CHAPTER 15
1Co
15:1–58. The Resurrection Proved against
the Deniers of It at Corinth.
Christ’s resurrection rests on the evidence of many eye-witnesses, including Paul himself, and is the great fact preached as the groundwork of the Gospel: they who deny the resurrection in general, must deny that of Christ, and the consequence of the latter will be, that Christian preaching and faith are vain.
1.
Moreover—“Now” [Alford and Ellicott].
I
declare—literally, “I make known”: it
implies some degree of reproach that it should be now necessary to make it
known to them afresh, owing to some of them “not having the knowledge of God”
(1Co 15:34). Compare Ga 1:11.
wherein
ye stand—wherein ye now take your stand.
This is your present actual privilege, if ye suffer not yourselves to fall from
your high standing.
2.
ye are saved—rather, “ye are being saved.”
if
ye keep in memory what I preached unto you—Able
critics, Bengel and others, prefer
connecting the words thus, “I declare unto you the Gospel (1Co 15:1) in what
words I preached it unto you.” Paul reminds them, or rather makes known to
them, as if anew, not only the fact of the Gospel, but also with what words,
and by what arguments, he preached it to them. Translate in that case,
“if ye hold it fast.” I prefer arranging as English Version, “By which
ye are saved, if ye hold fast (in memory and personal appropriation) with
what speech I preached it unto you.”
unless—which is impossible, your faith is vain, in resting on
Christ’s resurrection as an objective reality.
3.
I delivered unto you—A short creed, or summary of
articles of faith, was probably even then existing; and a profession in
accordance with it was required of candidates for baptism (Ac 8:37).
first
of all—literally, “among the foremost
points” (Heb 6:2). The atonement is, in Paul’s view, of primary importance.
which
I … received—from Christ Himself by special
revelation (compare 1Co 11:23).
died
for our sins—that is, to atone for them; for taking away our
sins (1Jn 3:5; compare Ga 1:4): “gave Himself for our sins” (Is 53:5; 2Co
5:15; Tit 2:14). The “for” here does not, as in some passages, imply vicarious
substitution, but “in behalf of” (Heb 5:3; 1Pe 2:24). It does not, however,
mean merely “on account of,” which is expressed by a different Greek
word (Ro 4:25), (though in English Version translated similarly, “for”).
according
to the scriptures—which “cannot be broken.” Paul puts
the testimony of Scripture above that of those who saw the Lord after
His resurrection [Bengel]. So our
Lord quotes Is 53:12, in Lu 22:37; compare Ps 22:15, &c. Da 9:26.
4.
buried … rose again—His burial is more closely
connected with His resurrection than His death. At the moment of His death, the
power of His inextinguishable life exerted itself (Mt 27:52). The grave was to
Him not the destined receptacle of corruption, but an apartment fitted for
entering into life (Ac 2:26–28) [Bengel].
rose
again—Greek, “hath risen”: the
state thus begun, and its consequences, still continue.
5.
seen of Cephas—Peter (Lu 24:34).
the
twelve—The round number for “the Eleven”
(Lu 24:33, 36). “The Twelve” was their ordinary appellation, even when their
number was not full. However, very possibly Matthias was present (Ac 1:22, 23).
Some of the oldest manuscripts and versions read, “the Eleven”: but the best on
the whole, “the Twelve.”
6.
five hundred—This appearance was probably on the
mountain (Tabor, according to tradition), in Galilee, when His most solemn and
public appearance, according to His special promise, was vouchsafed (Mt 26:32).
He “appointed” this place, as one remote from Jerusalem, so that believers
might assemble there more freely and securely. Alford’s
theory of Jerusalem being the scene, is improbable; as such a multitude
of believers could not, with any safety, have met in one place in the
metropolis, after His crucifixion there. The number of disciples (Ac 1:15) at
Jerusalem shortly after, was one hundred and twenty, those in Galilee and
elsewhere not being reckoned. Andronicus and Junius
were, perhaps, of the number (Ro 16:7): they are said to be “among the
apostles” (who all were witnesses of the resurrection, Ac 1:22).
remain
unto this present—and, therefore, may be sifted
thoroughly to ascertain the trustworthiness of their testimony.
fallen
asleep—in the sure hope of awaking
at the resurrection (Ac 7:60).
7.
seen of James—the Less, the brother of our Lord
(Ga 1:19). The Gospel according to the Hebrews, quoted by Jerome [On Illustrious Men, p.
170 D.], records that “James swore he would not eat bread from the hour that he
drank the cup of the Lord, till he should see Him rising again from the dead.”
all
the apostles—The term here includes many others
besides “the Twelve” already enumerated (1Co 15:5):perhaps the seventy
disciples (Lu 10:1) [Chrysostom].
8.
One born out of due time—Greek,
“the one abortively born”: the abortion in the family of the apostles. As a
child born before the due time is puny, and though born alive, yet not
of the proper size, and scarcely worthy of the name of man, so “I am the
least of the apostles,” scarcely “meet to be called an apostle”; a
supernumerary taken into the college of apostles out of regular course, not led
to Christ by long instruction, like a natural birth, but by a sudden power, as
those prematurely born [Grotius].
Compare the similar image from childbirth, and by the same spiritual power, the
resurrection of Christ (1Pe 1:3). “Begotten again by the resurrection
of Jesus.” Jesus’ appearance to Paul, on the way to Damascus, is the one here
referred to.
9.
least—The name, “Paulus,” in Latin,
means “least.”
I
persecuted the church—Though God has forgiven him, Paul
can hardly forgive himself at the remembrance of his past sin.
10.
by … grace … and his grace—The
repetition implies the prominence which God’s grace had in his mind, as
the sole cause of his marvellous conversion and subsequent labors. Though “not
meet to be called an apostle,” grace has given him, in Christ, the meetness
needed for the office. Translate as the Greek, “His grace which was
(showed) towards me.”
what
I am—occupying the honorable office of
an apostle. Contrast with this the self-sufficient prayer of another Pharisee
(Lu 18:11).
but
I laboured—by God’s grace (Php 2:16).
than
they all—than any of the apostles (1Co
15:7).
grace
of God … with me—Compare “the Lord working with
them” (Mk 16:20). The oldest manuscripts omit “which was.” The “not I, but
grace,” implies, that though the human will concurred with God when
brought by His Spirit into conformity with His will, yet “grace” so
preponderated in the work, that his own co-operation is regarded as nothing,
and grace as virtually the sole agent. (Compare 1Co 3:9; Mt 10:20; 2Co 6:1; Php
2:12, 13).
11.
whether it were I or they—(the apostles)
who “labored more abundantly” (1Co 15:10) in preaching, such was the substance
of our preaching, namely, the truths stated in 1Co 15:3, 4.
12.
if—Seeing that it is an admitted fact
that Christ is announced by us eye-witnesses as having risen from the dead, how
is it that some of you deny that which is a necessary consequence of Christ’s
resurrection, namely, the general resurrection?
some—Gentile reasoners (Ac 17:32; 26:8) who would not believe it
because they did not see “how” it could be (1Co 15:35, 36).
13. If there be no general resurrection, which is the
consequent, then there can have been no resurrection of Christ, which is the
antecedent. The head and the members of the body stand on the same footing:
what does not hold good of them, does not hold good of Him either: His
resurrection and theirs are inseparably joined (compare 1Co 15:20–22; Jn
14:19).
14.
your faith … vain—(1Co 15:11). The Greek for
“vain” here is, empty, unreal: in 1Co 15:17, on the other hand, it is, without
use, frustrated. The principal argument of the first preachers in support
of Christianity was that God had raised Christ from the dead (Ac 1:22; 2:32;
13:37; Ro 1:4). If this fact were false, the faith built on it must be false
too.
15.
testified of God—that is, concerning God. The
rendering of others is, “against God” [Vulgate, Estius, Grotius]:
the Greek preposition with the genitive implies, not direct antagonism
(as the accusative would mean), but indirect to the dishonor of
God. English Version is probably better.
if
so be—as they assert. It is not right to
tell untrue stories, though they are told and seem for the glory of God (Job
13:7).
16. The repetition implies the unanswerable force of the
argument.
17.
vain—Ye are, by the very fact (supposing
the case to be as the skeptics maintained), frustrated of all which
“your faith” appropriates: Ye are still under the everlasting condemnation of
your sins (even in the disembodied state which is here referred to),
from which Christ’s resurrection is our justification (Ro 4:25): “saved by
his life” (Ro 5:10).
18.
fallen asleep in Christ—in
communion with Christ as His members. “In Christ’s case the term used is death,
to assure us of the reality of His suffering; in our case, sleep, to
give us consolation: In His case, His resurrection having actually taken place,
Paul shrinks not from the term death; in ours, the resurrection being still
only a matter of hope, he uses the term falling asleep” [Photius, Quaestiones Amphilochiae, 197].
perished—Their souls are lost; they are in misery in the unseen
world.
19. If our hopes in Christ were limited to this life only, we
should be, of all men, most to be pitied; namely, because, while others live
unmolested, we are exposed to every trial and persecution, and, after all, are
doomed to bitter disappointment in our most cherished hope; for all our hope of
salvation, even of the soul (not merely of the body), hangs on the resurrection
of Christ, without which His death would be of no avail to us (Eph 1:19, 20;
1Pe 1:3). The heathen are “without hope” (Eph 2:12; 1Th 4:13). We should be
even worse, for we should be also without present enjoyment (1Co 4:9).
20.
now—as the case really is.
and
become—omitted in the oldest manuscripts.
the
first-fruits—the earnest or pledge, that the whole
resurrection harvest will follow. so that our faith is not vain, nor our hope
limited to this life. The time of writing this Epistle was probably about the
Passover (1Co 5:7); the day after the Passover sabbath was that for offering the
first-fruits (Le 23:10, 11), and the same was the day of Christ’s
resurrection: whence appears the appropriateness of the image.
21.
by man … by man—The first-fruits are of the same
nature as the rest of the harvest; so Christ, the bringer of life, is of the
same nature as the race of men to whom He brings it; just as Adam, the bringer
of death, was of the same nature as the men on whom he brought it.
22.
in Adam all—in union of nature with Adam, as
representative head of mankind in their fall.
in
Christ … all—in union of nature with Christ, the
representative head of mankind in their recovery. The life brought in by Christ
is co-extensive with the death brought in by Adam.
23.
But every man in his own order—rather,
“rank”: the Greek is not in the abstract, but concrete: image from
troops, “each in his own regiment.” Though all shall rise again, let not any
think all shall be saved; nay, each shall have his proper place, Christ first
(Col 1:18), and after Him the godly who die in Christ (1Th 4:16), in a separate
band from the ungodly, and then “the end,” that is, the resurrection of the
rest of the dead. Christian churches, ministers, and individuals seem about to
be judged first “at His coming” (Mt 25:1–30); then “all the nations” (Mt
25:31–46). Christ’s own flock shall share His glory “at His coming,” which is
not to be confounded with “the end,” or general judgment (Rev 20:4–6, 11–15).
The latter is not in this chapter specially discussed, but only the first
resurrection, namely, that of the saints: not even the judgment of Christian
hollow professors (Mt 25:1–30) at His coming, is handled, but only the glory of
them “that are Christ’s,” who alone in the highest sense “obtain the
resurrection from the dead” (Lu 14:14; Php 3:11; see on Php 3:11). The second
coming of Christ is not a mere point of time, but a period
beginning with the resurrection of the just at His appearing, and ending with
the general judgment. The ground of the universal resurrection is the union of
all mankind in nature with Christ, their representative Head, who has done away
with death, by His own death in their stead: the ground of the resurrection of
believers is not merely this, but their personal union with Him as their
“Life” (Col 3:4), effected causatively by the Holy Spirit, and instrumentally
by faith as the subjective, and by ordinances as the objective
means.
24.
Then—after that: next in the succession
of “orders” or “ranks.”
the
end—the general resurrection, and final
judgment and consummation (Mt 25:46).
delivered
up … kingdom to … Father—(Compare
Jn 13:3). Seeming at variance with Da 7:14, “His dominion is an everlasting
dominion which shall not pass away.” Really, His giving up of the
mediatorial kingdom to the Father, when the end for which the
mediatorial economy was established has been accomplished, is altogether in
harmony with its continuing everlastingly. The change which shall then take
place, shall be in the manner of administration, not in the kingdom
itself; God shall then come into direct connection with the earth,
instead of mediatorially, when Christ shall have fully and finally removed
everything that severs asunder the holy God and a sinful earth (Col 1:20). The
glory of God is the final end of Christ’s mediatorial office (Php 2:10, 11).
His co-equality with the Father is independent of the latter, and prior to it,
and shall, therefore, continue when its function shall have ceased. His
manhood, too, shall everlastingly continue, though, as now, subordinate to the
Father. The throne of the Lamb (but no longer mediatorial) as well as of
God, shall be in the heavenly city (Rev 22:3; compare Rev 3:21). The unity of
the Godhead, and the unity of the Church, shall be simultaneously manifested at
Christ’s second coming. Compare Zep 3:9; Zec 14:9; Jn 17:21–24. The oldest
manuscripts for “shall have delivered up,” read, “delivereth up,”
which suits the sense better. It is “when He shall have put down all
rule,” that “He delivereth up the kingdom to the Father.”
shall
have put down all rule—the
effect produced during the millennary reign of Himself and His saints (Ps
110:1; 8:6; 2:6–9), to which passages Paul refers, resting his argument on the
two words, “all” and “until,” of the Psalmist: a proof of verbal inspiration of
Scripture (compare Rev 2:26, 27). Meanwhile, He “rules in the midst of His
enemies” (Ps 110:2). He is styled “the King” when He takes His great power (Mt
25:34; Rev 11:15, 17). The Greek for “put down” is, “done away with,”
or “brought to naught.” “All” must be subject to Him, whether openly opposed
powers, as Satan and his angels, or kings and angelic principalities (Eph
1:21).
25.
must—because Scripture foretells it.
till—There will be no further need of His mediatorial kingdom,
its object having been realized.
enemies
under his feet—(Lu 19:27; Eph 1:22).
26.
shall be—Greek, “is done away
with” (Rev 20:14; compare Rev 1:18). It is to believers especially this applies
(1Co 15:55–57); even in the case of unbelievers, death is done away with by the
general resurrection. Satan brought in sin, and sin brought in death!
So they shall be destroyed (rendered utterly powerless) in the same order (1Co
15:56; Heb 2:14; Rev 19:20).
27.
all things—including death (compare Eph 1:22;
Php 3:21; Heb 2:8; 1Pe 3:22). It is said, “hath put,” for what God has
said is the same as if it were already done, so sure is it. Paul here quotes Ps
8:6 in proof of his previous declaration, “For (it is written), ‘He hath put
all things under His feet.’ ”
under
his feet—as His footstool (Ps 110:1). In
perfect and lasting subjection.
when
he—namely, God, who by His Spirit
inspired the Psalmist.
28.
Son … himself … subject—not as
the creatures are, but as a Son voluntarily subordinate to, though
co-equal with, the Father. In the mediatorial kingdom, the Son had been, in a
manner, distinct from the Father. Now, His kingdom shall merge in the Father’s,
with whom He is one; not that there is thus any derogation from His honor; for
the Father Himself wills “that all should honor the Son, as they honor the
Father” (Jn 5:22, 23; Heb 1:6).
God
… all in all—as Christ is all in all (Col 3:11;
compare Zec 14:9). Then, and not till then, “all things,” without
the least infringement of the divine prerogative, shall be subject to the Son,
and the Son subordinate to the Father, while co-equally sharing His glory.
Contrast Ps 10:4; 14:1. Even the saints do not fully realize God as their “all”
(Ps 73:25) now, through desiring it; then each shall feel, God is all to me.
29.
Else—if there be no resurrection.
what
shall they do?—How wretched is their lot!
they
… which are baptized for the dead—third
person; a class distinct from that in which the apostle places himself, “we”
(1Co 15:30); first person. Alford
thinks there is an allusion to a practice at Corinth of baptizing a living
person in behalf of a friend who died unbaptized; thus Paul, without
giving the least sanction to the practice, uses an ad hominem argument from it against its practicers, some of whom,
though using it, denied the resurrection: “What account can they give of their
practice; why are they at the trouble of it, if the dead rise not?” [So Jesus
used an ad hominem argument, Mt 12:27]. But if so, it is strange there is no
direct censure of it. Some Marcionites adopted the practice at a later period,
probably from taking this passage, as Alford
does; but, generally, it was unknown in the Church. Bengel translates, “over (immediately upon) the dead,” that
is, who will be gathered to the dead immediately after baptism. Compare
Job 17:1, “the graves are ready for me.” The price they get for their trouble
is, that they should be gathered to the dead for ever (1Co 15:13, 16). Many in
the ancient Church put off baptism till near death. This seems the better view;
though there may have been some rites of symbolical baptism at Corinth, now
unknown, perhaps grounded on Jesus’ words (Mt 20:22, 23), which Paul here
alludes to. The best punctuation is, “If the dead rise not at all, why are they
then baptized for them” (so the oldest manuscripts read the last words,
instead of “for the dead”)?
30.
we—apostles (1Co 15:9; 1Co 4:9). A
gradation from those who could only for a little time enjoy this life (that is,
those baptized at the point of death), to us, who could enjoy it longer,
if we had not renounced the world for Christ [Bengel].
31.
by your rejoicing—by the glorying which I have
concerning you, as the fruit of my labors in the Lord. Some of the earliest
manuscripts and fathers read “our,” with the same sense. Bengel understands “your rejoicing,” to
be the enjoyable state of the Corinthians, as contrasted with his dying
daily to give his converts rejoicing or glorying (1Co 4:8; 2Co
4:12, 15; Eph 3:13; Php 1:26). But the words, “which I have,” favor the
explanation—“the rejoicing which I have over you.” Many of the oldest
manuscripts and Vulgate insert “brethren” here.
I
die daily—This ought to stand first in the
sentence, as it is so put prominently forward in the Greek. I am day by
day in sight of death, exposed to it, and expecting it (2Co 4:11, 12; 11:23).
32. Punctuate thus: “If after the manner of men I have fought
with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me? If the dead rise not, let us
eat and drink,” &c. [Bengel].
If “merely as a man” (with the mere human hope of the present life; not
with the Christian’s hope of the resurrection; answering to “If the dead rise
not,” the parallel clause in the next sentence), I have fought with men
resembling savage beasts. Heraclitus, of Ephesus, had termed his countrymen
“wild beasts” four hundred years before. So Epimenides called the Cretians (Tit
1:12). Paul was still at Ephesus (1Co 16:8), and there his life was daily in
danger (1Co 4:9; compare 2Co 1:8). Though the tumult (Ac 19:29, 30) had not
yet taken place (for after it he set out immediately for Macedonia),
this Epistle was written evidently just before it, when the storm was
gathering; “many adversaries” (1Co 16:9) were already menacing him.
what
advantageth it me?—seeing I have renounced all that, “as
a mere man,” might compensate me for such sufferings, gain, fame, &c.
let
us eat, &c.—Quoted from the Septuagint,
(Is 22:13), where the prophet describes the reckless self-indulgence of the
despisers of God’s call to mourning, Let us enjoy the good things of life now,
for it soon will end. Paul imitates the language of such skeptics, to reprove
both their theory and practice. “If men but persuade themselves that they shall
die like the beasts, they soon will live like beasts too” [South].
33.
evil communications corrupt good manners—a
current saying, forming a verse in Menander,
the comic poet, who probably took it from Euripides [Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, 3.16]. “Evil
communications” refer to intercourse with those who deny the resurrection.
Their notion seems to have been that the resurrection is merely spiritual, that
sin has its seat solely in the body, and will be left behind when the soul
leaves it, if, indeed, the soul survive death at all.
good—not only good-natured, but pliant. Intimacy
with the profligate society around was apt to corrupt the principles of the
Corinthians.
34.
Awake—literally, “out of the sleep”
of carnal intoxication into which ye are thrown by the influence of these
skeptics (1Co 15:32; Joe 1:5).
to
righteousness—in contrast with “sin” in this
verse, and corrupt manners (1Co 15:33).
sin
not—Do not give yourselves up to sinful
pleasures. The Greek expresses a continued state of abstinence from sin.
Thus, Paul implies that they who live in sinful pleasures readily persuade
themselves of what they wish, namely, that there is to be no resurrection.
some—the same as in 1Co 15:12.
have
not the knowledge of God—and so
know not His power in the resurrection (Mt 22:29). Stronger than “are
ignorant of God.” An habitual ignorance: wilful, in that they prefer to
keep their sins, rather than part with them, in order to know God
(compare Jn 7:17; 1Pe 2:15).
to
your shame—that you Corinthian Christians, who
boast of your knowledge, should have among you, and maintain intercourse
with, those so practically ignorant of God, as to deny the resurrection.
35.
How—It is folly to deny a fact of revelation, because we do not know the “how.”
Some measure God’s power by their petty intelligence, and won’t admit, even
on His assurance, anything which they cannot explain. Ezekiel’s answer
of faith to the question is the truly wise one (Ez 37:3). So Jesus argues
not on principles of philosophy, but wholly from “the power of God,” as
declared by the Word of God (Mt 19:26; Mk 10:27; 12:23; Lu 18:27).
come—The dead are said to depart, or to be deceased:
those rising again to come. The objector could not understand how
the dead are to rise, and with what kind of a body they are to come. Is
it to be the same body? If so, how is this, since the resurrection bodies will
not eat or drink, or beget children, as the natural bodies do? Besides, the
latter have mouldered into dust. How then can they rise again? If it be
a different body, how can the personal identity be preserved? Paul answers, In
one sense it will be the same body, in another, a distinct body. It will be a
body, but a spiritual, not a natural, body.
36.
fool—with all thy boasted philosophy (Ps
14:1).
that
which thou—“thou,” emphatical: appeal to the
objector’s own experience: “The seed which thou thyself sowest.”
Paul, in this verse and in 1Co 15:42, answers the question of 1Co 15:35, “How?”
and in 1Co 15:37–41, 43, the question, “With what kind of body?” He
converts the very objection (the death of the natural body) into an argument.
Death, so far from preventing quickening, is the necessary prelude and
prognostication of it, just as the seed “is not quickened” into a new sprout
with increased produce, “except it die” (except a dissolution of its previous
organization takes place). Christ by His death for us has not given us a
reprieve from death as to the life which we have from Adam; nay, He permits the
law to take its course on our fleshly nature; but He brings from Himself new
spiritual and heavenly life out of death (1Co 15:37).
37.
not that body that shall be—a body
beautiful and no longer a “bare grain” [Bengel].
No longer without stalk or ear, but clothed with blade and ears, and yielding
many grains instead of only one [Grotius].
There is not an identity of all the particles of the old and the new body. For
the perpetual transmutation of matter is inconsistent with this. But there is a
hidden germ which constitutes the identity of body amidst all outward changes:
the outward accretions fall off in its development, while the germ remains the
same. Every such germ (“seed,” 1Co 15:38) “shall have its own body,” and be
instantly recognized, just as each plant now is known from the seed that was
sown (see on 1Co 6:13). So Christ by the same image illustrated the truth that
His death was the necessary prelude of His putting on His glorified body, which
is the ground of the regeneration of the many who believe (Jn 12:24). Progress
is the law of the spiritual, as of the natural world. Death is the avenue not
to mere revivification or reanimation, but to resurrection
and regeneration (Mt 19:28; Php 3:21). Compare “planted,”
&c., Ro 6:5.
38.
as it hath pleased him—at
creation, when He gave to each of the (kinds of) seeds (so the Greek
is for “to every seed”) a body of its own (Ge 1:11, “after its kind,”
suited to its species). So God can and will give to the blessed at the
resurrection their own appropriate body, such as it pleases
Him, and such as is suitable to their glorified state: a body peculiar to
the individual, substantially the same as the body sown.
39–41. Illustrations of the suitability of bodies, however
various, to their species: the flesh of the several species of animals; bodies
celestial and terrestrial; the various kinds of light in the sun, moon, and
stars, respectively.
flesh—animal organism [De
Wette]. He implies by the word that our resurrection bodies shall be in
some sense really flesh, not mere phantoms of air [Estius]. So some of the oldest creeds expressed it, “I
believe in the resurrection of the flesh.” Compare as to Jesus’ own resurrection
body, Lu 24:39; Jn 20:27; to which ours shall be made like, and
therefore shall be flesh, but not of animal organism (Php 3:21) and
liable to corruption. But 1Co 15:50 below implies, it is not “flesh and blood”
in the animal sense we now understand them; for these “shall not inherit the
kingdom of God.”
not
the same—not flesh of the same nature and
excellency. As the kinds of flesh, however widely differing from one another,
do not cease to be flesh, so the kinds of bodies, however differing from one
another, are still bodies. All this is to illustrate the difference of the new
celestial body from its terrestrial seed, while retaining a substantial
identity.
beasts—quadrupeds.
another
of fishes … another of birds—Most
of the oldest manuscripts read thus, “another flesh
of birds … another of fishes”: the order of nature.
40.
celestial bodies—not the sun, moon, and stars, which
are first introduced in 1Co 15:41, but the bodies of angels, as
distinguished from the bodies of earthly creatures.
the
glory of the celestial—(Lu
9:26).
glory
of … terrestrial—(Mt 6:28, 29; 1Pe 1:24).
41.
one glory of … sun … another … of … moon—The
analogy is not to prove different degrees of glory among the blessed (whether
this may be, or not, indirectly hinted at), but this: As the various
fountains of light, which is so similar in its aspect and properties,
differ (the sun from the moon, and the moon from the stars; and even one
star from another star, though all seem so much alike); so there is nothing
unreasonable in the doctrine that our present bodies differ from our
resurrection bodies, though still continuing bodies. Compare the
same simile, appropriate especially in the clear Eastern skies (Da 12:3; Mt
13:43). Also that of seed in the same parable (Mt 13:24; Ga 6:7, 8).
42.
sown—Following up the image of seed.
A delightful word instead of burial.
in
corruption—liable to corruption:
corruptible: not merely a prey when dead to corruption; as the
contrast shows, “raised in incorruption,” that is, not liable to corruption:
incorruptible.
43.
in dishonour—answering to “our vile body”
(Php 3:21); literally, “our body of humiliation”: liable to various
humiliations of disease, injury, and decay at last.
in
glory—the garment of incorruption (1Co
15:42, 43) like His glorious body (Php 4:21), which we shall put on (1Co 15:49,
53; 2Co 5:2–4).
in
weakness—liable to infirmities (2Co 13:4).
in
power—answering to a “spiritual body”
(1Co 15:44; compare Lu 1:17, “Spirit and power”). Not liable to the weaknesses
of our present frail bodies (Is 33:24; Rev 21:4).
44.
a natural body—literally, “an animal body,”
a body moulded in its organism of “flesh and blood” (1Co 15:50) to suit the
animal soul which predominates in it. The Holy Spirit in the spirit of
believers, indeed, is an earnest of a superior state (Ro 8:11), but meanwhile in
the body the animal soul preponderates; hereafter the Spirit shall
predominate, and the animal soul be duly subordinate.
spiritual
body—a body wholly moulded by the
Spirit, and its organism not conformed to the lower and animal (Lu 20:35, 36),
but to the higher and spiritual, life (compare 1Co 2:14; 1Th 5:23).
There
is, &c.—The oldest manuscripts
read, “if there is a natural (or animal-souled)
body, there is also a spiritual body.” It is no more wonderful a thing,
that there should be a body fitted to the capacities and want of man’s highest
part, his spirit (which we see to be the case), than that there should be one
fitted to the capacities and wants of his subordinate part, the animal soul [Alford].
45.
so—in accordance with the distinction
just mentioned between the natural or animal-souled body and the spiritual
body.
it
is written—(Ge 2:7); “Man became (was made to
become) a living soul,” that is, endowed with an animal soul, the living
principle of his body.
the
last Adam—the last
Head of humanity, who is to be fully manifested in the last day, which
is His day (Jn 6:39). He is so called in Job 19:25; see on Job 19:25
(compare Ro 5:14). In contrast to “the last,” Paul calls “man” (Ge 2:7) “the first Adam.”
quickening—not only living, but making alive (Jn 5:21; Ro
8:11). As the natural or animal-souled body (1Co 15:44) is the
fruit of our union with the first Adam, an animal-souled man, so the spiritual
body is the fruit of our union with the second Adam, who is the quickening
Spirit (2Co 3:17). As He became representative of the whole of humanity in His
union of the two natures, He exhausted in His own person the sentence of death
passed on all men, and giveth spiritual and everlasting life to whom He will.
46.
afterward—Adam had a soul not necessarily
mortal, as it afterwards became by sin, but “a living soul,” and
destined to live for ever, if he had eaten of the tree of life (Ge 3:22); still
his body was but an animal-souled body, not a spiritual body, such
as believers shall have; much less was he a “life-giving spirit,” as Christ.
His soul had the germ of the Spirit, rather than the fulness of it, such as man
shall have when restored “body, soul, and spirit,” by the second Adam (1Th
5:23). As the first and lower Adam came before the second and heavenly Adam, so
the animal-souled body comes first, and must die before it be changed into the
spiritual body (that is, that in which the Spirit predominates over the animal
soul).
47.
of the earth—inasmuch as being sprung from the
earth, he is “earthy” (Ge 2:7; 3:19, “dust thou art”); that is, not merely
earthly or born upon the earth, but terrene, or of earth; literally, “of heaped earth” or
clay. “Adam” means red earth.
the
Lord—omitted in the oldest manuscripts
and versions.
from
heaven—(Jn 3:13, 31). Humanity in Christ
is generic. In Him man is impersonated in his true ideal as God originally
designed him. Christ is the representative man, the federal head of redeemed
man.
48.
As is the earthy—namely, Adam.
they
… that are earthy—All Adam’s posterity in their natural
state (Jn 3:6, 7).
the
heavenly—Christ.
they
… that are heavenly—His people in their regenerate
state (Php 3:20, 21). As the former precedes the latter state, so the natural
bodies precede the spiritual bodies.
49.
as—Greek, “even as” (see Ge
5:3).
we
shall also bear—or wear as a garment [Bengel]. The oldest manuscripts and
versions read, “We must also bear,” or “let us also bear.” It implies the
divine appointment (compare “must,” 1Co 15:53) and faith assenting to it. An
exhortation, and yet implying a promise (so Ro 8:29). The conformity to the
image of the heavenly Representative man is to be begun here in our souls, in
part, and shall be perfected at the resurrection in both bodies and souls.
50. (See on 1Co 15:37; 1Co 15:39). “Flesh and blood” of the
same animal and corruptible nature as our present (1Co 15:44) animal-souled
bodies, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Therefore the believer acquiesces
gladly in the unrepealed sentence of the holy law, which appoints the death of
the present body as the necessary preliminary to the resurrection body of
glory. Hence he “dies daily” to the flesh and to the world, as the necessary
condition to his regeneration here and hereafter (Jn 3:6; Ga 2:20). As the
being born of the flesh constitutes a child of Adam, so the being born
of the Spirit constitutes a child of God.
cannot—Not merely is the change of body possible, but it is
necessary. The spirit extracted from the dregs of wine does not so much
differ from them, as the glorified man does from the mortal man [Bengel] of mere animal flesh and blood
(Ga 1:16). The resurrection body will be still a body though spiritual, and
substantially retaining the personal identity; as is proved by Lu 24:39; Jn 20:27,
compared with Php 3:21.
the
kingdom of God—which is not at all merely animal,
but altogether spiritual. Corruption doth not inherit, though it
is the way to, incorruption (1Co 15:36, 52, 53).
51.
Behold—Calling attention to the “mystery”
heretofore hidden in God’s purposes, but now revealed.
you—emphatical in the Greek; I show (Greek,
“tell,” namely, by the word of the Lord, 1Th 4:15) You, who think you
have so much knowledge, “a mystery” (compare Ro 11:25) which your reason could
never have discovered. Many of the old manuscripts and Fathers read, “We shall
all sleep, but we shall not all be changed”; but this is plainly a corrupt
reading, inconsistent with 1Th 4:15, 17, and with the apostle’s argument here,
which is that a change is necessary (1Co 15:53). English Version
is supported by some of the oldest manuscripts and Fathers. The Greek is
literally “We all shall not sleep, but,” &c. The putting off of the
corruptible body for an incorruptible by an instantaneous change will,
in the case of “the quick,” stand as equivalent to death, appointed to all men
(Heb 9:27); of this Enoch and Elijah are types and forerunners. The “we”
implies that Christians in that age and every successive age since and
hereafter were designed to stand waiting, as if Christ might come again in
their time, and as if they might be found among “the quick.”
52.
the last trump—at the sounding of the trumpet on
the last day [Vatablus] (Mt
24:31; 1Th 4:16). Or the Spirit by Paul hints that the other trumpets mentioned
subsequently in the Apocalypse shall precede, and that this shall be the last
of all (compare Is 27:13; Zec 9:14). As the law was given with the sound of a
trumpet, so the final judgment according to it (Heb 12:19; compare Ex 19:16).
As the Lord ascended “with the sound of a trumpet” (Ps 47:5), so He shall
descend (Rev 11:15). The trumpet was sounded to convoke the people on solemn
feasts, especially on the first day of the seventh month (the type of the completion
of time; seven being the number for perfection; on the tenth of
the same month was the atonement, and on the fifteenth the feast of
tabernacles, commemorative of completed salvation out of the spiritual Egypt,
compare Zec 14:18, 19); compare Ps 50:1–7. Compare His calling forth of Lazarus
from the grave “with a loud voice,” Jn 11:43, with Jn 5:25, 28.
and—immediately, in consequence.
53.
this—pointing to his own body and
that of those whom he addresses.
put
on—as a garment (2Co 5:2, 3).
immortality—Here only, besides 1Ti 6:16, the word “immortality” is
found. Nowhere is the immortality of the soul, distinct from the body,
taught; a notion which many erroneously have derived from heathen philosophers.
Scripture does not contemplate the anomalous state brought about by death, as
the consummation to be earnestly looked for (2Co 5:4), but the resurrection.
54.
then—not before. Death has as yet a
sting even to the believer, in that his body is to be under its
power till the resurrection. But then the sting and power of death shall cease
for ever.
Death
is swallowed up in victory—In Hebrew
of Is 25:8, from which it is quoted, “He (Jehovah) will swallow up
death in victory”; that is, for ever: as “in victory” often means in Hebrew
idiom (Je 3:5; La 5:20). Christ will swallow it up so altogether
victoriously that it shall never more regain its power (compare Ho 6:2;
13:14; 2Co 5:4; Heb 2:14, 15; Rev 20:14; 21:4).
55. Quoted from Ho 13:14, substantially; but freely used by the
warrant of the Spirit by which Paul wrote. The Hebrew may be translated,
“O death, where are thy plagues? Where, O Hades, is thy destruction?” The Septuagint,
“Where is thy victory (literally, in a lawsuit), O death? Where is thy
sting, O Hades? … Sting” answers to the Hebrew “plagues,” namely, a
poisoned sting causing plagues. Appropriate, as to the old
serpent (Ge 3:14, 15; Nu 21:6). “Victory” answers to the Hebrew
“destruction.” Compare Is 25:7, “destroy … veil … over all nations,”
namely, victoriously destroy it; and to “in victory” (1Co 15:54), which
he triumphantly repeats. The “where” implies their past victorious destroying
power and sting, now gone for ever; obtained through Satan’s triumph over man
in Eden, which enlisted God’s law on the side of Satan and death against man
(Ro 5:12, 17, 21). The souls in Hades being freed by .the resurrection, death’s
sting and victory are gone. For “O grave,” the oldest manuscripts and versions
read, “O death,” the second time.
56. If there were no sin, there would be no death. Man’s
transgression of the law gives death its lawful power.
strength
of sin is the law—Without
the law sin is not perceived or imputed (Ro 3:20; 4:15; 5:13). The law makes
sin the more grievous by making God’s will the clearer (Ro 7:8–10). Christ’s
people are no longer “under the law” (Ro 6:14).
57.
to God—The victory was in no way due to
ourselves (Ps 98:1).
giveth—a present certainty.
the
victory—which death and Hades (“the grave”)
had aimed at, but which, notwithstanding the opposition of them, as well as of
the law and sin, we have gained. The repetition of the word (1Co 15:54, 55) is
appropriate to the triumph gained.
58.
beloved—Sound doctrine kindles Christian love.
steadfast—not turning aside from the faith of the resurrection of
yourselves.
unmovable—not turned aside by others (1Co 15:12; Col 1:23).
the
work of the Lord—the promotion of Christ’s kingdom
(Php 2:30).
not
in vain—as the deniers of the resurrection
would make it (1Co 15:14, 17).
in
the Lord—applying to the whole sentence and
its several clauses: Ye, as being in the Lord by faith, know that your labor in
the Lord (that is, labor according to His will) is not to be without its reward
in the Lord (through His merits and according to His gracious appointment).
Excerpt from:
A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
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