1 Corinthians 15:51 (ASV)

Passage

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed,

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed,

1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "behold", "tell", "mystery", "shall", "sleep", and "changed". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "behold" and "tell", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 50's "Now this I say brethren that flesh..." into verse 52's "in a moment in the twinkling of...", so "behold" and "tell" belong inside that flow. In 1 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "behold" and "tell" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.