1 Corinthians 15:32

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. Punctuate - "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," etc. If 'merely as a man' (with the mere human hope of the present life; not with the Christian's hope of the future resurrection: answering to "If the dead rise not," the parallel clause in the next sentence) I have fought with beastlike men-Demetrius and his craftsmen. Heraclitus, of Ephesus, had termed his countrymen 'wild beasts' 400 years before. So Epimenides called the Cretians (). Paul's Roman citizenship exempted him from literal fighting with wild beasts in the arena. He was still at Ephesus (), wher...

32._If according to the manner of men _He brings forward a notable instance of death, from which it might be clearly seen that he would have been worse than a fool, if there were not a better life in reserve for us beyond death; for it was an ignominious kind of death to which he was exposed. “To what purpose were it,” says he, “for me to incur infamy in connection with a most cruel death, if all my hopes were confined to this world?” _According to the manner of men, _means in this passage, _in respect of human life, so that we obtain a reward in this world. _ Now by those that _fought with beasts, _are meant, not those that were thrown to wild beasts, as Erasmus mistakingly imagined, but those that were condemned to be set to fight with wild beasts — to furnish an amusement to the people. There were, then, two kinds of punishment, that were totally different — to be thrown to wild beast...

20-34 All that are by faith united to Christ, are by his resurrection assured of their own. As through the sin of the first Adam, all men became mortal, because all had from him the same sinful nature, so, through the resurrection of Christ, shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit, and the spiritual nature, revive, and live for ever. There will be an order in the resurrection. Christ himself has been the first-fruits; at his coming, his redeemed people will be raised before others; at the last the wicked will rise also. Then will be the end of this present state of things. Would we triumph in that solemn and important season, we must now submit to his rule, accept his salvation, and live to his glory. Then shall we rejoice in the completion of his undertaking, that God may receive the whole glory of our salvation, that we may for ever serve him, and enjoy his favour. What shall...

Verse 32. _IF, AFTER THE MANNER OF MEN_, c.] Much learned criticism has been employed on this verse, to ascertain whether it is to be understood _literally_ or _metaphorically_. Does the apostle mean to say that he had _literally_ fought with wild beasts at Ephesus? or, that he had met with brutish, savage men, from whom he was in danger of his life? That St. Paul _did not_ fight with wild beasts at Ephesus, may be argued, 1. From his own silence on this subject, when enumerating his various sufferings, 2 Corinthians 11:23, c. 2. From the silence of his _historian_, Luke, who, in the acts of this apostle, gives no intimation of this kind and it certainly was too _remarkable_ a _circumstance_ to be passed over, either by Paul in the catalogue of his own sufferings, or by Luke in his history. 3. From similar

IF AFTER THE MANNER OF MEN - Margin, “To speak after the manner of men” (κατὰ ἄνθρωπον kata anthrōpon). There has been a great difference of opinion in regard to the meaning of these words. The following are some of the interpretations proposed: (1) If I have fought after the manner of people, who act only with reference to this life, and on the ordinary principles of human conduct, as people fought with wild beasts in the amphitheater. (2) Or if, humanly speaking, or speaking after the manner of people, I have fought, referring to the fact that he had contended with mcn who should be regarded as wild beasts. (3) Or, that I may speak of myself as people speak, that I may freely record the events of my life, and speak of what has occurred. (4)

EXPOSITION 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1 _The doctrine of the resurrection. _This chapter, and the thirteenth, on Christian love, stand out, even among the writings of St. Paul, as pre-eminently beautiful and important. No human words ever written have brought such comfort to millions of mourners as the words of this chapter, which form a part of the Burial Service of almost every Christian community. It is the more deeply imprinted on the memory of men because it comes to us in the most solemn hours of bereavement, when we have most need of a living faith. The chapter falls into six sections. 1. The evidence of Christ's resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1). 2. The resurrection of Christ is the foundati

IF AFTER THE MANNER OF MEN I HAVE FOUGHT WITH BEASTS AT EPHESUS,.... This is one of the particulars of the jeopardy and danger of life he had been in: some understand this in a figurative sense, and think that by "beasts" are meant Satan, the roaring lion, and his principalities and powers; or men of savage dispositions, persecuting principles, and cruel practices; as Herod is called a fox, by Christ, and Nero a lion, by the apostle; and suppose his fighting with them at Ephesus designs his disputations with the hardened and unbelieving Jews, his concern with exorcists, the seven sons of Sceva, and the troubles he met with through Demetrius the silversmith, and others of the same craft; the reason of such an interpretation is, because Luke makes no mention of anything of this kind, that befell the apostle in his history of the Acts of the Apostles: but to this it may be replied, that Luk...

1 Corinthians 15:1. _Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand. By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain._ By which the apostle means, unless they had a false faith, a merely notional faith; or he may also mean «Unless what I have preached unto you should have been a fable, and therefore you will have exercised your faith upon nothing real, and so it would have been in vain.» 1 Corinthians 15:3. _For I delivered unto you first of all that which, I also received,-_ The preacher of Christ must not make new doctrines. He is not to be his own teacher, he is to receive the truth first, and then to d

III. RESURRECTION AND THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH AND CONCLUSION: Chapter S 15-16 1. Resurrection and the Hope of the Church. CHAPTER 15 _ 1. The Gospel and the Resurrection of Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:1 .)_ 2. If Christ were not raised--then what? (1 Corinthians 15:12 .) 3. Christ the Firstfruits and what follows. (1 Corinthians 15:20 .) 4. Further practical arguments about Resurrection. (1 Corinthians 15:29 .) 5. Concerning the Resurrection of the Body. ...

1 CORINTHIANS 15:29. Many interpretations have been offered. The most probable remains that given above. A view which deserves mention is that Paul is referring to those who are baptized for the sake of Christian friends who had died. In order to satisfy the hope for reunion some who had been non-Christians submitted to baptism. 1 Corinthians 15:32. That Paul actually fought with wild beasts is highly improbable; it was illegal to expose Roman citizens to this; the Asiarchs (Acts 19:31) were friendly to Paul; and no reference is made in 2 Corinthians 11 to such a trial, from which indeed we should hardly expect that he would have emerged alive. A figurative interpretation is also very i