While we usually associate Thanksgiving with turkeys, pilgrims, football, and the sales that follow and Easter with the resurrection of Jesus, exploring the book of 1 Corinthians this fall has led me to see that we should remember to give thanks for the resurrection of Jesus this Thanksgiving.
This is because Paul’s discussion of the resurrection – both the importance of Jesus’s resurrection and the reality of our resurrection hope [links] – in 1 Corinthians 15 lead to these words in 15:58: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!” (CSB). This verse and those that precede and follow it show that the victory for which Paul gives thanks is tied to the resurrection of Jesus; they also help us know how to give thanks for this amazing victory of God.
What to Give Thanks For
In the midst of a discussion of the reality and importance of Christ’s resurrection, Paul gives thanks here for the victory that God achieves through it. The verse right before 15:57 points out what this victory is specifically over, as 15:56 says, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” Paul names these things only to show that Christ has defeated them because he opens 15:57 with that great word of contrast “but.” This means that death has a real sting – sin – and sin has a real power – the law – but that Christ is greater than these, swallowing up death and taking away its sting (15:54-55). He does that through his resurrection.
These words remind us that we should give thanks because Jesus’s resurrection defeats sin and thus what it leads to – death. The resurrection also frees us from the law, which shows the power of sin, as our sinful hearts naturally resist God’s law. We live in hope knowing that death does not have the final word in the long run and that sin has lost its power to rule over us. Since God, rather than death, stands in victory because of the resurrection of Jesus; therefore we can say with Paul “Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?” and give thanks to God.
How To Give Thanks
Paul’s words in this verse and the verse that follows gives us direction in how we can and should say “thank you” to God for the glorious truth of the resurrection. This verse shows that we give thanks by saying “thank you” to God. That might seem obvious but a good reminder that we can and should say it – and we probably don’t say it enough. Not only does Paul say “thank you,” here, but it also reflects his tendency to blurt out praise and thanksgiving to God in the course of writing his letters. His example shows us that we should give thanks when we are expected – for example, at Thanksgiving or in this season when people ask you “what are you thankful for” – but it also shows us that we should spontaneously say “thanks” both to God and for Him in front of other people. When was the last time you said “thank you” to God? When was the last time you just burst out thanking God before others?
This is not the only way to say “thank you,” though, as the next verse (15:58) gives us some further guidance: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (CSB). We also say “thank you” when we faithfully follow and serve the One who died and rose for us. Being steadfast and immovable in the course of the shifting winds of our world is a way to give thanks to God for the amazing work of Christ. Laboring for the Lord is another way, and we are called to do so in a way that reflects hope in light of the reality of the resurrection.
So this Thanksgiving, let us say “Thank you” to God for the victory over sin, death, and the law because of the resurrection and continue to follow and serve Him.
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