1 Corinthians 15:56

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. If there were no sin, there would be no death. Man's transgression of the law gives death its lawful power. STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW. Without the law, sin is not discerned or imputed (; ; ). The law aggravates sin by making its contrariety to God's will apparent. Christ's people are no longer "under the law" ()....

56._The sting of death is sin _In other words, “Death has no dart with which to wound us except _sin, _since _death _proceeds from the anger of God. Now it is only with our sins that God is angry. Take away sin, therefore, and death will no more be able to harm us.” This agrees with what he said in Romans 6:23, that _the wages of sin is death. _Here, however, he makes use of another metaphor, for he compared sin to a _sting, _with which alone death is armed for inflicting upon us a deadly wound. Let _that _be taken away, and death is disarmed, so as to be no longer hurtful. Now with what view Paul says this will be explained by him ere long. _The strength of sin is the law _It is the law of God that imparts to that sting its deadly power, because it does not merely discover our guilt, but even increases it. A clearer exposition of this statement may

51-58 All the saints should not die, but all would be changed. In the gospel, many truths, before hidden in mystery, are made known. Death never shall appear in the regions to which our Lord will bear his risen saints. Therefore let us seek the full assurance of faith and hope, that in the midst of pain, and in the prospect of death, we may think calmly on the horrors of the tomb; assured that our bodies will there sleep, and in the mean time our souls will be present with the Redeemer. Sin gives death all its hurtful power. The sting of death is sin; but Christ, by dying, has taken out this sting; he has made atonement for sin, he has obtained remission of it. The strength of sin is the law. None can answer its demands, endure its curse, or do away his own transgressions. Hence terror and anguish. And hence death is terrible to the unbelieving and the impenitent. Death may seize a beli...

Verse 56. _THE STING OF DEATH_ IS _SIN_] The apostle explains himself particularly here: death could not have entered into the world if sin had not entered _first_; it was _sin_ that not only introduced _death_, but has armed him with all his _destroying_ force; the _goad_ or _dagger_ of death is _sin_; by this both body and soul are slain. _THE STRENGTH OF SIN_ IS _THE LAW._] The law of God forbids all transgression, and sentences those who commit it to temporal and eternal death. Sin has its controlling and _binding_ power from the law. The law _curses_ the transgressor, and provides no help for him; and if nothing else intervene, he must, through it, continue ever under the empire of death....

THE STING OF DEATH - The sting which death bears; that with which he effects his purpose; that which is made use of to inflict death; or that which is the cause of death. There would be no death without sin. The apostle here personifies death, as if it were a living being, and as making use of sin to inflict death, or as being the sting, or envenomed instrument, with which he inflicts the mortal agony. The idea is, that sin is the cause of death. It introduced it; it makes it certain; it is the cause of the pain, distress, agony, and horror which attends it. If there had been no sin, people would not have died. If there were no sin, death would not be attended with horror or alarm. For why should innocence be afraid to die? What has innocence to fear anywhere in the universe of a just God? The fact, therefore, that people die, is proof that they are sinners; the fact that they feel horro...

EXPOSITION 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1 _The doctrine of the resurrection. _This chapter, and the thirteenth, on Christian love, stand out, even among the writings of St. Paul, as pre-eminently beautiful and important. No human words ever written have brought such comfort to millions of mourners as the words of this chapter, which form a part of the Burial Service of almost every Christian community. It is the more deeply imprinted on the memory of men because it comes to us in the most solemn hours of bereavement, when we have most need of a living faith. The chapter falls into six sections. 1. The evidence of Christ's resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1). 2. The resurrection of Christ is the foundati

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 nature: AND THE STRENGTH OF SIN IS THE LAW; not that the law of God is sinful, or encourages sin: it forbids it under the severest penalty; but was there no law there would be no sin, nor imputation of it; sin is a transgression of the law: moreover, the strength of sin, its evil nature, and all the dreadful aggravations of it, and...

1 Corinthians 15:1. _Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain._ What was this gospel, of which Paul thought so highly, and which he says is the means of our salvation? Did it consist in sundry doctrinal statements? No, it contained doctrinal statements, but it did not consist entirely of them. Here is Paul's declaration concerning the gospel: 1 Corinthians 15:3. _For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;_ This is the solid basis of the gospel....

SIN (_ See Scofield) - (Romans 3:23). _...

III. RESURRECTION AND THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH AND CONCLUSION: Chapter S 15-16 1. Resurrection and the Hope of the Church. CHAPTER 15 _ 1. The Gospel and the Resurrection of Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:1 .)_ 2. If Christ were not raised--then what? (1 Corinthians 15:12 .) 3. Christ the Firstfruits and what follows. (1 Corinthians 15:20 .) 4. Further practical arguments about Resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:29 .) 5. Concerning the Resurrection of the Body. ...