1 Corinthians 15:50

Now this I say, brethren We enter here upon a new phase of the argument. The Apostle now tells us how this great result shall be accomplished. We cannot inherit eternity as we are: a change is necessary. And this change will in the end be a sudden one, but will consist rather in the modification of the external conditions of the body than in any destruction of its essential properties. See note on 1 Corinthians 15:53.

that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God It is not the material particles of our body which endure for ever. Theyare subject to corruption and dissolution. It is the spiritual principle of life which abides, and like the seed, attracts to itself such material particles as shall serve it for a suitable habitation. (See notes on 1 Corinthians 15:37.) The early heretics mentioned above, 1 Corinthians 15:12, caught eagerly at this verse as disposing of the idea of a material resurrection. But the early Fathers of the Church shewed conclusively that it was not to be so understood. They cited St Luke 24:39 to prove that Jesus Christ had -flesh and bones" after His Resurrection. And we may observe, moreover, that in St Paul's language -flesh and blood" stood for our ordinary humanity, as distinguished from everything of a spiritual nature. See Romans 8:1-10; Galatians 1:16; Ephesians 6:12.

neither doth corruption inherit incorruption An additional proof of what has just been stated. Our ordinary flesh and blood is by its very nature destined to corruption. It is not with suchflesh and blood that we can become partakers of the incorruptible life.