Death’s Sting

Death’s Sting

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:56–57

This is a beautiful passage for Christians. It shows us how, through Christ’s victory, we can get rid of death’s sting. It shows us how we can get rid of the power of the law, which drives that sting into us and kills us. Ultimately, the sting will be completely removed from us. Paul closes with an appropriate song, which we also can sing: “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory.” With this song, we can continually celebrate Easter, praising God for this victory. We didn’t win this victory or achieve it in battle, for it’s too great and lofty. But this victory was given to us out of God’s grace. He had mercy on our misery, and he knew no one else could help us. So he sent his Son into battle. Christ secured the victory. He defeated the enemies—sin, death, and hell. He gave us this victory so that we can call it our own, just as if we had won it.

Now we must take it seriously and not live in contradiction to God, as do those who presume to conquer sin and death by themselves. Also, we don’t want to be found ungrateful, as apathetic Christians often are; we should rather hold this victory in our hearts with firm faith and strengthen ourselves with it. We should keep this message of Christ’s victory in mind and sing about it as we travel along joyfully until that day when we experience this victory in our own bodies.