John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 15:51

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

Until now, he has included two points in his reasoning. In the first place, he shows that there will be a resurrection from the dead: secondly, he shows what kind it will be. Now, however, he delves more thoroughly into describing its manner. This he calls a mystery, because it had not yet been so clearly unfolded in any statement of revelation. He does this to make them more attentive. For that wicked doctrine had gained strength from the fact that they disputed about this matter carelessly and casually, as if it were a matter in which they felt no difficulty. Therefore, by the term mystery, he admonishes them to learn a matter that was not only still unknown to them but also ought to be counted among God’s heavenly secrets.

We shall not indeed all sleep. There is no difference here in the Greek manuscripts, but in the Latin versions, there are three different readings. The first is: We shall indeed all die, but we shall not all be changed. The second is: We shall indeed all rise again, but we shall not all be changed. The third is: We shall not indeed all sleep, but we shall all be changed. This diversity, I conjecture, arose from some readers, who were not the most discerning, being dissatisfied with the true reading and venturing to guess a reading they preferred. For it seemed absurd to them, at first glance, to say that all would not die, while we read elsewhere that it is appointed unto all men once to die (Hebrews 9:27). Therefore, they altered the meaning in this way: All will not be changed, though all will rise again, or will die; and they interpret the change to mean the glory that the sons of God alone will obtain. The true reading, however, can be judged from the context.

Paul’s intention is to explain what he had said: that we will be conformed to Christ, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. A question arose: what then will become of those who will still be living at the day of the Lord? His answer is that although all will not die, they will still be renewed, so that mortality and corruption may be done away. It must be observed, however, that he speaks exclusively of believers. For although the resurrection of the wicked will also involve change, yet since no mention is made of them here, we must consider everything that is said as referring exclusively to the elect. We now see how well this statement corresponds with the preceding one. For as he had said that we shall bear the image of Christ, he now declares that this will take place when we shall be changed, so that mortality may be swallowed up of life (2 Corinthians 5:4), and that this renovation is not inconsistent with the fact that Christ’s advent will find some still alive.

We must, however, unravel the difficulty: that it is appointed unto all men once to die; and certainly, it is not difficult to unravel it in this way: that as a change cannot take place without doing away with the previous system, that change is counted, with good reason, a kind of death; but, as it is not a separation of the soul from the body, it is not looked upon as an ordinary death. It will then be death, insofar as it will be the destruction of corruptible nature; it will not be a sleep, insofar as the soul will not leave the body, but there will be a sudden transition from corruptible nature into a blessed immortality.