The Mystery of the Resurrection
In the climax of the greatest chapter on resurrection in the Bible, Paul introduces a mystery. It is not the fact of resurrection itself — he has been arguing for that throughout 1 Corinthians 15. The mystery is something more specific: what will happen to believers who are still alive when Christ returns.
The Key Passage: 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
"Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality."— 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 (ESV)
Paul begins with "Behold!" (idou) — a word that signals something unexpected and important. He then uses the word "mystery" to introduce a piece of revealed information that his audience has not heard before. This is not a rehearsal of common knowledge. Paul is disclosing something new.
The Content of the Mystery
The mystery has two parts:
- "We shall not all sleep" — Not every believer will die before Christ returns. Some will still be alive.
- "But we shall all be changed" — Whether dead or alive at Christ's coming, every believer will undergo a transformation. Mortal bodies will become immortal; perishable will become imperishable.
The transformation is instantaneous ("in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye") and universal among believers ("we shall all be changed"). It is triggered by "the last trumpet," which connects this passage to the broader eschatological timeline. See also The Mystery of God Finished for the seventh trumpet in Revelation.
Why Is This a Mystery?
The Old Testament speaks of resurrection (Daniel 12:2, Isaiah 26:19), but it does not clearly describe what happens to those who are alive at the end. Nor does it describe the nature of the resurrected body in the detail Paul provides. The "mystery" here is a new revelation — information that Paul has received by divine disclosure and is now sharing with the Corinthian church. This fits the standard biblical pattern where mystery means "something once hidden, now revealed." See What Does "Mystery" Mean in the Bible?
The Resurrection Body
Earlier in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul uses the analogy of a seed to describe the difference between the earthly body and the resurrection body (15:36-44). The seed dies and is raised as something far greater than itself. The body is "sown in dishonor" and "raised in glory"; "sown in weakness" and "raised in power"; "sown a natural body" and "raised a spiritual body." The mystery of verse 51 completes this picture by explaining that the transformation applies even to those who do not die.
Connection to the Mystery of Godliness
In 1 Timothy 3:16, the mystery of godliness includes the affirmation that Christ was "taken up in glory." Christ's own bodily transformation — from crucified to risen to glorified — is the prototype for the transformation Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 15. The mystery of the resurrection is, in a sense, the application of Christ's own mystery to all who belong to Him.