Amplified Bible
1 Corinthians 15:56
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law;
1 Corinthians 15:56 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
- New International Version (NIV)The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
- English Standard Version (ESV)The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
Context of 1 Corinthians 15:56
54And when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says, “Death is swallowed up in victory (vanquished forever). 55O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law; 57but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].
Read all of 1 Corinthians 151 Corinthians 15:56 word by word
τὸ δὲ κέντρον τοῦ θανάτου ἡ ἁμαρτία, ἡ δὲ δύναμις τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ νόμος.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 15:56
- Genesis 3:17Then to Adam the Lord God said, “Because you have listened [attentively] to the voice of your wife, and have eaten [fruit] from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’; The ground is [now] under a curse because of you; In sorrow and toil you shall eat [the fruit] of it All the days of your life.
- Psalms 90:3You turn man back to dust, And say, “Return [to the earth], O children of [mortal] men!”
- Proverbs 14:32The wicked is overthrown through his wrongdoing, But the righteous has hope and confidence and a refuge [with God] even in death.
- John 8:21Then He said again to them, “I am going away, and you will look for Me, and you will die [unforgiven and condemned] in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.”
- Romans 5:15But the free gift [of God] is not like the trespass [because the gift of grace overwhelms the fall of man]. For if many died by one man’s trespass [Adam’s sin], much more [abundantly] did God’s grace and the gift [that comes] by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, overflow to [benefit] the many.
- Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- Hebrews 9:27And just as it is appointed and destined for all men to die once and after this [comes certain] judgment,
- Romans 3:19Now we know that whatever the Law [of Moses] says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that [the excuses of] every mouth may be silenced [from protesting] and that all the world may be held accountable to God [and subject to His judgment].
- Romans 4:15For the Law results in [God’s] wrath [against sin], but where there is no law, there is no violation [of it either].
- Romans 5:13Sin was [committed] in the world before the Law [was given], but sin is not charged [against anyone] when there is no law [against it].
- Romans 7:5When we were living in the flesh [trapped by sin], the sinful passions, which were awakened by [that which] the Law [identifies as sin], were at work in our body to bear fruit for death [since the willingness to sin led to death and separation from God].
- Galatians 3:10For all who depend on the Law [seeking justification and salvation by obedience to the Law and the observance of rituals] are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed (condemned to destruction) is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, so as to practice them.”
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 15:56
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 56The 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…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 56The 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…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 51-58Verses 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…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 35-58Paul talks about what resurrection bodies are like, possibly answering doubts. In the Greco-Roman world, people often believed the soul was immortal, but not that the body could rise again.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5656. 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 perceived or imputed (Ro 3:20; 4:15; 5:13). The law makes sin the more grievous by making God's will the clearer (Ro 7:8-10). Christ's people are no longer "under the law" (Ro 6:14).Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 15:56
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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