When will death die?
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| The Last Judgement. The Louvre. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
In order to inherit eternal life, our bodies must be changed. Our earthly bodies, which are made of flesh and blood, are corruptible and afflicted with the eroding effects of sin. Such a body cannot inherit the kingdom of God, for corruption cannot inherit that which is incorruptible. All, therefore, who enter Christ’s kingdom, must be changed—a fact that had been revealed to Paul by divine revelation. This is what he means when he says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery.” Mystery here means something that has been revealed, and which could not otherwise be known. God has declared that those who are alive at the second coming, as well as those who rest in the grave, will be changed instantly into glory. The final day when the church will be assembled before the Lord, all who have been predestined to inherit the kingdom of God will be changed; the corruptible will put on incorruption (Rom. 8:28–29).
When that last trumpet sounds, and the saints of the Lord are changed and clothed with glory, death will finally be defeated. While death has certainly been conquered by the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, there is a dimension to that victory that will not be realized until the second coming. Until our bodies, which have suffered the effects of sin, are raised to new life, death is still present and active—something our ever-deepening wrinkles remind us of every day. But once the graves that hold our decaying bodies open and the power of God transforms our mortal bodies, death no longer wields its frightful power over us.
Death exists because of sin, and sin is present because of the law. If there were no law, there would be no transgression of it, and thus no sin. The only way, therefore, to eradicate death is to fulfill the requirements of the law, thus robbing sin of its power; and once sin has been vanquished, death loses its sting. This is what Christ has done for His people. He has fulfilled the requirements of the law, and His righteousness is credited to us. We are, therefore, not condemned because of sin but declared righteous. Because we are freed from condemnation, we are freed from the penalty of death. The resurrection is the realization of that freedom—freedom attained by Christ for His people whom upon He set His love before the foundation of the world.
