NOTES for Co1 15:54-58
Our risen bodies will, on the one hand, resemble our former earthly bodies; on the other hand, they will be like Christ’s risen and glorious body (Phil 3:21). Let us remember that the disciples did not recognize the risen Jesus at once (Luke 24:16, 30–31; John 20:14–16), although He undoubtedly appeared to them in bodily form (Luke 24:38–43; John 20:27; Acts 10:41).
The risen bodies will be imperishable. This means that by their very nature they will be free from the decay to which all created things, living and nonliving, are subject today. There will simply be no place for death in these bodies; it will be “swallowed up” (1 Cor 15:54).
By His resurrection Christ conquered death; after His second coming death will be “destroyed” (15:26). Rejoicing, the Apostle recalls the prophecies of Isaiah (Isa 25:8) and Hosea (Hos 13:14) about victory over death.
In verse 56, Paul briefly formulates two important theological theses which he develops in detail in other epistles (see Rom 5:12–8:11; Gal 2:11–3:14).
Death and sin cannot be conquered by law, knowledge, or any intellectual or ascetic efforts of a human being. The Lord Jesus Christ achieved this victory; we receive it as a gift.
The final verse of chapter 15 is a kind of antithesis to the slogan “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Death has been conquered; Jesus Christ tore out its sting by redeeming our sins, freed us from the curse of the law, and granted eternal life. Let us therefore labor for the Lord, for tomorrow we will stand before Him risen and immortal.