1 Corinthians - Chapter 15

This chapter is the fullest discussion of the resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament. It is one of the most significant chapters in the Bible giving meaning to human life. Without the resurrection, the mystery of our existence would be an unsolved riddle, leaving nothing but the emptiness and blackness of eternal despair. But the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the one most important and best established fact in all history. The story has come down to us through the centuries, and as we study this chapter, you will see why it is such an established fact.

Now, brothers and sisters, 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.

Paul is saying not to let go of your belief in the gospel, hold firmly to it, and faithfully follow Jesus, to retain your salvation.

³For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: 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 Cephas [or Peter], and then to the Twelve. ⁶After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.

The crucifixion of the Messiah was foretold by early scriptures, and Christ’s death happened exactly as it was prophesied. The resurrection of Jesus was witnessed by many including Peter and the disciples. Then Jesus appeared to a crowd of 500 people at one time. At the writing of this letter, many of those 500 were still living since it had only been about 27 years since it had happened. A crowd of 500 people could not have all imagined the same thing at the same time, so it must have been a real occurrence. 

Verse 4:  “…he was raised on the third day…”  The Jews counted parts of days as whole days, so the three days would include part of Friday afternoon, all of Saturday, and Sunday morning.

There have been many theories through the years to explain away Christ’s resurrection, but all of them fall short of disproving it in light of the evidence. There will always be people who say Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, but the resurrection is an historical fact, witnessed by over 520 people. The Gospel books list more witnesses than are listed here.

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.

The resurrected body of Jesus was also seen by His brother, James, and all of the apostles. James did not believe Jesus was the Messiah until he saw his brother raised from the dead. Then he became a believer, ultimately a leader of the church in Jerusalem, and provided us with the book of James.

Last of all, Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, which was several years after Christ’s death. When Paul says he was as one abnormally born, he means he was a special case. He was not a follower of Jesus as were the other apostles. Paul’s life changed because of his encounter with Jesus. Before that day, Paul, then known as Saul, was a persecutor of Christians. But once he saw Jesus raised from the dead, he could deny him no longer and became an apostle and the author of the majority of our New Testament books.

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.

Although Paul knew he had worked hard and accomplished a lot, he was humble. He knew it was only due to God’s grace and kindness that he was able to achieve all he had done. Paul was not being boastful when he said he had worked harder than all the rest, but was acknowledging he had to make up for his past transgressions as a persecutor of Christians. He had a much more difficult time convincing people of his belief in the gospel since they knew of his past.

¹¹Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 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?

This verse indicates there were false teachers within the church in Corinth who were saying Christ was not raised from the dead. Most Greeks did not believe bodies would be resurrected after death. They believed it was something that happened only to the soul. They believed the soul was imprisoned in a physical body and was only released through death. Since the church in Corinth was in the heart of Greek culture, many believers had a difficult time letting go of this belief to grasp the idea that our body and soul will be united after our resurrection.

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.

Paul points out to the Corinthian church, if Christ did not conquer death, there is no basis for the existence of Christianity or the Church. The resurrection is the center of the Christian faith. Christ rose from the dead as He promised, so we know He is God as He said. Because He rose, we have certainty our sins are forgiven and He lives and represents us to God. We also know, because He rose and defeated death, we also will be raised.

¹⁹If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 

In Paul’s day, there were few benefits for being a Christian in that society. It brought persecution, ostracism from family, and in many cases, poverty. It certainly was not a step up the social ladder. But even more important, if Christ did not conquer death, Christians could not be forgiven for sins and would have no hope of eternal life.

²⁰But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

“Firstfruits” were the first, and best, part of the harvest. Jesus was indeed the first to be raised from the grave and enter heaven.

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.

Death entered the world because of Adam’s sin:

Romans 5:12 – “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned —“

Thus Christ had to become a man in order to overcome death and bring salvation to mankind.

Romans 5:17-21 – “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! ¹⁸Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. ¹⁹For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. ²⁰The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, ²¹so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

²³But each in 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.” 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.

Here Paul gives us a glimpse into the future, when Christ’s job as our mediator is finished and the universe enters its final stage. Jesus was given a job to do by His Father, which is to defeat all evil on earth. First He defeated sin and death on the cross, and in the final days, He will defeat Satan and all evil.

Verse 27 comes from Psalm 8:6. “Everything under His feet” is an Old Testament term meaning complete conquest.

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?

Being baptized for an unbaptized loved one who has passed is something some other faiths still practice today. However, this is the only time it is mentioned in the scriptures. Paul’s point is that this practice certainly affirms a belief in resurrection.

³⁰And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? ³¹I face death every day —yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³²If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

Here Paul quotes Isaiah 22:13 to make his point. If there is no resurrection, why were they endangering themselves by preaching the gospel? If death ended it all, they may as well enjoy the moment, for that would be all that matters.

³³Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Paul quotes the poet, Menander, from the Greek comedy, “Thais.” Paul is warning them to not keep company with those who were preaching against the resurrection. We cannot allow our relationships with nonbelievers lead us away from Christ or cause our faith to waver.

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 is accusing them of sinning by doubting the resurrection of Christ. He says this is a shameful situation for them to listen to others who are ignorant of God.

³⁵But someone will 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.

This is among my favorite passages of the Bible because it explains the process of our change from mortal to immortal. Paul explains, when we sow seeds, they grow into plants, which are an improvement upon the original seed. When we “plant” our earthly bodies, God will produce a new unblemished body of like kind.  

³⁹Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.

Some believe animals don’t go to heaven. I’m not so sure because this verse seems to say God will raise each “planted” body according to the type of flesh it was on earth. As we read on, notice verse 44.

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.

“IF there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” Animals have natural bodies, so why wouldn’t his verse hold true for them? I’m not saying animals DO go to heaven, but it is something to think about. If any of you knows of a verse specifically referring to whether animals go to heaven or not, please let me know. This has always been a question in my mind.

But back to Paul’s message:  Our resurrected bodies will be different in some ways, but not all, from our earthly bodies. We will be recognizable in our new spiritual body, yet it will be better than we can imagine. It will be made to live forever. We will have our own personalities and individualities, but we will be without sickness or disease. Our present bodies are perishable and prone to decay. Our new bodies will not be weak, will never get sick, will never die, and will not be limited by the laws of nature, making them more capable than our earthly bodies. We cannot know exactly what this means, but it definitely sounds like something to look forward to.

⁴⁵So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving 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 is of heaven. ⁴⁸As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

In verse 45, Paul quotes Genesis 2:7.

“The first man” was Adam, the first earthly man. We were all made in the same fashion, from the dust of the earth, the same as Adam.

“The heavenly man,” or “the last Adam,” was Jesus, the life-giving spirit. Just as Jesus was given a heavenly body, so will we.

Our hope is not merely immortality of the spirit, but actual resurrection of the body. New Testament teaching is very plain on this. We will not have the same corrupt earthly bodies we have now, but more complete and perfected spiritual bodies.

⁵⁰I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

This verse makes it clear we will not enter heaven until we have received our perfected body. However, the following verses explain how that happens in a “twinkling of an eye.”

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.”

In this last line, Paul quotes from Isaiah 25:8.

“We will not all sleep” means the Christians who are alive when Christ returns to gather His people will be transformed into their imperishable bodies without experiencing death. 

⁵⁵“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

This is a quote from Hosea 13:14.  

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.

Satan seemed to be victorious in the Garden of Eden and at the cross of Jesus. But God turned Satan’s victory into defeat when Jesus rose from the dead. Death is no longer a source of dread or fear. Death has been defeated giving us hope beyond the grave.

⁵⁸Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, 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.

Because of the resurrection, our work for the Lord is not in vain. Sometimes we hesitate to do things we know we should because we don’t see any results. We need to keep a heavenly perspective, realizing we often will not see the good that comes from our efforts. We must allow God to use us by continuing to do those things we know are right. His wisdom reaches beyond our limited awareness. Do the good you have opportunity to do knowing your work will have eternal results.