44Our Resurrection  Bodies (15:35-49)

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 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. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (15:35-49)

The first major problem Paul deals with in chapter 15 is denial of general resurrection. Some of the Corinthians, though they had accepted the truth of Christ’s resurrection, refused to believe that other men would or could be resurrected. Verses 12-34 show the error and dangers of such denial. Now the apostle deals with another troublesome issue, one that is really a part of the first, namely, the question of how a general resurrection could be possible. The idea of resurrecting all the human race seems inconceivable because of its complexity and the power demanded to accomplish it.

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” (15:35)

Those in Corinth who denied the resurrection did so primarily because of the influence of gnostic philosophy, which considered the body to be inherently evil and only the spirit to be good. They therefore believed that resurrection of the body is undesirable. Paul now challenges the idea that resurrection also is impossible. “Supposing,” they argued, “that resurrection were a good thing, how could it happen?”

Part of the problem some Greeks had may have been traceable to a false view of resurrection taught by many rabbis of that time. By misinterpreting such passages as Job 19:26 (“Yet from my flesh I shall see God”), they concluded that resurrection bodies will be identical to earthly bodies in every way. The writer of the Jewish apocryphal book of Baruch wrote, for example, that “the earth shall then [at the resurrection] assuredly restore the dead; it shall make no change in form, but as it has received so shall it restore.” To Gnostics, that view made resurrection seem even less desirable and possible.

But why would anyone who acknowledges a creator God think His restoring bodies, in whatever way, would be any more difficult for Him than making them in the first place? As Paul asked before King Agrippa, “Why is it considered incredible among you people if God does raise the dead?” (Acts 26:8). Why do people still today, including some Christians, become perplexed and bothered about how God could restore the bodies of those who have been lost at sea, blown up in an explosion, or cremated? Why is His restoring those bodies more miraculous and unbelievable than His creating the universe? And besides, every dead body, no matter how well embalmed, eventually disintegrates.

Yet one objection to the idea of resurrection was, and still is, its seeming impossibility. But someone will say, Paul’s experience led him to anticipate, “How are the dead raised?” How could God possibly reassemble the bodies of everyone who has died throughout the ages of history? A closely related question was, And with what kind of body do they come?

In verses 36-49 Paul answers the questions of verse 35 in four ways: (1) he gives an illustration from nature, (2) he tells what kind of body resurrection bodies will be, (3) he contrasts earthly and resurrection bodies, and (4) he reminds them of the prototype resurrection, in which they already believed.

AN ILLUSTRATION OF RESURRECTION

You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. (15:36-38)

Like denial of resurrection because it seems undesirable, denial of resurrection because it seems impossible came from the skepticism of pagan philosophy. It did not come from honest doubt or ignorance, and Paul responds accordingly: You fool. The word was used derisively of one who does not use or does not have understanding.

The questions mentioned in verse 35 were not those of someone who wanted to know but were the mocking taunts of someone who thought he already knew As with most of the questions put to Jesus by the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees, the purpose was to entrap and embarrass, not discover truth.

To point up the foolishness of the objection, Paul gives a common illustration from nature. In three significant ways resurrection is similar to the planting and growth of crops: the original form is dissolved, the original and final forms are different in kind, and yet the two forms have a continuity. Resurrection is not impossible, because it occurs on a small scale continuously in the plant world.

DISSOLUTION

First is the similarity of dissolution, or dying. That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When a seed is planted in the ground it dies, actually decomposing as a seed: it must cease to exist in its original form as a seed before it can come to life in its final form as a plant.

Applying the same figure, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). Before Christ could bear the fruit of salvation for us, He had to die. Likewise, before we can participate in the fruit of His resurrection, or bear fruit in His service, we too must die. “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal” (v. 25).

When Jesus was crucified His earthly body died; it ceased to exist as an earthly body. Just as with growing crops, there had to be an end to the old before there could be a beginning of the new In the case of men, one body will die to give life to another.

DIFFERENCE

Second, both in the growing of crops and in the resurrection of bodies there is a difference between the original and final forms. The seed loses its identity as a seed and becomes more and more like the mature plant. But the seed itself, that which you sow—whether it is wheat or … something else—looks nothing like the mature plant, the body which is to be. Only after ceasing to be a seed does it become the mature plant the farmer harvests.

When Jesus was raised from the dead His glorified body was radically different from the one which died. What came out of the grave was different from what was placed in the grave. It was no longer limited by time, space, and material substance. During His appearances, Jesus went from one place to another without traveling in any physical way. He appeared and disappeared at will, and entered rooms without opening the door (Luke 24:15, 31, 36; John 20:19; etc.). In His earthly body He had done none of those things. Resurrection changed Jesus’ body in marvelous and radical ways, and at His return all resurrection bodies will be changed marvelously and radically.

CONTINUITY

Third, in spite of the differences, there is nevertheless a continuity between the old and the new But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. The seed changes radically, but it continues as the same life form. A wheat seed does not become barley, and a flax seed does not become corn. God has given each type of seed a body of its own, whose identity continues into the grown plant.

After Jesus was raised, no one recognized Him unless He revealed Himself to them. But once revealed, He was recognizable. The disciples knew His face, and they recognized His wounded side and His pierced hands. In a similar way, our resurrected bodies as believers will have a continuity with the bodies we have now Our bodies will die and they will change form, but they will still be our bodies. Surely it is not too hard to believe that the God who has worked this process daily through the centuries in His creation of plants, can do it with men.

THE FORM OF RESURRECTION BODIES

All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 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. So also is the resurrection of the dead. (15:39-42a)

These verses expand on Paul’s previous point that our resurrection bodies will be different from our earthly bodies. Seeing the vast differences in God’s creation, we should not question His ability to create bodies that are different and yet continuous.

All flesh is not the same flesh indicates the amazing variety of earthly bodies God has made. We need only look around us to see the virtually infinite assortment of created beings and things. In the biological world the flesh of men is absolutely distinct from the flesh of beasts, the flesh of birds, and the flesh offish. All flesh is not of the same kind.

I have read that there are some six hundred octodecillion different combinations of amino acids. An octodecillion is 10 to the 108th power, or 1 followed by 108 zeros. Amino acids are the building blocks of all life. Not only does each type of plant and animal life have a distinct pattern of amino acids, but each individual plant, animal, and human being has its own unique grouping of them. No two flowers, snowflakes, seeds, blades of grass, or human beings—even identical twins—are exactly alike. Yet each is completely identified with its own species or kind.

Those two facts make one of the strongest scientific evidences against evolution. No matter what we may eat, no matter how specialized or unbalanced our diet may be, and no matter what our environment may be, we will never change into another form of life. We may become healthier or more sickly, heavier or lighter, but we will never be anything but a human being and never any human being but the one we are. The biological codes are binding and unique. There is no repeatable or demonstrable scientific proof that one form of life has changed or could change into another.

There are also heavenly bodies, which obviously differ greatly from earthly bodies in glory, that is, in nature, manifestation, and form. Not only are the heavenly bodies vastly different from the earthly; they are greatly different from each other. The sun is greatly different from the moon, and both are different from the stars. From astronomy we know that many of what normally are called stars actually are planets, and therefore similar to the earth and moon, and that true stars are themselves suns. But Paul was speaking from the perspective of normal human observation, not from the perspective of science. From either perspective, however, his basic point is true. The stars generate their own light, while the planets and moons only reflect light produced by the stars. In that way the two types of heavenly bodies are greatly different in glory, that is, in character and manifestation.

Even star differs from star in glory. Donald Peattie has written,

Every star is different, just as every plant is different, every animal is different, and every human being is different. God has infinite creative capacity, including the capacity to make infinite variety. Why would anyone think it hard for Him to re-create and resurrect human bodies, no matter what the form might be?

So also is the resurrection of the dead. Resurrection bodies will differ from earthly bodies just as radically as heavenly bodies differ from earthly. And resurrection bodies will be as individual and unique as are all the other forms of God’s creation.

When Moses and Elijah appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration they were as distinctly individual as they had been while living on earth. They did not then have resurrected bodies, but they were distinct beings of heaven, who one day will have distinct heavenly bodies. God is, not was, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of the living, not of the dead (Matt. 22:32). Those patriarchs are not merely alive in heaven, but are alive as the same persons they were on earth. Jesus knows all His sheep by name (John 10:3), whether they are in heaven or still on earth. Our resurrection bodies will be as uniquely ours as our spirits and our names.

THE CONTRASTS OF RESURRECTION

It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (15:42b-44)

Focusing more directly on the resurrection body, Paul here mentions specific ways, given as four sets of contrasts, in which our glorified bodies will be different from our earthly bodies.

PERISHABLE/IMPERISHABLE

The first contrast pertains to durability. One of the most obvious characteristics of all natural life, including human life, is that it is perishable, subject to deterioration and eventual death. Even in the healthy infant the process of aging and deterioration has begun. “All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust” (Eccles. 3:20). “For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more; and its place acknowledges it no longer” (Ps. 103:14-16).

Even the healthiest of people, as they get older, become weaker and more subject to disease and various physical problems. Death, of course, rapidly accelerates decay. Martha objected to Lazarus’s tomb being opened, because “by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days” (John 11:39). The purpose of embalming is to retard deterioration of the body as long as possible. But even the remarkable Egyptian mummification could not prevent deterioration, much less restore life.

One of the tragic consequences of the Fall was that men’s bodies from that time on were irreversibly mortal, subject to death. Without exception, every human being is sown, that is, born with, a perishable body.

But the resurrection body of the believer will be raised an imperishable body. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:3-4). Our new bodies will know no sickness, decay, deterioration, or death. “When this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” (1 Cor. 15:54).

DISHONOR/GLORY

The second contrast has to do with value and potential. At the Fall man’s potential for pleasing and serving God was radically reduced. Not only his mind and spirit but also his body became of immeasurably less value in doing what God had designed it to do. The creature that was made perfect, and in the very image of his Creator, was made to manifest his Creator in all that he did. But through sin, that which was created to honor God became characterized instead by dishonor.

We dishonor God by our inability to take advantage fully of what He has given us in His creation. We dishonor God by misusing and abusing the bodies through which He desires us to honor and serve Him. Even the most faithful believer dies with his body in a state of dishonor, a state of imperfection and incompleteness.

But that imperfect and dishonored body one day will be raised in glory. Throughout eternity our new immortal bodies will also be honorable bodies, perfected for pleasing, praising, and enjoying the Creator who made them and the Redeemer who restored them.

WEAKNESS/POWER

The third contrast has to do with ability. Our present bodies are characterized by weakness. We are weak, not only in physical strength and endurance but also in resistance to disease and harm. Despite the marvelous natural protective mechanisms of the human body, no one is immune from breaking a bone, cutting a leg, catching various infections, and eventually from dying. We can and should minimize unnecessary dangers and risks to our bodies, which for believers are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20). But we cannot completely protect them from harm, much less from death. Our earthly “temples” are inescapably temporary and fragile.

But not so our new bodies, which will be raised in power. We are not told what that power will entail, but it will be immeasurable compared to what we now possess. We will no longer have to say that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). Anything our heavenly spirits determine to do our heavenly bodies will be able to accomplish.

Martin Luther said, “As weak as it [the human body of believers] is now without all power and ability when it lies in the grave, just so strong will it eventually become when the time arrives, so that not a thing will be impossible for it if it has a mind for it, and it will be so light and agile that in an instant it can float here below on earth or above in heaven.”

NATURAL/SPIRITUAL

The fourth area of contrasts has to do with the sphere, or realm, of existence. Our earthly body is strictly natural. That is the only realm in which it can live and function. The physical body is suited for and limited to the physical world. Even with the imperfections and limitations caused by the Fall, our present bodies are wonderfully made for life on earth, marvelously suited for earthly living. But that is the only realm and the only living for which they are suited.

The new body of the believer, however, will be raised a spiritual body. Our spirits now reside in earthly bodies, but one day they will reside in spiritual bodies. In every way we then will be spiritual beings. In both spirit and body we will be perfectly suited for heavenly living.

“The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,” Jesus said, “but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; for neither can they die anymore, for they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:34-36).

In the resurrection everything about us will be perfected for all eternity. We will not be the same as angels, but will be “like” them in that we too will be perfectly equipped and suited for heavenly, spiritual, supernatural, living.

THE PROTOTYPE OF RESURRECTION

So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (15:45-49)

The fourth way in which Paul answers the questions “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” (v. 35) is by showing the prototype of resurrection and by further explaining the differences between natural and spiritual bodies.

He begins with a quotation from Genesis 2:7, with the addition of the two words first and Adam. So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” Adam was created with a natural body. It was not glorified, but it was perfect and “good” in every way (Gen. 1:31).

Adam and Eve originally were in a probationary period. Had they proved faithful rather than disobedient, their bodies would have been glorified and immortalized by eating the fruit of the tree of life, which they then could have eaten (see Gen. 2:9). Because they sinned, however, they were put out of the garden lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever in a state of sin (3:22).

The last Adam, however, became a life-giving spirit. The last Adam is Jesus Christ. “As through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. And … as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:19, 21; cf. vv. 12, 15). Through Adam we have inherited our natural bodies; through Christ we will inherit spiritual bodies in the resurrection.

Adam’s was the prototype of our natural bodies, whereas Christ’s was the prototype of our spiritual bodies. All the descendants of Adam have natural bodies, and all the descendants of Christ will have spiritual bodies. Christ’s resurrection, therefore, was the prototype of all subsequent resurrection.

In verse 46 Paul points out the obvious: However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. Every human being, starting with Adam and including Christ, has begun human life in a natural, physical body. The body that was raised from the dead on Easter morning had been a natural body, the incarnate body in which Christ was born and in which He lived and died. In the resurrection it was a spiritual, eternal body.

Adam, the first man, from whom came the natural race, originated on the earth, in fact was created directly from the earth (Gen. 2:7). In every way he was earthy. But Christ, called the second man because He has produced a spiritual race, existed eternally before He became a man. He lived on earth in a natural body, but He came from heaven. Adam was tied to earth; Christ was tied to heaven.

Because of our natural descent from Adam we are a part of those who are earthy. But because of our inheritance in Jesus Christ, we also have become a part of those who are heavenly. In Adam we are earthy; in Christ we have become heavenly. One day our natural bodies from Adam will be changed into our heavenly bodies from Christ.

And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Just as we will exchange Adam’s natural body for Christ’s spiritual body, we will also exchange Adam’s image for Christ’s.

From Jesus’ postresurrection appearances we get some idea of the greatness, power, and wonder of what our own resurrection bodies will be like. Jesus appeared and disappeared at will, reappearing again at another place far distant. He could go through walls or closed doors, and yet also could eat, drink, sit, talk, and be seen by those who He wanted to see Him. He was remarkably the same, yet even more remarkably different. After His ascension, the angel told the amazed disciples, “This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). The body the disciples saw after Jesus’ resurrection is the same body that will be seen when He returns again.

Just as with our Lord, our bodies, which are now perishable, dishonored, weak, and natural, will be raised into bodies that are imperishable, glorious, powerful, and spiritual. That which hindered our service and manifestation of God will now be the marvelous channel of fulfillment. We will have His own power in which to serve and praise Him, and His own glory by which to manifest and magnify Him. “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:43). In heaven we will radiate like the sun, in the blazing and magnificent glory which the Lord will graciously share with those who are His. Christ will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:21).

We cannot imagine exactly what that will be like. Even our present spiritual eyes cannot envision our future spiritual bodies. “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is” (1 John 3:2). We will not see our own resurrected bodies, or even have our own resurrected bodies, until we first see Christ’s.

“So the graveyards of man become the seed plots of resurrection,” Erich Sauer beautifully observes, “and the cemeteries of the people of God become through the heavenly dew the resurrection fields of the promised perfection.”

The coming resurrection is the hope and motivation of the church and of all believers. Whatever happens to our present bodies—whether they are healthy or unhealthy, beautiful or plain, short-lived or long-lived, or whether they are indulged or tortured—they are not our permanent bodies, and we should not hold them too dearly. Our blessed hope and assurance is that these created natural bodies one day will be recreated as spiritual bodies. Although we have only a glimpse of what those new bodies will be like, it should be enough to know that “we shall be like Him.”