35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; 37 and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds 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 fish. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
Verse 35 -42
Paul now starts to put correction on the Corinthians thinking. Paul is going to follow through the logic, so the opening statement is also his intention.
• How are the dead raised?
• What kind of body do they come?
According to the.
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges
Paul is covering ground that the Pharisees and Sadducees would have covered. The two sides; one side disagreeing with a real resurrection of the body and the other side agreeing about the resurrection of the body. So, he goes into smaller detail explaining that there are different types of body; fauna, animal, celestial bodies such as the moon and stars.
Paul starts by the simple fact that unless a seed (body) dies there cannot be another body. Ver36 this argument is seen in nature.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 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. 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 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
So, in the previous section Paul answered the first of his intentions that there are various types of bodies. He is now intending to explain the second question from verse 35.
What kind of body do they come?
Paul gives the contrasts of the resurrected to the natural man.
Buried resurrected
perishable imperishable
Dishonour Glory
weakness power
natural body spiritual body
Paul tells the Corinthians what type of body will be when we are resurrected. We should take encouragement from this.
Paul doesn’t stop here but he goes into detail how God would accomplish this. Jesus Christ: Being fully God and fully man was in the perfect position to make this happen.
So, let us dig a little deeper by looking at verse 45
45 So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
This is very important, and it is sometimes overlooked. My first point is that when Adam was created, he was perfect and there is no reason why he would not have lived forever but unfortunately, He sinned and the whole human race died. Not literally but the separation and broken relationship from God. God did not give up on the human race but sent his Son and through the son we are brought back into this divine fellowship by faith and grace.
So let us work out how this resurrection works and why it works;
46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
Paul is following God’s creation. For there to be life death came first. From this life would spring up. Adam is like the original natural seed that falls into the ground. This needs to take place so that there can be a resurrection for eternal fellowship with God. This is our destiny and it was our destiny from before the foundation of the world.
The Mystery of Resurrection
50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55 O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:35-58
Death is cruel and in the natural world because of the fall there is a sting in death. The sting of death is that we are separated from our relatives; we can be separated from God. But it does not have to be that way and in Jesus Christ through the cross and his resurrection this situation by faith can be reversed. As it says in these verses the perishable will become imperishable and the mortal will become immortal. Verse 37 tells us that the victory over death is through Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 25:8 says.
“8 He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth.
For the LORD has spoken. “(NASB)
This idea of a resurrection is especially alive in Ezekiel.
“12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you will know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. 14 I will put My Spirit within you, and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken and done it,” declares the LORD.’” Ezekiel 37:12-14 NASB
So then, the idea of resurrection my friends from the time of the great prophets into the New Testament spoke of the defeat of death. At the last trumpet call we will all be changed. This work was achieved through Jesus Christ. In the last verse “58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. “1 Corinthians 15:58 NASB
All we are asked to do is stay steadfast and continue to work and live for the Lord. 1 Corinthians is very interesting at many different levels. These early believers would have known some of the eyewitnesses. These eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Christ had started to die and perhaps they started to lose hope. Perhaps some of them started to doubt in the resurrection. Paul came at the right time to dispel these doubts. St Paul reminded the Corinthians of these basic Bible truths that culminated in Jesus Christ and in the Lord, the Corinthians and us in the 21st century will have a taste the resurrection too. This is the great promise. The hope of the resurrection started in the Old Testament and was fulfilled in the new. This really excites me about the future. We can look forward to eternity; death is certainly not the end!
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