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1 Corinthians Chapter 15

1 Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand,

- Paul reminds them what he had first taught them. - The chief fact - concerning the gospel is the fact that

Christ died for them and was resurrected from the dead. - On this fact - rests Christ's claim to be the Son of God

and on it the resurrection of man and his hope of eternal life rests.

- This is the great elementary truth - they had first been

taught but from which their minds had been diverted. - "It was something which the Corinthians had

received. No man ever invented the gospel for himself; in a sense no man ever discovers it for himself. It is something which he receives. Therein indeed is the very function of the Church. The Church is the repository and the transmitter of the good news." The Letters to the Corinthians - William Barclay

2 by which you are saved, if you hold it fast�unless you believed in

vain. - They were brought into a saved relationship based on this

truth. - They had received this truth - and in that truth they

stood. - The exception is stated as - "unless you believed

in vain."

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3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,

- First in importance - not in time. - He preached to them - what he had received by direct

revelation.

- Gal. 1:11-12 - 11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not man�s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ RSV

- The doctrine of the resurrection is - primary and

cardinal, central and indispensable. David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentary on 1st. Corinthians.

- "Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,"

- Roman's 1:1-6 - 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; RSV - 1 Peter 2:24 - 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. - "The idea of Jesus redeeming, purchasing man from under the sentence of condemnation is so interwoven with the whole of the Scriptures that it cannot be rejected without rejecting the truth of the Bible. He is the Redeemer and Savior of man." J.W. Shepperd - Gospel Advocate Commentary

4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,

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- Acts 2:22-24 - 22 �Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know� 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. RSV - "The inclusion of this detail in so brief a statement of facts is remarkable. But the burial is carefully recorded in all four Gospels, and was evidently regarded of great importance. The importance here and there is that the burial was the evidence of a bodily resurrection. The death of Jesus having been certified by the centurion (Mark 15:44,45), his body was committed to Joseph of Arimathea, who took it down from the cross, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn in stone (Luke 23:53), and rolled a great stone before the door of the tomb, and departed (Matt. 27:60). Then the chief priests and the Pharisees came before Pilate, saying: "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while he was yet alive. After three days I rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest haply his disciples come and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last error will be worst than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a guard: go, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, the guard being with them." (Matt. 27:63-66) J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentary

5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. - Most likely this is the appearance mentioned by Luke.

- Luke 24:36-43 - 36 As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them. 37 But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, �Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have.� 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, �Have you anything here to eat?� 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them RSV

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6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

- Just before his death Jesus told his disciples - "32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.� Matt. 26:32 - RSV

- After his resurrection the angel said to the women who had gone to the sepulchre: 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Lo, I have told you.� 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, �Hail!� And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, �Do not be afraid; go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.�

11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, �Tell people, �His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.� 14 And if this comes to the governor�s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.� 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. Matt. 28:7-16 RSV

- The strength of this testimony is in its numbers. What more conclusive evidence could have been offered than that five hundred had seen him, who had become his closest followers.

7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. - James mentioned here - is probably the Lord's brother who

was prominent in the Jerusalem church.

- Gal. 1:19 - 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord�s brother. RSV

8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. - Jim McGuiggan's makes this comment - "Paul doesn't class

himself as highly as those original apostles. He doesn't deny either his equal authority (Gal. 2:1-11). But he does recognize

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them as a special group as can be seen by his remark in Acts 13:30-31 where he calls them "his witnesses unto the people."

9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

- From this verse - it is obvious that Paul was troubled at times

but the facts involved also prompted him on to greater service.

- 1 Tim. 1:12-14 - 12 I thank him who has given me strength for this, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service, 13 though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. RSV

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me

was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.

- I like David Lipscomb's remarks on this verse - "While Paul

was sinful, God's grace opened the way for his forgiveness and made him what he was. The Lord saw his earnestness, zeal, self-sacrificing spirit, fidelity to his convictions, and his fitness to preach the gospel, so appeared unto him, brought him to believe, and started him upon his work of self-sacrificing service."

11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. - Paul seems to be saying - that the message was true and it

didn't really matter who proclaimed it. The important things was that they believed it.

12 Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of

you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? - Some were evidently denying the general resurrection.

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- The question then becomes - if resurrection from the dead is impossible how then could Christ have been raised from the dead?

- He had established the fact that one had been raised -

they had received it - how could they now deny the possibility of the resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been

raised; - These two comments stand or fall together. - Paul affirmed the resurrection of Christ - as proof of

the resurrection of all. - If there is no resurrection for all - then the resurrection

of Christ is meaningless. 14 if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your

faith is in vain. - The central truth of their preaching - was that Christ was

raised from the dead. If, in fact, he had not been raised, their preaching was in vain and completely false.

15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified

of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.

- As McGarvey said, "It is not an issue of truth or mistake, but of

truth or falsehood. There can be no middle ground in judging the words of that group of men who bore witness to Christ's resurrection and then went up and down the ancient empire sealing the testimony with their life's blood. It was either truth, or it was a bold calculated lie which perpetuated upon mankind the greatest hoax of all time; and the known character and behavior of the blessed apostles makes it impossible to believe the second alternative.

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"He raised up Christ . . . " Christ's resurrection is viewed in the NT as having been accomplished by the Son himself (John 10:18), and by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:11). The whole godhead was active in it. Coffman's Commentary - 1 Corinthians

16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. - David Lipscomb says - This verse is repetitive of verse 13, to

emphasize the argument that faith in the resurrection rests on historic fact.

- J.W. Shepherd goes on to say - He insists that unless the

dead do rise, then Christ did not rise. To raise him when no others would arise would be meaningless. If he did rise, then the dead must rise. (Gospel Advocate Commentary on 1st Corinthians)

17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in

your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.

- William Barclay - The Letters to the Corinthians - Paul

insists that if the Resurrection of Jesus was not a fact the whole Christian message was based on a lie, that many thousands had died trusting in a delusion, that without it the greatest values in life have no guarantee. "Take away the Resurrection," he said, "and you destroy both the foundation and the fabric of the Christian faith."

- Paul insists - that unless the dead do rise, then Christ did not

rise. To raise him when no other would arise would be meaningless. If he did rise, then the dead must rise. J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentary

- The resurrection lies at the foundation of faith and

forgiveness of sins - without it a confession of faith in Christ is meaningless.

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- People's New Testament - If there is no life beyond, no hope of it, then Christians who deny themselves in this life and endure persecutions and sufferings for the sake of eternal life, are of all men the most miserable. They �lose life� and gain no eternal life. Such are the consequences of this false belief.

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of

those who have fallen asleep. - None really denied the resurrection of Christ - but how

meaningless and fruitless his resurrection would be without the resurrection of others. His resurrection is not a solitary occurrence affecting only himself.

- First fruits denotes the beginning of anything - regarded as

a pledge of the rest; and so Christ's resurrection is the beginning, and the pledge of all the rest. David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentary

- There is marked suggestiveness in the term first fruits. It

is taken from the ancient ceremony in Israel of waving the sheaf of first fruits of the ripening grain before the Lord. (Lev. 23:9- 11.) The sheaf was at once the pledge and the sample of the entire harvest; it was a part of the harvest to be gathered. Christ is the first fruits of all the sleeping saints in his resurrection. As certainly as he is risen, so certainly shall they rise, for he is the pledge and assured part of their resurrection. Our faith in the resurrection rests on the proved fact of Christ's resurrection. J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentary

21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection

of the dead. - "One great truth evident in the Bible - is that men would

never have been subject to death, if it had not been for the sin of Adam. By that one man's sin, death has fallen upon all men. The analogy pointed out in this verse is that, in view of death's having resulted from one man's sin, it is not unreasonable that the resurrection of all men should come about through one

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man's resurrection, that of Christ himself." Coffman's Commentary on 1st Corinthians

22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. - "In Adam" we all die. That is, in relation to Adam, we all die.

"In Christ" we all live, experience resurrected life. The unstated condition is, of course, that we appropriate Jesus Christ by faith. All the dead are to be raised (John 5:28-29), but Paul here is dealing with those related to Jesus Christ. The basic truth is; in Adam we find death and in Christ we find life from the dead." Jim McGuiggan - Commentary on 1st Corinthians

23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming

those who belong to Christ. - "Each in his own order ...." The word rendered order is a

military word, "denoting a company." Christ outranks his followers, who in turn outrank the unbelieving.

"At his coming ...." The second Advent will be the occasion of

the general resurrection of both wicked and righteous, despite the affirmation that the "dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Thess. 4:16). Both shall occur on the same occasion (Matt. 25:31ff); and the separation of the wicked from the righteous will take place then. Coffman's Commentary on 1st Corinthians

- Matt. 25:31- 46 - 31 �When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all

the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left. 34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, �Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.� 37 Then the righteous will answer him, �Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? 39 And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?� 40 And the King will answer them, �Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these

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my brethren, you did it to me.� 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, �Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.� 44 Then they also will answer, �Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?� 45 Then he will answer them, �Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.� 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.� RSV

24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the

Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. - "Then cometh the end" - This is the end of earthly human

history. This is associated in the text with the time of the resurrection of the saints and it is related to the time "when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father." Christ relinquishes his mediatorial rule. Having faithfully carried out the will of the Father, his last act as mediatorial King is to surrender that delegated authority to the one who gave it to him (27). Jim McGuiggans - Commentary on 1st Corinthians

- when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father - "The

mission of Jesus Christ on earth was to redeem and rescue the world from the rule of the evil one, to whom it had been surrendered by the first Adam, and deliver it up to God, even the Father."

- after destroying every rule and every authority and power - Everything that is in the world, that exercises rule, authority, or

power, save as it comes directly from God, and is used under his direction, to promote his rule and dominion, is an enemy of God and of his Son Jesus Christ, and must be destroyed by the rule and dominion of the Son before the kingdom and dominion of the world can be delivered up to the Father. Jesus Christ came into the world to rescue it from the evil one, and to destroy everything that exerts power or authority or dominion on the earth, and to establish the kingdom of God on earth. When that work is done every one will render homage and obedience to God. Then, and only then, will peace and

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harmony and good will dwell among men, and every being in the universe will realize that his happiness will be promoted, by promoting the happiness of every other being, and all guided by one law will work in unison and harmony to the promotion of the glory of God and the good of men. Before the consummation can come every plant not planted of God shall be rooted up. (Matt. 15:13.) Every institution or organization of earth that exerts rule or authority or power must be destroyed. This earth in the material, moral and spiritual world must become again a garden of God's own planting. Not a brier, or thistle, or thorn can grow in the material, moral, or spiritual world. Only those plants planted by the Father's hand and nurtured by his love will grow in that redeemed and rescued Eden of God.� David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries - 1st Corinthians

25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. - He is reigning now, and will continue to reign until he has conquered all his

enemies. He is not waging a contest for a kingdom, as some contend, but will give up the kingdom when the contest is over and the final victory won. All enemies. All the wicked opposers, human and supernatural; also sin and death. All must be overthrown.� The People's New Testament

- Jesus Christ must rule and reign here on earth till he has put down and

destroyed all powers and dominions of earth. Everything exercising rule and authority and dominion under the evil one is an enemy of God, and Jesus Christ must reign until all have been destroyed. He reigns in his church; and his church is his kingdom established by God, which "shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." (Dan. 2:44.) All the kingdoms, and institutions on earth shall be broken in pieces and destroyed, then shall he deliver up to God his redeemed kingdom, out of which everything built up under the dominion of the devil has been destroyed.� David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries - 1st. Corinthians

26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. - Death came as a result of sin and is an enemy of God and man. While

resulting from sin, it serves as a boundary line for sin, beyond which no active rebellion can go. So long as man sins he must die; but when all sin and rebellion shall have been destroyed, then death as the last enemy shall be abolished. While Jesus conquered death, he still permits it to reign as a punishment and restrainer of sin. But when sin and rebellion shall have ceased, and all the institutions that have grown up out of the rebellion of man shall have been destroyed, then death

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itself, the last surviving enemy, will be destroyed, and the kingdom will be delivered up to the Father, with no enemy to oppose his rule and reign.� David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries - 1st. Corinthians

27 �For God has put all things in subjection under his feet - The quotation is from Psalm 8:6 - 6 Thou hast given him dominion over

the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet, RSV - This relates to man in general at the time of his creation - Gen.

1:28-30 - 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, �Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.� RSV but as the destiny of man thus declared is not realized, because of his fall, in any one save in the person of the Son of man, it is here applied to him as representative of man in his highest state. David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries - 1st. Corinthians

- Heb. 2:5-9 - 5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to

come, of which we are speaking. 6 It has been testified somewhere, �What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou carest for him? 7 Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.� Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one. RSV - Eph. 1:22 - 22 and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, RSV

.� But when it says, �All things are put in subjection under him,� it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him.

- God did not place himself under Jesus. He is excepted when he said he put all things under him. . David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries -1st. Corinthians

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28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one.

- Jesus came to bring all things under subjection to himself. He

established a kingdom and put in operation forces that will break down all rebellion against God and will bring all things into subjection unto himself as ruler. This he is doing through his kingdom. When the work of bringing them into subjection has been completed, he will be subject to God who put all things under his feet, that God may be the only ruler in the universe. All things in all places will honor and obey him.� David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries on 1st. Corinthians

29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the

dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

- Paul again returns to the argument for the resurrection. This passage is

difficult, and has received almost as many interpretations as there have been commentators. Some have held that there was a custom of baptizing living persons for the benefit of persons who had died without baptism. Had that custom existed, Paul would have rebuked it. It did arise afterwards, as an abuse from the misinterpretation of this passage, among the followers of Cerinthus, and, in our times, of Joseph Smith. I will try to make clear its meaning: (1) All the Corinthians were baptized (Acts 18:8). (2) Their baptism was a �planting� in the likeness of the burial of Christ, and in the �likeness of his resurrection� (Rom. 6:4, 5). They were in, and raised from, a watery tomb. (3) Their baptism in the likeness of the death and resurrection of Christ was in hope of their own resurrection from the dead through Christ's resurrection. (Huper Nekroon, for, or on account of the dead, with the exception of resurrection from the dead.) But if Christ has not risen, and the dead rise not, this memorial and emblematic burial has no meaning. �Why, then, are they baptized for the dead?� that is, for the sake of their own resurrection from the dead. This interpretation harmonizes better with Paul's argument than any I have seen. � The People's New Testament

- 29 Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead?�As is apparent to every

thoughtful person, this is an earnest argument to prove that Christians will rise from the dead. The purpose, scope, and connection will admit of but one meaning�If the dead rise not, what shall they do who are baptized in the hope of the resurrection? Men are "baptized into Christ," that they may live in him, die in him, and finally be justified and saved in him. David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries on 1st. Corinthians

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If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?�In view of

their dying they are baptized in order to their well-being after death. If they are not to be raised from the dead, why are they baptized to fit them for the resurrection? David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries on 1st. Corinthians

There is no doubt that the allusion is to some act performed in expectation of

future benefit to themselves, which would be lost if the dead did not rise. And the view given here suits the argument and agrees with the context. Foreseeing that faith would cost them the loss of all things, perhaps of life itself, not a few persons, in being baptized, did so, virtually saying with the apostle, "We who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake." (2 Cor. 4:11.) The meaning then is: What is to become of those who on being baptized do so knowing that it may prove their death warrant, if the dead rise not?

J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentary 30 Why am I in peril every hour? - "If the apostles had not been extremely sure of the resurrection,

why would any of them have endured such hardships and sufferings, even unto death? This argument is unanswerable." Coffman's Commentary - 1st. Corinthians

31 I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day!

- "He gloried in them as his children in Christ - and in spite of

their many defects, they were very precious to him. The very joy and gratitude worked by his thought of them recalls the peril he had endured for their salvation." David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries on 1st. Corinthians

- I die daily. I endure so many sufferings and persecutions, that it may be said

to be a daily dying. I am constantly in danger of my life; and my sufferings each day are equal to the pains of death. Probably Paul here referred particularly to the perils and trials which he then endured at Ephesus; and his object was to impress their minds with the firmness of his belief in the certainty of the resurrection, on account of which he suffered so much, and to show them that all their hopes rested also on this doctrine.�Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

- Romans 8:36 - 36 As it is written,

�For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.� RSV

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32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, �Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.�

- If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus,�These words

describe the deadly enemies encountered by Paul during his long sojourn in Ephesus. They are a terrible picture of the perils which culminated not only in Ephesus but in every place where he proclaimed the gospel. He was surrounded by men thirsty for his blood, men against whose fury he was as powerless to defend himself as were the captives thrown to the wild beasts in the amphitheatre. (Acts 13:50; 14:19, 16:22; 17:5; 18:23; 2 Tim. 4:17) J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentary

what doth it profit me?�If this voluntary exposure to deadly peril be from

worldly motives common to men, what is the worldly gain to be derived from it? No such gain can be conceived. Consequently, his self-exposure was because he believed in a life beyond death. David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries on 1st Corinthians

If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.�[The

conclusion given here is a quotation from Isaiah 22:13, where it is given as the sensualistic cry of the people of Jerusalem under the judgment of Jehovah, which moved them to recklessness instead of repentance. These words are not quoted as having any original reference to the subject of the resurrection, but as language appropriately expressing the idea that, if there is no future state, it is vain and foolish to subject ourselves to trials and privations here. We should the rather make the most of this life; enjoy all the comforts we can; and make pleasure our chief good rather than look for happiness in the future state. This is the language of the great mass of mankind today. They look to no future state; they, therefore, give themselves up to unrestrained enjoyment in this life.] � J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentary

33 Do not be deceived: �Bad company ruins good morals.� - "Scholars identify this statement with the works of Menander, a

heathen poet; but some believe the expression had passes into the Greek language as proverb. Paul's use of it here was to warn the Corinthians against any toleration of the evil teachers who were denying the resurrection; for the toleration of them was certain to have corrupted some of the church. The truth spoken is timeless and applicable to all whoever lived in any generation." Coffman's Commentary on 1st. Corinthians

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34 Come to your right mind, and sin no more. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

- The KJV has "Awake to righteousness" instead of "Come to your right mind."

- The word here translated "awake" denotes, properly, to awake up

from a deep sleep or torpor; and is usually applied to those who awake, or become sober after drunkenness. The phrase "to righteousness"- δικαιως may mean either "rouse to the ways of righteousness, to a holy life, to sound doctrine," etc., or it may mean "as it is right and just that you should be." Probably the latter is the correct idea, and then the sense will be, "Arouse from stupidity on this subject; awake from your conscious security; be alarmed, as it is right and proper that you should be, for you are surrounded by dangers, and by those who would lead you into error and vice; rouse from such wild and delusive opinions as these persons have, and exercise a constant vigilance as becomes those who are the friends of God and the expectants of a blessed resurrection." � Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

- "and sin no more" - The call to an awakening to righteousness

must be followed by a constant effort to live righteously. - "For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your

shame." - Their culpable ignorance of Paul was at the root of their disbelief of

the resurrection; and Paul assigns this as the strongest reason for awakening out of spiritual lethargy which led them to associate with those who denied that God would raise the dead. And the object of all that he was saying was to excite them to shame for having some in their fellowship who denied the resurrection.� J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentaries

35 But some one will ask, �How are the dead raised? With what kind of

body do they come?� - An objection will be made to the statement that the dead will be

raised. This verse commences the second part of the chapter, in which the apostle meets the objections to the argument, and shows in what manner the dead will be raised. � Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

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- How are the dead raised up? In what way or manner; by what means.

This I regard as the first objection which would be made, or the first inquiry on the subject which the apostle answers. The question is one which would be likely to be made by the subtle and doubting Greeks. The apostle, indeed, does not draw it out at length, or state it fully, but it may be regarded probably as substantially the same as that which has been made in all ages. "How is it possible that the dead should be raised? They return to their native dust. They become entirely disorganized. Their dust may be scattered; how shall it be recollected? Or they may be burned at the stake, and how shall the particles which composed their bodies be recollected and reorganized? Or they may be devoured by the beasts of the field, the fowls of heaven, or the fishes of the sea, and their flesh may have served to constitute the food of other animals, and to form their bodies; how can it be recollected and reorganized? Or it may have been the food of plants, and like other dust have been used to constitute the leaves or the flowers of plants, and the trunks of trees; and how can it be remolded into a human frame?" This objection the apostle answers in 1 Corinthians 15:36-38 � Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

- And with what body do they come? This is the second objection or

inquiry which he answers. It may be understood as meaning, "What will be the form, the shape, the size, the organization of the new body? Are we to suppose that all the matter which at any time entered into its composition here is to be recollected, and to constitute a colossal frame? Are we to suppose that it will be the same as it is here, with the same organization, the same necessities, the same wants? Are we to suppose that the aged will be raised as aged, and the young as young, and that infancy will be raised in the same state, and remain such for ever? Are we to suppose that the bodies will be gross, material, and needing support and nourishment, or, that there will be a new organization?" All these and numerous other questions have been asked, in regard to the bodies at the resurrection; and it is by no means improbable that they were asked by the subtle and philosophizing Greeks, and that they constituted a part of the reasoning of those who denied the doctrine of the resurrection. This question, or objection, the apostle answers, 1 Corinthians 15:39-50.. It has been doubted, indeed, whether he refers in this verse to two inquiries-to the possibility of the resurrection, and to the kind of bodies that should be raised; but it is the most obvious interpretation of the verse, and it is certain that in his argument he discusses both these points.

� Barnes' Notes on the New Testament

36 You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. - The continual miracle of seedtime and harvest is not less

glorious than the miracle of the ultimate resurrection, only different. Paul's reference to planting seeds that produce

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something far different from the seeds, yet identified with the seeds, is similar to Christ's use of the same analogy in John 12:24, where he applied it to his own death and resurrection. Can anyone understand the principle of seeds dying, growing, and producing a crop? Certainly not, Jesus himself said, "Thou knowest not how!" (Mark 4:26-29). Thus, what Paul means by this is simply that the existence of the common miracle of seeds should enable the believer to receive as truth Christ's promise of the resurrection.

Thou foolish one . . ." It is worth noting that the word

more, meaning "fool," is a different word from "the one that was forbidden by the Lord." Coffman's Commentary on 1st Corinthians

37 And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.

- The Greek word for "fool" in these verses, and in 40, 41,

is soma, which is the same word used for a man's body. One may take a handful of various seeds which are superficially very much alike; but when they are planted an amazing difference appears. This is God's doing, "as it pleased him"; and Paul's argument must be allowed as valid, that the God who does such a thing as that also has the power to provide man with a resurrection body.

The Greeks despised the body; but it is everywhere

respected in the NT. The mocking Greeks at Corinth denied the possibility of a resurrection, pointing out the impossibility of reassembling all the atoms of the body destroyed by fire, lost at sea, or disintegrated into dust; but the Christian holds that it is no more difficult for God to give one another body than it was to give him the one he now enjoys. Coffman's Commentary on 1st Corinthians

39 For not all flesh is alike, but there is one kind for men, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

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- It is the infinite power and diversity of God's creative ability which is stressed by these words. There is hardly any environment upon the face of the earth, sky, land or sea, which is not inhabited by creatures that God has made and sustained through the ages. Some creatures live in the depth of the sea under pressure and temperature conditions which would be fatal to a man in an instant; and so it is throughout the whole creation. As Barnes observed, "It is not necessary therefore to suppose that the body which shall be raised shall be precisely like that which we have here. Coffman's Commentary on 1st Corinthians

40 There are celestial bodies and there are terrestrial bodies; but the

glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. - The words are often misunderstood. The "celestial bodies"

are not the sun, moon, and stars of the next verse - for that would be a false antithesis to "bodies terrestrial" - but bodies (or organisms) which belong to heavenly beings, such as the resurrection-body of our Lord and of glorified saints, or even in some sense of angels (Matt. 22:30). Pulpit Commentary on 1st Corinthians

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. - The point of the illustration is the difference between the

earthly and the resurrection body; not the supposed difference between the saints themselves in glory. This is not a question under consideration, and Paul, as we have seen, is not in the habit of mixing up half a dozen different questions in the same immediate argument. Pulpit Commentary on 1st Corinthians

- "Can it be thought strange if there should be a difference

between our bodies when on earth and when in heaven?" Coffman's Commentary on 1st Corinthians

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42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable,

what is raised is imperishable.

- He applies the truths - illustrated in verses 36-38, where the seed is sown to die, and is laid in the earth, in order that it may spring up a plant wholly different in form and beauty from the seed sown, to the resurrection.

It is sown in corruption;�It is now a corruptible body,

constantly tending to decay, subject to disease and death, and destined to entire dissolution. "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (Gen. 3:19.)

it is raised in incorruption:�The resurrection body will not be

subjected to earthly conditions; it will be imperishable, free from all impurity, and incapable of decay.

� J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentaries - 1st Corinthians 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is

raised in power. - The body here is dishonored with sin - with weakness, with

suffering; it goes down to the grave because of its weak, perishing, and sinful state. � David Lipscomb -Gospel Advocate Commentaries

44 It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a

physical body, there is also a spiritual body. - A natural (or physical) body is a body of which animal life

is the animating principle. It consists of flesh and blood; is susceptible of pain and decay; and needs air, food, and rest. It is adapted to the conditions of an earthly existence.� J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentaries

- it is raised a spiritual body. � What a spiritual body is, we

know from Paul's description, and from the manifestation of Christ in his glorified body. It is incorruptible, glorious, and

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powerful, adapted to the high state of existence in heaven, and therefore not adapted to an earthly condition. � J.W. Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentaries

- If there is a natural (or physical) body, there is also a

spiritual body.� If it is right to speak of a body adapted to the principle of animal life, it is right to speak of a body adapted to the spirit. Just as certainly as we have a body adapted to our lower nature, we shall have one adapted to our higher nature. J.W.Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentaries

45 Thus it is written, �The first man Adam became a living being�; the

last Adam became a life-giving spirit. - "He has compared Christ and Adam in earlier verses and

he does so again. Genesis 2:7 stresses the humanity of Adam, the first man. Adam, that first human, being the father of all of us gave us his mortal human likeness. The last Adam (Christ, as the founder/father of his children) by virtue of his incarnation, death and, especially, his resurrection becomes a life-giving spirit. (In saying spirit he is not denying Christ's present manhood - 1 Timothy 2:5 - he's stressing the life- givingness of Christ by saying "spirit" which is the life-giving principle.)" 1st Corinthians - Jim McGuiggan

46 But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the

spiritual. - Adam, as an inhabitant of earth, came before Jesus; so the

earthly body comes to all before the spiritual body.� David Lipscomb - Gospel Advocate Commentaries

- The time sequence here applies to men now, their first

existence being merely physical, the natural life derived from the great progenitor Adam in whose "image" (Gen. 5:3) all men are born. God made Adam in God's image; but after the fall, it appears that men were not born in God's image (except in a limited sense), but in the image of the fallen ancestor. Hereditary depravity is not in this, but there is certainly some

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kind of limitation, or tendency." Coffman's Commentary - 1st Corinthians

47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is

from heaven. - Our first body, or the man in his first body, is of the earth; like

Adam, earthy. Gospel Advocate Commentary - David Lipscomb - "The earthy . . . " All men bear the likeness of Adam (Gen.

5:3). Coffman's Commentary - 1st Corinthians - the second man is of heaven - - The second, or resurrection

body, will be spiritual like the body of Christ after his resurrection. Gospel Advocate Commentary - David Lipscomb

- "The second man is of heaven . . ." This epic declaration is

meaningless unless it teaches the preexistence of Christ, his unity with God the Father, and the virgin birth by which he identified himself with the earthy. God created Adam, but he was still earthy, having been made of the dust of the earth; but Christ had ever been with the Father. As Jesus expressed it, "I came forth and am from God" (John 8:42). And again, I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world" (John 8:42). And again, "I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world" (John 8:23). One can only marvel at the type of scriptural illiteracy which cannot find the virgin birth in Paul, John and other portions of the NT. Coffman's Commentary - 1st Corinthians

48 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the

man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. - All bodies in the mortal state - are like Adam subject to

corruption and decay. - All the spiritual bodies of Christians - are like the second

Adam, Jesus Christ, in his ascended state. Gospel Advocate Commentary - David Lipscomb

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- 1 Thess. 4:16 - 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel�s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; RSV - 2 Thess. 1:7 - 7 and to grant rest with us to you who are afflicted, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, RSV

- Phil. 3:20, 21 - 20 But our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables him even to subject all things to himself. RSV

49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also

bear the image of the man of heaven. - "We shall also bear the image of the heavenly . . ." As

certainly as men are like Adam and have the same physical nature that Adam possessed, that certain are they to bear the image of Jesus Christ and to possess, ultimately, exactly the same kind of spiritual body that Jesus displayed after the resurrection. A little is known of Jesus' body after the resurrection, despite the fact that it is little. (1) He had flesh and bones. (2) He could appear and disappear at will through closed or locked doors. (3) He could ascend or descend. (4) He could vanish out of sight. (5) He could even change his appearance (Mark 16:12). (6) He could be recognized or not, at will. (7) He was not merely a spirit (Luke 24:39). By the words of this clause, Paul clearly stated that just as our physical bodies are like that of Adam, our spiritual bodies shall be like that of Christ. Significant also is the fact that Christ was the same person after the resurrection as he was before, indicating that there shall be no loss of personality in the resurrection state. Coffman's Commentary - 1st Corinthians

- Mark 16:12 - 12 After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. RSV - Luke 24:39 - 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have.� RSV

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50 I tell you this, brethren: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

- "I think 50 goes along with the previous verses. And he

summarizes what he has just said. In order to eternally live with Christ and enjoy the reign of God in heaven there must be a change. That change takes place, for all those who have died, in their being raised in incorruption. "Flesh and blood" would be used here to describe humanity as we now experience it." 1st Corinthians - Jim McGuiggan

51 Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be

changed, - The mystery is how this change is to take place, for it had

not hitherto been made known. The disclosure to which reference was made, and the corresponding one in 1 Thess. 4:15, was made through Paul. Gospel Advocate Commentary - David Lipscomb

- 1 Thess. 4:15 - 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. RSV

- We all shall not sleep, - This refers to the death of the body,

but of such as are Christ's; yet never of Christ himself, though he is said to be "the firstfruits of them that are asleep." (15:20.) It is used of saints who departed before Christ came (Matt. 27:52; Acts 13:26); of Lazarus while Christ was yet upon the earth (John 11:11); and of believers since the ascension (1 Thess. 4:14, 15; Acts 7:60; 2 Pet. 3:4.) J.W.Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentaries

- but we shall all be changed, - Those who die before the

coming of the Lord will not fail of the blessings of Christ's eternal kingdom, and those who are alive when he comes again will not be left in their corruptible bodies. Both shall be changed, and thus prepared for the heavenly state. Gospel Advocate Commentary - David Lipscomb

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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 shall be changed.

- "In a moment . . . " Bruce approved the rendition "moment" in

this place, calling it "perfectly correct." He further said: The Greek word atomos (whence our word atom) means "incapable of being cut"; and Paul used it here to indicate a division of time so brief that it cannot be subdivided farther, a "split second" if you like. Coffman's Commentary - 1st Corinthians

- for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised

incorruptible, and we shall be changed. - These words were likely added to give the order in which the three great acts of the last day will follow one another. The first will be the sudden signal of the Lord's presence. Then the dead in Christ will rise in immortal bodies. Last of all, the living will be changed. He declares; "For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord. that we that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we that are alive, that are left, shall together with them be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thess. 4:15-17.) J.W.Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentaries

53 For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality.

- The certainty of the change to spiritual bodies in the

resurrection is here affirmed - by the use of the imperative "must" which has such significant usage in the NT. Coffman's Commentary - 1st Corinthians

- This confirms the preceding statement - in regard to the

raising of the dead, and the change of the living by showing the necessity of putting off the mortality common to them both. If the present bodies are to become incorruptible and immortal

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they must indeed be changed, so that that decay which is inherent in all nature must be done away, and they will then become as incapable of dying as they are now incapable of living beyond their allotted time. J.W.Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentaries

54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts 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?� - This passage recalls the words from Hosea: I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction (Hosea 13:14. AV). I will ransom them from the power of Sheol; I will redeem them from death: O death, where are thy plagues? O grave, where is thy destruction? (RV). Nearly two thousand years have passed since this apostolical lighting split the midnight darkness surrounding the tomb; and even yet there is never a day passes in any city anywhere which fails to shout this message over the dead. In Houston, where these lines are being written, it is certain that a hundred times this very week these words have echoed in the chapels and cemeteries where men gather to bury the dead; and so it is all over the world when Christ is known. Victory in the presence of death! If men wonder why the holy faith in Jesus Christ continues from age to age, let them find at least a part of the answer in these immortal words before us.

Coffman's Commentary - 1st Corinthians - �Death is swallowed up in victory.� 55 �O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?�

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- These are the different forms of expressing the fact that death has been completely conquered. Gospel Advocate Commentary - David Lipscomb 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. - The sting of death is sin; - Sin inflicts on the sinner a wound that is mortal, "For the wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23.)

Gospel Advocate Commentary - David Lipscomb and the power of sin is the law: - Sin exerts its power to bring

about death through the law when it is violated. Gospel Advocate Commentary - David Lipscomb

The best comment on this expression is found in Rom.

5:12-15; 7:7-12. Paul was confronted with the horror of a broken law, which reminds him of a being infinitely holy, and of his own self-condemnation. J.W.Shepherd - Gospel Advocate Commentaries

- Rom. 5:12-15 - 12 Therefore as sin came into the world through one

man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned� 13 sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man�s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. RSV

- Rom. 7:7-12 - 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have known sin. I should not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, �You shall not covet.� 8 But sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, wrought in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died; 10 the very commandment which promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, finding opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and by it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good. RSV 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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- The victory consists in the defeat of death by the resurrection, and the forgiveness of sin through Christ's atonement, and the nailing to his cross of the torn and abrogated Law which made us slaves to sin and death (Col. 2:14). "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us" (Rom. 8:37). Through our Lord Jesus Christ. Who, by fulfilling the Law, has robbed it of its condemning power (Rom. 8:1), and by his death "hath destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil." (Heb. 2:14-15). Pulpit Commentary on 1st Corinthians - Oh sing unto Jehovah a new song; For he hath done marvelous things; His right hand, and his holy arm, hath wrought salvation! (Ps. 98:1). "Through our Lord Jesus Christ . . . " In the NT this always has reference to being "in Christ" as in the next verse where Paul said "in the Lord." God's way of saving men is by their being transferred "into Christ," identified with Christ, and thus saved "as Christ." As Farrar summarized it, "Paul's hope of the resurrection rests, like all his theology, on the thought that the life of the Christian is life "in Christ." Coffman's Commentary on 1st Corinthians

58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. RSV

- "Beloved brethren . . ." It is remarkable how frequently Paul

used this term of endearment and affection. Not even the gross sins and mistakes of the sensual and carnal Corinthians could diminish his love for them nor his loving persuasion helping them to conform more perfectly to the will of Christ.

- "Be ye steadfast . . ." Paul expected Christians to be able to

"take it." He wrote the Ephesians, "Stand therefore" (Eph. 6:14); and the admonition is the same here. Through the ages, there has been no more necessary virtue than the ability to be steadfast amidst changing scenes and times, despite

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temptations and sorrows, and without regard to every "wind of doctrine" that creates some little stir among men.

- "Unmovable . . . " The Christian is to be unmovable not in

prejudice, but in faith. - "Abounding in the work of the Lord . . ." Far from

advocating an easy way of salvation by merely believing, Paul demanded and encouraged that the redeemed should abound continually in the Lord's work. He commanded the Philippians to "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (1:12). He established a pillar of truth, both at the beginning of Romans (1:5) and at the end of it (16:26), stressing the "obedience of faith." He, like every true Christian, would have been outraged by any notion to the effect that people are "saved by faith alone."

- "Your labor is not in vain . . ." What is done for Christ and his

kingdom is work for God; all else is idleness." "Why stand ye here idle all day?" was the question Jesus burned into men's conscience (Matt. 20:6). They were not idle in the sense of doing nothing, but in the sense of not doing the only thing that mattered; and, alas, it must be feared that the same is true of many today.

- "In the Lord . . ." This expression, or it's equivalent, appears

169 times in the writings of the apostle Paul; and by that fact, it may be claimed that this is the most important phrase Paul ever wrote, because he repeated it more than any other. Salvation is "in the Lord" and nowhere else. Every man should ask himself the question, "Am I in the Lord?" As to how this relation is established, the sacred scriptures leave no doubt whatever. Men are baptized "into Christ" at a time subsequent to their having believed on the Lord Jesus Christ and having repented and confessed his name (Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27). There is no other way to be "in the Lord."

The conclusion of this chapter reveals it as a prime motivation

of Christian service. It is unfortunate, in a sense, that its

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marvelous teachings are stressed almost exclusively at funerals. Coffman's Commentary on 1st Corinthians