THANKS BE TO GOD
1 Corinthians 15:57-58 NKJV
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Paul is ending on a good note as he writes to the church concerning our final victory over death and Hades. Hades or hell being the dark world to which the unbelievers depart after death. Paul is declaring that in Christ death and hell have lost their sting and their victory.
Verse 57 declares we are giving thanks to God for our victory in Christ—and not just our victory over death and Hades, which can appear so final. Our victory in Christ is victory over Satan and all the negative stuff he brings our way. That means we have victory over fear and the fear of death. We have victory over anxiety attacks and panic. We have victory in Christ over sin and disease. Any work of the enemy has been defeated for us in Christ.
This is one of the reasons why Paul exhorts the church to be steady and immovable. Things may come our way to shake us up and make us change course, but we don’t have to yield. We give thanks to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And because we have victory in Christ, we are rock steady and not scared or moved off of our beliefs. We are abounding, which would mean we are abundant in the work of the Lord. We are endeavoring to move the Kingdom of God forward using the gifts and talents God has given us. And we stay on this course because we know what we do for the Lord has value. What we do for Him is not in vain. We know we are not wasting our time.
APPLICATION
Giving thanks to God is always appropriate. But in our verses for today, we see a key reason to give thanks. We give thanks because, in Christ, we have the victory. Here is where our walk of faith comes into play. We are giving thanks to God for the victory we have in Christ despite what we see in our lives. For example, if we are having a problem breaking a particular weight or sin that keeps tripping us up, we have a response. We can lament that we keep on stumbling and failing, or we can take a different route. What if we thank God that He has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ? This puts us on the positive side of the problem. Now, instead of establishing how weak we are, we can begin to develop a vision of us moving past this sin problem to a place of victory. This is certainly a different approach, but what do we have to lose?
Knowing we have victory in Christ, we can involve ourselves in the work of the Kingdom. We can be consistent and focused, knowing the Lord will help us and what we do for Him has eternal value.
Thanks be to God! We have been given the victory in Christ!