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1
Corinthians Chapter Fifteen
1 Corinthians 15
But other evils had found means to introduce themselves
into the midst of the shining gifts which were exercised in the bosom of the
flock at Corinth. The resurrection of the dead was denied. Satan is wily in his
dealings. Apparently it was only the body that was in question; nevertheless
the whole gospel was at stake, for if the dead rose not, then Christ was not
risen. And if Christ was not risen, the sins of the faithful were not put away,
and the gospel was not true. The apostle therefore reserved this question for
the end of his epistle, and he enters into it thoroughly.
First, he reminds them of that which he had preached among them as the
gospel, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and was
raised again according to the scriptures. This then was the means of their
salvation, if they continued in it, unless they had believed in vain. Here at
least was a very solid foundation for his argument: their salvation (unless all
that they had believed was but a profitless fable) depended on the fact of the
resurrection, and was bound up with it. But if the dead rose not, Christ was
not risen, for He had died. The apostle begins therefore by establishing this
fact through the most complete and positive testimonies, including his own
testimony, since he had himself seen the Lord. Five hundred persons had seen
Him at once, the greater part of whom were still alive to bear witness of it.
Observe, in passing, that the apostle can speak of
nothing without a moral effect being produced in his heart, because he thinks
of it with God. Thus, verses 8-10, he calls to mind the state of things with
regard to himself and to the other apostles, and that which grace had done; and
then, his heart unburdened, he returns to his subject. The testimony of every
divine witness was the same. Everything declared that Christ was risen;
everything depended on the fact that He was so. This was his starting-point.
If, said he, that which was preached among you is that Christ was raised from
the dead, how happens it that some among you say there is no resurrection of
the dead? If there is none, Christ is not risen; if He is not risen, the
preaching of His witnesses is vain, the faith of Christians vain. Nor that
only; but these witnesses are false witnesses, for they had declared, with
respect to God, that He had raised up Christ from the dead. But God had not
raised Him up if the dead do not rise. And in that case their faith was vain:
they were yet in their sins; and those who had already fallen asleep in Christ
had perished. Now, if it be in this life only that the believer has hope in
Christ, he is of all men the most miserable; he does but suffer as to this
world. But it is not so, for Christ is risen.
Here, however, it is not only a general doctrine that the
dead are raised. Christ, in rising, came up from among the dead. It is the
favour and the power of God come in, [1] to bring back from among the dead the One
who had in His grace gone down into death to accomplish and to display the
deliverance of man in Christ from the power of Satan and of death; and to put a
public seal on the work of redemption, to exhibit openly in man the victory
over all the power of the enemy. Thus Christ arose from among all the other
dead (for death could not hold Him), and established the glorious principle of
this divine and complete deliverance, and He became the first-fruits of them
that slept, who, having His life, await the exercise of His power, which will
awaken them by virtue of the Spirit that dwells in them.
This evidently gives a very peculiar character to the
resurrection. It is not only that the dead rise, but that God, by His power,
brings back certain persons from among the dead, on account of the favour which
He has for them, and in connection with the life and the Spirit which are in
them. Christ has a quite peculiar place. Life was in Him, and He is our life.
He gained this victory by which we profit. He is of right the first-fruits. It
was due to His glory. Had He not gained the victory, we should always have
remained in prison. He had power Himself to resume life, but the great
principle is the same, it is not only a resurrection of the dead, but those who
are alive according to God arise as the objects of His favour, and by the
exercise of that power which wills to have them for Himself and with
Himself-Christ, the first-fruits: those who are Christ's, at His coming. We are
associated with Christ in resurrection. We come out like Him, not only from
death, but from the dead. We mark, too, here how Christ and His people are
inseparably identified. If they do not rise, He is not risen. He was as really
dead as we can be, has taken in grace our place under death, was a man as we
are men (save sin) so truly that, if you deny this result for us, you deny the
fact as to Him; and the object and foundation of faith itself fails. This
identification of Christ with men, so as to be able to draw a conclusion from
us to Him, is full of power and blessing. If the dead do not rise, He is not
risen; He was as truly dead as we can be.
It needed to be by man. No doubt the power of God can call men back
from the tomb. He will do so, acting in the Person of His Son, to whom all
judgment is given. But that will not be a victory gained in human nature over
death which held men captive. This it is which Christ has done. He was willing
to be given up to death for us, in order (as man) to gain the victory for us
over death and over him who had the power of death. By man came death; by man,
resurrection. Glorious victory! complete triumph! We come out of the state
where sin and its consequences fully reached us. Evil cannot enter the place
into which we are brought out. We have crossed the frontiers for ever. Sin, the
power of the enemy, remains outside this new creation, which is the fruit of
the power of God after evil had come in, and which the responsibility of man
shall not mar. It is God who maintains it in connection with Himself: it
depends on Him.
There are two great principles established here: by man,
death; by man, the resurrection of the dead; Adam and Christ as heads of two
families. In Adam all die; in Christ all shall be made alive. But here there is
an all-important development in connection with the position of Christ in the
counsels of God. One side of this truth is the dependence of the family, so to
call it, upon its head. Adam brought death into the midst of his
descendants-those who are in relation with himself. This is the principle which
characterises the history of the first Adam. Christ, in whom is life, brings
life into the midst of those who are His-communicates it to them. This
principle characterises the second Adam, and those who are His in Him. But it
is life in the power of resurrection, without which it could not have been
communicated to them. The grain of wheat would have been perfect in itself, but
would have remained alone. But He died for their sins, and now He imparts life
to them, all their sins being forgiven them.
Now, in the resurrection, there is an order according to
the wisdom of God for the accomplishment of His counsels-Christ, the
first-fruits; those who are Christ's, at His coming again. Thus those who are
in Christ are quickened according to the power of the life which is in Christ;
it is the resurrection of life. But this is not the whole extent of
resurrection as acquired by Christ, in gaining the victory over death according
to the Spirit of holiness. The Father has given Him power over all flesh, that
He should give eternal life to as many as the Father had given Him. The latter
are those of whom this chapter treats essentially, because its subject is
resurrection among Christians; and the apostle, the Spirit Himself, loves to
speak on the subject of the power of eternal life in Christ. Yet he cannot
entirely omit the other part of the truth. The resurrection of the dead, he
tells us, is come by man. But he is not here speaking of the communication of
life in Christ. In connection with this last and nearer part of his subject, he
does not touch upon the resurrection of the wicked; but after the coming of
Christ he introduces the end, when He shall have given up the kingdom to the
Father. With the kingdom is introduced the power of Christ exercised over all
things-a different thought entirely from the communication of life to His own.
There are three steps therefore in these events: first,
the resurrection of Christ; then, the resurrection of those who are His, at His
coming; afterwards, the end, when He shall have given up the kingdom to the
Father. The first and the second are the accomplishment in resurrection of the
power of life in Christ and in His people. When He comes, He takes the kingdom;
He takes His great power and acts as king. From His coming then to the end is
the development of His power, in order to subdue all things to Himself; during
which all power and all authority shall be abolished. For He must reign till
all His enemies are under His feet; the last subdued will be death. Here then,
as the effect of His power only, and not in connection with the communication
of life, we find the resurrection of those who are not His; for the destruction
of death is their resurrection. They are passed over in silence: only that
death, such as we see it, has no longer dominion over them. Christ has the
right and the power, in virtue of His resurrection and of His having glorified
the Father, to destroy the dominion of death over them, and to raise them up
again. This will be the resurrection of judgment. Its effect is declared
elsewhere.
When He has put all His enemies under His feet, and has
given back the kingdom to His Father (for it is never taken from Him, nor given
to another, as happens with human kingdoms), then the Son Himself is subject to
Him who has put all things under Him, in order that God may be all in all. The
reader should observe, that it is the counsels of God with regard to the
government of all things which is here spoken of, and not His nature; and moreover
it is the Son, as man, of whom these things are said. This is not an arbitrary
explanation: the passage is from Psalm 8, the subject of which is the
exaltation of man to the position of head of all things, God putting all things
under His feet. Nothing, says the apostle, is excepted (Heb. 2:8) save, as he
adds here, that He is necessarily excepted who put all things under Him. When
the man Christ, the Son of God, has in fact accomplished this subjugation, He
gives back to God the universal power which had been committed to Him, and the
mediatorial kingdom, which He held as man, ceases. He is again subject, as He
was on earth. He does not cease to be one with the Father, even as He was so
while living in humiliation on the earth, although saying at the same time
"Before Abraham was, I am." But the mediatorial government of man has
disappeared-is absorbed in the supremacy of God, to which there is no longer
any opposition. Christ will take His eternal place, a Man, the Head of the
whole redeemed family, being at the same time God blessed for ever, one with
the Father. In Psalm 2 we see the Son of God, as born on earth, King in Zion,
rejected when He presented Himself on earth; in Psalm 8 the result of His
rejection, exalted as Son of man at the head of all that the hand of God has
made. Then we find Him here laying down this conferred authority, and resuming
the normal position of humanity, namely, that of subjection to Him who has put
all things under Him; but through it all, never changing His divine nature,
nor-save so far as exchanging humiliation for glory-His human nature either.
But God is now all in all, and the special government of man in the Person of
Jesus-a government withwhich the assembly is associated (see Eph. 1:20-23,
which is a quotation from the same Psalm)-is merged in the immutable supremacy
of God, the final and normal relationship of God with His creature. We shall
find the Lamb omitted in that which is said in Revelation 21:1-8, speaking of
this same period.
Thus we find in this passage resurrection by man-death
having entered by man; the relationship of the saints with Jesus, the source
and the power of life, the consequence being His resurrection, and theirs at
His coming; power over all things committed to Christ, the risen Man; afterwards
the kingdom given back to God the Father, the tabernacle of God with men, and
the man Christ, the second Adam, eternally a man subject to the Supreme-this
last a truth of infinite value to us (the resurrection of the wicked, though
supposed in the resurrection brought in by Christ, not being the direct subject
of the chapter). The reader must now remark that this passage is a revelation,
in which the Spirit of God, having fixed the apostle's thoughts upon Jesus and
the resurrection, suddenly interrupts the line of his argument, announcing-with
that impulse which the thought of Christ always gave to the mind and heart of
the apostle-all the ways of God in Christ with regard to the resurrection, to
the connection of those that are His with Him in that resurrection, and the
government and dominion which belong to Him as risen, as well as the eternal
nature of His relationship, as man, to God. Having communicated these thoughts
of God, which were revealed to him, he resumes the thread of his argument in verse
29. This part ends with verse 34, after which he treats the question, which
they had brought forward as a difficulty-in what manner should the dead be
raised?
By taking the verses 20-28 (which contain so important a
revelation in a passage that is complete in itself) as a parenthesis, the
verses 29-34 become much more intelligible, and some expressions, which have
greatly harassed interpreters, have a tolerably determined sense. The apostle
had said, in verse 16, "If the dead rise not," and then, that if such
were the case, those who had fallen asleep in Jesus had perished, and that the
living were of all men most miserable. At verse 28 he returns to these points,
and speaks of those who are baptised for the dead, in connection with the
assertion, that if there were no resurrection those who had fallen asleep in
Christ had perished; "if," he says, repeating more forcibly the
expression in verse 16, "the dead rise not at all"; and then shews
how entirely he is himself in the second case he had spoken of, "of all
men most miserable," and almost in the case of perishing also, being every
moment in danger, striving as with wild beasts, dying daily. Baptised, then,
for the dead is to become a Christian with the view fixed on those who have
fallen asleep in Christ, and particularly as being slain for Him, taking one's
portion with the dead, yea, with the dead Christ; it is the very meaning of
baptism (Rom. 6). How senseless if they do not rise! As in 1 Thessalonians 4,
the subject, while speaking of all Christians, is looked at in the same way.
The word translated "for" is frequently used in these epistles for
"in view of," "with reference to."
We have seen that verses 20-28 form a parenthesis. Verse
29 then is connected with verse 18. Verses 30-32 relate to verse 19. The
historical explanations of these last verses is found in the second epistle
(see chap. 1:8, 9; 4:8-12). I do not think that verse 32 should be taken
literally. The word translated "I have fought with beasts" is usually
employed in a figurative sense, to be in conflict with fierce and implacable
enemies. In consequence of the violence of the Ephesians he had nearly lost his
life, and even despaired of saving it; but God had delivered him. But to what
purpose all these sufferings, if the dead rise not? And observe here, that
although the resurrection proves that death does not touch the soul (compare
Luke 20:38), yet the apostle does not think of immortality,(18) apart from
resurrection. God has to do so, with man? and man is composed of body and of soul.
He gives account in the judgment of the things done in the body. It is when
raised from the dead that he will do so. The intimate union between the two,
quite distinct as they are, forms the spring of life, the seat of
responsibility, the means of God's government with regard to His creatures, and
the sphere in which His dealings are displayed. Death dissolves this union; and
although the soul survives, and is happy or miserable, the existence of the
complete man is suspended, the judgment of God is not applied, the believer is
not yet clothed with glory. Thus to deny the resurrection, was to deny the true
relationship of God with man, and to make death the end of man, destroying man
as God contemplates him, and making him perish like a beast. Compare the Lord's
argument in that passage in Luke of which I have already quoted one verse.
Alas! the denial of the resurrection was linked with the
desire to unbridle the senses. Satan introduced it into the heart of Christians
through their communication with persons with whom the Spirit of Christ would
have had no communion.
They needed to have their conscience exercised, to be
awakened, in order that righteousness might have its place there. It is the
lack of that which is commonly the true source of heresies. They failed in the
knowledge of God. It was to the shame of these Christians. God grant us to take
heed to it! It is the great matter even in questions of doctrine.
But further, the inquisitive spirit of man would fain be
satisfied with respect to the physical mode of the resurrection. The apostle
did not gratify it, while rebuking the stupid folly of those who had occasion
every day to see analogous things in the creation that surrounded them. Fruit
of the power of God, the raised body would be, according to the good pleasure
of Him who gave it anew for the glorious abode of the soul, a body of honour,
which, having passed through death, would assume that glorious condition which
God had prepared for it-a body suited to the creature that possessed it, but according
to the supreme will of Him who clothed the creature with it. There were
different kinds of bodies; and as wheat was not the bare grain that had been
sown, although a plant of its nature and not another, so should it be with the
raised man. Different also were the glories of heavenly and earthly bodies:
star differed from star in glory. I do not think that this passage refers to
degrees of glory in heaven, but to the fact that God distributes glory as He
pleases. Heavenly glory and earthly glory are however plainly put in contrast,
for there will be an earthly glory.
And observe here, that it is not merely the fact of the
resurrection which is set forth in this passage, but also its character. For
the saints it will be a resurrection to heavenly glory. Their portion will be
bodies incorruptible, glorious, vessels of power, spiritual. This body, sown as
the grain of wheat for corruption, shall put on glory and incorruptibility. [2] It is only the saints that are here spoken
of-"they also that are heavenly," and in connection with Christ, the
second Adam. The apostle had said that the first body was "natural."
Its life was that of the living soul; as to the body it partook of that kind of
life which the other animals possessed-whatever might be its superiority as to
its relationship with God, in that God Himself had breathed into his nostrils
the spirit of life, so that man was thus in a special way in relationship with
God (of His race, as the apostle said at Athens). "Adam, the son of
God," said the Holy Ghost in Luke-made in the image of God. His conduct
should have answered to it, and God had revealed Himself to him in order to
place him morally in the position that was suitable to this breath of life
which he had received. He had become-free as he was from death by the power of
God who sustained him, or mortal by the sentence of Him who had formed him-a
living soul. There was not the quickening power in himself. The first Adam was
simply a man-"the first man Adam."
The word of God does not express itself thus with regard
to Christ, when speaking of Him in this passage as the last Adam. He could not
be the last Adam without being a man; but it does not say "the last man was
a quickening Spirit," but the "last Adam"; and when it speaks of
Him as the second Man, adds that He was "from heaven." Christ had not
only life as a living soul, He had the power of life, which could impart life
to others. Although He was a man on earth, He had life in Himself; accordingly
He quickened whom He would. Nevertheless it is as the last Adam, the second
Man, the Christ, that the word here speaks of Him. It is not only that God
quickens whom He will, but the last Adam, Christ, the Head, spiritually, of the
new race, has this power in Himself: and therefore it is said-for it is always
Jesus on earth who is in question-"He hath given to the Son to have life
in himself." Of us it is said, "God hath given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son: he who hath the Son hath life, and he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life." Howbeit that which is of the Spirit is
not that which was first, but that which is natural, that is, that which has
the natural life of the soul. That which is spiritual, which has its life from
the power of the Spirit, comes after. The first man is of the earth-has his
origin, such as he is (God having breathed into his nostrils a spirit or breath
of life), from the earth. Therefore he is of the dust, even as God said,
"Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." The last Adam,
though He was as truly man as the first, is from heaven.
As belonging to the first Adam, we inherit his condition,
we are as he is: as participating in the life of the second, we have part in
the glory which He possesses as Man, we are as He is, we exist according to His
mode of being, His life being ours. Now the consequence here is that, as we
have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly. Observe here, that the first Adam and the last, or second Man,
respectively, are looked at as in that condition into which they entered when
their respective trials under responsibility had ended; and those who are
connected with the one and the other inherit the condition and the consequences
of the work of the one and the other, as thus tested. It is the fallen Adam who
is the father of a race born after his image-a fallen and guilty race, sinful
and mortal. He had failed, and committed sin, and lost his position before God,
was far from Him, when he became the father of the human race. If the corn of
wheat falling into the ground does not die, it bears no fruit; if it die, it
bears much fruit. Christ had glorified God, made expiation for sin, and was
raised in righteousness; had overcome death and destroyed the power of Satan,
before He became, as a quickening Spirit, the Head of a spiritual race, [3] to whom-united to Himself-He communicates
all the privileges that belong to the position beforeGod which He has acquired,
according to the power of that life by which He quickens them. It is a risen
and glorified Christ whose image we shall bear, as we now bear the image of a
fallen Adam. Flesh and blood, not merely sin, cannot enter the kingdom of
heaven. Corruption (for such we are) cannot inherit that which is
incorruptible. This leads the apostle to a positive revelation of that which
will take place with regard to the enjoyment of incorruptibility by all the
saints. Death is conquered. It is not necessary that death should come upon
all, still less that all should undergo actual corruption; but it is not
possible for flesh and blood to inherit the kingdom of glory. But we shall not
all sleep; there are some who will be changed without dying. The dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we (for redemption being accomplished and Christ
ready to judge the quick and the dead, the apostle always looked at it as a
thing immediately before his eyes, ready to take place any moment) shall be
changed (a change equivalent to resurrection); for that which is corruptible,
if not already in dust and corruption, shall put on incorruptibility; that
which is mortal, immortality. We see that this relates to the body; it is in
his body that man is mortal, even when he has eternal life, and shall live by
Christ and with Christ. The power of God will form the saints whether living or
dead for the inheritance of glory.
Take especial notice of what has just been said. Death is
entirely conquered-annulled in its power-for the Christian. He possesses a life
(Christ risen), which sets him above death, not perhaps physically, but
morally. It has lost all its power over his soul, as the fruit of sin and
judgment. It is so entirely conquered, that there are some who will not die at
all. All Christians have Christ for their life. If He is absent, and if He does
not return-as will be the case as long as He sits on His Father's throne, and
our life is hid with Him in God-we undergo death physically according to the
sentence of God; that is to say, the soul is separated from the mortal body.
When He shall return and exercise His power, having risen up from the Father's
throne to take His people to Himself before He exercises judgment, death has no
power at all over them: they do not pass through it. That the others are raised
from the dead is a proof of power altogether divine, and more glorious even
than that which created man from the dust. That the living are changed proves a
perfection of accomplished redemption, and a power of life in Christ which had
left no trace, no remains, of the judgment of God as to them, nor of the power
of the enemy, nor of the thraldom of man to the consequences of his sin. In
place of all that, is an exercise of divine power, which manifests itself in
the absolute, complete, and eternal deliverance of the poor guilty creature who
before was under it-a deliverance that has its perfect manifestation in the
glory of Christ, for He had subjected Himself in grace to the condition of man
under death for sin; so that to faith it is always certain, and accomplished in
His Person. But the resurrection of the dead and the change of the living will
be its actual accomplishment for all who are His, at His coming. What a
glorious deliverance is that which is wrought by the resurrection of Christ,
who-sin entirely blotted out, righteousness divinely glorified and made good,
Satan's power destroyed-transports us by virtue of an eternal redemption, and
by the power of a life which has abolished death, into an entirely new sphere,
where evil cannot come, nor any of its consequences, and where the favour of
God in glory shines upon us perfectly and for ever! It is that which Christ has
won for us according to the eternal love of God our Father, who gave Him to us
to be our Saviour.
At an unexpected moment we shall enter into this scene,
ordained by the Father, prepared by Jesus. The power of God will accomplish
this change in an instant: the dead shall rise, we shall be changed. The last
trumpet is but a military allusion, as it appears to me, when the whole troop
wait for the last signal to set out all together.
In the quotation from Isaiah 25:8 we have a remarkable
application of scripture. Here it is only the fact that death is thus swallowed
up in victory, for which the passage is quoted; but the comparison with Isaiah
shews us that it will be, not at the end of the world, but at a period when, by
the establishment of the kingdom of God in Zion, the veil, under which the
heathen have dwelt in ignorance and darkness, shall be taken off their face.
The whole earth shall be enlightened, I do not say at the moment, but at the
period. But this certainty of the destruction of death procures us a present
confidence, although death still exists. Death has lost its sting, the grave
its victory. All is changed by the grace which, at the end, will bring in this
triumph. But meantime, by revealing to us the favour of God who bestows it, and
the accomplishment of the redemption which is its basis, it has completely
changed the character of death. Death, to the believer who must pass through
it, is only leaving that which is mortal; it no longer bears the terror of
God's judgment, nor that of the power of Satan. Christ has gone into it and
borne it and taken it away totally and for ever. Nor that only,-He has taken
its source away. It was sin which sharpened and envenomed that sting. It was
the law which, presenting to the conscience exact righteousness, and the
judgment of God which required the accomplishment of that law, and pronounced a
curse on those who failed in it,-it was the law which gave sin its force to the
conscience, and made death doubly formidable. But Christ was made sin, and bore
the curse of the law, being made a curse for His own who were under the law;
and thus, while glorifying God perfectly with regard to sin, and to the law in
its most absolute requirements, He has completely delivered us from the one and
the other, and, at the same time, from the power of death, out of which He came
victorious. All that death can do to us is to take us out of the scene in which
it exercises its power, to bring us into that in which it has none. God, the
Author of these counsels of grace, in whom is the power that accomplishes them,
has given us this deliverance by Jesus Christ our Lord. Instead of fearing
death, we render thanks to Him who has given us the victory by Jesus. The great
result is to be with Jesus and like Jesus, and to see Him as He is. Meanwhile
we labour in the scene where death exercises its power-where Satan uses it, if
God allows him, to stop us in our way. We labour although there are
difficulties, with entire confidence, knowing what will be the infallible
result. The path may be beset by the enemy; the end will be the fruit of the
counsels and the power of our God, exercised on our behalf according to that
which we have seen in Jesus, who is the Head and the manifestation of the glory
which His own shall enjoy.
To sum up what has been said, we see the two things in
Christ: firstly, power over all things, death included; He raises up even the
wicked: and secondly, the association of His own with Himself. With reference
therefore to the latter, the apostle directs our eyes to the resurrection of
Christ Himself. He not only raises up others, but He has been raised up Himself
from the dead. He is the first-fruits of them that sleep. But before His
resurrection He died for our sins. All that separated us from God is entirely
put away-death, the wrath of God, the power of Satan, sin, disappear, as far as
we are concerned, in virtue of the work of Christ; and He is made to us that
righteousness which is our title to heavenly glory. Nothing remains of that
which appertained to His former human estate, except the everlasting favour of
God who brought Him there. Thus it is a resurrection from among the dead by the
power of God in virtue of that favour, because He was the delight of God, and
in His exaltation His righteousness is accomplished.
For us it is a resurrection founded on redemption, and
which we enjoy even now in thepower of a life, which brings the effect and the
strength of both into our hearts, enlightened by the Holy Ghost who is given to
us. At the coming of Christ the accomplishment will take place in fact for our
bodies.
With regard to practice, the assembly at Corinth was in a
very poor condition; and being asleep as to righteousness, the enemy sought to
lead them astray as to faith also. Nevertheless, as a body, they kept the
foundation; and as to external spiritual power, it shone very brightly.
[1]
Christ could say, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it
up," for He who dwells in the temple is God. It is also said that He was
raised up by the Spirit, and at the same time by the glory of the Father. But
here He is viewed as man who has undergone death; and God intervenes, that He
may not remain in it, because here the object is, not to shew forth the glory
of the Lord's Person, but to prove our resurrection, since He, a dead man, has
been raised. By man came death; by man, resurrection. While demonstrating that
He was the Lord from heaven, the apostle always speaks here of the Man Christ.
[2] It
is a striking collateral proof of the completeness of our redemption, and the
impossibility of our coming into judgment, that we are raised in glory. We are
glorified before we arrive before the judgment seat. Christ will have come and
changed our vile body and fashioned it like His glorious body.
[3] It
is not that as Son of God He could not quicken at all times, as indeed He did.
But in order to our partaking with Him, all this was needed and accomplished,
and here He is looked at as Himself risen from the dead, the heavenly Man. Thus
also it is founded in divine righteousness.
── John Darby《Synopsis of 1 Corinthians》
1 Corinthians 15
Chapter Contents
The apostle proves the resurrection of Christ from the
dead. (1-11) Those answered who deny the resurrection of the body. (12-19) The
resurrection of believers to eternal life. (20-34) Objections against it
answered. (35-50) The mystery of the change that will be made on those living
at Christ's second coming. (51-54) The believer's triumph over death and the
grave, An exhortation to diligence. (55-58)
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
(Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11)
The word resurrection, usually points out our existence
beyond the grave. Of the apostle's doctrine not a trace can be found in all the
teaching of philosophers. The doctrine of Christ's death and resurrection, is
the foundation of Christianity. Remove this, and all our hopes for eternity
sink at once. And it is by holding this truth firm, that Christians stand in
the day of trial, and are kept faithful to God. We believe in vain, unless we
keep in the faith of the gospel. This truth is confirmed by Old Testament
prophecies; and many saw Christ after he was risen. This apostle was highly
favoured, but he always had a low opinion of himself, and expressed it. When
sinners are, by Divine grace, turned into saints, God causes the remembrance of
former sins to make them humble, diligent, and faithful. He ascribes to Divine
grace all that was valuable in him. True believers, though not ignorant of what
the Lord has done for, in, and by them, yet when they look at their whole
conduct and their obligations, they are led to feel that none are so worthless
as they are. All true Christians believe that Jesus Christ, and him crucified,
and then risen from the dead, is the sun and substance of Christianity. All the
apostles agreed in this testimony; by this faith they lived, and in this faith
they died.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
(Read 1 Corinthians 15:12-19)
Having shown that Christ was risen, the apostle answers
those who said there would be no resurrection. There had been no justification,
or salvation, if Christ had not risen. And must not faith in Christ be vain,
and of no use, if he is still among the dead? The proof of the resurrection of
the body is the resurrection of our Lord. Even those who died in the faith, had
perished in their sins, if Christ had not risen. All who believe in Christ,
have hope in him, as a Redeemer; hope for redemption and salvation by him; but
if there is no resurrection, or future recompence, their hope in him can only
be as to this life. And they must be in a worse condition than the rest of
mankind, especially at the time, and under the circumstances, in which the
apostles wrote; for then Christians were hated and persecuted by all men. But
it is not so; they, of all men, enjoy solid comforts amidst all their
difficulties and trials, even in the times of the sharpest persecution.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:20-34
(Read 1 Corinthians 15:20-34)
All that are by faith united to Christ, are by his
resurrection assured of their own. As through the sin of the first Adam, all
men became mortal, because all had from him the same sinful nature, so, through
the resurrection of Christ, shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit,
and the spiritual nature, revive, and live for ever. There will be an order in
the resurrection. Christ himself has been the first-fruits; at his coming, his
redeemed people will be raised before others; at the last the wicked will rise
also. Then will be the end of this present state of things. Would we triumph in
that solemn and important season, we must now submit to his rule, accept his
salvation, and live to his glory. Then shall we rejoice in the completion of
his undertaking, that God may receive the whole glory of our salvation, that we
may for ever serve him, and enjoy his favour. What shall those do, who are
baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Perhaps baptism is used
here in a figure, for afflictions, sufferings, and martyrdom, as Matthew 20:22,23. What is, or will become of
those who have suffered many and great injuries, and have even lost their
lives, for this doctrine of the resurrection, if the dead rise not at all?
Whatever the meaning may be, doubtless the apostle's argument was understood by
the Corinthians. And it is as plain to us that Christianity would be a foolish
profession, if it proposed advantage to themselves by their faithfulness to
God; and to have our fruit to holiness, that our end may be everlasting life.
But we must not live like beasts, as we do not die like them. It must be
ignorance of God that leads any to disbelieve the resurrection and future life.
Those who own a God and a providence, and observe how unequal things are in the
present life, how frequently the best men fare worst, cannot doubt as to an
after-state, where every thing will be set to rights. Let us not be joined with
ungodly men; but warn all around us, especially children and young persons, to
shun them as a pestilence. Let us awake to righteousness, and not sin.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:35-50
(Read 1 Corinthians 15:35-50)
1. How are the dead raised up? that is, by what means?
How can they be raised? 2. As to the bodies which shall rise. Will it be with
the like shape, and form, and stature, and members, and qualities? The former
objection is that of those who opposed the doctrine, the latter of curious
doubters. To the first the answer is, This was to be brought about by Divine
power; that power which all may see does somewhat like it, year after year, in
the death and revival of the corn. It is foolish to question the Almighty power
of God to raise the dead, when we see it every day quickening and reviving
things that are dead. To the second inquiry; The grain undergoes a great
change; and so will the dead, when they rise and live again. The seed dies,
though a part of it springs into new life, though how it is we cannot fully
understand. The works of creation and providence daily teach us to be humble,
as well as to admire the Creator's wisdom and goodness. There is a great
variety among other bodies, as there is among plants. There is a variety of
glory among heavenly bodies. The bodies of the dead, when they rise, will be fitted
for the heavenly bodies. The bodies of the dead, when they rise, will be fitted
for the heavenly state; and there will be a variety of glories among them.
Burying the dead, is like committing seed to the earth, that it may spring out
of it again. Nothing is more loathsome than a dead body. But believers shall at
the resurrection have bodies, made fit to be for ever united with spirits made
perfect. To God all things are possible. He is the Author and Source of
spiritual life and holiness, unto all his people, by the supply of his Holy
Spirit to the soul; and he will also quicken and change the body by his Spirit.
The dead in Christ shall not only rise, but shall rise thus gloriously changed.
The bodies of the saints, when they rise again, will be changed. They will be
then glorious and spiritual bodies, fitted to the heavenly world and state,
where they are ever afterwards to dwell. The human body in its present form,
and with its wants and weaknesses, cannot enter or enjoy the kingdom of God.
Then let us not sow to the flesh, of which we can only reap corruption. And the
body follows the state of the soul. He, therefore, who neglects the life of the
soul, casts away his present good; he who refuses to live to God, squanders all
he has.
Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15:51-58
(Read 1 Corinthians 15:51-58)
All the saints should not die, but all would be changed.
In the gospel, many truths, before hidden in mystery, are made known. Death
never shall appear in the regions to which our Lord will bear his risen saints.
Therefore let us seek the full assurance of faith and hope, that in the midst
of pain, and in the prospect of death, we may think calmly on the horrors of
the tomb; assured that our bodies will there sleep, and in the mean time our
souls will be present with the Redeemer. Sin gives death all its hurtful power.
The sting of death is sin; but Christ, by dying, has taken out this sting; he
has made atonement for sin, he has obtained remission of it. The strength of
sin is the law. None can answer its demands, endure its curse, or do away his
own transgressions. Hence terror and anguish. And hence death is terrible to
the unbelieving and the impenitent. Death may seize a believer, but it cannot
hold him in its power. How many springs of joy to the saints, and of
thanksgiving to God, are opened by the death and resurrection, the sufferings
and conquests of the Redeemer! In verse 58, we have an exhortation, that believers
should be stedfast, firm in the faith of that gospel which the apostle
preached, and they received. Also, to be unmovable in their hope and
expectation of this great privilege, of being raised incorruptible and
immortal. And to abound in the work of the Lord, always doing the Lord's
service, and obeying the Lord's commands. May Christ give us faith, and
increase our faith, that we may not only be safe, but joyful and triumphant.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Corinthians》
1 Corinthians 15
Verse 2
[2] By
which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless
ye have believed in vain.
Ye are saved, if ye hold fast — Your salvation is begun, and will be perfected, if ye continue in the
faith.
Unless ye have believed in vain — Unless indeed your faith was only a delusion.
Verse 3
[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;
I received —
From Christ himself. It was not a fiction of my own. Isaiah 53:8,9.
Verse 4
[4] And
that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures:
According to the scriptures — He proves it first from scripture, then from the testimony of a cloud of
witnesses. Psalms 16:10.
Verse 5
[5] And
that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
By the twelve —
This was their standing appellation; but their full number was not then
present.
Verse 6
[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.
Above five hundred —
Probably in Galilee. A glorious and incontestable proof! The greater part
remain - Alive.
Verse 7
[7]
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
Then by all the apostles — The twelve were mentioned 1 Corinthians 15:5. This title here, therefore,
seems to include the seventy; if not all those, likewise, whom God afterwards
sent to plant the gospel in heathen nations.
Verse 8
[8] And
last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
An untimely birth — It
was impossible to abase himself more than he does by this single appellation.
As an abortion is not worthy the name of a man, so he affirms himself to be not
worthy the name of an apostle.
Verse 9
[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.
I persecuted the church — True believers are humbled all their lives, even for the sins they
committed before they believed.
Verse 10
[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.
I laboured more than they all — That is, more than any of them, from a deep sense of the peculiar love
God had shown me. Yet, to speak more properly, it is not I, but the grace of
God that is with me - This it is which at first qualified me for the work, and
still excites me to zeal and diligence in it.
Verse 11
[11]
Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
Whether I or they, so we preach — All of us speak the same thing.
Verse 12
[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?
How say some —
Who probably had been heathen philosophers.
Verse 13
[13] But
if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
If there be no resurrection — If it be a thing flatly impossible.
Verse 14
[14] And
if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also
vain.
Then is our preaching — From a commission supposed to be given after the resurrection.
Vain —
Without any real foundation.
Verse 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.
If the dead rise not — If the very notion of a resurrection be, as they say, absurd and
impossible.
Verse 17
[17] And
if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
Ye are still in your sins — That is, under the guilt of them. So that there needed something more
than reformation, (which was plainly wrought,) in order to their being
delivered from the guilt of sin even that atonement, the sufficiency of which
God attested by raising our great Surety from the grave.
Verse 18
[18] Then
they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
They who sleep in Christ — Who have died for him, or believing in him.
Are perished —
Have lost their life and being together.
Verse 19
[19] If
in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
If in this life only we have hope — If we look for nothing beyond the grave. But if we have a divine
evidence of things not seen, if we have "a hope full of immortality,"
if we now taste of "the powers of the world to come," and see
"the crown that fadeth not away," then, notwithstanding" all our
present trials, we are more happy than all men.
Verse 20
[20] But
now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that
slept.
But now —
St. Paul declares that Christians "have hope," not "in this life
only." His proof of the resurrection lies in a narrow compass, 1 Corinthians 15:12-19. Almost all the rest of
the chapter is taken up in illustrating, vindicating, and applying it. The
proof is short, but solid and convincing, that which arose from Christ's resurrection.
Now this not only proved a resurrection possible, but, as it proved him to be a
divine teacher, proved the certainty of a general resurrection, which he so
expressly taught.
The first fruit of them that slept — The earnest, pledge, and insurance of their resurrection who slept in
him: even of all the righteous. It is of the resurrection of these, and these
only, that the apostle speaks throughout the chapter.
Verse 22
[22] For
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
As through Adam all, even the righteous, die,
so through Christ all these shall be made alive - He does not say, "shall
revive," (as naturally as they die,) but shall be made alive, by a power
not their own.
Verse 23
[23] But
every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are
Christ's at his coming.
Afterward —
The whole harvest. At the same time the wicked shall rise also. But they are
not here taken into the account.
Verse 24
[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.
Then —
After the resurrection and the general judgment.
Cometh the end — Of
the world; the grand period of all those wonderful scenes that have appeared
for so many succeeding generations. When he shall have delivered up the kingdom
to the Father, and he (the Father) shall have abolished all adverse rule,
authority, and power - Not that the Father will then begin to reign without the
Son, nor will the Son then cease to reign. For the divine reign both of the
Father and Son is from everlasting to everlasting. But this is spoken of the
Son's mediatorial kingdom, which will then be delivered up, and of the
immediate kingdom or reign of the Father, which will then commence. Till then
the Son transacts the business which the Father hath given him, for those who
are his, and by them as well as by the angels, with the Father, and against
their enemies. So far as the Father gave the kingdom to the Son, the Son shall deliver
it up to the Father, John 13:3. Nor does the Father cease to reign,
when he gives it to the Son; neither the Son, when he delivers it to the
Father: but the glory which he had before the world began, John 17:5; Hebrews 1:8, will remain even after this is
delivered up. Nor will he cease to be a king even in his human nature, Luke 1:33. If the citizens of the new
Jerusalem" shall reign for ever," Revelation 22:5, how much more shall he?
Verse 25
[25] For
he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
He must reign —
Because so it is written.
Till he —
the Father hath put all his enemies under his feet. Psalms 110:1.
Verse 26
[26] The
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
The last enemy that is destroyed is death — Namely, after Satan, Hebrews 2:14, and sin, 1 Corinthians 15:56, are destroyed. In the same
order they prevailed. Satan brought in sin, and sin brought forth death. And
Christ, when he of old engaged with these enemies, first conquered Satan, then
sin, in his death; and, lastly, death, in his resurrection. In the same order
he delivers all the faithful from them, yea, and destroys these enemies
themselves. Death he so destroys that it shall be no more; sin and Satan, so
that they shall no more hurt his people.
Verse 27
[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.
Under him —
Under the Son. Psalms 8:6,7
Verse 28
[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.
The Son also shall be subject — Shall deliver up the mediatorial kingdom. That the three-one God may be
all in all - All things, (consequently all persons,) without any interruption,
without the intervention of any creature, without the opposition of any enemy,
shall be subordinate to God. All shall say, "My God, and my all."
This is the end. Even an inspired apostle can see nothing beyond this.
Verse 29
[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?
Who are baptized for the dead — Perhaps baptized in hope of blessings to be received after they are
numbered with the dead. Or, "baptized in the room of the dead"-Of
them that are just fallen in the cause of Christ: like soldiers who advance in
the room of their companions that fell just before their face.
Verse 30
[30] And
why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
Why are we —
The apostles.
Also in danger every hour — It is plain we can expect no amends in this life.
Verse 31
[31] I
protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
I protest by your rejoicing, which I have — Which love makes my own.
I die daily — I
am daily in the very jaws of death. Beside that I live, as it were, in a daily
martyrdom.
Verse 32
[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.
If to speak after the manner of men - That
is, to use a proverbial phrase, expressive of the most imminent danger I have
fought with wild beasts at Ephesus - With the savage fury of a lawless
multitude, Acts 19:29, etc. This seems to have been but
just before.
Let as eat, … — We
might, on that supposition, as well say, with the Epicureans, Let us make the
best of this short life, seeing we have no other portion.
Verse 33
[33] Be
not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
Be not deceived — By
such pernicious counsels as this.
Evil communications corrupt good manners — He opposes to the Epicurean saying, a well - known verse of the poet
Menander. Evil communications - Discourse contrary to faith, hope, or love,
naturally tends to destroy all holiness.
Verse 34
[34]
Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I
speak this to your shame.
Awake — An
exclamation full of apostolical majesty. Shake off your lethargy! To
righteousness - Which flows from the true knowledge of God, and implies that
your whole soul be broad awake.
And sin not —
That is, and ye will not sin Sin supposes drowsiness of soul. There is need to
press this. For some among you have not the knowledge of God - With all their
boasted knowledge, they are totally ignorant of what it most concerns them to
know.
I speak this to your shame — For nothing is more shameful, than sleepy ignorance of God, and of the
word and works of God; in these especially, considering the advantages they had
enjoyed.
Verse 35
[35] But
some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
But some one possibly will say, How are the
dead raised up, after their whole frame is dissolved? And with what kind of
bodies do they come again, after these are mouldered into dust?
Verse 36
[36] Thou
fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
To the inquiry concerning the manner of
rising, and the quality of the bodies that rise, the Apostle answers first by a
similitude, 1 Corinthians 15:36-42, and then plainly and
directly, 1 Corinthians 15:42,43. That which thou sowest,
is not quickened into new life and verdure, except it die - Undergo a
dissolution of its parts, a change analogous to death. Thus St. Paul inverts
the objection; as if he had said, Death is so far from hindering life, that it
necessarily goes before it.
Verse 37
[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:
Thou sowest not the body that shall be — Produced from the seed committed to the ground, but a bare, naked grain,
widely different from that which will afterward rise out of the earth.
Verse 38
[38] But
God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
But God —
Not thou, O man, not the grain itself, giveth it a body as it hath pleased him,
from the time he distinguished the various Species of beings; and to each of
the seeds, not only of the fruits, but animals also, (to which the Apostle
rises in the following verse,) its own body; not only peculiar to that species,
but proper to that individual, and arising out of the substance of that very grain.
Verse 39
[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.
All flesh — As
if he had said, Even earthy bodies differ from earthy, and heavenly bodies from
heavenly. What wonder then, if heavenly bodies differ from earthy? or the
bodies which rise from those that lay in the grave?
Verse 40
[40]
There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the
celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There are also heavenly bodies — As the sun, moon, and stars; and there are earthy - as vegetables and
animals. But the brightest lustre which the latter can have is widely different
from that of the former.
Verse 41
[41]
There 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.
Yea, and the heavenly bodies themselves
differ from each other.
Verse 42
[42] So
also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption:
So also is the resurrection of the dead — So great is the difference between the body which fell, and that which
rises.
It is sown — A
beautiful word; committed, as seed, to the ground.
In corruption —
Just ready to putrefy, and, by various degrees of corruption and decay, to
return to the dust from whence it came.
It is raised in incorruption — Utterly incapable of either dissolution or decay.
Verse 43
[43] It
is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is
raised in power:
It is sown in dishonour — Shocking to those who loved it best, human nature in disgrace! It is
raised in glory - Clothed with robes of light, fit for those whom the King of
heaven delights to honour.
It is sown in weakness — Deprived even of that feeble strength which it once enjoyed.
It is raised in power — Endued with vigour, strength, and activity, such as we cannot now
conceive.
Verse 44
[44] It
is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body,
and there is a spiritual body.
It is sown in this world a merely animal body
- Maintained by food, sleep, and air, like the bodies of brutes: but it is
raised of a more refined contexture, needing none of these animal refreshments,
and endued with qualities of a spiritual nature, like the angels of God.
Verse 45
[45] And
so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was
made a quickening spirit.
The first Adam was made a living soul — God gave him such life as other animals enjoy: but the last Adam,
Christ, is a quickening spirit - As he hath life in himself, so he quickeneth
whom he will; giving a more refined life to their very bodies at the
resurrection. Genesis 2:7
Verse 47
[47] The
first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
The first man was from the earth, earthy; the
second man is the Lord from heaven-The first man, being from the earth, is
subject to corruption and dissolution, like the earth from which he came.
The second man —
St. Paul could not so well say, "Is from heaven, heavenly:" because,
though man owes it to the earth that he is earthy, yet the Lord does not owe
his glory to heaven. He himself made the heavens, and by descending from thence
showed himself to us as the Lord. Christ was not the second man in order of
time; but in this respect, that as Adam was a public person, who acted in the
stead of all mankind, so was Christ. As Adam was the first general
representative of men, Christ was the second and the last. And what they
severally did, terminated not in themselves, but affected all whom they
represented.
Verse 48
[48] As
is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly.
They that are earthy — Who continue without any higher principle.
They that are heavenly — Who receive a divine principle from heaven.
Verse 49
[49] And
as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
heavenly.
The image of the heavenly — Holiness and glory.
Verse 50
[50] Now
this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
But first we must be entirely changed; for
such flesh and blood as we are clothed with now, cannot enter into that kingdom
which is wholly spiritual: neither doth this corruptible body inherit that
incorruptible kingdom.
Verse 51
[51]
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed,
A mystery — A
truth hitherto unknown; and not yet fully known to any of the sons of men.
We — Christians. The
Apostle considers them all as one, in their succeeding generations.
Shall not all die —
Suffer a separation of soul and body.
But we shall all —
Who do not die, be changed - So that this animal body shall become spiritual.
Verse 52
[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.
In a moment —
Amazing work of omnipotence! And cannot the same power now change us into
saints in a moment? The trumpet shall sound - To awaken all that sleep in the
dust of the earth.
Verse 54
[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.
Death is swallowed up in victory — That is, totally conquered, abolished for ever.
Verse 55
[55] O
death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting? — Which once was full of hellish poison. O hades, the receptacle of
separate souls, where is thy victory - Thou art now robbed of all thy spoils;
all thy captives are set at liberty. Hades literally means the invisible world,
and relates to the soul; death, to the body. The Greek words are found in the
Septuagint translation of Hosea 13:14. Isaiah 25:8
Verse 56
[56] The
sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
The sting of death is sin — Without which it could have no power. But this sting none can resist by
his own strength.
And the strength of sin is the law — As is largely declared, Romans 7:7, etc.
Verse 57
[57] But
thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
But thanks be to God, who hath given us the
victory — Over sin, death, and hades.
Verse 58
[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.
Be ye steadfast — In
yourselves.
Unmovable — By
others; continually increasing in the work of faith and labour of love.
Knowing your labour is not in vain in the
Lord — Whatever ye do for his sake shall have its
full reward in that day. Let us also endeavour, by cultivating holiness in all
its branches, to maintain this hope in its full energy; longing for that
glorious day, when, in the utmost extent of the expression, death shall be
swallowed up for ever, and millions of voices, after the long silence of the grave,
shall burst out at once into that triumphant song, O death, where is thy sting?
O hades, where is thy victory?
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1
Corinthians》
1 Cor.
15:58
A goose will sit faithfully on a dozen
or so eggs and will not move for anybody or anything. But, after three or four
eggs hatch, she becomes so preoccupied with them that she walks away from the
remaining eggs. She does not persevere to the end.
In this passage, Paul reminds the
Corinthians not to become so preoccupied with nonessentials that they are in
danger of not remaining steadfast and immovable in the work of the Lord.
Chapter 15. The Belief in Resurrection
Labor in the
Lord
Not In Vain
I. The
Assurance of the Resurrection of Christ
II. The Error
of Disbelieving Resurrection
III. Raised in
Glory in the Future
── Chih-Hsin Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》
Chapter Fifteen General Review OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THIS CHAPTER
1) To see how the resurrection of Jesus is the basis of our faith 2) To determine why we believe that Jesus was indeed raised from the dead 3) To notice the sequence of events which will occur at the end of time as presented in this chapter 4) To understand what is revealed about our own future resurrection from the dead SUMMARY
In this chapter Paul deals with problems the Corinthians were having concerning the resurrection of the dead. Evidently there were teachers at Corinth false doctrine by reminding them of the gospel which they received and which proclaimed the resurrection of Jesus from the dead (1-11). He then proceeds to verify the resurrection with several different lines of argumentation (12-34). The last half of the chapter is devoted to answering anticipated questions concerning how the dead will be raised and with what body will they come (35-58). OUTLINE
I. THE RESURRECTION: PROCLAIMED IN THE GOSPEL (1-11)
A. THE GOSPEL IN RELATION TO THE CORINTHIANS (1-2) 1. Paul proclaimed it and they received it (1) 2. By it they are saved, if they hold fast to it (2) B. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GOSPEL (3-8) 1. Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (3) 2. He was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (4) 3. He was seen by many eyewitnesses (5-7) 4. He was seen by Paul himself, who by the grace of God was able to preach the gospel (8-10) 5. Such was the gospel preached, and the Corinthians had believed it (11) II. THE RESURRECTION: VERIFIED BY THE APOSTLE PAUL (12-34)
A. CONSEQUENCES IF THERE IS NO RESURRECTION (12-19) 1. Christ is not risen from the dead (12-13) 2. The apostles' preaching and the Corinthians' faith is vain (14) 3. The apostles are false witnesses (15-16) 4. They are still in their sins (17) 5. Those who have died in Christ have perished (18) 6. Those who hope in Christ are the most pitiable of all men (19) B. CHRIST'S RESURRECTION AND OUR RESURRECTION (20-28) 1. Christ is the "firstfruits" (20) 2. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be made alive (21-22) 3. A brief description as to when this will occur (23-28) a. At the coming of Christ (23) b. This will be the end, when Christ delivers the kingdom to God (24-28) 1) When He has put an end to all rule, authority and power (24) 2) For Christ must reign till God has put all enemies under His feet (25) 3) The last enemy being death itself (26) 4) When all is made subject to Christ, the Son will also be subject to Him Who put all things under Him (27-28) C. ADDITIONAL ARGUMENTS FOR THE RESURRECTION, WITH A WARNING(29-34)
1. Why are some being baptized for the dead if there is no resurrection? (29) 2. Why do the apostles and others suffer harsh persecution if there is no resurrection? (30-32) 3. Beware of evil influence and those who do not have the knowledge of God (33-34) III. THE RESURRECTION: DESCRIBED BY PAUL (35-58)
A. IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: "WITH WHAT BODY DO THEY COME?"(35-49)
1. It will be different from the one sown, just as the plant is different from the seed (35-38) 2. Illustrations of the different types of bodies in the physical world (39-41) 3. Thus the resurrected body will be different from the physical body, though it is the same as the one sown (42-49) a. The weak, dishonorable, corruptible body will be raised in incorruption, glory and power (42-43) b. The natural body, patterned after the first Adam, will be raised a spiritual body patterned after the Last Adam (44-46) c. Those who have borne the image of the man of dust from the earth, will one day bear the image of the Man of heaven (47-49) B. IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: "HOW ARE THE DEAD RAISED UP" (50-58) 1. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God corruption inherit incorruption (50) 2. The mystery of the resurrection as revealed by Paul (51-57) a. All shall be changed, whether dead or alive (51) b. It will occur in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (52) c. The corruptible, mortal man will put on incorruption and immortality, and we will be victorious over death through Jesus Christ our Lord (53-57) 3. A final exhortation to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord (58) REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER
1) List the main points of this chapter
- The Resurrection: Proclaimed In The Gospel (1-11) - The Resurrection: Verified By Paul (12-34) - The Resurrection: Described By Paul (35-58) 2) What are some of the key elements of the gospel? (1-8)
- Christ died for our sins - Christ was buried and raised the third day - Christ was seen by eyewitnesses 3) What type of proof is offered for the resurrection of Jesus? (5-8)
- Eyewitness testimony by numerous witnesses 4) If Christ was not raised from the dead, what would it mean? (14-19)
- The preaching of the apostles and our faith is vain - The apostles are false witnesses - We are still in our sins - Those who died in Christ have perished - We who hope in Christ are to be pitied 5) What will happen when Christ comes again? (23-26, 51-53)
- The resurrection from the dead - The kingdom delivered to God the Father 6) What does Paul refer to when he speaks of "baptism for the dead"?(29)
- Of the many different explanations that have been offered, the one making most sense to me is that Paul is speaking of the inconsistency of those who deny the resurrection while at the same time practicing a form of "vicarious baptism". Notice that Paul refers to "they" who were doing this, not "we" (i.e., the apostles). Paul in this passage is neither openly condemning or justifying the practice. He simply uses the practice of others to demonstrate the inconsistency of such practice when denying the resurrection of the dead. Whether we should practice such a rite as "baptism for the dead" today must be determined from passages elsewhere. All we find elsewhere concerning baptism is that it requires faith and repentance of the one being baptized. This would preclude the practice of "vicarious baptism."
－－《Executable
Outlines》
The Belief
in Resurrection
Labor
in the Lord
Not
in Vain
I.
The
Assurance of the Resurrection of Christ
1.
Contents
of the Gospel
2.
The
Appearance of the Lord
3.
Paul
Testifies
II.The Error of Disbelieving
Resurrection
1.
Six
Questions
2.
The
Firstfruits
3.
The
Order of Resurrection
III.
Raised
in Glory in the Future
1.
Not
the Same Body
2.
Transformation
of the Body
3.
Glorious
Victory
－－ Chih-Hsin
Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》