1 Corinthians 15:41

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. Suitability of bodies, however various to their species: the flesh of the several species of animals; bodies celestial and terrestrial; the various kinds of light in the sun, moon, and stars. FLESH - animal organism. Our resurrection bodies shall be really flesh, though glorified and spiritualized; not mere phantoms. So some of the oldest creeds (Tertullian, 'De Virg. vel,' 100:i.; Cyril, Ruffinus, Augustine) expressed it, 'I believe in the resurrection of the flesh.' Compare as to Jesus' own resurrection body, Luke 24:39; John 20:27; to which ours shall be made like, and therefore shall be flesh, but not of animal organism ...

41._There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon _Not only is there a difference between heavenly bodies and earthly, but even the heavenly bodies have not all the same glory; for the sun surpasses the moon, and the other stars differ from each other. This dissimilarity, accordingly, appears (103) in the _resurrection _of the dead. A mistake, however, is commonly fallen into in the application; (104) for it is supposed that Paul meant to say, that, after the resurrection, the saints will have different degrees of honor and glory. This, indeed, is perfectly true, and is proved by other declarations of Scripture; but it has nothing to do with Paul’s object. For he is not arguing as to what difference of condition there will be among the saints after the resurrection, but in what respect our bodies at present differ from those that we will one day receive.

35-50 1. How are the dead raised up? that is, by what means? How can they be raised? 2. As to the bodies which shall rise. Will it be with the like shape, and form, and stature, and members, and qualities? The former objection is that of those who opposed the doctrine, the latter of curious doubters. To the first the answer is, This was to be brought about by Divine power; that power which all may see does somewhat like it, year after year, in the death and revival of the corn. It is foolish to question the Almighty power of God to raise the dead, when we see it every day quickening and reviving things that are dead. To the second inquiry; The grain undergoes a great change; and so will the dead, when they rise and live again. The seed dies, though a part of it springs into new life, though how it is we cannot fully understand. The works of creation and providence daily teach us to be h...

Verse 41. THERE IS _ONE GLORY OF THE SUN_] As if he had said: This may be illustrated by the present _appearance_ of the celestial bodies which belong to our system. The _sun_ has a greater degree of splendour than the _moon_; the moon than the _planets_; and the planets than the _stars_. And even in the fixed stars, one has a _greater degree_ of _splendour_ than another, which may proceed either from their different _magnitudes_, or from the comparative _proximity_ of some of them to our earth; but from which of these causes, or from what other cause unknown, we cannot tell, as it is impossible to ascertain the distance of any of the fixed stars; even the nearest of them being too remote to afford any sensible _parallax_, without which their distances cannot be measured. See the concluding observations....

THERE IS ONE GLORY OF THE SUN ... - The sun has one degree of splendor, and the moon another, and so also the stars. They differ from each other in magnitude, in brightness, in beauty. The idea in this verse differs from that in the former. In that 1 Corinthians 15:40 Paul says, that there was a difference between the different classes of bodies; between those in heaven and those on earth. He here says, that in the former class, in the heavenly bodies themselves, there was a difference. They not only differed from those on earth, but they differed from each other. The sun was more splendid than the moon, and one star more beautiful than another. The idea here is, therefore, not only that the bodies of the saints in heaven shall differ from those on earth, but that they shall differ among themselves, in a sense somewhat like the difference of the sp

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

THERE IS ONE GLORY OF THE SUN,.... Which is the greater light, the fountain of light, and whose glory exceeds that of the other heavenly bodies: AND ANOTHER GLORY OF THE MOON; which is the lesser light, and receives its light from the sun, and consequently its glory is inferior: AND ANOTHER GLORY OF THE STARS; which though very bright and sparkling, and are innumerable, have a lesser glory, at least to our appearance, than the sun and moon: the Jews have a notion u, that "all the stars and the orbs are endued with a soul, and with knowledge, and understanding; and that they live, and stand, and know him that said, and the world was; and everyone of them, "according to his greatness", מעלתו ולפי, "and according to his dignity", praise and glorify their Creator, as the angels; and as they know God, so they know themselves, and the angels that are above them; for the knowledge of the st...

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._ What was this gospel, of which Paul thought so highly, and which he says is the means of our salvation? Did it consist in sundry doctrinal statements? No, it contained doctrinal statements, but it did not consist entirely of them. Here is Paul's declaration concerning the gospel: 1 Corinthians 15:3. _For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures;_ This is the solid basis of the gospel....

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. ...

Paul now meets the objection, How are the dead raised? in what kind of a body do they come back from the tomb? Only a fool (in the Hebrew rather than the Greek sense), he tartly says, would ask such an unbelieving question. The objector's own experience (thou thyself is very emphatic) shows him that the seed must die when sown or it will not be quickened. It is not identical with the body that is to be, it is a naked grain of wheat or whatever it may be, and God gives it a body corresponding to the particular species. It is not clear how far Paul would have pressed the metaphor to imply an organic connexion between the old and the new. The old body perishes and God provides a new one, and the new is very unlike the old. The universe shows the same principle of variety, the flesh of men, beasts, birds, and fish; heavenly and earthly bodies; sun, moon, and stars. So the resourcefulness of...