The Day of Christ

Jesus will arrive on the Day of the Lord to raise the dead, judge the wicked, and end death itself.

Paul discusses aspects of Christ’s future arrival in his first letter to the Corinthians, including the “Day of the Lord,” the consummation of God’s Kingdom, the resurrection of the dead, the bodily transformation of saints still alive when Jesus arrives, the judgment of the wicked, and the end of death.

The Apostle begins his first letter by thanking God for His grace and putting the proper perspective on spiritual gifts by invoking Christ’s expected return.

• (1 Corinthians 1:4-9) - “I give thanks to my God concerning you <…> that you come short in no gift of grace, anxiously awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ who will also confirm you unto the end, unimpeachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is God through whom you have been called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

[Dover - Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash]

Rather than overvalue spiritual gifts, believers must remember they are waiting for the much fuller glories they will receive on the “Day of our Lord Jesus Christ” when the Savior is revealed for all to see.

The Greek term translated as “revelation” in the Corinthian passage is the noun ‘apokalupsis’, meaning “revelation, disclosure, unveiling” - (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, Luke 17:30, 1 Peter 4:13).

• “Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and set your hope perfectly on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ [‘apokalupsis’]” - (1 Peter 1:13).

• “But insomuch as you are partners of Christ's sufferings, rejoice, that at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice with exceeding joy [‘apokalupsis’]” - (1 Peter 4:13).

The “Day of our Lord Jesus Christ” becomes synonymous with the “Day of the Lord” in the New Testament. The original term in the Hebrew Bible referred to a day when Yahweh would deliver His people and judge their enemies. By adding “Jesus Christ” to the phrase, Paul centers the ancient hope in the Son of God - (Amos 5:18-20, Joel 2:31, Philippians 1:6, 2:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10).

In the third chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul describes the coming day when our deeds will be examined - “Each man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire. And the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it is.” Judgment will come, but only at the proper time - (1 Corinthians 3:13):

• “He that judges me is the Lord. Judge nothing before the time until the Lord comes. He will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall each man have his praise from God”- (1 Corinthians 4:3-5).

In Chapter 5, Paul deals with a shameful incident that brought the congregation into disrepute. A member was having sexual relations with his stepmother. Rather than boast of their spirituality and liberty, Paul commanded the Corinthians to “mourn” that such an egregious sinner was in their midst. The Apostle admonished the congregation to expel this man so his “spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.” The result Paul hoped for was the offender’s repentance and eventual salvation by the time of the “Day of the Lord” - (1 Corinthians 5:4-5).

AT HIS COMING

Paul responded to men who denied the future resurrection by pointing to the past resurrection of Jesus.  If there is no future resurrection, “Then not even Christ has been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, void is our proclamation, void also is our faith” - (1 Corinthians 15:22-28).

In Chapter 15, Paul presents the general order of final events leading up to Christ’s return. Jesus is the “first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” – the first participant in the larger resurrection. Therefore, his past resurrection is foundational to and the basis of our resurrection on the “Day of Christ.”

Our resurrection will occur at the “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ of Jesus, and the raising of the dead will mean “the end” of death itself. Death, the “last enemy,” will no longer occur - (“Death is swallowed up in victory! O death, where is your victory?” – 1 Corinthians 15:55).

Christ’s Kingdom will be consummated that day, and God’s rule will be absolute. All this will occur when the Son of God appears in the heavens on the last day:

• “Then comes the end when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has placed all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be abolished is death <…> that God may be all in all” – (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

• “According to that working of the strength of His might, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come. And he put all things in subjection under his feet” – (Ephesians 1:19-22).

• “Wherefore also God highly exalted him and gave him the name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” – (Philippians 2:9-11).

In this letter to the Corinthians, Paul refers several times to the “Day of the Lord Jesus” and Christ’s return. The Apostle expects only one coming of Jesus, and it will be a day of absolute victory and finality. It will include the examination of the righteous, the total subjugation of all God’s enemies, the bodily resurrection of the righteous dead, the end of death, and the completion of the Kingdom of God.

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SEE ALSO:

• Death, the Last Enemy - (The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean the resurrection and the end of the Last Enemy, namely, Death - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28)

• The Days of Noah and Lot - (Just as unprepared men were destroyed by the Flood, so unrepentant men and apostates will be overtaken by destruction when Jesus arrives)

• His Return - (The arrival of Jesus will mean the resurrection of the dead, the commencement of the New Creation, and the final judgment)

• Coming on the Clouds - (All men will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of Heaven when he comes to gather his elect and judge the nations –Mark 13:21-27)