1 Corinthians 15:35-58

Applebury's Comments

Answer to Problems of The Resurrection (35-58)

Text

1 Corinthians 15:35-58. But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come? 36 Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die: 37 and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; 38 but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes. 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. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 it is sown in dishonor; 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of 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.

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not 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. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law: 57 but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.

Commentary

But some will say.The apostle is ready now to answer the objections of the critics. Perhaps many were sincere in their inability to see how there could be such a thing as the resurrection of the body which disintegrates in death. The Sadducees in Jesus's day objected on a different ground and were told that they were ignorant of the Scriptures and did not know the power of God (Matthew 22:29). The Corinthians wanted to know how the dead are raised and with what kind of body? Paul answers both questions by a simple reference to the fact that the seed that is sown dies that the new plant may spring from it. God gives each kind of seed the kind of new plant that pleases Him. God will equip the saint with the kind of body that pleases Him. Paul says that it will be fashioned anew to conform to the glorious body of Christ (Philippians 3:21). John says that we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

So also is the resurrection.Paul argues from the facts that all flesh is not the same kind, and that there are both celestial and terrestrial bodies, and that one star differs in glory from another, and that the resurrection body will be different. He then explains that difference: It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. Dishonor is balance with glory; weakness with power; natural body with spiritual.

If there is a natural body.If there is a body for this life, there is a body for the heavenly life. See Paul's comment in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10.

The first man Adam. The last Adam.All of us have a physical body that is subject to death because we are descendants of the first man Adam. The saints will have a heavenly body because they belong to the last Adam who as a spiritual being gives life to those who believe in Him. See John 4:24; John 5:21; John 6:57-63.

flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.That kingdom is spiritual, difficult though this is for us to grasp. The body which God gives us in which to glorify Him in this life must be changed into the likeness of the glorious body of Christ in order that we might continue to glorify Him in heaven. Paul is now ready to tell this secret.

We all shall not sleep.Enoch and Elijah did not see death (Hebrews 11:5; 2 Kings 2:1). When Christ comes again there will be those who will be taken up to meet Him in the air along with those who will be raised from the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

but we shall all be changed.This is the secret that some apparently did not know; all who are to be with the risen Lord in heaven are to be changed when the dead shall be raised incorruptible. Then Death is swallowed up in victory.

thanks be to God.Paul who had seen the risen Lord looked to this time of triumph through Him with thanksgiving to God.

your labor is not vain in the Lord.This triumphant note of hope called for steadfastness on the part of the brethren whom Paul loved. He urged them to stand firm in this conviction and abound always in the work of the Lord. The hope of the resurrection was enough for them to know that their labor was not vain in the Lord.

Summary

This great chapter concerns the resurrection. Paul has now reached the climax of this remarkable epistle covering so many of the problems that the church faced in Corinth.
It may be that it was most urgent for him to answer the problems of division and dereliction reported by those of the house of Chloe, but it was most important for the saints that he answer their questions about the resurrection which lay at the foundation of their faith and hope. It is true that they needed to know the answers to the questions that puzzled them about marriage, idolatry, and worship; but the answer to the questions about the resurrection was even more necessary because it had to do with their eternal hope in Christ and the goal toward which all Christians were striving. It was necessary that he show them the most excellent way of love that they might correct the misuse of spiritual gifts, but it was also necessary that he reassure them of the foundation of the Christian life by logical proof that there is a resurrection from the dead.
At the beginning of the chapter, Paul reminds the Corinthians about the facts of the gospel which he preached to them. That gospel was based on the well established facts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Paul had accepted the fact of the resurrection of Christ when he surrendered to the Lord on the Damascus road. Nothing could shake his conviction on this issue for he had heard the voice of the Lord when He appointed him to be an apostle to the Gentiles. The Corinthians had accepted the fact of Christ's resurrection when they became Christians, but because some were saying that there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead, they were in need of reassurance on this great issue.
The resurrection of Christ was according to the Scriptures and it was supported by the testimony of those who saw Him after He was raised from the dead. Cephas, James, the five hundred, and Paul testified that Christ had been raised. There was no reason for the brethren to doubt it.
It was by God's grace that Paul had been able to labor more than all the apostles in proclaiming this fact to the Gentiles. Because he was dealing with the Greek mind that was trained in logic, he presented a series of arguments that was designed to reestablish their belief in the resurrection of the dead. He had presented evidence to prove to them again that Christ had been raised. But, he said, if there is no resurrection, then Christ has not been raised. To put it in another form, if dead people are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. Were they ready to accept the consequences of their unbelief?
If Christ has not been raised, their faith was without meaning; they were still in their sins; those who had died believing in Christ had perished; and the apostles who were like men doomed to death were a most pitiable spectacle before angels and the world.
Paul took his stand on the evidence that could not be denied that Christ has been raised from the dead. He showed what this meant to the Christian because Christ's resurrection was similar to the firstfruits of the Old Testament harvest. As in Adam all die, in Christ all shall be made alive. Christ must reign until He conquers every enemy, the last of which is death. Then He will present the redeemed in triumph to the Father to whom He also is subject for God is all in all.
He reminded them of their baptism which is a burial and a resurrection. Why go through such an experience if there is no resurrection? Why live in jeopardy daily as Paul had done at Ephesus? Why not say, Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.? It was time for them to think soberly and to break with those who were repudiating the very foundation of faith and hope.
Paul answered two questions that puzzled the people. They probably came from their background of training in Greek philosophy. They had been led to believe that to escape from the body in death was the goal of life. They wanted to know how it was possible for the body that disintegrates in death to be raised, and what kind of body they were to have in the resurrection. Paul gave them a simple yet adequate answer. The seed that falls into the ground dies and from it comes a new plant. God gives it a new body as it pleases Him. The resurrection body will be different, but it will be what God pleases to make it. As there is a difference in flesh, and celestial bodies, and in the glory of the stars so there will be a difference between the earthly and the heavenly body. The heavenly body will not be subject to the problems of the earthly body. We derive our earthly body from Adam; our spiritual body is from Christ, the last Adam. The corruptible body will be replaced by the incorruptible body. Paul is now ready to tell them the secret.
Not all shall die, for some will be alive when Christ comes; but all shall be changed in the moment when the trumpet sounds and the dead are raised incorruptible. Then Death will be swallowed up in victory! Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
To this triumphant note of hope, Paul adds his affectionate appeal for the brethren to remain unmovable in the work of the Lord for now they know that their labors are not in vain.