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1 Corinthians
Chapter fifteen
Hope of the resurrection
Chapter fifteen is the most comprehensive chapter in scripture on the subject of the resurrection. The resurrection was one of the Apostle Paul’s basic and cardinal teachings to the church. If the resurrection of the dead can be denied, that means that the sting of death prevails; and we are still in our sins. (The sting of death is sin, verse 56).
The denial of the resurrection was one of the heresies in Corinth. In this chapter Paul gives us a very clear picture of this rebirth into the eternal kingdom. The theologian even uses nature as an example and exposes the fallacy of those who disbelieve. A seed must be sown in the ground and die before it brings forth new life. As one star differs from another in glory, so is it in the resurrection. Paul shows that believers have varying degrees in the resurrection. But even a greater mystery lies ahead; we who are alive at His coming shall be changed instantaneously, in a twinkling of an eye!
A Lutheran man once told me about an encounter he had with death. He had died on the operating table, and he went to heaven. He saw the gates of pearl and an angel met him there at the closed gate. The angel said: "You cannot come in here because you are not ready. You have rejected the offering that God gave." He was given another chance. He said, "When I came back I really changed my life." The life hereafter is very real. We should live each day with eternity in mind.
*Note: this chapter is an excerpt from the book
"The More Excellent Way"
The Apostle reiterates his teaching
15:1-2 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; V.2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
Paul is not declaring anything on parchment that he had not already declared unto them verbally. Our faith is consummated when we receive and believe the word spoken to us. However, it is possible to cast away the truths that we once embraced and make void our faith. (Cf. 11Pet. 2:20-22)
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;
Again, Paul is reiterating one of his cardinal doctrines of the faith – Christ died for our sins. The scriptures that are mentioned in this verse would have to be Old Testament scripture. Just to mention a few:
15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
The burial and resurrection was not only necessary to complete the redemptive work, but to fulfil the Old Testament prophecies as well. Just to list a few OT references:
The witnesses
15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
This was fulfilled in Luke 24:34 and in Luke 24:36-43.
15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
This is the only reference to the 500 witnesses. The number 500, speaks of abundance of grace.
15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
Tradition holds that the James mentioned here is the half brother of our Lord. "All of the apostles" would seem to indicate others besides the twelve. There were others in the New Testament who were called apostles. Perhaps some of them were of the seventy. Barnabus was called an apostle and is thought by some to have been one of the seventy. This seems to be one of the prerequisites of an apostle – they have seen the Lord.
There is a big movement on today where many are lauded as "an apostle." There is a very general interpretation to the word "apostle." Even a missionary can fit the interpretation of a "sent one." But in truth, the apostolic ministry has a very high criterion. It is the highest ministry, and those who are true apostles have the life and the power to back up their message! Paul said: "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience…. (2 Cor 12:12)
15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
Paul also saw the resurrected Christ and was converted! (If there had ever been an unbeliever it was Paul!) The latter part of this verse could read: "before the due time." Although Paul’s message has relevant application for every generation, many see the apostle as a particular messenger to the last day church. Paul has a unique emphasis on the end times, the perfection and glorification of the church, the rapture, etc. These all have special application to those living at the end of the age.
Paul attributes all to grace
15:9-10 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. V.10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
Paul’s life pictures the true grace more than any other New Testament figure. Paul (Saul) persecuted the church with a passion. It is said that this "Saul of Tarsus" was responsible for having at least 10,000 Christians incarcerated, and for persecuting others to the death. But then Saul experienced a very dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus, and the church that he had labored to destroy he now labored to build. Herein is an example of true grace! (C.f. Acts 22:3-21, Gal. 1:23)
15:11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
Paul is saying, "It does not matter who preached – whether I or the other apostles – ye now believe." (Faith cometh by hearing the Word.)
Heresies concerning the resurrection
15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
One of the heresies of the Corinthian church concerned the resurrection. Some were saying that Christ had not risen. There were also other heretical teachings on the resurrection:
If there be no resurrection – your faith is in vain
15:13-16 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: V.14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. V.15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. V.16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised…
In order to complete the redemptive plan, Christ had to arise from the dead. (Otherwise the sting of death would have prevailed!) Christ is called the Firstfruits from the dead in verse 20. That means that He was the pattern or the sample of those who shall rise in the resurrection. Therefore, if our pattern (our forerunner) did not rise, surely we have no hopes of the resurrection either! That also means that we are false witnesses; that means that the saintly apostles, the holy women, and the 500 are all lying! That also means that it has all been for nothing; our preaching has all been for nothing and your faith is all for nothing!
15:17-18 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. V.18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
Consider all of the implications here. If Christ did not rise then we are yet sinners! If the sting of death is sin, (V.56) then sin won. Sin brought us to the grave, but Christ did not triumph over sin or the grave if He did not rise. He had to conquer death and be resurrected to break the power of sin and the grave!
I just had a graveside service four days ago. I began by declaring that sin had brought us to this place, and if Christ had not risen from the dead then we go to the grave as sinners. Christ’s victory over the grave gives us the hope of victory over sin and the grave! (That is for those who have committed their life to Him.)
15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
There are several ways that we could view this verse; but let us be generous and suppose that what Paul meant was that it is only during our lifetime that we have the hope that Christ would come and give us the power of eternal life. In other words, once we are dead, all hope is gone and we will perish. That would be a miserable prospect, especially for the older saints.
Christ the Firstfruits from the dead
15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
But now is Christ risen as the firstfruits. Christ not only died on a feast day, (Passover) but He also was resurrected on the feast of "The Sheaf of the Firstfruits" (Lev. 23:10-14). The feast of Pentecost (which means 50) was fifty days after the feast of the Firstfruits. There were 50 days between Firstfruits and Pentecost. The feast of Firstfruits was basically an agricultural feast. The husbandman would take a sheaf of the barley harvest and wave it before the Lord. It was a kind of thank-offering and also an invocation for God’s blessing on the harvest that was to follow.
Christ was the sample fruit from the dead. There were also a few others who were literally resurrected at that time to fulfill the scripture. A sheaf is a bundle – a token amount. (C.f. Isa. 26:19, Matt. 27:50-53) This is why Jesus told Mary not to touch Him, because he had not yet ascended. He had to be accepted by God the Father and could not be touched by human hands. Later that day Jesus invited His disciple to touch Him because He had ascended and had been accepted as "The Firstfruits."
*We fulfill this feast when we are risen with Him through the waters of baptism.
15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
Paul later expounds upon the two Adams – the one from earth who brought us death, and the One from Heaven who brought us life. The thought continues in the next verse:
15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Perhaps it doesn’t seem fair that because of the sin of one, we must all die. But, there is also the hope that is set before us – in Christ we can all be made alive! Those who accept the opportunity of the "second birth" will not experience the "second death!"
15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
There is an order in the resurrection. This is also expounded upon later in the chapter. Some translators put the comma after Christ: "Christ, the firstfruits…."
This certainly had a partial fulfillment at the time of His resurrection. (See Matt. 27:50-53.) But it is also clear from Revelation 14, that there is a firstfruit company that will have precedence at the end.
The extended ministry of Christ throughout the millennium
15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
We are now looking at the end of the Millennial Age and the great resurrection that takes place at that time. At the end of the millennium, the Great White Throne judgement takes place, and all that have ever lived will be bodily resurrected (Rev. 20).
In the following four verses, we have a little synopsis of the extended ministry of Christ throughout the millennium. Christ will put all enemies under His feet before He presents the totally restored kingdom back to the Father:
15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
Everything must eventually be subject unto Him. The book of Hebrews declares that He sits at the right hand of the Father until His enemies become His footstool. Part of that must be realized through the Church (which is His body). It is through the Church that there shall be a great defeat of the enemy! (C.f. Heb. 10:12-13, Rom. 16:20)
15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Death continues through the millennium because there is still sin in the millennium. (C.f. Isa. 65:20)
15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
All is put under the domain of Christ with the exception of God the Father, who gave all authority to Christ.
15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
After the millennial reign and the "Great White Throne judgment," Christ will still be subject unto God the Father. It is important to realize the chain of command; some segments of Christianity do not recognize God the Father.
Baptism a type of death and resurrection
15:29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
"Baptized for the dead" is an inference to Christ from verse 15. What purpose would there be to be baptized into Christ if Christ rose not? The whole concept of water baptism is to identify with the death and resurrection of Christ. (Rom 6:4) "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." We come up from the waters of baptism to walk in the newness of life. Why would we do this if the dead rise not?
15:30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
Why would we hazard our lives for a cause that is not even true, if indeed it were not true? Paul is taking the advocate position, showing the Corinthians the inconsistency of those who said, "The dead rise not."
15:31-32 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. V.32 If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? B. Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
Verse 31 might better read: "I protest by your rejoicing which you have in Christ…" The "I" is not in the original text. Paul is still addressing a segment of "believers" who were saying: "the dead rise not." Why rejoice if the dead rise not? I die daily for the cause of Christ… I have wrestled with beasts at Ephesus (evil spirits). What advantage do I have in doing all of this if the dead rise not? We might as well live for this life and enjoy all the pleasure we can.
Paul is quoting Isaiah 22:13, (32.B) which has the implication of casting off restraint and living like the world.
Evil associations
15:33 Be not deceived: evil (communications) corrupt good manners.
Evil associations corrupt our morals, corrupt our doctrine and affect out position in Christ. Here is a thought repeated many time in scripture. Wrong associations affect our thinking; they cloud our judgment. The good king Jehoshaphat corrupted the kingdom through his wrong alliance with Ahab.
15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
We are known by the company that we keep. Our associations affect us in a major way. When Paul said: some have not the knowledge of God… this particular form of the word (knowledge) comes from the Greek word – agnosia. This is where we get our word, agnostic. If we associate with agnostics, that says something about our character. The famed missionary to Burma, Adoniram Judson, once claimed atheistic beliefs because of his association with an atheist during his college years. He later repented after he observed the untimely death of his friend. His friend died being greatly tormented and tantalized by demons that had come to take him home.
Paul explains how the natural laws reveal the spiritual
15:35-36 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? V.36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
Paul is now going to absolve all doubts on the subject of life from the dead by showing how the natural realm reveals the spiritual realm. One of the first laws of creation is that every seed will bring forth life after its kind (Genesis 1:11-12). A seed must first be planted to begin the germination process. It must rot (breakdown) in the ground and then out of that corruption springs new life.
15:37-38 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: V.38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
Again, we look to the laws of Genesis: every seed reproduces itself. An apple seed brings forth an apple tree and eventually an apple. A thorn will resurrect a thorn!
15:39 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.
What Paul is eventually going to prove through this lesson is that there are distinctions in the resurrection. Every beast is going to reproduce itself. We are not going to die a sinner and be resurrected a saint. The law of genetics proves that we are going to pass on our strengths and weaknesses to the next generation. The point being that a weak Christian will be resurrected "a weak Christian." (This is in regards to his eternal place!)
15:40-42 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. V.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. V.42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
Now, Paul is comparing the distinction between physical bodies upon earth, with the distinctions of the celestial panorama. Some celestial bodies are very brilliant and very clear. Other celestial bodies are very faint, very distant. Some are almost invisible. We are getting a picture of how it shall be in the resurrection; there will be many distinctions:
(Heb 11:35) …and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
15:42 B. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
In the second part of verse 42, Paul is alluding to our physical bodies. Our natural bodies will decay and rot in the grave, but in the resurrection we shall come forth with an immortal body. The following verses elaborate more fully:
15:43-44 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: V.44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
The natural body dies, often of disease or infirmity or perhaps even reproached by the world (Heb. 11:36-38). But it shall be raised in glory and power! Jesus demonstrated the resurrected (spiritual body). He broke bread with them, they touched Him, and then He walked through the wall!
The two Adams
15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
The two Adams are in reference to the one who was made of the dust, and the Other who came down from heaven. The first Adam brought us back to the dust through his fall; the second Adam has the power to bring us up from the dust through His resurrection. Paul gives greater clarity to the two Adams in Romans 5:12-21.
First the natural – then the spiritual
15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
This particular verse is one of the key verses in the realm of Bible hermeneutics. (Bible hermeneutics is the science of interpreting scripture. There are keys within the Word itself, which help to unlock its sacred pages.) The principle of "first the natural and then the spiritual" helps us to understand many concepts. For example, the Old Testament journey of Israel helps us to understand our spiritual walk of faith. There will be battles, temptations, and the kind of tests that the ancient pilgrims faced before entering the promised land. Of course, Paul is using the natural realm of creation to help us to understand spiritual principles, namely, the resurrection.
*Note: Even natural Israel helps us to identify what is happening in spiritual Israel – the church.
15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
Again, we are contrasting Adam and Christ. In the book of Hebrews 2:6-10, we find a good analogy of Adam and Christ. Adam lost the crown because of disobedience, Christ showed us how we can regain the crown through the cross.
15:48-49 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. V.49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Adam represents mortal man. Christ represents immortal man. We have been subjected to the weakness of man because of Adam’s fall. But in Christ we shall possess the triumphant nature and immortality!
15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Simply put, we cannot enter the heavenly realm in our mortal body. This mortal body is doomed to decay and ultimately deteriorate in the grave.
In Christ we have victory over sin and the grave
(1 Cor 15:51-53 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, V.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. V.53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
At the last trumpet (this is speaking of the Second Coming) the great mystery takes place. The dead are transformed from the dust into an immortal and beautiful body; and the saints who are living shall likewise be transformed in an instant!
*Note: This take place after the tribulation period. See Matt. 24:29-31
15:54-55 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. V.55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Paul is quoting from Hosea 13:14 and Isaiah 25:8. The Christian does not have to fear the grave because Christ defeated hell and the grave. The spirit of the redeemed immediately goes to heaven and they shall be with the Lord until the full redemption comes – the resurrection of the body.
15:56-57 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. V.57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Man was destined to die because of the serpent’s bite – sin. And the law was given to man to make him fully conscious of the sin nature (Rom. 7:13). But there was an antidote given to save man – and that was the cross. Man can transmit his sin to the cross as Israel did in Numbers 21:6-9, and John 3:14-15. But the death of Jesus in itself did not complete the cure; He had to defeat sin and the grave by being resurrected and thus proving that there is victory over sin and the grave! Thanks be to God!
15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Now that Paul has totally refuted the heretical doctrine of the resurrection, he encourages them to continue on, to be stedfast and unmoveable in their faith. It is easy to understand how a heretical teaching such as this could immobilize the work. All of their work would seem quite in vain "if the dead rise not." But your labor is not in vain in the Lord!
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