greek exegesis paper
TRANSCRIPT
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary
THE RESURRECTION BODY
AN EXEGESIS OF 1 CORINTHIANS 15:35-50
An exegesis paper submitted to
Pastor Edward A. Robson, Th.M., Ph.D.
for NT43: New Testament Greek Exegesis
May 10, 2005
by
Tim McClain
The Resurrection Body
1 Corinthians 15:35-50
I The Greek Text and English Translation
II On The Integrity of the Text
III Introduction
IV 1 Corinthians: Historical Context
V 1 Corinthians 15:35-50: Context in Scripture
VI Verse by Verse Analysis and Exegesis of 1 Corinthians 15:35-50A Questions - 15:35
1 How are the dead raised up?2 With what sort of body do they come?
B Answers - 15:36-50 1 Sowing Death for Life - 36-382 Types of Bodies - 39-413 Before and After Contrasts - 42-444 The Two Adams - 45-475 The Image We Will Bear - 48-50
VI Conclusions
I. The Greek Text and English Translation 1 Corinthians 15:35-50
The following is my interlinear translation of the pericope:
35 VAlla. evrei/ tij( Pw/j evgei,rontai oi` nekroi,È poi,w| de. sw,mati e;rcontaiÈ But someone will say,"How are the dead raised up? And with what sort of body do they come?"
36 a;frwn( su. o] spei,reij( ouv zw|opoiei/tai eva.n mh. avpoqa,nh|\ Foolish one, that which you sow is not made alive lest it dies.
37 kai. o] spei,reij( ouv to. sw/ma to. genhso,menon spei,reij avlla. and what you sow, not the body that will be do you sow, but
gumno.n ko,kkon eiv tu,coi si,tou h; tinoj tw/n loipw/n\ a naked grain, perhaps of wheat or something else.
38 o` de. qeo.j di,dwsin auvtw/| sw/ma kaqw.j hvqe,lhsen( kai. e`ka,stw| tw/n sperma,twn i;dion sw/maÅ But God gives to it a body as He willed, and to each seed its own body.
39 ouv pa/sa sa.rx h` auvth. sa.rx avlla. a;llh me.n avnqrw,pwn( a;llh Not all flesh is the same flesh, but another indeed of men, and another
de. sa.rx kthnw/n( a;llh de. sa.rx pthnw/n( a;llh de. ivcqu,wnÅ flesh of animals, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.
40 kai. sw,mata evpoura,nia( kai. sw,mata evpi,geia\ avlla. e`te,ra me.n And there are heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies; but one indeed
h` tw/n evpourani,wn do,xa( e`te,ra de. h` tw/n evpigei,wnÅ is the glory of the heavenly, and another of the earthly.
41 a;llh do,xa h`li,ou( kai. a;llh do,xa selh,nhj( kai. a;llh do,xa Another glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory
avste,rwn\ avsth.r ga.r avste,roj diafe,rei evn do,xh|Å of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 Ou[twj kai. h` avna,stasij tw/n nekrw/nÅ spei,retai evn fqora/|( evgei,retai evn avfqarsi,a|\ And thus the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
43 spei,retai evn avtimi,a|( evgei,retai evn do,xh|\ spei,retai evn avsqenei,a|( evgei,retai evn duna,mei\
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It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 spei,retai sw/ma yuciko,n( evgei,retai sw/ma pneumatiko,nÅ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
ei, e;stin sw/ma yuciko,n( e;stin kai. pneumatiko,nÅ If there is a natural body, there is a spiritual.
45 ou[twj kai. ge,graptai( VEge,neto o` prw/toj a;nqrwpoj VAda.m And so it is written, "The first man, Adam, became
eivj yuch.n zw/san( o` e;scatoj VAda.m eivj pneu/ma zw|opoiou/nÅ a living being, the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
46 avllV ouv prw/ton to. pneumatiko.n avlla. to. yuciko,n( e;peita to. pneumatiko,nÅ But the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.
47 o` prw/toj a;nqrwpoj evk gh/j coi?ko,j( o` deu,teroj a;nqrwpoj evx ouvranou/Å the first man out of the earth, earthy; the second man from heaven. 48 oi-oj o` coi?ko,j( toiou/toi kai. oi` coi?koi,( kai. oi-oj o` evpoura,nioj( toiou/toi kai. oi` evpoura,nioi\ As the earthy, even so are such made of earth, and as the heavenly, even so the heavenly.
49 kai. kaqw.j evfore,samen th.n eivko,na tou/ coi?kou/( fore,somen kai. th.n eivko,na tou/ evpourani,ouÅ And as we bore the image of the earthy, we will bear also the image of the heavenly.
50 Tou/to de, fhmi( avdelfoi,( o[ti sa.rx kai. ai-ma basilei,an qeou/ Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood the kingdom of God
klhronomh/sai ouv du,natai ouvde. h` fqora. th.n avfqarsi,an klhronomei/Å is not able to inherit, nor does the corruption inherit incorruptibility.
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II. On the Integrity of the Text of 1 Corinthians 15:35-50
In the UBS Fourth Edition Text, or the Majority Text, there are only two verses with
critical notes in the textual apparatus for this pericope: verses 47 and 49.
The textual note for verse 47 in the UBS apparatus deals with the second half of the
verse: o` deu,teroj a;nqrwpoj evx ouvranou/Å Minuscule manuscript 2200 erroneously
omits o` deu,teroj. Papyrus 46 says a;nqrwpoj pneumatiko,j. , apparently from the
influence of verse 46. Bruce Metzger points out that some manuscripts put o` Ku,rioj after
a;nqrwpoj (possibly Marcion was originally responsible) as “an obvious gloss added to explain
the nature of ‘the man from heaven.’”1 The Coptic Sahidic mistakenly omits a;nqrwpoj. As
Metzger states, the best “early and good witnesses” support the committee’s decision to go with
o` deu,teroj a;nqrwpoj evx ouvranou/Å2
For verse 49, the UBS textual apparatus shows that the stronger evidence of manuscripts
supports the hortatory subjunctive for fore,swmen (let us bear), rather than the future
indicative, fore,somen (we will bear), but Metzger points out that “[e]xegetical considerations
(i.e., the context is didactic, not hortatory) led the Committee to prefer” the latter.3 Perhaps,
somewhere early in the transmission of the text, a scribe in a scriptorium misunderstood,
thinking he heard w (omega) rather than o(omicron), since the two sounds are very close.
In addition to the UBS apparatus, there are some small differences between the UBS
Majority Text and the Textus Receptus in this passage. Below is a comparison of the verses that
have variations:UBS Majority Text
38 o` de. qeo.j di,dwsin auvtw/| sw/ma kaqw.j hvqe,lhsen( kai. e`ka,stw| tw/n sperma,twn
i;dion sw/maÅ
1 Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament (New York:Oxford University Press, 1964), 568.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid, 569.
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39 ouv pa/sa sa.rx h` auvth. sa.rx avlla. a;llh me.n avnqrw,pwn( a;llh de. sa.rx kthnw/n( a;llh de. sa.rx pthnw/n( a;llh de. ivcqu,wnÅ 44 spei,retai sw/ma yuciko,n( evgei,retai sw/ma pneumatiko,nÅ eiv e;stin sw/ma yuciko,n( e;stin kai. pneumatiko,nÅ
47 o` prw/toj a;nqrwpoj evk gh/j coi?ko,j( o` deu,teroj a;nqrwpoj evx ouvranou/Å
Textus Receptus
38 o` de. Qeo.j auvtw/| di,dwsi sw/ma kaqw.j hvqe,lhse( kai. e`ka,stw| tw/n sperma,twn to. i;dion sw/maÅ 39 ouv pa/sa sa.rx h` auvth. sa,rx\ avlla. a;llh me.n sa.rx avnqrw,pwn( a;llh de. sa.rx kthnw/n( a;llh de. ivcqu,wn( a;llh de. pthnw/nÅ 44 spei,retai sw/ma yuciko,n( evgei,retai sw/ma pneumatiko,nÅ e;sti sw/ma yuciko,n( kai. e;sti sw/ma pneumatiko,nÅ
47 o` prw/toj a;nqrwpoj evk gh/j coi?ko,j o` deu,teroj a;nqrwpoj o` Ku,rioj evx ouvranou/Å
The underlined words are ones found in each text that have a different order in the TR than the
UBS. The words in bold letters are those that appear in one version and not the other. The
differences are for the most part slight between the two texts, not changing any theological
meaning. The additions in the TR were probably added by scribes who wanted to add clarity to
the passage, such as the addition of o` Ku,rioj in verse 47, as Metzger pointed out in the above
note on this verse.
The overall integrity of the text is of so little question that there is no reason not to
believe that we have in the UBS Text the very words of Paul as the Holy Spirit inspired him to
write.
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III. Introduction
In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul deals with numerous problems that the young
Corinthian church is struggling with, problems not unlike those that we encounter today in our
churches, such as factions, theological confusion, and moral issues. One of the most significant
of these problems to arise in Corinth is the matter of what to believe concerning the resurrection
of the dead. Some doubters there were apparently influenced by philosophers outside the church
who were making the claim that there is no resurrection of the dead.
I have selected the pericope of 1 Corinthians 15:35-50 largely because some Christians I
have known, when discussing the afterlife with me, have expressed a great deal of confusion
regarding the subject; everything from thinking that we will be raised in a completely new body
totally, with no continuity between our present bodies and the one we will have, to believing that
we will be a soul only, or nonmaterial. I have known some to say they could not believe in the
resurrection of our bodies because they thought that would mean being raised in the exact same
body we were buried in, complete with disease, missing limbs, or old age symptoms. Others
seem to have the sentimental notion that we become angels. I am aware also that in our day, as
in the church at Corinth, there are those who teach strange and heretical doctrines regarding the
nature of the resurrection, such as is found in modernism and full preterism. And of course, the
unbelieving world totally rejects the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, and the world of the
cults often has adopted Gnostic views on the afterlife. I know that God has only revealed a
limited amount of information on the subject in this passage, but I believe it will be a useful
study to attempt to find just what these limits are, so that we can strengthen our hope in
becoming like Christ in the resurrection as we anticipate that Great Day.
IV. 1 Corinthians: Historical Context
There is little doubt that the Apostle Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians. He identifies
himself as the author in the very first verse of Chapter 1 and again in 16:21, where he even signs
the letter. He was apparently in Ephesus at the time he wrote the letter, as he says in 16:8. This
would place the time of writing at about 55 A.D., during his third missionary journey. He had
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founded the Corinthian church during his second missionary journey a few years before, and
during the interim time, a number of problems had developed there, problems showing a lack of
maturity among the people.
Since the city itself was a mostly pagan place, there would certainly have been a lot of
pressure from friends and family on the believers there to go back their old worldly ways. And
this seems to have been the case, as Paul in his letter deals with a number of problems such as
what to do about food sacrificed to idols, lawsuits among believers, and sexual immorality – all
vestiges of their former lives in the society they came from. And because Corinth was a Greek
city with all the influences of Greek culture inherent, many of the philosophies of that culture
attempted to creep into the church. Among these was the misunderstanding of what happens to
us when we die, which is at the center of the passage at hand.
For the Greek of the time, our existence on earth was something of a temporary setback.
He understood the soul to be immortal, having existed before birth. The physical body was a
sort of trap that we live in for a time until we escape it in death, our souls freed to lived
disembodied forever. Apparently some Greek philosophers who held to this view had been
influencing the people of Corinth, convincing them that there could be no such thing as a bodily
resurrection. Such a thing would have been abhorrent to these philosophers – a resuscitated
corpse enslaving the soul again.
The Jew of the first century believed either as the Sadducees, that there was no such thing
as resurrection, and thus when we die, we cease to be, or as the Pharisees, that there is a physical
resurrection of the dead.4 The majority of the Jewish people had adopted the latter view, based
on such Old Testament Scriptures as Daniel 12:2 “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the
ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting
contempt.)” and Isaiah 26:19: “Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the
dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give
4 Acts 23:8: “For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.”
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birth to the departed spirits.” To the Jewish mind, the ideas of pre-existence of the soul or
bodiless existence after death was foreign.
Paul understood both the pagan origins of the Greek view and the proper Biblical view
that had been held by the Jews and now by the Christian world. To Paul, the issue of the
resurrection was so crucial to the heart of the Gospel that he devoted a very long chapter to
defending it and expounding upon it, the entire fifty-eight verses of 1 Corinthians 15.
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V. 1 Corinthians 15:35-50: Context in Scripture
As mentioned above, the doctrine of the resurrection had certainly been believed in the
Old Testament times, with a gradual understanding of it developing from the most ancient times
to the time of the New Testament. Jesus had spoken on the subject numerous times during His
earthly ministry, and Paul had mentioned aspects of the resurrection in some of his earlier
writings. But until the time of Paul’s writing of 1 Corinthians, there had never been an in depth
teaching to the church on the nature and importance of the resurrection of the dead.
The Corinthians knew of and believed in the resurrection of Jesus, but they may have
come to think of His resurrection as some sort of anomaly, not affecting them in any way. But
Paul understood that without the resurrection of the dead, there was no Gospel, so after dealing
with all the other issues that so concerned the Corinthians in the first fourteen chapters, he went
about correcting their misunderstanding in this passage.
In verses 1-11, Paul declares the basic fact of the necessity of the Resurrection of Jesus to
the Gospel and that it is a verifiable historical fact with witnesses to prove it. In 12-19 Paul
reasons with the Corinthians that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ himself was
not raised and their own faith is in vain. In verses 20-28, Paul proclaims that Christ is indeed
raised from the dead and is the firstfruits of those who will be raised from the dead, and that he
will return as Conqueror and King, subjecting all things to Himself. In 29-34 Paul points out to
the Corinthians that if there is no resurrection of the dead, all the risks of life and limb that he
takes for defending the belief, as well as their own efforts, are a foolish waste of time. The last
part of the chapter, verse 51-58, speak of our great victory in Christ in His defeating death and
raising us to eternal life on the Last Great Day.
In the pericope I have chosen for my study, verses 35-50, Paul, having proven the reality
of the resurrection of the dead, discusses the resurrection body itself as he responds to the
sceptics in Corinth. His purpose here is to show how it is possible that the body can be raised
from the dead as well as the nature of the resurrection body itself: its physicality, its continuity
with the earthly body, and its transformed spiritual nature that makes it suitable for eternal living.
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VI. Verse by Verse Analysis and Exegesis of 1 Corinthians 15:35-50
A. The Questions (35)35. VAlla. evrei/ tij( Pw/j evgei,rontai oi` nekroi,È poi,w| de. sw,mati
e;rcontaiÈ But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? And with what sort of body do they
come?"
“But someone will say” is a possible example of the indicative being used for the
subjunctive and can be translated “But someone may say.”5 Here with these questions Paul may
be using a Prolepsis, or “[t]he answering of an Argument by anticipating it before it is used.”6
Or it may be that he is actually quoting a question from the Corinthians’ letter to him.
Regardless, the issue to the Corinthians is one of scepticism, with two aspects of it: if there is
really such a thing as a resurrection of the dead, how could it be possible, and what would be the
nature of the body they are raised in?
Also, we see here the use of present for the future, where evgei,rontai and e;rcontai are both in the indicative present passive: “How are the dead raised? And with what sort of body
do the come?” would be implied “How will the dead be raised? And with what sort of body will
they come?”7
Of the first question in verse 35, Calvin says: How are the dead raised up? There is nothing that is more at variance with human reason than this article of faith. For who but God alone could persuade us that bodies, which are now liable to corruption, will, after having rotted away, or after they have been consumed by fire, or torn in pieces by wild beasts, will not merely be restored entire, but in a greatly better condition.8
5 E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1968), 979.
6 Ibid, 513.
7 Ibid, 522.
8 John Calvin, Calvin’s Commentaries, vol 22, Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, translated by John Pringle (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979), 46.
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The Corinthian doubters may have been incredulous of the possibility that the dead could be
raised at all. This question is asked today by doubters of both the religious and the heathen
world. The fact that the question is asked at all shows a lack of understanding of the very nature
of God Himself. After all, since He created all things out of nothing in the first place, how could
it be in any way difficult for Him to raise the dead? As Gen 18:14 reminds us, “Is anything too
hard for the LORD?” And in Mark 10:27b, Jesus says: “for all things are possible with God.”
As for the verb evgei,rw, wake up, rouse, the Louw-Nida Lexicon says it means: “to
cause to stand up, with a possible implication of some previous incapacity.”9 Therefore, because
of the passive (used here and in verses 42, 43*2, 44: evgei,rontai- verb indicative present
passive 3rd person plural), we see the idea of resurrection as people who have no ability in
themselves being raised up by God.
The second question the Corinthian inquisitor asks is if it is indeed possible for the dead
to be raised up, “with what sort of body do they come?” The word sw/ma,10 body, though it
can have other meanings, when Paul uses the word in the context of this pericope, he means a
physical body of some sort. The questioner wondered if the body would be a physical one, and
he possibly feared, based on the influence of outside philosophers, that this meant it would
identical to the one buried. In other words, the question he is implying might be, “Will it be a
reanimated corpse?” As Hodge says, the objection may have been that the raised bodies will be
like the ones we have, “natural bodies consisting of flesh and blood, and sustained by air, food,
and sleep.”11
B. The Answers (36-50)
9 Louw-Nida Lexicon, BibleWorks 6.
10 sw/ma, living body, physical body; the body (of Christ), the church; dead body, corpse, reality or substance (as opposed to a shadow)[UBS Lexicon, BibleWorks 6]. It is found a total of 142 times in the New Testament, 35 times in 1 Corinthians alone, and 9 times in this pericope.
11 Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1872), 341.
12
Sowing Death for Life (36-38)
36. a;frwn( su. o] spei,reij( ouv zw|opoiei/tai eva.n mh. avpoqa,nh|\ Foolish one, that which you sow is not made alive lest it dies.
a;frwn( su. “You fool!” or “you foolish one.” The idea of this word is someone who
is silly and lacks the use of common sense. Paul takes a severe attitude toward the person who
would ask such questions.
Paul gives an analogy that the people can easily understand, that of a sowing seed: “you
sow,” spei,reij (found also in verses 37, 42-44). Everyone can understand how a seed is related
to the plant that it becomes; the seed “dies,” falls off the plant it comes from, and is ready to
plant. So, the imagery of placing the dead body in the ground like a seed being sown is clear.
Jesus used this same imagery in John 12:24 where He compares His own death as the means
which many will be saved: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth
and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
Luther, commenting on 1 Cor. 15:36-37, uses the analogy of a farmer sowing his seed in
what would appear, to the uninformed onlooker, to be a careless manner that would allow worms
and birds to eat it. But the farmer knows that his efforts will come forth in fruitfulness in the
summer. Luther says:
Just so it is in the eyes of God when He casts a number of dead here and another there into the cemetery, or today lays His hand on me and tomorrow on another and thus casts one after the other into the earth as His grain or seed. To us this looks like the utter end and eternal destruction. But God sees and thinks otherwise. He has only one end in view: that His grain, after this miserable existence, come forth again most beautifully in the pleasant summer. And this is as certain to Him as if it had already occurred and been accomplished.12
12 Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, vol. 28, Commentaries (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1973), 177.
13
Paul uses the verb zw|opoie,w here in the passive, zw|opoiei/tai. Some translations
render it “come to life”(e.g. NASB, ESV, NIV). But here the idea is of God giving it life,
therefore it is better translated “made alive,” or “given new life.”
37. kai. o] spei,reij( ouv to. sw/ma to. genhso,menon spei,reij and what you sow, not the body that will be do you sow,
avlla. gumno.n ko,kkon eiv tu,coi si,tou h; tinoj tw/n loipw/n\ but a naked grain, perhaps of wheat or something else.
Of the phrase, ouv to. sw/ma to. genhso,menon spei,reij, Burton says, “The
Future Participle represents an action as future from the point of view of the principal verb,”13
therefore, it is literally interpreted: “you do not sow the body that will become.”
Paul wants to convey the fact that there is a continuity between the body we have now
and the one we will have in the resurrection, but that at the same time it will be something new.
The seed goes into the ground one way, but it becomes something new when germinated. It is
the same yet different. To get the point across, Paul equates the word sw/ma, body, with plants.
38. o` de. qeo.j di,dwsin auvtw/| sw/ma kaqw.j hvqe,lhsen( kai. e`ka,stw| tw/n sperma,twn i;dion sw/maÅ But God gives to it a body as He willed, and to
each seed its own body.
God is the one who determines the nature of the body. Therefore, seeds produce the
“body” that God has determined they will. He gives (di,dwsin, verb indicative present active
3rd person singular) the body as He willed ( hvqe,lhsen, verb indicative aorist active 3rd
person singular). God does all things as He has predetermined to.
The word spe,rma,14 seed, is a synonym for ko,kkoj, which was used in verse 37.
However, ko,kkoj, is normally used only in the natural sense of a seed or kernel, whereas
spe,rma can have a much broader usage. It can mean plant seeds or human seed (sperm). It
can also mean offspring, or children. Jesus is the seed of Abraham, as we see in Gal 3:16: “Now
13 Burton, Moods and Tenses of New Testament Greek, BibleWorks 6, #152.
14 The noun spe,rma is derived from the verb spei,rw, sow (seed).
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to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as
of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.” Perhaps Paul deliberately uses the word here to
connect the idea of Jesus being the seed by which the promise to Abraham of blessing will be
provided through his seed ([r;z< (zera±) in Gen 22:18: “And in your seed all the nations
of the earth shall be blessed.”
Types of Bodies (39-41)
Of the next section, verses 39-41, Gordon Fee proposes an interesting and enlightening
chiasm:
15
A Not all “flesh” is the same; [earthly bodies] B People have one kind;
Animals another; Birds another; Fish another.
C There are heavenly bodies [B’] There are earthly bodies [B] C’ The splendor of the heavenly bodies is of one kind;
The splendor of the earthly bodies is of another. B’ The sun has one kind of splendor;
The moon another kind of splendor; The stars another kind of splendor;
A’ And star differs from star in splendor. [heavenly bodies]15
Fee explains:... the first and final sentences (A-A’) emphasize differences within kinds, the two B sentences emphasize the differences with “genus” (the earthly expressed as “flesh”; the heavenly in terms of “splendor”); while the two middle sentences (C-C’) simply state the realities of the earthly and heavenly “bodies.”16
Fee’s chiasm helps greatly in clarifying the layout of these three verses, which will be
further demonstrated in the notes on verse 40 below.
39. ouv pa/sa sa.rx h` auvth. sa.rx avlla. a;llh me.n avnqrw,pwn( Not all flesh is the same flesh, but another indeed of men, a;llh de. sa.rx kthnw/n( a;llh de. sa.rx pthnw/n( a;llh de. ivcqu,wnÅ
and another flesh of animals, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.
Now Paul uses the word sa.rx,17 flesh (found five times in this pericope - four in this
verse and once in verse 50), in reference to the bodies of living things. This is in contrast to
sw/ma in the above verses, in that here we see the earthly aspects specifically, rather than body
15 Gordon Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans), 1987. 783.
16 Ibid.
17 sa,rx, sarko,j, h` flesh; literally, as the muscular part that covers the bones of a human or animal body flesh (1C 15.39)[Friberg, BW6] It can also mean the whole physical body, a person, euphemistically the sex drive, a particular race or ethnic group, corporeality, from a human point of view, and sinful passion.
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in general. There is man, then animals, birds, and fish. Paul points out a variety of physical
bodies, again, reminding the Corinthians that he is still talking in terms of the physical.
Below is a comparison between the UBS and the TR for this verse, with the NKJ
translation, based on the TR. We see here that in the TR, sa.rx is added before avnqrw,pwn
and pthnw/n, and the order of ivcqu,wn and pthnw/n have been reversed.39 ouv pa/sa sa.rx h` auvth. sa,rx\ avlla. a;llh me.n sa.rx avnqrw,pwn( a;llh de. sa.rx kthnw/n( a;llh de. 39 Ouv pa/sa sa.rx h` auvth. sa.rx avlla. a;llh me.n avnqrw,pwn( a;llh de. sa.rx kthnw/n( a;llh de. ivcqu,wn( a;llh de. pthnw/nÅ(TR)
sa.rx pthnw/n( a;llh de. ivcqu,wnÅ (UBS)All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds (NKJ).
The moving of sa.rx from before pthnw/n to before avnqrw,pwn, and the switching
of the order of pthnw/n and ivcqu,wn in the TR is not supported by the best evidence. Since
the UBS committee did not deem it necessary to even comment on the differences in the textual
notes for this verse, it would seem that the UBS text is the best to go by in this instance.
40. kai. sw,mata evpoura,nia( kai. sw,mata evpi,geia\ avlla. e`te,ra me.nAnd there are heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies; but one indeed is
h` tw/n evpourani,wn do,xa( e`te,ra de. h` tw/n evpigei,wnÅthe glory of the heavenly, and another of the earthly.
Paul moves from the bodies of living creatures to bodies of non-living things, or
heavenly.
Though the word do,xa(18 glory, is found only once – “the glory of the heavenly” – it is
implied in the second part of the verse – “and another glory of the earthly.”
18 do,xa will be looked at in more depth in verse 43.
17
Thayer and others interpret sw,mata evpoura,nia to mean “bodies celestial, i.e.
bodies of the heavenly luminaries and of angels.”19 But, as Fee points out, the context does not
support the angelic concept.20 Though evpoura,nia often refers to the heavenly dwelling of
God and other things in the spiritual realm, such is not the case here. Rather, the best way to see
the passage clearly is demonstrated in Fee’s chiasm (see above), where he demonstrates that the
heavenly bodies are those of verse 41, the sun, the moon, and the stars, and the earthly bodies are
those of verse 39, people, animals, birds, and fish. Some have objected that Paul would have
been using terminology that was not yet in use if he were to refer to the sun, moon, and stars as
bodies, but Hodge says: “ ... for whatever the ancients conceived the sun, moon and stars to be,
they regarded them as bodies, and used the word sw/ma in reference to them or to the
universe.”21 He goes on to point out that Galen, born only sixty or seventy years after the date of
the epistle, used the same language as Paul does here.22
41. a;llh do,xa h`li,ou( kai. a;llh do,xa selh,nhj( kai. a;llh do,xa avste,rwn\Another glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars;
avsth.r ga.r avste,roj diafe,rei evn do,xh|Å for star differs from star in glory.
As verse 40 states that earthly and heavenly have different types of glory, we see here the
difference in glory from the sun to the moon to the stars, descending in glory, or brightness, from
our earthly perspective. Likewise, the stars have different degrees of brightness from one
another.
___________________
Before and After Contrasts (42-44)
19 Item # 2. in Thayer’s definition of sw/ma, BW6.
20 Fee, First Corinthians, note 31, 783.
21 Hodge, An Exposition, 346.
22 Ibid.
18
In verses 42-44 we see four pairs of opposites. These are set up as a kind of double
Anaphora, or the “repetition of word or phrase at beginning of a clause.”23 : 42 Ou[twj kai. h` avna,stasij tw/n nekrw/nÅ
spei,retai evn fqora/|( evgei,retai evn avfqarsi,a|\ 43 spei,retai evn avtimi,a|( evgei,retai evn do,xh|\
spei,retai evn avsqenei,a|( evgei,retai evn duna,mei\ 44 spei,retai sw/ma yuciko,n( evgei,retai sw/ma pneumatiko,nÅ
eiv e;stin sw/ma yuciko,n( e;stin kai. pneumatiko,nÅIn these verses, Paul uses this repetition and contrast to effectively demonstrate the vast
differences between the body that dies and is sown
in the ground and the glorious one that is raised:
It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.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.
42. Ou[twj kai. h` avna,stasij tw/n nekrw/nÅ spei,retai evn fqora/|( evgei,retai evn avfqarsi,a|\
And thus the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in
incorruption.
With the statement, “And thus the resurrection of the dead,” Paul is apparently pointing
backward to both analogies he has used above, that of comparing the body to a seed (36-38) and
that each body is adapted for its specific purpose (39-41). And he also points forward to the next
sets of comparisons: the body is sown like a dead seed, and it grows into a body of glory, fit for
eternity. Just as the various bodies listed in verses 39-41 differ from each other, our resurrection
body will differ from the earthly one. And as the heavenly bodies each have their own glory, so
will the resurrected body of a saint be glorious.
23 Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 298.
19
The noun, avna,stasij, ewj, h`, means resurrection. The prepositional prefix avna, means “upwards,” or “up,” and stasij means “standing.” Therefore, with the word
avna,stasij, there is the picture of the dead being brought back to life, “standing up.”
Avna,stasij is by far the most commonly used word for the resurrection of the dead in the
Greek New Testament, found 42 times, all but one of which refer to the physical bodily
resurrection of the dead.24 Some of the occasions refer to the Resurrection of Jesus (e.g. Acts
1:22), others to the resurrection of both the wicked and the righteous (e.g. John 5:29), or the
general resurrection, while still others mean only the resurrection of the righteous, as in this
verse. E;gersij (Matt. 27:53) and evxana,stasij (Phil. 3:11) are synonyms meaning
resurrection, but they are each used only once in the Greek New Testament. The noun e;gersij comes from the same family as the verb evgei,rw (raise up), which is used here and in verse
35, 43 and 44 (see comments above in verse 35).
Here, in the second part of the verse, “it” (the body implied) is sown in corruption,
fqora, subject to decay, perishable.
It is raised in incorruption, avfqarsi,a|, in a state of not being subject to decay or death;
it has immortality, incorruptibility, and is imperishable. A dead, dried up seed planted in the
ground likewise grows into a living, vibrant plant.
Roman Catholic theologian A. J. Maas makes an interesting remark on avfqarsi,a :The Schoolmen call this quality ‘impassibility,’ not incorruption, so as to mark it as a peculiarity of the glorified body; the bodies of the damned will be incorruptible indeed, but not impassible; they shall be subject to heat and cold, and all manner of pain.25
43. spei,retai evn avtimi,a|( evgei,retai evn do,xh|\ spei,retai evn avsqenei,a|( evgei,retai evn duna,mei\It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
24 In Luke 2:34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise (avna,stasin) of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed.”
25 A.J. Maas, “Characteristics of the Risen Body,”[article on-line] Catholic Encyclopedia, accessed 4 May, 2005; available from: http.//.
20
Paul continues with his comparisons in this verse with “it is sown in dishonor.” The
word here, avtimi,a| , means dishonor, disgrace, shame (as in1Cor. 11.14)26. In other words,
our body, ruined by the effects of sin, dies and is in a disgraceful condition.
But “it is raised in glory.” The word do,xh| has already been used in the passage in
verse 40 (1 time) and in verse 41 (4 times). The word carries many connotations with it. As
seen above in verse 40, heavenly and earthly bodies are compared in glory. Verse 41 compares
the glory of heavenly bodies with one another in their radiance. Here, as compared to the
dishonorable body that has been sown, the raised body is radiant, reflecting the very image of
God (1 Cor 11:7) as He originally intended in creation.
“It is sown in weakness,” avsqe,neia. We see the idea of frailty and infirmity. But “it
is raised in power,” duna,mei. Here duna,mei means might, strength, ability the very
opposite of weakness. Maas suggests duna,mei here means: “‘agility’, by which the body
shall be freed from its slowness of motion, and endowed with the capability of moving with the
utmost facility and quickness wherever the soul pleases.”27
44. spei,retai sw/ma yuciko,n( evgei,retai sw/ma pneumatiko,nÅIt is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
ei, e;stin sw/ma yuciko,n( e;stin kai. pneumatiko,nÅIf there is a natural body, there is a spiritual.
“It is sown a natural [yuciko,n] body.” The natural, yuciko,j, body is similar to that of
all animal life. It is natural, unspiritual, worldly. The word can imply fleshly in the sense of
being “governed by sensual appetites and lived apart from the Spirit of God.”28 Thayer says that
26 Friberg Lexicon, BibleWorks 6.
27 Maas, “The Risen Body.”
28 Friberg, BibleWorks 6.
21
sw/ma yuciko,n here does “not differ in substance or conception from sa,rx kai, ai-ma [flesh and blood] in 1 Cor. 15:50.”29
But “it is raised a spiritual [pneumatiko,n] body.” Here and in verse 46
pneumatiko,j is used “as distinguishing what belongs to the supernatural world from what
belongs to the natural world.”30 G. Vos suggests that the word pneumatiko,n be capitalized
(Pneumatiko,n) so as to show that “Paul means to characterize the resurrection state as the
state in which the Pneuma rules.”31
This verse is not saying that the natural body has no spirit, nor that the spiritual body has
no physicality to it, like a ghost; that would contradict everything Paul is trying to show in the
passage. Rather, Paul wants us to see that the natural, fallen body is ruled by natural principles,
whereas the spiritual body is ruled by spiritual principles. Even in this life, the person who has
received the Holy Spirit is spiritual, because the Holy Spirit is guiding him. Such will be the
case entirely in the resurrection, or spiritual, body; it will be like that of Christ, fully controlled
by the Spirit.
Paul then says, “If there is a natural body, there is a spiritual [body].32 The implication is
that the natural body points to the reality of the spiritual. This is the point he goes on to prove in
the next verses; as Adam represents the man controlled by the natural, Christ, the second Adam
represents the man controlled by the spiritual.
The First and Second Adams (45-47)
45. ou[twj kai. ge,graptai( VEge,neto o` prw/toj a;nqrwpoj VAda.m eivj yuch.n zw/san(
And so it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living being,
29 Thayer’s Lexicon, BibleWorks 6.
30 Friberg, BibleWorks 6.
31 Geerhardus Vos, The Pauline Eschatology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing,1994), 167.
32 “body” is implied. The TR reads sw/ma pneumatiko,n here, though this was probably added by a scribe in an attempt for clarity.
22
o` e;scatoj VAda.m eivj pneu/ma zw|opoiou/nÅthe last Adam a life-giving spirit.
Paul now alludes back to verses 21-22 of this chapter, where he said: “For since by a man
came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in
Christ all will be made alive.” In Romans 5:12-19 Paul compares Adam and Christ, there also
showing the nature of Adam’s fall bringing death and sin, and Christ’s obedience bringing
forgiveness and life.
First, Paul mentions when God made Adam in Gen. 2:7: “Then the LORD God formed
man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living being.” Adam, as first created man, was formed from the dust. He had no pre-existence
of a soul, if that might be in the minds of the Corinthians.
A;nqrwpoj, can have a generic sense, in meaning mankind in general. But here it refers
to the actual historical man, Adam, as is evidenced in context by the fact that he is paralleled
with the last Adam, Christ (cf. verses 15:21 and 47, where both Adam and Jesus are called
a;nqrwpoj). This is an important point to see from the standpoint of Redemption. As many
today in Christianity attempt to discount the necessity of whether Adam was truly a historical
person, they do so at the peril of losing any meaning to the whole nature of the Gospel and the
work of Christ on the cross. If Adam was not a historical person, then this passage makes no
sense, since Jesus most certainly was a historical figure. If Adam did not, as the federal head of
the human race, rebel and bring mankind into an estate of sin and misery, then Christ could not,
as federal head of the new creation, bring men into an estate of eternal bliss. In order for the
contrast between the two Adams to have any meaning at all, both had to have been individual
men.
Adam became a living being, yuch.n zw/san. zw/san (verb participle present active
accusative feminine singular) is translated living. Being can be translated soul. In this instance,
the sense is of a living being that possesses a soul.33
33 Friberg, BibleWorks 6.
23
“The last Adam [Jesus] a life-giving spirit.” As ege,neto is stated in the first part of
the verse “the first man, Adam, became a living being,” since the phrase is parallel with the
second part, ege,neto is implied there: “the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” This is not
to say that Christ came into being the same as Adam did. Nor does the phrase imply that He was
a spirit only. The implication here is rather that Christ, by merit of His Resurrection, became
able to impart eternal life to others.
46. avllV ouv prw/ton to. pneumatiko.n avlla. to. yuciko,n( e;peita to. pneumatiko,nÅ
But the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.
This verse does not say that Christ followed Adam, but that the natural body of Adam
came first, then he fell, and the way for the spiritual was made by Christ. Likewise, since we
live in natural bodies now and came into existence in them(and were not pre-existent souls as the
Greeks believed), we must come to terms with the spiritual after the natural.
47. o` prw/toj a;nqrwpoj evk gh/j coi?ko,j( o` deu,teroj a;nqrwpoj evx ouvranou/Å the first man out of the earth, earthy; the second man from heaven.
The word coi?ko,j describes the makeup of Adam. He was earthy, or made of earth, or
dust. Gen 2:7 verifies this: “Then the LORD God formed man of dust 34 from the ground.” Then
in Gen 3:19, after the fall, God says to Adam: “By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till
you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall
return.” Being made of dust is not a bad thing, because God made man of it and declared all
very good (cf. Gen 1:27-31). Returning to the ground is the problem, since this was not God’s
original purpose for man. Death is a result of the fall, and in it, man returns to the ground from
whence he came, the very ground which God curses in Gen 3:17.
34 The Hebrew word is rp'[' (±¹p¹r) dust, earth, ground.
24
The idea in this verse of the second man, Christ, being “from heaven” should not be
construed as pointing to Christ’s pre-existence in heaven (even though He did), but rather refers
“qualitatively to his resurrected existence.”35
The Image We Will Bear (48-50)48. oi-oj o` coi?ko,j( toiou/toi kai. oi` coi?koi,( kai. oi-oj o`
evpoura,nioj( toiou/toi kai. oi` As the earthy, even so are such made of earth, and as the heavenly, even so the
evpoura,nioi\ heavenly.
Bullinger points out the Ellipsis here, or words omitted that are implied by the context.
Thus, his translation is: “As is the earthy [man, Adam] such [shall be] also they that are earthy;
and as is the heavenly [man, the Lord] such [shall be] they also that are heavenly.”36
Of the earthy, the Baptist theologian John Gill states: “As was Adam's body, so are the
bodies of those that descend from him; they are houses of clay, earthly houses of this tabernacle,
which rise out of the earth, are maintained by the things of it, and return to it again.”37 As we
were like Adam in our dying bodies, we will be like Christ in our resurrection bodies. Gill says
of the heavenly: [A]s is the glorious and spiritual body of Christ, the Lord from heaven, as that now is in heaven, and will be when he descends from thence; so will be the bodies of them that are heavenly, that are heaven born souls now, are partakers of the heavenly calling, and whose conversation is in heaven; and who, in the resurrection morn, will have heavenly, spiritual, and glorious bodies, like unto Christ's.38
49. kai. kaqw.j evfore,samen th.n eivko,na tou/ coi?kou/( fore,somen kai. th.n eivko,na tou/
And as we bore the image of the earthy, we will bear also the image of the
evpourani,ouÅ
35 Fee, First Corinthians, 793.
36 Bullinger, Figures of speech, 44.
37 John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible, electronic edition on E-Sword.net.
38 Ibid.
25
heavenly.
As mentioned in the above section titled “On the Integrity of the Text of 1 Corinthians
15:35-50,” the UBS textual apparatus shows that the stronger evidence of manuscripts supports
the hortatory subjunctive, fore,swmen, let us bear, rather than the future indicative,
fore,somen, we will bear, in the second half of this verse. Westcott and Hort uses
fore,swmen. Nevertheless the committee chose to go with the future indicative.
However, Fee is convinced that the hortatory subjunctive was Paul’s original intent, since
very few MSS support the future indicative. Fee believes Paul is “calling them [the Corinthians]
to prepare for the future that is to be.”39 Even as far back as the late second and early third
centuries, we see Tertullian (c.160-225) holding this understanding:“As we have borne the image of the earthy, let us also bear the image of the heavenly.”... And so wholly intent on the inculcation of moral conduct is he throughout this passage, that he tells us we ought to bear the image of Christ in this flesh of ours, and in this period of instruction and discipline. For when he says “let us bear” in the imperative mood, he suits his words to the present life, in which man exists in no other substance than as flesh and soul. 40
Though he calls it the “imperative mood,” Tertullian clearly sees the verb in the
hortatory subjunctive rather than future.
If the hortatory is correct, Paul would then be exhorting us, in light of the fact that we
have originally borne the image of the fallen earthly Adam and are controlled by our flesh, to
live as if we are already are in our resurrection bodies, controlled completely by the Spirit.
Though I certainly agree that we should live as if we are already in our resurrection
bodies, and though the evidence strongly supports the hortatory subjunctive, I, too, agree with
the decision of the UBS Committee. It seems the logical sense of the passage in context merits
the future reading. The flesh came first, and we bore evfore,samen (verb indicative aorist
active1st person plural) the image eivko,na of Adam, the man of dust, first. Being made of
39 Fee, First Corinthians, 794-795.
40 Ant-nicene Fathers, vol. 3, electronic edition on E-Sword.net.
26
earth and following our earthy leader Adam, we will eventually return there with him. But being
followers of the heavenly, the resurrected man, we will eventually follow him there and bear His
image, having been glorified by Him. Philippians 3:21 says Jesus “ ... 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.”
50. Tou/to de, fhmi( avdelfoi,( o[ti sa.rx kai. ai-ma basilei,an qeou/Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood is not able to inherit the kingdom of God,
klhronomh/sai ouv du,natai ouvde. h` fqora. th.n avfqarsi,an klhronomei/Å nor does the corruption inherit incorruptibility.
Bullinger points out that the use of klhronomei/ (verb indicative present active 3rd
person singular) is an example of indicative being used for the subjunctive (cf. verse 35 above),
thus “nor does corruption inherit incorruptibility” may be interpreted “nor can corruption inherit
incorruptibility.”41 This interpretation seems to agree with the sense of the text.
If the Corinthians were still tempted to believe that the resurrection bodies are identical to
the ones put in the grave, Paul is adamantly stating the contrary. A flesh and blood, natural body
cannot live in eternity. That is, an “earthy” body like Adam’s, cannot because it is subject to sin
and death. Ultimately, what Paul is saying is that to live in eternity, we need a body that is
suitable for eternity. He will go on in the verses that follow in this chapter to point out that the
body must be changed from corruptible to incorruptible, mortal putting on immortality.
41 Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 513.
27
Conclusion
What lies on the other side of the grave, though it is to a large degree still a mystery, has
been revealed to some extent in the above passage. We can see from this pericope that unlike the
belief of many in the cults around us, as well as the Modernists, “[w]e will not spend eternity as
spirits with harps, floating weightlessly on clouds, but instead as redeemed persons in resurrected
and glorified bodies, forever rejoined to our soul-spirit ... ”42
Nor, as we have seen, will our resurrection bodies be identical to the ones we were buried
in, but they will be transformed to be like the one that Christ has. We know from other passages
of Scripture that in His resurrected body, Jesus was recognizable as Himself by those who knew
Him (John 20:16), yet He could appear in a different form (Mark16:12). He was physical – He
could be touched (Luke 24:39; John 20:27) and He apparently ate food (Luke 24:30) – yet He
could go through walls (John 20:26) and disappear from sight at will (Luke 24:31). These
attributes that Christ had may be hints of what our bodies will be like..
When we lose someone we love who was in the Lord, we can take comfort, first, in the
knowledge that “the souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness and do
immediately pass into glory; their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves, till
the resurrection” (Shorter Catechism Answer: 37). We, too, if the Lord tarries, will find
ourselves someday with Him awaiting our glorified bodies.
Then “at the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall be openly
acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full
enjoying of God to all eternity” (Shorter Catechism Answer: 38). Man, as originally created by
God, was intended be both body and soul. If Adam had remained obedient to God, man would
have been given eternal life in his body. But because of the fall, spiritual death came and
separated man from God, and consequently the soul from the body, bringing death. But God’s
ultimate plan was to restore man according to His original purpose. The coming of Christ in a
42Kim Riddlebarger, “Trichotomy – A Beachhead for Gnostic Influences,” ModernReformation, July/August 1995, 23.
28
body to live a perfect life and then to die for our sins was God’s means of creating the way back
to that original purpose. When Christ was raised from the dead, that Resurrection was because
the grave was incapable of holding this sinless One. The restoration of God’s original plan was
thus achieved – by His dying for us, life could be restored to our mortal bodies, body and soul
together again and immortal.
Man was designed primarily for the purpose of worshiping God. That design is such that
the only way this worship can be fully achieved is for him to be completely intact – body and
soul together, sinless and perfect like the resurrected Christ. At the restoration of all things, we
who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ will be able finally to fulfill our destiny of worshiping
God as He desires us to, as whole people. Then we will truly be able to glorify God and to enjoy
him forever.
29
BibliographyBullinger, E. W. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible: Explained and Illustrated. Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker Book House, 1968.
Calvin, John. Calvin’s Commentaries. Vol. 22. Commentary on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians. Translated by John Pringle. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1979.
Fee, Gordon D. The First Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1987.
Gill, John. Exposition of the Entire Bible. Electronic edition on E-Sword.net., 2004.
Hodge Charles. An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers, 1872.
Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 28, Commentaries. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1973.
Maas, A. J. “Characteristics of the Risen Body.”[article on-line] Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed 4 May, 2005. Available from: .
Metzger, Bruce M. The Text of the New Testament. New York: Oxford University Press, 1964.
Riddlebarger, Kim. “Trichotomy – A Beachhead for Gnostic Influences.” ModernReformation. July/August 1995.
Vos, Geerhardus. The Pauline Eschatology. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing,1994.
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