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Book of 1 Corinthians


Chapter 15


King James Version

The Resurrection of Christ
15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
15:6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
15:11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead
15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
15:27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
15:29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
15:30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
15:32 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; for to morrow we die.
15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body
15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
15:37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
15:40 here are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
15:41 here is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.1

Bible Commentary

51 Paul uses the word "sleep" as a metaphor for death (John 11:11). He calls attention to the fact that there are some who will not die, but who will be translated from the imperfect physical state to the perfect heavenly state. With regard to both those alive when Jesus comes and those who have died, the former instantaneously exchange their mortal bodies for immortal bodies; the latter are raised with immortal bodies.2
52 The change in the bodies of the saints will occur in an instant.2,3 The time when this glorious transformation takes place will be at the second coming of Christ, for it is then that the "trump of God" will sound, and faithful believers who have died will be raised in bodies that are entirely free from all effects of sin. Then Christians who are alive and looking eagerly for the coming of their Lord will undergo a marvellous change, whereby all traces of corruption and imperfection will be removed from their bodies, which will be made like unto Christ's glorious body (see Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:2).2
53 It is essential that a change take place in the bodies of the saints. And this will take place either by their dying and being raised from the dead in immortal, incorruptible bodies, or by their being changed to that state without seeing death. Although the body is changed, the redeemed will retain their individual personal identity or character. The gift of immortality will be received only by those who accept God's offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, and this gift will be theirs when Jesus comes again.2
54 When, at Christ's coming, the amazing transformation from mortal to immortal has taken place, both of the righteous dead and the righteous living, then man's great enemy will no longer trouble the redeemed. The last thought that occupied their minds as the shadow of death overtook the saints was that of approaching sleep, their last feeling was that of the pain of death. As they see that Christ has come and conferred on them the gift of immortality, their first sensation will be one of great rejoicing that never again will they succumb to the power of death.2
55 In the glad and victorious cry "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" both death and the grave are personified and addressed, probably by the saints, who will be delivered forever from the threat of the suffering and separation caused by death. The sway that this enemy has held over all men ever since the fall of Adam will be forever removed from the redeemed at the second coming of Christ.2
56 The "sting of death" is here defined as "sin". Death, like a scorpion, has a sting, a fatal power imparted to it by means of sin, the cause of death (Romans 6:23). But the redeemed will never again commit sin: therefore they can never again feel the sting of death (Nahum 1:9; Revelation 21:4).2
57 This verse presents the theme of all Scripture, namely, to show that the restoration of man to favor with God and to his original condition of perfection and freedom from all the effects of sin, is brought about by the mighty power of God working through our Lord Jesus Christ. For this triumph over the power of the adversary the redeemed will give praise and glory to God throughout eternity.2

References and notes
1. King James Authorized Version
2. Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary Vol. 6 pgs 655, 812-813
3. Adam Clarke's Commentaries - http://www.godrules.net/ library/clarke/clarke.htm
4. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Epistles to the Corinthians - http://www.newadvent. org/cathen/04364a.htm
5. Christian Resource Centre (Bermuda) Horn, Siegfried - http://www.nisbett.com/ summary/sum-n-07.htm
6. People's New Testament - http://bible.crosswalk .com/Commentaries/ PeoplesNewTestament/ pnt.cgi?book=1co &chapter=015
 

 

BIBLE AUTHOR

1 Corinthians was written by the apostle Paul from Ephesus (1 Cor 16:8) in the spring, probably of the year a.d. 572,4

PROBLEMS IN CORINTHIANS CHURCH

During the course of his 2nd Missionary Journey Paul laboured at Corinth for a year and a half, about a.d. 51 or 52, and there founded a flourishing church (Acts 18:1 to 11). After the apostle's departure from Corinth numerous doctrinal and practical problems had arisen, and this disconcerting news reached Paul during his stay at Ephesus (1 Cor 1:11). Further information came to Paul in the form of a letter (1 Cor. 7:1), in which the church asked Paul's judgement on certain matters. Paul wrote a letter, now lost, admonishing the Corinthians to amend their scandalous ways and to discipline the guilty persons (ch 5:9, 11). In his second letter to the Corinthians, "1 Corinthians", Paul is objective and practical, carefully organised, and measured in tone. The epistle contains firm reproof for irregularities that had crept into the church, and instruction on the points of faith and practice concerning which the church had sought further information.5

RESURRECTION SKEPTICISM

1 Corinthians 15 is devoted to the resurrection from the dead. Among the various false doctrines which had crept into the church at Corinth, composed of those who had so recently been heathen, and who had so much to unlearn, was one that the resurrection of the soul from sin to a new life; that this resurrection was already past in the case of those converted (2 Tim. 2:18), and that a resurrection after death was impossible. The doctrine of the resurrection was absurd, according to the Grecian ideas (Acts 17:32), and "some" were infusing this kind of skepticism into the church at Corinth.6

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