Resurrection Essential to the Gospel
1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand i 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. j 3 For I passed on to you k as most important what I also received: that Christ died l for our sins according to the Scriptures, m 4 that he was buried, n that he was raised on the third day o according to the Scriptures, p 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, q then to the Twelve. r 6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; s most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, t then to all the apostles. u 8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, ,v he also appeared to me. w
9 For I am the least of the apostles, x not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted y the church of God. 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, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. z 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.
Resurrection Essential to the Faith
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, a how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”? b 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith. 15 Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses c about God, because we have testified d wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ e have also perished. 19 If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.
Christ’s Resurrection Guarantees Ours
20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits f of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death g came through a man, h the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. i 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. j
23 But each in his own order: k Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, l when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, m when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power. n 25 For he must reign o until he puts all his enemies under his feet. p 26 The last enemy to be abolished is death. q 27 For God has put everything under his feet. ,r Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. 28 When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son s himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all. t
Resurrection Supported by Christian Experience
29 Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them? 30 Why are we in danger every hour? 31 I face death every day, u as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus v as a mere man, what good did that do me? w If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. ,x 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34 Come to your senses ,y and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame. z
The Nature of the Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come? ” 36 You fool! What you sow does not come to life a unless it dies. 37 And as for what you sow—you are not sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he wants, b and to each of the seeds its own body. 39 Not all flesh c is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor d of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones. 41 There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star in splendor. 42 So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption; e 43 sown in dishonor, f raised in glory; g sown in weakness, raised in power; h 44 sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; ,i the last Adam j became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.
47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; k the second man is from heaven. 48 Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. l 49 And just as we have borne the image m of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven. n
Victorious Resurrection
50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh o and blood p cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. q For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this corruptible body must be clothed r with incorruptibility, s and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. 54 When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
Death has been swallowed up t in victory. ,u
55 Where, death, is your victory?
Where, death, is your sting? ,v
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin w is the law. x 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory y through our Lord Jesus Christ!
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, z because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
15:1–5. Paul begins by reminding the Corinthians of the gospel he preached to them, which they received, in which they have placed their trust, and by which they are saved if they continue to take their stand with regard to their faith in its truth (15:1). For otherwise, if initial acceptance gives way to confirmed disbelief, they will have believed in vain (15:2).
15:6–8. The creed (the elements of which are all joined to one another by the repetition of the word “that”) is now supplemented by additions. They provide evidence for an appearance of the risen Christ to more than five hundred (15:6; otherwise unmentioned in the NT), to James (15:7; accounting apparently for his conversion and rapid rise to leadership in the Jerusalem church [Mk 3:20–21; Jn 7:5; Ac 12:17; 15:13]), to all the apostles (an appearance distinguished here from that of 15:5; cf. Ac 1:3), and last of all (in time only, not in importance) to Paul (in an appearance so long after the others as to make Paul an apostle “born at the wrong time,” 15:8; see also Ac 9:5).
15:9–11. Nonetheless, though least among the apostles and undeserving of the title because, unlike the others, he had persecuted the church of God (15:9; cf. Ac 9:1–2), Paul was still called by divine grace, which is not in vain, to do the work of an apostle (15:10a). In response, he expended more effort in travel and ministry and reaped more success (because of the “grace of God that was with me”) in the founding of churches than any other (15:10b). So whether the Corinthians wish to view Paul’s preaching, or that of those whose witness formed the tradition behind his preaching, as the source for their knowledge of Jesus’s death and resurrection, it makes no difference to the content of the gospel or the substance of their faith (15:11).
15:12–19. Paul next points out the implications of unbelief. The Corinthians have been reminded that the resurrection lies at the heart of the gospel that was proclaimed to them. But is it necessarily the center, or does the call to a spiritual life in union with the risen Christ demonstrate that, unlike Christ, Christians are called to be those who pursue and receive spiritual immortality rather than resurrection from the dead? Some such question appears to have led various persons within the church to deny any connection between the fact that “Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead” and their idea that “there is no resurrection of the dead” in general (15:12).
15:20–22. However, such consequences need to be explored no more, as Paul gives the implications of a true understanding (15:20–28). Christ has been raised as the firstfruits from the dead (15:20). “Firstfruits” refers to the first produce of a harvest; such produce represented what might be expected from the crop and was to be presented to God in the temple (Ex 23:19). The thought of Christ’s resurrection as a representative event triggers the comparisons that follow between Christ and Adam. For just as death came into the world through a man whose actions were representative of the harvest of sin and death of all who have come after him, so now the resurrection of the dead has come through a man whose destiny his progeny can also fully expect to share (15:21). For inasmuch as all who are united with Adam by birth and by sin die, all who are united with Christ by rebirth and faith will, like him, be made alive (15:22).
15:23–28. But each person will be made alive in their own order—first Christ, then those who belong to Christ at his coming (15:23; cf. 15:52; 1 Th 4:14). Then comes “the end,” the time when Christ hands over to the Father his kingly rule over all those who believe in him (15:24). This will not happen, however (Ps 110:1; Mk 12:36; Ac 2:34–35), until all the other forces that exercise an alien power over Christ’s people have been destroyed, including the last such enemy, which is death (15:25–26). But when all these have been destroyed, the God who has put them all under Christ’s feet (Ps 110:1; cf. Ps 8:6) by destroying their power must not be expected to subject himself to Christ (15:27). Rather, just the opposite will happen. “The Son himself will also be subject” to the Father, who has given him his kingly authority so that God may be recognized as the true source of “everything” that has happened “in all” these events (15:28).
15:29–34. If there is no resurrection, then to repeatedly endanger one’s life on behalf of the gospel is foolish (15:30). Why expend the effort that brings him unnecessarily closer to death every day (15:31)? And what possible benefit could there have been in allowing himself to be put in the arena with “wild beasts” at Ephesus for the cause of Christ (15:32a; an event otherwise unmentioned in the NT)? For if the dead are not raised, then it is much more prudent to enjoy the pleasures of life for as long as possible (15:32b; see Is 22:13).
15:35–42a. The argument could certainly have been ended at this point, but questions about the nature of the resurrection (15:35) prompt further discussion (15:36–50). The second question (“What kind of body . . . ?”) explains the sense of the first (“How are the dead raised?”). The Corinthians are not asking about the way in which God’s power could make possible a resurrection but are questioning the implications of the idea. To ask the latter question, however, is foolish if the former is already answered with reference to God. The use of analogy will demonstrate this.
15:42b–49. The body that now displays God’s glory is perishable; the body that will be raised will display God’s glory in an imperishable form (15:42b). The body whose glory is now partially obscured in the dishonor of sin and death will be raised to reflect fully and completely God’s glory (15:43a). The body that dies in weakness will be raised to share in the power that comes from God himself (15:43b). And finally, most comprehensively, the one who dies in a “natural body” will be raised to life in a spiritual body (15:44a; note, however, that it is still a body, which is both like and unlike ours).
15:50–58. But if the end of our natural life is a prerequisite to the transformation that allows our participation in the eternal kingdom of God (15:50), then what will happen to those who are left alive at the time of Christ’s coming and this world’s demise? The answer is part of the mysterious wisdom of God’s plan. In the same moment that the dead are raised, those who are alive will also be changed (15:51–52). Their perishable physical existence will be cloaked by the imperishable existence and immortality of a body transformed by God’s power, just as with those who have died and been resurrected (15:53–54a).