Death's Sting Removed in 1 Corinthians 15:55
Exposition of 1 Corinthians 15:55
1 Corinthians 15:55 reads, "Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?" (NRSV) [1]. This verse is part of Paul's discussion on the resurrection of the dead, where he argues that through Christ's resurrection, believers will also be raised, and death will be defeated.
The passage is situated within Paul's larger argument in 1 Corinthians 15, where he addresses the Corinthian church's questions about the resurrection. The surrounding verses (1 Corinthians 15:50-57) describe the transformation that will occur at the resurrection, where the perishable will put on the imperishable, and death will be swallowed up in victory [5].
The phrase "Death, where is your sting?" is a quotation from Hosea 13:14, although Paul uses it freely, as noted by Jamieson, Fausset & Brown [3]. The Hebrew text of Hosea 13:14 can be translated as "O death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your destruction?" The Septuagint, however, translates it similarly to Paul's usage, "Where is your victory, O death? Where is your sting, O Hades?".
The "sting" of death refers to sin, which gives death its power and bitterness [2]. According to John Gill, sin is the cause of death and supports its empire. The removal of death's sting implies the defeat of sin's power through Christ's sacrifice.
The victory over death is attributed to God, who gives the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ [4]. This victory is a result of Christ's death and resurrection, which ended the dominating power of sin and death [6].
The interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:55 has been consistent across various traditions. The verse is seen as a triumphant declaration of the defeat of death and the grave. As Matthew Henry notes, the change that occurs at the resurrection is not just for those who have died but also for those who are alive, who will be transformed in a moment [8].
The imagery of death's sting being removed has been influential in Christian theology and liturgy, often symbolizing the ultimate victory of Christ over death and sin. This passage, along with others like Isaiah 25:8, has been used to affirm the hope of resurrection and the defeat of death [7].
The historical setting of this passage is the Corinthian church in the mid-first century, where Paul addresses the concerns and questions of the early Christian community regarding the resurrection. The cultural and theological context is one of grappling with the implications of Christ's resurrection for the lives of believers.
Sources
- 1 Corinthians ““Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?” -- 1 Corinthians 15:55”
- 1 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Corinthians 15:53: The sting of death is sin,.... Death has a sting, and which was originally in it, and that is sin; sin is the cause of death, it is what has given rise and being to it; it entered into the world by it, and is supported in its empire through it; it gives it its resistless power, which reaches to all sorts of persons, young and old, rich and poor, high and low, bond and free; it gives it all its bitterness, agonies, and miseries; and it is by that it does all the hurt and mischief it does; and it may fitly be compared to a sting, for its poisonous and venomous n”
- 1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 15:55: Quoted from Hos 13:14, substantially; but freely used by the warrant of the Spirit by which Paul wrote. The Hebrew may be translated, "O death, where are thy plagues? Where, O Hades, is thy destruction?" The Septuagint, "Where is thy victory (literally, in a lawsuit), O death? Where is thy sting, O Hades? . . . Sting" answers to the Hebrew "plagues," namely, a poisoned sting causing plagues. Appropriate, as to the old serpent (Gen 3:14-15; Num 21:6). "Victory" answers to the Hebrew "destruction." Compare Isa 25:7, "destroy . . . veil . . . over”
- 1 Corinthians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on 1 Corinthians 15:54: But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory,.... Over sin the sting of death, over the law the strength of sin, and over death and the grave; and which will be the ground and foundation of the above triumphant song in the resurrection morn, as it is now at this present time of praise and thankfulness to God: and it is all through our Lord Jesus; he has got the victory over sin; he has put it away by the sacrifice of himself; he has finished and made an end of it; for though it reigns over his people before conversion, and dwells in them after it, yet in”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 15:54: 15:54 “Death is swallowed up in victory”: Resurrection defeats the ultimate enemy, death, just as the power of the Spirit enables believers to transcend sin here and now (see Rom 8:2, 11).”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 15:57: 15:57 The death and resurrection of Christ ends the dominating power of sin and death (see Rom 6:14; 8:2; 10:4).”
- 1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 15:54: then--not before. Death has as yet a sting even to the believer, in that his body is to be under its power till the resurrection. But then the sting and power of death shall cease for ever. Death is swallowed up in victory--In Hebrew of Isa 25:8, from which it is quoted, "He (Jehovah) will swallow up death in victory"; that is, for ever: as "in victory" often means in Hebrew idiom (Jer 3:5; Lam 5:20). Christ will swallow it up so altogether victoriously that it shall never more regain its power (compare Hos 6:2; Hos 13:14; Co2 5:4; Heb 2:14-1”
- 1 Corinthians (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 15:51: To confirm what he had said of this change, I. He here tells them what had been concealed from or unknown to them till then - that all the saints would not die, but all would be changed. Those that are alive at our Lord's coming will be caught up into the clouds, without dying, Th1 4:11. But it is plain from this passage that it will not be without changing from corruption to incorruption. The frame of their living bodies shall be thus altered, as well as those that are dead; and this in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, Co1 15:52. What cannot almighty”