The Meaning of 1 Corinthians 15:56 Explained

1 Corinthians 15:56

KJV: The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

YLT: and the sting of the death is the sin, and the power of the sin the law;

Darby: Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin the law;

ASV: The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

<1161> The sting  of death  [is] sin;  and  the strength  of sin  [is] the law. 

What does 1 Corinthians 15:56 Mean?

Study Notes

sin
.
sinned
Sin, Summary: The literal meanings of the Heb. and (Greek - ἀλεκτοροφωνία sin," "sinner," etc)., disclose the true nature of sin in its manifold manifestations. Sin is transgression, an overstepping of the law, the divine boundary between good and evil Psalms 51:1 ; Luke 15:29 , iniquity, an act inherently wrong, whether expressly forbidden or not; error, a departure from right; Psalms 51:9 ; Romans 3:23 , missing the mark, a failure to meet the divine standard; trespass, the intrusion of self-will into the sphere of divine authority Ephesians 2:1 , lawlessness, or spiritual anarchy 1 Timothy 1:9 , unbelief, or an insult to the divine veracity John 16:9 .
Sin originated with Satan Isaiah 14:12-14 , entered the world through Adam Romans 5:12 , was, and is, universal, Christ alone excepted; Romans 3:23 ; 1 Peter 2:22 , incurs the penalties of spiritual and physical death; Genesis 2:17 ; Genesis 3:19 ; Ezekiel 18:4 ; Ezekiel 18:20 ; Romans 6:23 and has no remedy but in the sacrificial death of Christ; Hebrews 9:26 ; Acts 4:12 availed of by faith Acts 13:38 ; Acts 13:39 . Sin may be summarized as threefold: An act, the violation of, or want of obedience to the revealed will of God; a state, absence of righteousness; a nature, enmity toward God.

Verse Meaning

The fatal sting of death touches humans through sin ( Romans 6:23). What makes sin sinful is the law of God ( Romans 7:7-11). Because Jesus Christ overcame sin and fulfilled the law, death cannot hold its prey ( Romans 5:12-21). Death is still an enemy in the sense that it robs us of mortal life. Notwithstanding it is not a terror to the believer because it is the doorway into an immortal life of glory.

Context Summary

1 Corinthians 15:42-58 - Victory Over Sin And Death
Life on the other side will be as real and as earnest as here. We shall not dissolve into thin mist or flit as bodiless ghosts. We shall each be provided with a body like that which our Lord had after, He arose from the dead. It will be a spiritual body, able to go and come at a wish or a thought; a body that will be perfectly adapted to its spiritual world environment. The last Adam, our Lord, will effect this for us. But we must in the meanwhile be content to make the best use of the discipline of mortality, keeping our body pure and sweet as the temple and vehicle of the Holy Spirit until we are born into the next stage of existence. Always the physical before the psychical and the psychical before the spiritual.
What triumph rings through those last four verses! As generations of Christians have stood around the mortal remains of their beloved, they have uttered these words of immortal hope. The trumpet's notes will call those who have died and the saints that are still alive on the earth, into one mighty host of transfigured and redeemed humanity. Oh, happy day! Then we shall be manifested, rewarded, and glorified with Christ. All mysteries solved, all questions answered! Till then let us abound always in the work of the Lord. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Corinthians 15

1  By Christ's resurrection,
12  he proves the necessity of our resurrection,
16  against all such as deny the resurrection of the body
21  The fruit,
35  and the manner thereof;
51  and of the resurrection of those who shall be found alive at the last day

Greek Commentary for 1 Corinthians 15:56

The power of sin [η δυναμις της αμαρτιας]
See Romans 4:15; Romans 5:20; Romans 6:14; Chapter 7; Galatians 2:16; 3:1-5:4 for Paul‘s ideas here briefly expressed. In man‘s unrenewed state he cannot obey God‘s holy law. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 1 Corinthians 15:56

Romans 3:20 By the works of the law [επιγνωσις αμαρτιας]
“Out of works of law.” Mosaic law and any law as the source of being set right with God. Paul quotes Psalm 43:2 as he did in Galatians 2:16 to prove his point. The knowledge of sin (epignōsis hamartias). The effect of law universally is rebellion to it (1 Corinthians 15:56). Paul has shown this carefully in Galatians 3:19-22. Cf. Hebrews 10:3. He has now proven the guilt of both Gentile and Jew. [source]
Romans 3:20 The knowledge of sin [epignōsis hamartias)]
The effect of law universally is rebellion to it (1 Corinthians 15:56). Paul has shown this carefully in Galatians 3:19-22. Cf. Hebrews 10:3. He has now proven the guilt of both Gentile and Jew. [source]
2 Corinthians 3:6 Killeth []
See on Romans 5:12, Romans 5:13; see on Romans 7:9; see on Romans 8:2. Compare 1 Corinthians 15:56. “The living testimony borne to his authority in the Corinthian Church suggests strongly the contrast of the dreary, death-like atmosphere which surrounded the old, graven characters on which his opponents rested their claims” (Stanley). [source]
2 Corinthians 3:7 Of death [του τανατου]
Subjective genitive, marked by death in its outcome (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:56; Galatians 3:10). The letter kills. [source]
Galatians 3:23 Under the law [ὑπὸ νόμον]
Const. with were kept in ward, not with shut up. We were shut up with the law as a warder, not for protection, but to guard against escape. Comp. Wisd. 17:15. The figure of the law as pedagogue (Galatians 3:24) is not anticipated. The law is conceived, not as the prison, but as the warder, the Lord or despot, the power of sin (see 1 Corinthians 15:56; Romans 7), by whom those who belong to sin are kept under lock and key - under moral captivity, without possibility of liberation except through faith. [source]
Colossians 2:14 Which was contrary to us [ὃ ἦν ὑπεναντίον ἡμῖν]
He has just said which was against us ( το καθ ' ἡμῶν ); which stood to our debit, binding us legally. This phrase enlarges on that idea, emphasizing the hostile character of the bond, as a hindrance. Compare Romans 4:15; Romans 5:20; 1 Corinthians 15:56; Galatians 3:23. “Law is against us, because it comes like a taskmaster, bidding us do, but neither putting the inclination into our hearts nor the power into our hands. And law is against us, because the revelation of unfulfilled duty is the accusation of the defaulter, and a revelation to him of his guilt. And law is against us, because it comes with threatenings and foretastes of penalty and pain. Thus, as standard, accuser, and avenger it is against us” (Maclaren). [source]

What do the individual words in 1 Corinthians 15:56 mean?

- And the sting - of death [is] - sin the power - of sin the law
Τὸ δὲ κέντρον τοῦ θανάτου ἁμαρτία δύναμις τῆς ἁμαρτίας νόμος

Τὸ  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
κέντρον  the  sting 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: κέντρον  
Sense: a sting, as that of bees, scorpions, locusts.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
θανάτου  of  death  [is] 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θάνατος 
Sense: the death of the body.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἁμαρτία  sin 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ἁμαρτία  
Sense: equivalent to 264.
δύναμις  the  power 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: δύναμις  
Sense: strength power, ability.
τῆς  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἁμαρτίας  of  sin 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: ἁμαρτία  
Sense: equivalent to 264.
νόμος  law 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: νόμος  
Sense: anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, a law, a command.