A Mystery Revealed
Dearly beloved of God, if Christ was not raised from the dead our believing is vain, we are still dead in sin, and those who have fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, then of all men we are most to be pitied. Now, however, Christ has been raised from the dead: the first fruit offering of those who have fallen asleep, and our hope is that he will raise us up also when he comes.
I Corinthians 15:21 and 22 The Working Translation
As a matter of fact, since death came by man, by man is the resurrection of the dead also, for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive.
Each, however, in his own order: Christ, the first fruit offering, then at his coming, those who are Christ’s.
When will those who are Christ’s be made alive? They will be made alive “at his coming,” not at the moment of their death.
I Corinthians 15: 50 The Working Translation
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
The verse reveals that corruption does not inherit incorruption. The dead do not inherit incorruption automatically upon death.
I Corinthians 15: 51-58
Behold, I show 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. In fact, the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Moreover, it is necessary for this corruptible one to be clothed with incorruptibility and for this mortal one to be clothed with immortality.
When this corruptible one is clothed with incorruptibility and this mortal one is clothed with immortality, then the Word that has been written will come to pass: Isaiah 25:8 “Death was swallowed up in victory.”
Hosea 13:14 “Oh death, where is your stinger? Oh state of death, where is your victory.”
The stinger of death is the sin, and the power of the sin is the law, but thanks be to God Who gives us the victory [over sin and death] through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, become steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your hard labor in the Lord is not vain.
The resurrections were not a mystery; they were known to Israel. They knew that all men die, and they will be in one of the resurrections. The resurrections were not a mystery, but the revelation from God that follows was a mystery to them.
When the Lord Jesus Christ returns for the Church, and gathers them up to meet him in the air there will be people on earth that are yet alive. Those who are yet alive will have to be changed from mortal ones to immortal ones.
I Thessalonians 4: 16 and 17 reveals this same truth. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive, and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Both the dead in Christ and the living ones will be gathered up to meet the Lord in the air together. This has not happened as of this writing.
This will occur on the Day of Redemption for the Church, the day when the Lord Jesus Christ will redeem us from death, and from this evil world.
When the Lord comes he will change our bodies so that they are fashioned like his glorious body, whether we will have died previously, or we are yet living. Together both will be caught up to meet him in the air, never again to be separated from him.
God determined beforehand that we would be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren. God determined that we would be justified from sin and its condemnation by his accomplishments, and that we would be glorified with him as joint heirs.
Since God spared not His own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how will He not with him also freely give us all things? We were saved unto a hope, and that hope will one day be realized when God sends His Son to gather us up to him in the air.
Oh, what a day that will be! From that point it will take our Father the ages to come to display the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness to us in Christ Jesus. Rejoice, dearly beloved, he is coming!