I Corinthians 15:18  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
19  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21  For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24  Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

The Bible makes a distinction between those who are saved and die and the lost. God directed the apostle Paul to speak of the saved who had died as those who “are fallen asleep in Christ.” Saved people do not perish. They fall asleep and wake up in Heaven. Their souls are immediately in Heaven and their bodies will be raised up and their souls will be reunited with their resurrected bodies. Lost people die and their souls go directly to hell and their bodies will be raised up and their souls will be reunited with their bodies and they will be at the great white throne judgment and then they will be cast into the lake of fire.
In verse 19 we are reminded that God’s gift of salvation is for all eternity. Christians do have a hope that goes beyond this life. Paul pointed out that if the resurrection is false, then those who are saved are worse off than all others. The fact is that the many who have rejected the truth and chosen to follow lies are the most miserable. They chose to believe a lie and they knew better. They will have all of eternity to regret that extremely foolish choice.
In verse 20 Paul declared that now is Christ risen from the dead. This is not some future event. Jesus Christ was alive and seated on the right hand of His Father in glory as Paul was writing this. He is become the firstfruits of them that slept. He set the pattern. He led the way. He will bring all His saints into glory.
In verse 21 we are reminded that man brought death into place. There was no death prior to man’s fall. The good news is that by man — the Son of man — the Lord Jesus Christ, came the resurrection of the dead. All people need to understand that there is a resurrection coming. The lost do not get annihilated. They will be called to the great white throne judgment and there they will be exposed before all the lost. There will be no trials conducted there. No lawyers will intervene on behalf of anyone else. Each person will be shown just how wicked they were and then they will be sentenced to eternity in the lake of fire. Not a good prospect. If you are lost and reading this, you can change that today. You can humble yourself and repent toward God and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
In verse 22 Adam is named as the one who brought death into this world. All people die. In Christ all are made alive. Eternal life is found only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated as “Christ” means “Messiah”. Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He is the anointed One chosen by God as the Saviour. All those who turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, receive eternal life. He was declared to be so in the Old Testament and He was revealed as such in the New Testament.
In verse 23 we see again that God is a God of order. Jesus Christ needed to be raised up first. He is the firstfruits. There were others who were given life after they had died. Lazarus was one of them. However, he died again. Jesus Christ died, was buried and rose again demonstrating His victory over death. He never sinned. He rose again proving His deity. He set the pattern. All those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation are given eternal life.
We read here that those that are Christ’s will be raised up at His coming. I Thessalonians 4:13-18 gives us a clear account of that event. Jesus Christ will come in the clouds and the trumpet will sound and the dead in Christ will be raised up and those who are saved and alive at that time will be taken up together with those who were in the graves. None will get to heaven ahead of the other. The souls of the saved are there at the moment of death, but the bodies are kept until the Lord comes in the clouds.
In verse 24 we read of the coming of the end. The end is after the end of the Millennium. Then the lost will be raised up and judged. At the end of the Millennium, Jesus Christ will have put down all rule and authority and power. Satan will be cast directly into the lake of fire. The lost will be judged and join him there.
In verse 25 we are reminded that Jesus Christ must reign. He will reign for 1,000 years and at the end of that time, there will be one final battle and Satan and his followers will be destroyed. All of Jesus’ enemies will be put under His feet. There will be none left to attack Him.
There is a great day coming yet. It is important to be prepared for that day. The Word of God is clear. There is a judgment coming. The hope of man is to turn to the true God and be saved. If you are reading this and not saved, you still have opportunity to turn to God today. Don’t delay. God’s clock is ticking. Not only is there a day when all sin will be judged and all lost people will be cast into the lake of fire, but you and I have a time limit on our lives. There is a time limit on every person. God knows the day and the hour. He has given us His Word so that we can know the truth and be forgiven and saved. He has also sent the Holy Spirit to convince all people of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. No person is without the needed knowledge and conviction to know the need to be saved. Many ignore the facts and choose their own method of salvation. That will not work, and rather than fight against the truth, humble yourself and believe the truth.
The apostle Paul was directed by God to confront the church in Corinth regarding their false doctrines. They needed to put an end to that and they needed to believe the truth. God is still working with His churches. There are many churches that are nothing more than social clubs. We can know that because they hold to false doctrines and never change. In fact they become more corrupt over time. A true church will be purified by the Lord. We see the evidence of that in Revelation 2&3. There needed to be changes in those churches. Sadly, none of those churches exist today. The reason being that they did not take Jesus’ warnings seriously.
Remember, God’s clock is ticking. We are not wise to tempt God. God’s Word is sure. Accept the truth today and build your life on the truth. That is the way of blessing. God directed the apostle Paul to address the false doctrines in the church in Corinth. This letter is for all churches to study. True saints will benefit from this letter. False professors will follow the abuses addressed rather than follow the truth. Choose wisely.
Pastor Bartel