we mustn’t forget that Jesus also raised from the dead. He didn’t just die; He died and rose. He didn’t just pay the wages of sin, which are death; He is the good shepherd who has lead us beyond death and out the other side. He isn’t just the light of the world who came to give insight and wisdom and truth; he is the resurrection and the life who has the power to take his life up again. So Paul has gone to great lengths to remind the Corinthians not to place the focus of their faith on merely some spiritual principles and a future spiritual hope, but to be reminded that the body matters - that it will be raised like Christ’s body was raised. And when they were incredulous as to what to hope for in a resurrection as these bodies are decaying, Paul reminded them that these bodies are like seeds, sown plain and weak but raised in abundance of exponential life. And so getting the bearings of the gospel right and resetting their hope for the future, Paul sheds light on how the resurrection gives hope in the present. The fact remains that we haven’t experienced death yet. It’s a mystery to us and it casts a long shadow over our lives. So what might the resurrection teach us about this current moment, our waiting period of unknown duration? What are we to think about death now with these moments and these days? As the phrase goes, how should we then live?

Death Can Be Embraced As A Mercy

“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:50–53, ESV)

The flesh and blood that we know is our home and our comfort, but it is also tainted with the dust and curse of Adam. It’s our enemy in regards to the flesh, but also all we’ve ever known. As Paul cries out in Romans 7, “I do the things that I don’t want to do and I don’t do that which I should do. Who will free me from this body of death?” Part of the answer is that death will free us from these bodies of death. Our flesh and blood is weak, perishable, and unfit to inherit the kingdom of God. One of the earliest mercies that you see in scripture is that God wouldn't not allow Adam and Eve to continue in living forever now that they lived in a world of sin and death. Being east of Eden is to be in the shadowlands, but it was also a mercy. And they were never there alone; God came and showed them the way out of the grave.

It’s one of the great longings of my heart to be with the Lord where there is no sin and no brokenness and no weight of the flesh. But as it stands now; I would be disqualified and ill equipped to be there. This perishable body is the seed that has to die before new life can come forth.

Paul says that we will not all sleep — just remain in the ground — but we will change (in a rather charming image) in the twinkling of an eye. In the quickest flicker of a blink, God, just as He is sovereignly sustaining you at this very moment will call you forward to be changed, to take off this load of imperishable and be fully clothed in Him and in life. Paul articulates this point about death as a blessing and a mercy in other helpful words in second Corinthians, saying:

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:1–10, ESV)

Even though death is the only way through, death is swallowed up by life. A Christian funeral is often marked by sadness because we will miss the person, but it should never be by the sadness of hopelessness. We live in such a way now, seeing that Jesus has taken care of everything. All details are accounted for. The itinerary has all been secured and there are no loose ends. Our lives, and even our deaths, are in the hands of our merciful and kind God.

So, death has lost it’s fatality and it’s bleakness, and death has also lost it’s sting

Death Has Lost It’s Sting

“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:54–57, ESV)

There are these images in the Bible of death swallowing people up. In the Red sea, the waters swallow up the Egyptian army while the Israelites are saved. In the judgement of the land, Noah and his family are pardoned but the rest of the world is swallowed up. Jonah is swallowed in death by the whale, an image that Jesus takes to tell his disciples of his own death. But here we see that the tables are turned. Death itself, which has done all of this swallowing, has been itself been swallowed up by Christ. There’s always a bigger fish.

And death not only loses its bark, it also loses its bite. The “sting” of death is sin. We know that death comes as a wage for sin (Rom 6:23), and that sins power comes from the law. So the real tragedy of death isn’t merely the pain or the loss, but that our sins are considered. The real teeth and sting of death is our sin, and when our sin is placed before the measurement of the law, that sting is death - real death. Condemnation.

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (v.57)

When Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane before being betrayed and led to the cross of His death, we are told that his soul was sorrowful, even unto death (Mt. 26:38). That he prayed, asking God if this cup could pass from him (Mt.26:39) as he sweat great drops of blood (Lk.22:44). But Jesus wasn’t afraid of death. He had already foretold of his death and resurrection. The sting of death in this moment is sin. Jesus was about to take on the sins of the world, being separated from the Father. In all of the agony of the cross, only few words are spoken: My God, why have you forsaken me? And, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Jesus has taken on the full sting of death. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV). For us, the sting is gone. Death will still come, but it becomes a time of transition and no longer a time of terror.

Death Motivates The Present

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV)

Death doesn’t nullify what we do here and now. Our labor in the Christian life doesn’t become a vanity project of obedience and holiness and love that doesn’t matter. The gospel, and making sure that the resurrection is apart of that gospel, it what causes us to be resolutely given over to obedience in this life, knowing that God has taken care of our past, that He has taken care of our future, and that God is with us now in the present. Rather, we are to abound in work for the Lord. Thinking back through this whole letter as a whole, this charge to remain steadfast to the gospel and to abound in good work now is a great parting reminder to the Corinthians and to us as Paul ends this letter. They had adopted a typical Greek view of the body and the soul. The body was weak and worthless, but the soul was elevated and meaningful. Their Christianity was harmonized to this view, rejecting the physical resurrection of the body and generally living their Christian lives in the realm of the spiritual, oriented optimistically toward the future and pessimistically toward the present. As we have seen through this letter, they lived in sexual immorality, lawsuits, pride, idolatry with food, hierarchy at the Lord’s supper, disruptions during service, and generally living without the more excellent way of love. And living this way makes sense if the resurrection isn’t true — that this life doesn’t matter too much. But we are reminded that our labor here isn’t meaningless. What we sow is what we reap. What we believe in our hearts is what we demonstrate with our lives. And what we believe is this: We will one day put off this perishable flesh for the imperishable. That though death comes, it has lost its sting. And we believe that what we do now, our obedience and love and faith, are sown in such a way as to bear fruit that matters, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

Death has been swallowed up in victory. Set your hope in the Lord and your hand to the plow.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #335

“Praise the Savior Now and Ever”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A’s 32, 34

Minister: Christians, confess your faith in Christ!

Congregation: I am called Christian because by faith I am a member of Christ and so share in His anointing. I am anointed to confess His name, to present myself to Him as a living sacrifice of thanks, to strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and afterward to reign with Christ over all creation for all eternity.

We call Him ‘our Lord’ because - not with gold or silver, but with His precious blood He has set us free from sin and from the tyranny of the devil, and has bought us, body and soul, to be His very own.

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

// ad hoc invitation or use below if needed //

As we were reminded from Scripture this morning. God is faithful. And though it does cause us to remember, this table is no mere memorial to that faithfulness. The bread and wine offered here is tangible evidence of that faithfulness as the grace of God, through union with Christ, is given to those who receive these elements by faith. This meal boldly proclaims and exhibits the faithfulness of God, who so loved his own people, sinners as they were, the he became man for their salvation.

No one should come to this table without recognizing that it is his faithfulness, and not ours, that makes us worthy recipients. Those who may come to receive the Lord’s body and blood are those who rely entirely on God’s faithfulness for their hope and assurance.

// ad hoc invitation or use above if needed – typically always use what’s below //

This meal is for those who are sorry for their sin and those who hate their sin. This table welcomes all who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church. If you do not repent of your sin, you must not come. If you do not believe you have sinned, you must not come. But if you know your sin, and confess it, he is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness and this table is for you. Come, touch, taste and see the faithfulness of God.

PRAYER

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

After elements are distributed read the WOI while congregation is partaking.

WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

MINISTER: The Lord Jesus, the same night he was betrayed, took bread;

and when he had given thanks,

he broke it

and gave it to them, saying, “Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you:

do this in remembrance of me.”

After the same manner also, he took the cup when they had supped,

saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood:

this do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

†OUR RESPONSE #572

“Gloria Patri”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end. Amen, amen.

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (3/17/24)

GRACE NOTES REFLECTION

How does the doctrine of resurrection help us in the present?

The resurrection helps us to know that death isn’t final, even allowing us to embrace the time when we will put off the perishable for the imperishable (1 Cor. 15:50).

The resurrection reminds us that death has lost its ultimate sting (1 Cor. 15:55). Death itself is one thing, but its real force is that our sins are taken into account, measured against the holiness of God’s law. For those in Christ, the full sting of sin was taken in Christ’s fulfillment of the law and his death on our behalf. For the Christian, death is a transition, not a terror.

The resurrection teaches us that our labor isn’t in vain. What we sow now will be reaped in the future, because there is a future. Just because God will bring about a resurrection and eternal perfection doesn’t mean that we get to abdicate our responsibilities and the joys of worship now. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:10, ESV)