Kidzablaze Devotions

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

35 But someone will say, ``How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?"

36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

37 and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;

43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

45 So also it is written, ``The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.

49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.

50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will 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 will be changed.

53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about 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 brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

When we hear the word resurrection, most of us instantly think about Jesus rising from the dead. But His victory over the grave shows what’s going to happen to us as well (1 John 3:2). One day every believer who has died will experience a bodily resurrection like His, and those who are alive when Christ returns will be changed from mortal to immortal in the twinkling of an eye.

One of the first questions people ask is, What am I going to look like? These humble earthly bodies will be transformed into glorious bodies like His—minus the divinity, of course. In today’s passage, the apostle Paul provides some hints about their characteristics: They will be imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual. We’ll never again experience sin, sickness, pain, suffering, weakness, exhaustion, or death.

Another common question is, Will we know our loved ones? Consider this: How could such powerful, glorious bodies be limited in any way? Our senses and mental abilities will be completed, not diminished.

A glorious future lies ahead of us, but the joy of a new body and a reunion with loved ones will be surpassed by the thrill of seeing Jesus face-to-face. He is the One who made all this possible. Out of gratitude, let’s faithfully love and serve Him.