1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
In this chapter, Paul defends the Christian doctrine of life after death. Those who have been reading through the epistle might still be surprised by this last, highly erroneous belief. We read that some in the Corinthian church tolerated incest and frequented temples of the gods, they ate meat sacrificed unto idols and questioned the Church’s teaching on the veiling. They had even counterfeited the miracle of speaking in tongues. Yet, that some in Corinth did not believe in the resurrection of the dead is perhaps the greatest proof of their error.
The Apostle Paul’s apology for the validity of the Resurrection is a masterpiece of argumentation. First, he gives positive proofs from the Scriptures and from eye-witnesses and then substantiates it by giving the negative case; if no resurrection, no living Christ either. Furthermore, the Apostles would be liars, faith in Christ would be vain and striving dangerously for God would be foolish. Then, after laying out these evidences, Paul illuminates several mysterious details of the Resurrection and closes with a compelling description of the joy of being part of that chosen group.
By which (Gospel) also ye are (being) saved. The verb is present tense and conditioned upon an action: if ye (hold fast) what I preached unto you (cf 1Thes 5:21; Heb 3:6). The Resurrection was an integral part of the gospel of salvation which Paul had preached in Corinth. To disbelieve the Resurrection is to disbelieve the Gospel.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
In defending the doctrine the Resurrection, Paul lays again the foundation of Christianity: Jesus died for our sins and rose again the third day. Any person who wishes to be saved must be first convinced of the truth of this event. The four Gospels were written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ (John 20:30-31), the Promised One who accomplished all that God had foretold through the prophets according to the Scriptures. Throughout the New Testament, the Apostles show many OT prophetic details that Christ fulfilled. Hearts should burn (Luke 24:32) as Jesus shows to us in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:25-27). These things were widely viewed and known; they were not done in a corner (Acts 26:26). The Christian faith is based firmly upon a very solid factual foundation, for while the teachings of Jesus are essential to salvation, the power of that salvation rests upon an actual historical event: the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Other religions of the world revere the words of a particular man, but Christianity reverences first the acts of a particular Man.
He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. This detail is not directly stated in the Old Testament, but is found there in symbols and types which in no way diminishes the power of its testimony to the mind of an honest seeker of Truth. Jesus Himself revealed the type of Jonah when He predicted that He would be three days in the heart of the earth (Mat 12:40). In another compelling typological prophecy of this detail, we read how God carefully instructed Moses to structure the Feast of Unleavened Bread so that the Passover lamb would be killed at the very hour that Jesus died, and furthermore so that the Offering of Firstfruits would take place at the very hour of His resurrection three days later (see note v20). Several other Judaic ceremonies and rituals required actions upon the third day, among which the Red Heifer sacrifice was one of the most important (Num 19). Abraham came to the place where he was to offer up Isaac on the third day (Gen 22:4). Many other hints that a very important event would happen upon the third day are sprinkled throughout the Scriptures (i.e. Hos 6:1-2).
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
This partial list of eye-witnesses seems to be structured in chronological order of appearance, although some doubt that Cephas (Simon Peter) was the first man to see the risen Lord. Those in favor cite Luke 24:34, yet outside of this reference there is no actual record of Jesus appearing to Peter alone before His evening manifestation to ten of the Apostles (see John 20:19-25). Nevertheless, Peter was one of the first to see the empty tomb (John 20:6-9) so it is not difficult to believe that Jesus appeared to him first and then to the gathered Apostles that evening. Peter also had a very personal meeting with Christ on the shores of Galilee a week later (John 21:7-19).
Of course, the very first witnesses of the risen Christ were His faithful women disciples, a fact with no little significance given the secondary lot of women in ancient societies. Jesus and the new Kingdom which He established on earth gives increased recognition to the role of women in comparison to the rules of the Old Covenant. Why didn’t Paul include the women in this list?
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once. Many scholars link this with Jesus’ words to His disciples, that He would appear to the brethren in Galilee (Mat 28:10). Jesus had many followers in Galilee and the Eleven apparently assembled with others upon a particular mountain which Jesus had appointed (Mat 28:16).
After that, he was seen of James. There is no direct reference to this appearance elsewhere in the Scriptures, which is not all that surprising since it apparently took place after the close of the Gospel histories. There were two Apostles named James. One was John’s brother and among the first Christians to be martyred for professing faith in Christ (Acts 12:2). The other was Jude’s brother and bishop of the church in Jerusalem. This James was known as the Lord’s brother (Gal 1:19; Mat 13:55), who also wrote the epistle that bears his name (see note on John 19:25). Which James is referred to here? I speculate that Jesus revealed Himself to the martyr James sometime during those forty days that He shewed Himself alive after His passion (Acts 1:3). Then, after being seen of James, He appeared one last time to all the apostles at His ascension into heaven (Acts 1:4-11).
The Apostles were known as the twelve (Mat 26:14; Mark 14:17; Luke 8:1; John 20:24), even though there were only eleven for a short time because of Judas’ betrayal.
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
We can only speculate how it could be that Saul of Tarsus, that ambitious, devoted, well-studied Jew of the Jews, did not meet Jesus Christ in the flesh. He was just a young man at the time (Acts 7:58), so perhaps he was in Alexandria during those 3 years, or in Arabia, or Rome, or some other part of the Empire. Whatever the case, Saul came late to the Kingdom, an Apostle born out of due time; but that drove him to labor more abundantly than them all (v10). Certainly it contributed to his humility and self-deference (Eph 3:8; 2Cor 10:10-12). Paul’s example teaches us to recognize that no man has fully attained and any advancements we have made are due to the grace of God working in us.
Paul’s witness to Christ’s resurrection was different from the afore-mentioned experience of the Eleven, for he saw Christ after He had ascended into heaven. Read his testimony in Acts 9:4-5. Paul considered himself the least of the Apostles because he was not part of that original group and because, far from being a Christ-follower, he had persecuted His church before his conversion (Acts 8:3; 9:1). In spite of this history against him, God touched Saul of Tarsus to be the point man to carry the Gospel into heathen, Gentile lands. And how he did perform! Only a handful of men in the history of the world can compare to his unwavering commitment and 100 percent submission of his will to God. One of the most naturally gifted men of all time, he used it all for God (Php 3:4-8).
By the grace of God I am what I am. This is evidently true in Paul’s life on several levels. First, because Christ graciously appeared to him and offered salvation even while he was living as a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious to the Lord (1Tim 1:13). Second, because after Paul changed his allegiance to Jesus Christ, God poured His grace upon him in ever-increasing measure. He that is faithful even in little will be given more, and as the proofs of his faith grow, so also will grace grow in his life (Luke 16:10; Mat 13:12; Luke 19:26). These facts greatly falsify the Calvinistic idea of grace, for in Paul’s case the grace of God did not fall arbitrarily, nor did Paul receive it without consciously, voluntarily accepting it.
11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. 12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: 14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
Regardless of who was preaching the truth of the Gospel of Christ (Paul, the Apostles, Apollos, Christ), they all affirmed that there will be a resurrection of the body at the last day. In spite of this harmony of doctrine, the false idea that there will be no resurrection of the dead had entered the church at Corinth, perhaps through members of the erroneous sect of the Sadduccees (see note Mat 3:7; Acts 23:8). And even today there are misguided teachers who distort the truth of the Resurrection unto their own destruction. The Preterists, for instance, literally repeat the error of Hymenaeus and Philetus by saying that the Resurrection is past already, having taken place during the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (2Tim 2:17-18). Others deny the immortality of man’s soul, saying that Hell does not exist as a state of everlasting torment and that only Christians will be resurrected to live forevermore. All the unsaved, they say, will simply die and disappear as any animal. So let us not be too shocked by such early heresies in church history. These heresies share a common basis: they rely on human logic over divine revelation. The Scriptures cannot be more clear that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15), and that Hell is an eternal, unquenchable fire, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:43-48).
15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
If there is no resurrection, then Christ did not rise from the dead. And if Christ be dead, our faith is vain and useless, being based upon a lie. Yet that cannot be, for not only do the Scriptures predict and confirm the death and resurrection of the Messiah, but there are many eye-witnesses that saw Him alive after His death (v1-8).
Ye are yet in your sins. Furthermore, If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then He cannot possibly forgive the sins of the world nor rescue mankind from the clutches of Satan. A dead man can do nothing. Salvation is possible only by a living One. Jesus Christ says: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore (Rev 1:18). Jesus was raised from the dead because in life He was perfect and innocent; death had no power over Him, the grave could not hold him.
18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
If the only blessings of being a Christian are experienced in this life, then we are among the most miserable and foolish of all men. Paul and the rest of the Apostles lived for the future (Heb 11:10). They were convinced that the present light affliction was making possible for them a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2Cor 4:17). This passage is an unimpeachable refutation of the many false doctrines and religions that claim there is no life after death. The JW’s, for example, place little emphasis on eternity and relate salvation more to peace and joy on earth. Preterists meanwhile, believe that we are now living in the new heaven and earth, and that the present state of affairs will continue forever. The NT though, describes a radically different picture: suffering, hardship and persecution in this life, but joy and eternal peace in the future.
This verse preaches against those liberal-minded Christians who think to gain heaven while hardly changing their manner of living. Our condition would be most miserable (if there is no resurrection) because we have denied so much of this world’s pleasures in order to attain that future blessed state. Unfortunately, a large majority of churches teach that God’s purpose is to shower us with earthly blessings and happiness. All we have to do is ask. They love to cite one-sided verses and out-of-context, such as Jer 29:11, For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (NIV). See my note for Mat 5:4.
The Greek word for perish (apollumi) is the same one that Jesus used in John 3:16, which exposes the extent of this Corinthian heresy. Jesus has promised that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. If there is no resurrection, then all those who have died believing His promise were mistaken, their hope was in vain, they are perished.
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
The offering of Firstfruits is a stunning prophesy in types that was designed by God into the ceremonial law and kept for centuries by the Jewish nation, even until the time of the crucifixion. It speaks particularly of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and also of man’s resurrection, for the Jewish ceremony of Firstfruits was a twin offering unto God of the first fruits of the yearly harvest. It was performed without fanfare or participation by any lay-person as a wave offering before the Lord in the temple. The initial offering of Firstfruits was commanded to take place on the first day after the normal sabbath that fell within the one-week long feast of Unleavened Bread (Lev 23:10-11), which itself was fixed to begin upon the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. The year of Jesus’ death, the offering of Firstfruits happened to be exactly three days after the Passover, falling perfectly upon the very day that He rose from the dead. Yet, God made it even more confirmingly precise, for the offering was commanded to be offered at daybreak, which happened to be the same hour that Jesus rose from the dead (Mark 16:9). At the very moment that the Jewish priests were waving their offering of Firstfruits before the Lord in the Temple, they were ignorant of the fact that the real anti-type of their ceremony was taking place at that very moment – the resurrection of Christ the Son of God in the heavenly Temple. See my note for Mat 26:1 and also Lev 23:5-14.
A second offering of Firstfruits was commanded to be observed 50 days later, on the day of Pentecost (Lev 23:16). Of course, that day marked the giving of the Holy Spirit, which is the seal, proof and confirmation of the future, eternal resurrection of this vile body into a glorious one (Php 3:21). The gift of salvation is the first resurrection (Rev 20:6); the future reunion of soul/spirit with body is the second resurrection. All have sinned and experienced the first death, but those who have been given new life by the power of Christ need not fear the second death. These are the ones that Paul refers to as them that slept (see v23). While the first offering of Firstfruits had no public participation, the second one did. Read about them in Lev 23.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Sin entered the world on account of Adam’s sin. Since then every soul has sinned and become guilty before God (Rom 5:12). Adam’s sin was not literally passed to every man, for that would be illogical and immoral. Sin is failure to follow the perfect will and commandments of our Creator. Such moral transgressions cannot be genetically transferred. Instead, each man has personally failed, sinned and rebelled against God. His own choices and actions have condemned him guilty. Some say that man is guilty of sin just by being born a man, but that is impossible. How can someone else’s sin, which is his own moral, voluntary, knowledgeable choice to disobey, be attributed to others?
One of the most strongest of all scientific laws is the Law of Cause and Effect, which essentially states that every effect had a cause, which itself was the effect of a cause and which can theoretically be traced back in time to a beginning cause. The search for the First Cause of all things must end in God. Likewise did Sin have a first cause that brought it to exist in the world, which was that first transgression of Adam. And that is the teaching of this verse and its companion in Rom 5:12.
We live in a fallen world, with the entire creation groaning under the consequences of Adam’s sin. And every person is born with a sinful nature, which means that he is bent to selfishness and rebellion from the womb and surrounded on all sides by sin and its effects. However, a new-born baby is not a sinner, though in time he will undoubtedly become one. The idea that man is guilty of sin from birth would mean that Jesus’ death and resurrection did not originate in mercy and grace, but was required to remedy the grave injustice that all mankind is guilty of another man’s sin. The true state of things is this: “The actions of the first man (Adam) brought death and mortality into the world, but the actions of the last man (Christ) brought life and immortality.
Made alive (zoopoeio). The word occurs also in verses 36 and 45. While it could refer to the new birth resurrection (as in John 6:63), the context concerns the final, bodily resurrection (as in Rom 8:11), when “all that are in Christ shall be made alive to reign eternal in the Father’s Kingdom.”
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
The resurrection of Christ came first. It will be followed by the resurrection of all the righteous dead when Christ returns at the end of the world. This dual resurrection is illustrated in the two offerings of Firstfruits being separated by 50 days (see note on v20). Five is the number of grace and ten is the number of completion or fullness. The number fifty thus corresponds to the present Age of Grace, which will end when Christ returns to the earth to raise the faithful unto eternal life at the last trump. Fifty is also the year of jubilee in the OT, the year in which all debts were forgiven, all captives freed and made a new beginning.
The point in time that the Resurrection of the dead will take place is very simply stated and leaves no doubt that there is just one Resurrection. Many however, continue to advance contradictory eschatologies which propose multiple resurrections, this one for the Jews and that one for the Gentiles, another at the beginning of the so-called Millennium and another at the end, etc. The Scriptures everywhere teach that there will be a (single) resurrection of both the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15) that will take place at the end of the Age when Jesus returns to earth in glory to judge the deeds of each man whether good or bad (2Cor 5:10; Mat 25:31-34).
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Jesus is reigning over the earth from His heavenly throne and the citizens of His Kingdom do now reign in life with Him (Rom 5:17) on the earth (Rev 5:10). He will so reign until the end, when the last enemy is destroyed and the earthly aspect of the Kingdom is given over to the Father and the heavenly aspect continues for time immortal.
Dispensationalists disagree, saying that Jesus must reign in a future era after the Church Age has ended. They teach that Jesus is presently a king in exile, having been rejected by His unbelieving nation. Not until this present “Church experiment” is over will Jesus reign on earth, they tell us, when at His second coming He will at last be accepted by the Jews and then He will set up His kingdom at Jerusalem and reign from the literal throne of David.
The Scriptures categorically teach a different eschatology. Jesus ascended to heaven a Victor and King and He now reigns at the right hand of the Father, having accomplished precisely and completely the task that He had been given (Heb 1:3-4; Rev 5). As for sitting on the literal throne of David, the words of Peter in Acts 2:29-36 demonstrate that Jesus has already taken the eternal throne of David as King over a new, spiritual nation made up of Jews and Gentiles.
O ye sensationalists who entertain such speculations so contrary to the Scripture! Do you really wish to be grouped with the unbelieving Jews who were the target of Peter’s words? The especially sober and plain teaching of the New Testament, and this passage in particular, has nothing of Pre-millennialism and Dispensationalism in it. “Every man will be resurrected at the coming of Christ (v23), when cometh the end, when He shall also deliver up the Kingdom unto the Father (v24).” Where is there room for another Jewish nation, another reign of Christ, another 1000 years? As if to slam the door even more firmly against such ideas, we read the final point: “For He must reign until every enemy is defeated, and the last enemy that will be destroyed is death itself (v25).” So Christ is reigning now and will reign until death is destroyed, which is to say He will reign over earthly affairs until the resurrection at His coming (v23). That is, the final resurrection, the Second Coming of Christ, the End, the delivering up of the Kingdom to God, and the abolition of death are virtually simultaneous events.
The Kingdom of Christ began with the preaching of John the Baptist (Luke 16:16), but it was not officially inaugurated until Jesus rose from the dead. It is an eternal Kingdom that does not end with the destruction of the world, but transforms into the Kingdom of the Father (Mat 13:43). The “putting down” (Gk, katargeo) of all rule and authority is a reference to the destruction of the world at the end of the age, for so the word is used in 2Thes 2:8 (also v26).
Jesus is the appropriate One to deliver the Kingdom unto the Father and close the terrestrial books of time forever because it was He who came to Earth, lived there and died as a man. The Father and the Holy Spirit cannot say that, although they three agreed upon the plan of redemption. See this illustrated in Rev 5. The last enemy is death – destruction, chaos, the law of decay and corruption will be undone.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
This is a simple reference to Ps 8:4-6. A complete quote can be found in Heb 2:5-9. Those passages explain that God has put Mankind in charge of the earth and put all things under his feet. Yet the writer to the Hebrews sees a prophetic part to David’s psalm, saying, But now we see not yet all things put under him. That agrees with the present passage: And when all things are subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him. The pronouns are unclear; God, Christ, Man? I have capitalized those that refer to deity according to my own reading. In the end, it makes little difference, for the key point is that the final victory/subjection of all things will take place at the close of the earthly Kingdom (v24). And then God/Christ will be all in all.
He is excepted (God) which did put all things under Him (Christ). It is manifest that the One who commands it does not include Himself in saying, all things shall be subdued unto (Christ). Indeed, the Son is always subject unto the Father, for the Father sent the Son, not vice versa, and Jesus said that the Father is greater than He (John 14:28). It is the Son who delivers up the Kingdom unto His Father.
Arians attempt to use verses such as these to argue that Jesus is not God, ignoring many passages which show otherwise. As is the case with much false doctrine, they fail to rightly divide all the Scripture and take only those verses which fit their conclusion and politely subvert those that do not. Some have called this “proof-texting.” The Biblicist sees Jesus doing God-like things: forgive sins, control the world with His spoken word, instantly know the innermost and hidden secrets of every man, foretell the future, command evil spirits, etc. He also reads that the Father is not the Son, but yet they are one (John 10:30) and, while he who has seen the Son has seen the Father (John 14:9), they are somehow individual Beings. It is a spiritual mystery, that God is one but exists in three Beings, but we have it by the highest authority. We do believe it implicitly. A man’s son is human and God’s son is God.
One of the earliest formulations of the Trinity likened the Father to the sun, Jesus to the sun’s rays of light, and the Holy Spirit to the heat that is produced by the sun. Another interesting analogy is water, which presents itself in three very different forms (ice, liquid water, steam/cloud), yet its chemical makeup is unchanged (2 atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen). See our notes on Col 1:15.
That God may be all in all. Some think this means that in the Kingdom of Glory the distinctions of God (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) will fade into one God, as if in the present age only Christ is necessary.
29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
This verse has caused much confusion. Remember the context. The Apostle is arguing for the existence of life after death before people who do not believe in such. He asks, “Why do they baptize for the dead, if the dead do not rise?” He is not teaching a new Christian doctrine, he supports his point by a detail from “their” perspective: “Why are they being baptized for the dead when they don’t even believe there is life after death?” It is not surprising that the pagans would imitate Christian baptism in their rites, for deeply seated in the human soul is this God-placed core of truth: there is a future, eternal life (Ecl 3:11). The third person grammar of the original Greek is significant to the above interpretation, which also takes the simplest meaning of the phrase, baptized for the dead. The Greek is huper, “in place of, instead of, on behalf of, over, above.” This grammatical construction (relating huper and baptizo) isn’t found elsewhere in the NT or the Greek Septuagint. The word baptizo occurs only twice in the Septuagint (2Kings 5:14; Is 21:4), but it seems to have come into much wider usage by the time the New Testament was written (some 200 years later). The standard word for bathing or washing the body in the Septuagint is nipto or luou. For ceremonially washing clothes, it is plumo. See note for Mat 3:6.
An alternative view sees the Apostle referring to the fundamental reason of Christian baptism. “Why do we baptize if the dead do not rise? Baptism is for the hope of life after death. Why else would we baptize?” This fits well with Paul’s words in Rom 6:4, We are buried with Him by baptism into death. And it also goes along with the next verse, which says: “Why also do we let ourselves face danger every hour, if there is no life after death?” In the time of the Apostles, baptism brought immediate personal danger, but the Christian was baptized anyway – he expected to receive a benefit greater than the suffering and danger. Yet, what reward could be greater than life if death was the end of all? Again, “Why do we accept baptism unto death if the dead do not rise?” However, the grammar seems against this view, for the third person perspective in verse 29 contrasts with the first person perspective of verse 30. Moreover, the normal reading of, “baptized for the dead,” indicates some kind of vicarious baptism. Then again, Paul might have used this unusual grammar to somehow emphasize that the reason for baptism is essential for the hope of resurrection. I believe the first explanation is more likely.
30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? 31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
By saying, I die daily, Paul means that he is in constant peril of physical death (2Cor 11:26). His point is: “If there is no resurrection, why do I choose to live in jeapordy of my life every minute? I face death daily. And I mean that, just as surely as I daily rejoice for your salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul and all the Apostles were fools to face death daily, if indeed there is no life after death.
32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
These were not literal beasts, but humans – brute beasts who tried to kill Paul on more than one occasion when he preached the Gospel. Some of these events are recorded in the book of Acts and in 1Cor 4:9; 2Cor 1:8; 4:10-11; 11:23.
After the manner of men. Paul’s physical struggle against beastly men was in the flesh, not the spirit. He was oftentimes subjected to the anger of wild men and bloodthirsty crowds. He says, “If in the flesh I have struggled against wicked men at Ephesus, what am I advantaged, if the dead do not rise again? We may as well take [our] ease, eat, drink, and be merry (Luke 12:19-20).
33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
This interjection should not be overlooked. It reveals the primary source of false doctrines sneaking into the church; namely, through friendships and close associations with non-Christians and carnal Christians (1Cor 3:1-3). Members of the church in Corinth would accompany their old friends to the idol feasts and they heard heresy daily from many false teachers; they were carried along by selfish practices of spiritualities and they did not put much effort into purging sin from among them (1Cor 5:13). The sober truth is that the environment we are in will greatly affect and influence our thinking and decision-making. “Be not deceived: evil company corrupts good character.” It is a life-principle that we must never forget. Our friends and environment WILL affect us. Just ask Lot.
“Wake up! Think righteously and don’t commit sin. Some of you do not even have a correct knowledge of God. Shame on you!” Living in a compromised, unsound environment inevitably lulls the mind into apathy and sin. Likewise, attending a church which holds flawed doctrines will inevitably dull one’s spiritual sensor system. The letter to the Corinthians is an appropriate illustration of this truth, and I have seen it happen in Anabaptist churches too.
35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? 36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
When a truth is evident in Scripture but a person has set his mind against it, the common tactic to excuse disbelief/rebellion is to posit difficult questions and hypothetical scenarios. Recognizing that he cannot win the argument on logic, such persons invariably propose some flimsy objection at a single point that somehow makes the larger doctrine invalid. Witness the Jews’ attempt to invalidate the resurrection of the dead by describing the scenario of a woman who had seven husbands (Mat 22:23-30). Deniers of eternal hell, or the deity of Christ, or the headship veiling, etc are required to use this fatal tactic. Here however, Paul deftly anticipates and destroys one of the resurrection-doubters’ smoky objections. How will the dead be raised up? Will they have the same body when they died? What about those that are blind or maimed? What about children? Will there be family ties in heaven? etc.
God did not deem it good to give us direct answers to such questions. The book of Revelation does describe the future, heavenly life, but its language is deeply figurative – our finite, physical minds are not able to understand spiritual realities (1Cor 2:9; 13:12; 2Cor 12:2-4). Nevertheless, the Apostle’s answer here enlightens our understanding significantly. The physical body will be resurrected as a new, glorious, spiritual body (v44). It is sown like a seed which falls into the ground and dies so that it might be resurrected a unique body designed according to the pleasure of God. Each body will be different, for God giveth to every seed his own body (v38). Heaven will not be a solid field of wheat, but a field of unbelievable designs and glories. In that day when the Lord makes up His jewels (Mal 3:17), His creative hand will be revealed in amazing beauty, variety, design and wonders beyond comprehension.
The example of a seed is a good one, for there are thousands of seeds in the world, of all shapes, sizes and colors. Yet many are very similar, even indistinguishable one from the other. God has set and planned each seed to become the tree, bush, plant, flower that He wishes. Who would guess that a tiny, round seed will grow into an immense tree bearing fruit? Or a beautiful flowering rose? So it is with the resurrection of the body. It is sown a simple, insignificant seed-body which rots into dust; but it will be raised a glorious, spiritual body.
Each earthly body will become a different celestial body. In His perfect goodness and righteousness, God will reward each soul according to their deeds and decisions in life (Mat 19:29; Luke 19:12-27; 1Cor 3:12-15). It follows then, that our future, celestial bodies will vary in glory (v41), for each one has been separately shaped and beautified by earth’s afflictions and sufferings of the moment (2Cor 4:17). The character of each person, refined and burnished by fire (1Pet 1:7) will rise in beauty and nobility, each one according as God judges right and good. See next note.
Thou fool. Paul does not use the word in anger (see Mat 5:22), but as David in Ps 53:1 against the willfully ignorant who reject all evidences of Truth.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
Here is a summary translation of these verses: “There are different kinds of flesh (man, animal, fish, birds) and bodies (heavenly, earthly) which vary in glory each one from the other. So also is the resurrection from the dead.” By this we observe that each resurrection body is not only unique in character and form, but also in class and glory. Of course, many questions remain about the eternal realm. Do we infer that animals and birds will also exist in the world to come? Or is the Apostle saying that just as there are different kinds of flesh in the earthly realm so there will be a “resurrection flesh” for the heavenly realm? Or are these verses simply re-stating the conclusion of v38, that there will be a wide variation of bodies and glories in the Resurrection? Perhaps all of the above are true. Speculations need to be eyed with caution and frank admission that they are just that – speculations (see 1Cor 15:50; Rom 8:19-22).
Nevertheless, from this passage and others we see that the glory of one’s eternal experience is determined by the results of this short test of life. God will give to each seed the body that He judges to rightly correspond to what he has done in the flesh. And He has not withheld the criteria He will use from our knowledge, saying in Rev 2:23, I will give unto every one of you according to your works, (our agape, as we saw in chapter 13). This verse is baldly denied by the Calvinists, but to their own misfortune and not to ours. Jesus said, For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works (Mat 16:27). Again the Apocalypse reminds that the dead, small and great, will be judged according to their works (Rev 20:12-15). For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2Cor 5:10). Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it…the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is (1Cor 3:10-15).
O seeker of truth, do not let yourself be deceived! God will not be mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (Gal 6:7-8). Good grain will reap thirtyfold, excellent grain an hundredfold – but bad grain is thrown into the fire and burned (Mat 3:12; John 15:6; Mat 13:40). Every good plant will be pruned so that it brings forth even more fruit (John 15:2). It all happens in this blink-of-an-eye (in comparison to eternity) test of life.
God is using this present light affliction, which every true believer will experience, to work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (2Cor 4:17). The seeds of each person are sown in death and those who excel in Love will receive greater glory in the world to come (Mark 10:30). They might be sown in dishonor, ridicule and obscurity, but they will be richly found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ (1Pet 1:7). How important it is to keep our eyes always upon the heavenly goal, for there is the real reward. Suffering now means reigning in the heavenlies with Christ later (2Tim 2:12). No wonder the Scriptures tell us to rejoice in suffering.
Imagine that great day of resurrection, as before our spiritual eyes the seed-bodies of the dead suddenly burst into new life in wondrous beauty. Surprise and awe are everywhere as the dead of all ages, great and small, are rewarded according to their deeds (Rev 11:18; 20:12-13). The seed-body of one faithful but quiet soul on earth explodes into such beauty that everyone gasps in amazement, while the seed-body of another respected church leader rises ordinarily plain. Each person’s experience in the splendors of glory will correspond to his/her faithfulness in the fires of life. For the saved who have been forgiven, sins do not count; rather, they are judged according to their accrual of good fruit.
The word terrestrial comes from the Greek epigelos, which appears to have roughly the same meaning as the word earthy (choikos) in 1Cor 15:47-49. They stand as terms for the physical world and are contrasts to the heavenly, spiritual world.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
The physical world under Adam is far inferior to the celestial world under Christ, as these contrasts show. Adam’s natural body was formed by the dust of the earth and he became a living soul when God breathed into him the breath of life (Gen 2:7). He never had the ability to give life, but the last Adam does – the Son quickeneth whom He will (John 5:21). The world of the first Adam fell into corruption and dishonor (Rom 8:20-22), but Christ’s world is incorruptible, glorious, powerful. Adam’s world is natural and physical; Christ’s world is spiritual and heavenly. The two Adams stand at the heads of two great lines. The first Adam is the physical father of the entire human race; the second Adam is the spiritual father of all those in the second resurrection (1Cor 6:14; Rom 8:11).
Each body of flesh and blood that is born into Adam’s world must die, but at the resurrection those bodies will be raised up as spiritual bodies (v44). The natural body comes first and then the spiritual one (v46); we must experience them both (v49). The word natural is psuchikos (v44,46) and the word soul is psuche (v45); the first is the adjective form of the latter. The terms natural body (soma psuchikon) and living soul (psuchan zosan) are used as virtual synonyms in reference to human life as a vessel of consciousness and reason. However, the physical body dies and decays to dust while the spiritual soul never dies. Other occurrences of psuchikos are 1Cor 2:14; James 3:15; Jude 1:19.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
We must pass through the natural world before coming to the spirtual world. Being humans of flesh and blood, we have all borne the image of the earthy just as Adam did (Gen 1:26-27). However, we shall also all bear the image of the heavenly, for there is an earthly realm and there is a heavenly realm. Every living soul will experience both of these realms.
This chapter does not address the resurrection experience of the wicked dead, for they too must arise to stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2Cor 5:10). They will awake to shame and everlasting contempt (Dan 12:2), but the wise and righteous shall shine as the stars forever and ever (Dan 12:3).
Some of the ancient manuscripts do not have the words, the Lord in verse 47. It is, however, a natural apposition. The first man was earthy and named Adam; the second man is heavenly and named Christ. This fits the context of the two Adams, one bringing death into the world and the other bringing life. The word earthy is choikou. It is not found in the Scriptures outside of this passage. Compare with choum and chomati in the LXX, where it is translated dust (Gen 2:7; Ex 8:17).
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
The human body of flesh and blood, or image of the earthy (v48), is marred by the effects of Adam’s sin. It has been made subject to the laws of corruption and entropy, destined to decay into dust. It is impossible for our corruptible, bodies of death to live in the new, eternal Kingdom of God that God has prepared for all them that love Him (1Cor 2:9; Heb 11:16; Rev 21:1). However, when Christ returns in the clouds of glory, He will gather His elect and change their vile bodies into incorruptible, glorious bodies after the fashion of Christ’s own resurrected body (Mat 24:30-31;Php 3:20-21; 1John 3:2).
Flesh and blood is not an equal term to the natural body/living soul of verses 44-45, for the latter terms include the spirit and soul, which do not decay into dust but live on for eternity. At the last day, God will give to each spirit and soul a new, resurrection body according to His own good pleasure (1Cor 15:38). Christ became flesh and blood in order to work the plan of redemption for the souls that He deems worthy to live with Him in glory (Heb 2:14).
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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.
What about those who are alive when Christ returns? Must their bodies die so that they can be resurrected? No, but in some mysterious way their bodies will be transformed into the same heavenly bodies described earlier. They will be changed (Gk – allasso); the same word is found in Heb 1:12 in connection with the destruction and re-construction of the whole creation (Rom 8:17-23; 2Pet 3:7-13). It will take all take place in the twinkling of an eye at the sound of the last trump (1Thes 4:15-18; Mat 24:31). All of these powerful passages clash with the preferred eschatology of our day, which postulates several last-day resurrections separated by a thousand years.
A few men in history did not experience natural death. Enoch was translated (metatithemi) that he should not see death (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5) and Elijah was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind (2Kings 2:11). The enigmatic Melchisedec apparently did not die either (Heb 7:1-3). Of all men that have died, certainly Moses had the most distinctive experience. He died in the arms of God as it were, who buried Moses in a secret place that is known by no man (Deut 34:5-7).
Were these men prematurely changed into resurrection bodies as described in these verses, or must they participate in the final resurrection too? The answer is not easily found, for the new heaven and earth where the ransomed of the ages will spend eternity does not yet exist. Just as Man will put off this body of corruption, so too the Creation will be delivered from the laws of decay and death. Thus, while those who die in the Lord go to be with Christ, they cannot go to their eternal home immediately. They must await the final resurrection. However, the Scriptures comfort these, saying they shall arise first and then in the blink of an eye the living will be changed (study 1Thes 4:13-17). Nevertheless, Moses and Elijah are depicted as now alive in the heavenlies (Mat 17:1-6); do they have their final glorified bodies? (v35-44)
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Just as Adam’s body was designed to live on the Earth, so will our resurrection bodies be made to live in eternity upon the new Earth. And that is the hidden meaning of the saying, Death is swallowed up in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe all tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it (Is 25:8). What a beautiful promise! Then the Apostle immediately quotes a different prophet: I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: [where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting?] (Hosea 13:14). The last part is from the Septuagint version.
These Old Testament references to the Resurrection describe precisely the work of Christ in ransoming the souls of the dead from the power of Satan. And then, at the last trump and in the twinkling of an eye, this corruptible body shall be re-made immortal: death is swallowed up in victory (Isa 25:8) and that last enemy is destroyed (v26).
What is the symbolism of death being “swallowing” by victory? And what is the “sting” of death? In truth, there are several OT Scriptures that depict death as swallowing the souls of men. Pharaoh’s army was swallowed by the earth (Ex 15:12), which also swallowed up all those involved in the rebellion of Korah (Num 16:30-34; Num 26:10). And the Messianic psalm of Christ’s crucifixion refers to death swallowing the soul (Ps 69:15), as does Jonah 1:7 (compare to Jonah 2:5-6). Each of these show the general, inexorable passage of every human soul from the land of the living to the grave: Death will swallow up every one of us. But the Resurrection of Christ gives us the new hope that God will turn the tables on the Devil’s wicked designs – Death, that great swallower of all men, will itself be swallowed up in eternal victory. In that day we will shout, “Death! where is thy sting now? Grave! thy victory is no more!”
56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sin brings death twice to every man. It first brings spiritual death (James 1:15) and ends bringing physical death (Heb 9:27). In the day that Adam sinned he died spiritually (Gen 2:17). His conscious choice to disobey God’s law (“do not eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”) put him under Satan’s control and power (Eph 4:27). Moreover, the fall of the prince meant the fall of his realm, for Adam’s corruption has caused the Law of sin and death to grip the whole universe; it is now running down, decaying, moving from order to chaos (Rom 8:20-22).
So sin is the cause of the sting of death, but for the saved there is a remedy for this sting, which is Jesus Christ the Righteous. And the resurrection unto life is the wonderful victory. The Apostle John gave a similar analogy under “the first and second death.” The saved do not fear the second death because it has no power over them (Rev 20:6,14). Thanks be to God for this cure to death, and thanks be to Jesus Christ who brought it to fruition.
The strength of sin is the law. The Law of God given through Moses brings about the knowledge and the guilt of sin (Rom 5:11-21), but even those who never knew the Mosaic law are inexcusable before God on account of breaking the law of their conscience (see Romans 2). The ten commandments can be condensed into just two (Mat 22:36-40), which are encompassed by one pre-eminent Rule to live by the law of Love (1Cor 13:13).
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
The certainty of the resurrection drives this ambition. Therefore, my beloved brethren…seeing that God has promised every victorious soul to be partakers of the resurrection unto eternal righteousness through the grace of Jesus Christ, arm your mind to be unmovably determined to do whatever it takes to win that crown (1Pet 4:1). Study comparatively with Col 1:22-23.
The work (ergon) of the Lord is to labour (kopos, wearisome toil) in doing good, but not without rewards. These are being treasured up for you in heaven and they are beyond all you can imagine or think. These two words appear side by side in Rev 14:13 also.