After taunting death for its coming defeat in verse 55, Paul declared the "sting" or source of death to be sin and the power of sin to be the law. The law does not create sin, but it does reveal that every human being is sinful. Each of us disobeys the commands of God. The result of sin is always death, and not just physical death. Sin is responsible for the death that separates us from God forever.

Paul jumps in, much as he does in the book of Romans (Romans 7:24–25) to say this is not the end of the story. He declares his thanks to God, who gives human beings victory over death through Jesus. That is, God forgives the sin of all who trust in Christ's death, offered in their place on the cross, those who believe in His resurrection from the dead as the first defeat of death (John 3:16–18; Romans 10:9–10).

Our inescapable sin-debt meant unavoidable death and eternal separation from God. Christ's sinless life and substitutionary death made our sin escapable through faith in Him and by God's grace (2 Corinthians 5:21). That changes the meaning of physical death in this life for the born-again Christian. Instead of death being the beginning of an eternity apart from the Father (John 3:36; Revelation 20:15), it is just another step before our resurrection as glorified beings who will spend eternity with the Father (1 John 3:2; 1 Corinthians 15:51–55). Thanks be to God, indeed!

First Corinthians 15:50–58 powerfully concludes Paul's teaching on the resurrection of Christians: when the last trumpet blasts and Christ returns for those who belong to Him. In that moment, all believers in Jesus, living and dead, will be transformed into the glorified, eternal bodies God has promised us. Death will be defeated forever, never to hurt anyone again. Sin brings death, and the law is the power of sin, but God has given us the victory over death by forgiving our sin through faith in Jesus and by His grace.

Paul provides thorough teaching about the resurrection of Christians from the dead. This is a direct counter to some group of Corinthians who did not believe in such a resurrection. He shows that natural death is not the end of life for Christians; it is the last step before receiving a glorified, resurrected body like that of the risen Christ. That ''spiritual'' body will be as different from our current bodies as a star is from a fish. In that moment, for all who have believed in Christ, living and dead, death will be defeated for good.

In chapters 12, 13, and 14, Scripture focused on the concept of spiritual gifts and how best to use them. This follows several other ideas where Paul corrected errors in the Corinthians' thinking. Chapter 15 contains extensive teaching on one last issue about which some Corinthians were confused or misled. Apparently, they harbored some doubts about the physical resurrection of Christians from the dead. After clearing up these confusions, Paul will address various other items, of a less doctrinal nature, and close out his letter.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.

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