1 Corinthians 15:51 (WEB)

Passage

Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,

Nearby Context

1 Corinthians 15:49 As we have borne the image of those made of dust, let’s also bear the image of the heavenly.

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s Kingdom; neither does the perishable inherit imperishable.

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

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

1 Corinthians 15:53 For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "behold", "tell", "mystery", "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 I say this brothers 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.