Calvin says, “In the fifteenth chapter [Paul] inveighs against a very pernicious error, which, although we can scarcely suppose it to have spread generally among the Corinthians, had nevertheless taken possession of the minds of some of them to such a degree, that it was necessary that a remedy should be openly administered. He appears, however, to have intentionally delayed mentioning this matter until the close of the Epistle, for this reason – that if he had set out with this, or had entered upon it immediately after commencing, they might have thought that they were all reckoned to be in fault. The hope of a resurrection, accordingly, he shows to be so necessary, that, if it is taken away, the whole gospel falls to pieces. Having established the doctrine itself by powerful arguments, he subjoins also the principle and manner of it. In fine, he carefully draws out a full discussion of this point.” Let’s take a look.
The Resurrection of Christ
1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[1] : that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Peter,[2] and then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Paul transitions to the next topic he wants to discuss, the resurrection, with v1. Greeks, and even the Jewish Sadducees, denied bodily resurrection, instead believing the soul to be imprisoned by the body and set free at death. But Paul teaches here that denying the bodily resurrection makes faith useless (v14; 1 Corinthians 9:27). The Corinthians may have been pressed to deny the resurrection of Christ, or more likely, to deny that they themselves would experience bodily resurrection as well. So Paul strives here to keep them believing, and he does it first by reminding them that they experienced the gospel (v1-2).
The Corinthians heard Paul preach the resurrection of Christ, and they received the message, and they held fast to it. But they must keep believing it to be saved; “otherwise, [they] have believed in vain” (v2). One commentator notes, “[Paul’s] not talking about losing your salvation; a clearer rendering of that phrase could be like this, ‘Unless you believe without effect.’ You would have believed without effect if you have now lost faith in the resurrection.” In other words, taking your stand and holding firmly to the truth of the gospel is a life-transforming maneuver. The gospel is an experience, and you know if you have experienced it; you know how God has changed your life, and your conscience and motives and lifestyle reflects that the Spirit lives in you! If you’re not sure, then you haven’t experienced it yet. But you can – by hearing, receiving, and taking your stand on it; God will conform you to the image of His Son.
Second, in v3-5, Paul strives to keep the Corinthians believing the gospel by pointing out the very basics, the things “of first importance” related to the gospel message: “that Christ died… that He was buried, that He was raised… and that He appeared.” He really died; He didn’t swoon or faint, as JWs proclaim. John Owen wrote a famous book, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. The Catholic Church has an appropriate saying, “In dying, He destroyed our death; in rising, He restored our life.” Jesus died (Matthew 27:45-54). He did not die for nothing (Galatians 2:21); out of love, He died for the ungodly, for us (Romans 5:6,8); He died as a ransom to set us free from our sins (Hebrews 9:15); He died for us so that we might live with Him and for Him (1 Thessalonians 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:15); an unbelieving Roman soldier saw how He died and was converted, saying, “Surely this Man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). Jesus died. And He was buried.
There is debate over His burial, which may be why Paul includes it as something of first importance. If He wasn’t buried, then perhaps the disciples could fake a resurrection, right? Matthew 27:57-66 records the action in detail: “As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb. The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘we remember that while He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that He has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.’ ‘Take a guard,’ Pilate answered. ‘Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.” Luke 23:55-56 add an important detail: “The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how His body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” Jesus was buried, and with all due respect to the disciples and women who followed Jesus, they couldn’t have pulled off a hoax of this magnitude, nor would they have. The evidence points to the truth that Jesus died and was buried.
So Jesus died, and He was buried. But “we believe that Jesus died and rose again” (1 Thessalonians 4:14). He died and rose again so that He might be Lord of all (Romans 14:9). Romans 4:25 says, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Romans 8:34 says, “Christ Jesus who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” His resurrection is a certainty: “We know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him” (Romans 6:9). Peter said, “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it” (Acts 2:32). And the rest of the Scriptures are abundantly clear that “God raised Him from the dead” (Acts 13:30). Jesus Himself knew this was the plan, and trusted God with His very life in doing the will of the Father (Matthew 12:40; 16:21; 17:9,23; 20:19; 26:32; Luke 9:22; 24:7). Jesus Himself said that He alone had the power both to give His life and to take it up again (John 10:17-18). Acts 2:24 says, “God raised Him from the dead, freeing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him.” So “God raised Him from the dead on the third day and caused Him to be seen” (Acts 10:40). The fourth element of first importance – He appeared! This is the truth Paul labors at in v5-8 by repeating the important truth that “He appeared” 4 times, to emphasize the bodily resurrection. Acts 1:3 says, “After His suffering, [Jesus] presented Himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Matthew 28:6-7; Mark 14:28; 16:9,12,14; Luke 24:34; John 2:22; 21:14).
Third, in order to encourage the Corinthians to continue in the gospel, Paul notes that the importance of the simple gospel message in v3-5 is not just his message (v11); it was widely known and proclaimed! There were a number of eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ (v5-8), including: Peter; the 12 disciples (Mathias took Judas’ place (Acts 1:26)); “more than 500” – many of whom were still living at the time Paul wrote this, which meant the Corinthians – or any skeptic – could go ask them about it firsthand; James (Jesus’ half-brother (John 7:5; Acts 12:17; 15:13; Galatians 1:18), not John’s brother (the first martyr, Acts 12:2)); all the apostles (presumably a few more than James and the 12, such as perhaps Philip, Stephen, etc.); and “last of all,” Paul.
The gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection is what the early church held dear, and it fulfilled the Old Testament (“according to the Scriptures”). In other words, the Old Testament, in addition to all the eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ, took ownership of the gospel (Luke 24:25-27; Psalm 2; 16; 22). And the Corinthians, who followed Cephas and Apollos and Paul, among others perhaps, would have appreciated the truth that it wasn’t Paul’s message alone; though, even if it was Paul’s alone, it was the truth.
Paul’s self-humbling remark (“one abnormally born”) may be an ironic criticism of the Corinthians who held Paul in low esteem. Paul saw the risen Lord (Acts 9:1-9)! Though Paul’s experience was extraordinary, it showed his reliance on grace, which resulted in hard work (v10). He was undoubtedly humble, and if you’re not persuaded to believe that from v9-10, v11 makes it clear. Paul didn’t care if he or the other believers preached the gospel to the Corinthians; all that mattered is that they believed the truth! And they did believe! They need to continue believing! And that entails believing in their own resurrections. That’s what Paul gets at in the next passage. But an apt conclusion here would be Romans 10:9, which says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Do you believe it?
The Resurrection of the Dead
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he "has put everything under his feet."[3] Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? 30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31I die every day--I mean that, brothers--just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
"Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die."[4] 33Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God--I say this to your shame.
Paul, in v12-14, notes that the Corinthians may have preferred one preacher to another, but regardless, whoever preached certainly preached a resurrected Christ. Therefore, it makes no sense that some of the Corinthians didn’t believe in the resurrection. Paul has made the connection from our resurrection to Christ’s. And he flips it around here, saying that if we aren’t raised, then Christ wasn’t either. It’s a picture of the union of Christ and His bride. Few were willing to go there, but those who denied the resurrection did so on the basis of their pre-gnostic idea of denying the body’s importance (see v35 regarding the pagan philosophy of dualism, which claimed that the material was bad and that the immaterial was good). Paul corrects their error here, for denying the physical resurrection of Christ destroys both the preaching and the receiving of the gospel. But in addition to preaching a useless gospel (v15), if Christ had not been raised from the dead, Paul and the other preachers would also be liars about God for preaching the resurrection and forgiveness of sins. In other words, there is no forgiveness of sin if Jesus has not been raised (v17).
In v19, Paul notes that the Christian’s joy in this life should be based on hope for the next. Without the next, our joy here and now is in vain, and we ought to be pitied most among all humans. In other words, if the resurrection were not true, then it would be better from every perspective to be an unbeliever. But, Paul says in v20, He really died, and He has indeed been raised (Romans 6:6,12; Hebrews 2:14)!
Jesus is the firstfuits (v20), because our bodily resurrection to come is directly united to His, which was the first; His resurrection also brought a deposit, a spiritual resurrection through the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:23). Paul will later say to this same audience, “We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself” (2 Corinthians 4:14). Theologian Eric Sawyer said, “The present age is Easter time, it begins with the resurrection of the Redeemer, and it ends with the resurrection of the redeemed. Between those two lies the spiritual resurrection of those called into life through Christ.”
Paul ties us to Adam and to Christ in v21-23, as he does elsewhere in his writings (v45-49; Romans 5:17-19; we must be careful not to emphasize the wrong words in these kinds of passages – namely “all”). “All” men have association with Adam as humans, and in some sense, “all” men have association with Christ as creatures; but certainly not “all” men have association with Christ as Christians. Just as Adam’s sin and consequent death affected all of mankind (because all are “in” Adam), resulting in their death, so Christ’s life, death, and consequent resurrection affect all of mankind. “All” will be raised for judgment, but not simultaneously (we can get into views of the millennium here!): First, those with faith are hid “in” Him (Colossians 3:3-4) and will rise to life; later, those lacking faith “in” Christ will rise to the second death and experience everlasting torment. All of this it true, but all Paul is saying here is this: “In Adam you have sin and death, but in Christ, you have forgiveness and life.”
Death is not natural, but only the effect of sin. Calvin says, “The cause of death is Adam, and we die in him: hence Christ, whose office it is to restore to us what we lost in Adam, is the cause of life to us; and his resurrection is the ground-work and pledge of ours. And as the former was the beginning of death, so the latter is of life.” He compares this passage to Romans 5:12-21, but notes the difference: this passage refers to physical resurrection, while that passage refers to spiritual life and death. The point Paul makes in v24-28 is that the resurrection is not an isolated event with limited repercussions. It is an integrating and culminating event in God’s sovereign plan. Without it, everything is pointless, and with it, the end will come, resulting in peace and complete restoration. Some suggest that this set of verses reveals something about the millennial reign of Christ, the thousand years after the rapture when Christ will set things right before the final and everlasting destruction of sin and death in hell. Perhaps. But we can acknowledge this truth: death died in the death and resurrection of Christ, but only in the most important way – it is no longer deadly to believers. Death still exists; people still die. It is the final enemy, and Christ will destroy it at the end.
In v29, Paul seems to mention baptism on behalf of the dead, implying that some of the Corinthians were doing this but also implying that it was an inconsistent practice (he wasn’t doing it). Marcian taught this as an early Gnostic, and Mormons still practice it today, hoping that somehow a living person’s baptism would get a deceased individual out of hell and into heaven. It’s an outreach of a false doctrine called baptismal regeneration, which claims that people are saved merely by baptism. Harry Ironside tells the story of his visit to Salt Lake City, where he met a Mormon lady who had been baptized over 30,000 times, for the likes of Cleopatra, Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, etc. And each time, she made a contribution from her estate to the Mormon Church to assure that her efforts were fruitful. Ironside was touring that day with a young Mormon elder who said of that woman, “I believe in the day of judgment it will be proven that this lady, through being baptized for the dead, has saved more souls than Jesus Christ.” But Paul taught in this very letter, “Christ did not send me to baptize…lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power” (1 Corinthians 1:17). Let me also note here that Calvin does not agree that Paul was speaking of baptism for the dead at all; he thinks rather that Paul was speaking of those who were baptized while as good as dead. For example, a Catholic priest may baptize someone who is comatose, superstitiously hoping it to be an efficacious move for that person’s benefit. Or seriously ill persons may ask for a priest as some sort of last minute effort to comfort themselves. I appreciate Calvin’s desire to uphold consistency, but it seems a big reach here given Paul’s language.
V29 is one of the toughest verses in Scripture, for we don’t see how baptism for the dead would be beneficial. But notice that Paul is not teaching that it is beneficial. One interesting interpretation, with which I might side, claims that under such persecution, many Corinthian believers were dying, and others were stepping up to be baptized to take their places in the congregation. The word “for” in v29 might be better translated, “in place of,” or “to take the place of.” In that case, though foolish, it might seem, from a worldly perspective, an admirable thing to do. But Paul asks, “Why bother if the dead aren’t raised?” This interpretation fits nicely with what Paul says next in v30, and note that the 2 verses are linked by the conjunction “and.” Nonetheless, whichever interpretation we choose, it’s not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture, leading to a great deal of speculation.
In v30, Paul questions the Corinthians, saying, “If we deny the resurrection, why would we risk our lives for the gospel?” Even the Corinthians were striving to stand firm in the Christianity (v29), and it was inconsistent – too risky (Psalm 44:22; 2 Corinthians 11:23) – for those who denied the resurrection to do so. Paul swears by the glory he has in Christ that he dies daily (v32; Luke 9:23). In other words, Paul is revealing that this denying of the resurrection is such a serious matter that he takes an oath regarding its verity.
Though Calvin thinks Paul literally fought against wild beasts, perhaps as a gladiator, in v32, Paul more likely (since Luke doesn’t record it in Acts) refers to his enemies in Ephesus as beasts. He wrote this letter from Ephesus and is basically saying that his hope in resurrection enables him to endure persecution (2 Timothy 4:17). One commentator said, “He’s probably talking in a metaphorical sense about the riot that erupted because of how he preached against the god Diana of the Ephesians. Demetrius, who made little gods of Diana, the silversmith, for people to worship, he started whispering a campaign against Paul – before he knew it there was a riot on his hands, and he was almost killed” (Acts 19:23-25). Paul notes so often in his letters about his suffering for the gospel that it’s impossible for him to consider that the resurrection didn’t happen. It’s the resurrection – not his own ego – that keeps him going. He doesn’t fear even death, because of the resurrection; in fact, death would be a reward, for it would be a great gain (Philippians 1:20-24). Hebrews 11:35 speaks of enduring such persecution in order to “obtain a better resurrection.”
Paul quotes a cultural proverb in v33 from the Greek author Menander (342-292 BC) – “Bad company corrupts good character.” This author was popular in the ancient world, but Paul uses his words to show how the Corinthians were negatively influenced in matters of morality. In turn, they were negatively influencing others. Some Corinthians boasted in their knowledge, but denying the resurrection proved they knew very little; for that denial showed, to their shame (1 Corinthians 4:14), their ignorance of the things of God (v34). They need to return to their senses (“Do things that are good and holy,” says Calvin) and stop sinning (v34).
The Resurrection Body
35But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"[5] ; the last Adam, a lifegiving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we[6] bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
50I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
This passage is devoted to the foolish notion of dualism, which claimed that the material was bad and that the immaterial was good, or the thought that resurrection means dishonorable bodies will be raised. It’s a last effort to deny Paul’s teaching, and he says, “How foolish!” Literally, he says that the Corinthians, who thought themselves to be great thinkers, were “unthinking ones.” Paul even prays that our “whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Because of the length and depth of the passage, let’s just outline it.
First, Paul uses a natural illustration (John 12:24 ~ Jesus; Isaiah 55:10-11) to point out the difference between what is sown and what grows. Plato did the same thing in his Symposium. Just because we don’t understand – in fact it seems impossible – how a seed dies in order to become a tree doesn’t mean it can’t happen. It does! When a seed dies, it rots and decays; but somehow the tree that results is of a better quality; they are different, but there’s continuity. That’s the same for the resurrection.
Second, Paul notes that there are different kinds of bodies (v39-41), with different kinds of splendor (or glory); God’s creativity is unparalleled. If He can make all that we see and more, why can’t He make a resurrection body that goes beyond our earthly comprehension?
Third, he yields additional contrasts in v42-44: There is perishable and imperishable, dishonor and glory, weakness and power, natural and spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:6,14; Romans 8:22-25). Rather than think of this in terms of material and immaterial, we ought to see it as a distinction between imperfect and perfect. Now we are imperfect, but then we will be perfect (Philippians 3:21).
Fourth and finally, in v45-49, Paul continues the explanation from v44, again pointing to the characteristics of and distinctions between the first and last Adam. God enlivened Adam with natural life, just as Christ enlivens us with spiritual life (Romans 8:10-11). And Paul gives something else to consider here, contrasting time and origin in v48 – “those who are of the earth” (this present evil age) and “those who are of heaven” (the coming perfect age). Finally, he uses “flesh and blood” in v50 to point to present weakness and perishability. Without imperishable bodies (resurrection), we cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.
There is a difference, in v45-46, between “being” (psyche) and “natural” (psychikos) and between “spirit” (pneuma) and “spiritual” (pneumatikos). Now we are governed by our souls, which traditionally include the mind, the emotions, and the will. But in eternity we will be governed by our spirits, which go beyond the soul in ways we don’t yet grasp. Dr. Adoniram Judson Gordon, a 19th century Baptist preacher, said, “Now, here and now, the body bears the spirit. We carry about in our body the spirit, a slow chariot whose wheels are often disabled, and whose swiftest motion is but labored and tardy – but then the spirit will bear the body, carrying it on wings of thought whithersoever it will.”
51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."[7]
55"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"[8] 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Sigmund Freud said, “Finally there is the painful riddle of death, for which no remedy at all has yet been found, nor probably ever will be.” But Paul has given evidence for the veracity of the resurrection of Christ, as well as for the resurrection of humanity as a result of Christ’s resurrection. He has revealed the ramifications both if the resurrection were not true, and since the resurrection is true. He also offered a look into the nature of the resurrection body that we who trust Jesus will receive. Now, in the final passage of this lengthy chapter, Paul harkens his audience’s attention as he reveals a mystery, giving important details about Christ’s return.
Some will be alive when He comes back (v51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)! Now the text in the Greek is clear that this is Paul’s meaning, but Calvin notes interestingly that the Latin New Testament, the Vulgate, offers three different renderings of v51 in its original manuscripts: First, pointing to Hebrews 9:27, which says, “People are destined to die once,” some versions of the original Vulgate say, “We shall indeed all die, but we shall not all be changed.” Second, some Latin versions say, “We shall indeed all rise again, but we shall not all be changed.” Both of these views attempt to avoid contradiction with Hebrews 9:27 and convey the idea that only some – those who have faith in Christ – will experience the transformation of the resurrection body. But the third rendering of the Latin is akin to the Greek, and certainly what Paul intended, that “We shall not indeed all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” This agrees with Paul’s teaching in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Remember too, he’s speaking exclusively to believers, so the “we all” refers to God’s people. As far as the potential conflict with Hebrews 9:27, we might conclude that Paul sees “change” as a kind of death, for just as the crawling caterpillar morphs into the flying butterfly, the mortal will be swallowed up by immortality and the corruptible by the incorruptible (v53) – instantaneously, in the blink of an eye, and at the last trumpet (v52), on the day of Jesus’ glorious return (2 Corinthians 5:1-5).
V54-57 represent one of the most eloquent and powerful passages in Scripture. Paul paraphrased from Isaiah and Hosea (from the Septuagint) to point out our “victory” over death “through our Lord Jesus Christ.” When sin is removed, death dies (Revelation 20:13-14), for the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23); there is no death apart from sin (v56; Romans 7:1-13; Galatians 3:13). Calvin offers a nice summary of the passage: “When, therefore, he says, that victory has been given to us, you are to understand by this in the first place, that it is inasmuch as Christ has in his own person abolished sin, has satisfied the law, has endured the curse, has appeased the anger of God, and has procured life; and farther, because he has already begun to make us partakers of all those benefits. For though we still carry about with us the remains of sin, it, nevertheless, does not reign in us: though it still stings us, it does not do so fatally, because its edge is blunted, so that it does not penetrate into the vitals of the soul. Though the law still threatens, yet there is presented to us on the other hand, the liberty that was procured for us by Christ, which is an antidote to its terrors. Though the remains of sin still dwell in us, yet the Spirit who raised up Christ from the dead is life, because of righteousness.”
Paul has finalized his teaching on the resurrection, and so he wraps up the chapter with the demand to “stand firm” (v58). It’s the steadfastness called for by putting on the armor of God in Ephesians 6. And interestingly, standing firm requires not motionlessness, but action – “labor in the Lord” (Isaiah 65:17-25; Galatians 6:9). And the motive Paul establishes for standing firm is twofold: first, the resurrection is true and near; second, “your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” Benjamin Franklin, it appears, understood this great truth of transformation on the last day, as he wrote his own epitaph, which reads, “The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and gilding, lies here food for worms – but the work will not be lost, for it will appear once more in a new and more elegant addition, revised and corrected by the Author.”
Footnotes
- 15:3 Or you at the first
- 15:5 Greek Cephas
- 15:27 Psalm 8:6
- 15:32 Isaiah 22:13
- 15:45 Gen. 2:7
- 15:49 Some early manuscripts so let us
- 15:54 Isaiah 25:8
- 15:55 Hosea 13:14
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.