1 Corinthians 15

1 Corinthians 15:1-19 (The reality of the resurrection)

(15:1-2) “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.”

“Believed in vain” relates to the Corinthian rejection of the bodily resurrection. Paul uses similar language in verses 12-19 to describe how a Christian worldview without the resurrection results in “vain” preaching and a “vain” faith (1 Cor. 15:14). He goes on to describe such a faith as “worthless” (1 Cor. 15:17). Paul’s solution? Hold fast to the entirety of the gospel message—namely, Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.

(15:3) “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.”

“First importance.” The gospel message is the most important issue in the Christian faith. Paul’s language doesn’t refer to the order of speech (e.g. “this is the first thing I need to say…”). Instead, “first importance” refers to the primacy of this doctrine (i.e. “this is the most important of all…”).[]

(15:4) “And that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”

“On the third day.” The problem here is that we don’t have anything in the OT that refers to the Messiah being raised on the third day specifically.[] One way to solve this difficulty is to argue that the phrase “according to the Scriptures” might only modify “He was raised,” rather than the prepositional phrase “on the third day.”

(15:5) “And that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

Paul was “to demonstrate a chain of eyewitness testimony culminating with his own experience of the risen Lord.”[]So, he lists roughly 515 people who were eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus. He begins with Peter, using his Aramaic name “Cephas.” This adds to the case that this is an early Christian statement of faith, because the Aramaic usage was typically older than the Greek.

“The twelve” was a technical expression used to signify Jesus’ apostles. In fact, Mark uses this more than anyone else, and he wrote earliest (Mt. 26:14, 46; Mk. 3:16; 4:10; 6:7; 9:35; 10:32; 11:11; 14:10, 17, 20, 43; Lk. 8:1; 9:1; 9:12; 18:31; 22:3, 47; Jn. 6:67, 70-71; 20:24; Acts 6:2).

(15:6) “After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep.”

Paul wouldn’t bring up these 500 witnesses unless he was confident that this event actually happened. Morris[] and Taylor[] speculate that this event coincides with Jesus’ appearance in Matthew 28. This was also a large group, where some still doubted (Mt. 28:17).

(15:7) “Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

James didn’t believe that his brother (Jesus) was the divine Messiah (Jn. 7:5). But after this encounter, we discover that James had a life-changing experience (see “Introduction to James”).

(15:8) “And last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.”

Paul states that he was “untimely born” (ektromati), which can refer to a “miscarriage” or “abortion.”[] This is quite graphic language to show that Paul felt like he missed out on experiencing following Jesus on Earth. Perhaps Paul’s enemies (in Corinth?) tried to use this against him.[] If they did, Paul didn’t deny it. Instead, he called himself the “least of the apostles.” This imagery shows Paul’s utter dependence on the grace of God, as does the context (vv.9-10). Thus, Taylor comments, “The simplest contextual explanation is that Paul employs the metaphor of the stillborn child in order to highlight the grace and the power of God. As an unbeliever and persecutor of the church, Paul was in a deplorable condition of spiritual death. The image of a stillborn child is an especially powerful image in an argument for resurrection.”[]

(15:9-10) “For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

“For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am.” Even those Paul didn’t come to Christ at the same time as the other apostles, he doesn’t complain about this. While he shares about his background and past sins, he doesn’t linger on this. Instead, he focuses on God’s grace toward him. Many believers dwell on the past. They focus on their family upbringing, their sins, their problems… Paul made the conscious choice to focus on the grace of God instead.

“I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” Paul frankly and openly spoke about his hard work under grace. Indeed, he did work hard, but he gave God the credit for empowering him. To discount God’s work in our lives is to discount God himself.

(15:11) “Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.”

The Corinthians split apart into factions, focusing on their various celebrity leaders (“I am of Paul,” “I of Apollos,” “I of Cephas,” 1 Cor. 1:12). Paul doesn’t focus on who gets the “credit.” Instead, he focuses on the fact that God reached these people.

(15:12-19) “Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁴ and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. ¹⁵ Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁷ and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then a number of consequences necessarily follow: preaching is pointless (v.14), faith is pointless (v.14), the apostles are false witnesses (v.15), they are working against God (v.15), we are still guilty before God (v.17), dead believers are in hell (v.18), and Christians should be pitied (v.19).

To be clear, the debate in Corinth was not over whether Jesus rose from the dead. Paul assumes that they believed this in order to make his case for the general resurrection of the dead. To repeat, the debate in Corinth centered on whether believers will rise from the dead. The Corinthians probably had a hard time believing in the general resurrection of the dead, because neo-Platonic philosophy despised this doctrine. Paul argues that if Jesus rose, then so will we. Since they affirmed Jesus’ resurrection, then they should affirm the reality that we will experience resurrection as well.

Questions for Reflection

Would people look at your life and think you’re a fool for your investment in the cause of Christ? Would they “pity” you, as Paul writes in verses 12-19?

Some critical theologians deny that Jesus rose physically and bodily from the dead. According to verses 12-19, is it possible to be a Christian if you deny the resurrection?

After reading Paul’s words above, what is your reaction to these statements below?

Henry N. Wieman: “After the crucifixion came the resurrection. The resurrection was an experience the disciples had three days after the terrible shock of Jesus’ death on the cross. It took that long for the numbness of the shock to wear away so that they could again respond to one another and to the past in the way that they had done in the living fellowship with Jesus. So vivid and so powerful was this recovery of the kind of interchange with one another that they had had when Jesus was alive with them that it produced the feeling of his actual presence with them in bodily form. Many have had this experience after the death of someone deeply involved in their lives. Either they had this psychological illusion, which would be very natural, or, what is more likely, when they tried to tell of their experience the only way they could tell it was in words that led others to think they were speaking of the bodily presence. This would be most likely to happen after the story had passed through many mouths in an age that believed bodies rose from the dead.”[]

Rudolf Bultmann: “The church had to surmount the scandal of the cross and did it in the Easter faith (i.e. the belief in Jesus’ bodily resurrection). How this act of decision took place in detail, how the Easter faith arose in individual disciples, has been obscured in the tradition (i.e. the gospel accounts) by legend and is not of basic importance.”[]

1 Corinthians 15:20-58 (The theology of our resurrection is explained)

(15:20) “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.”

The “first fruits” refers to the offering that the Israelites gave to God when the harvest began (Lev. 23:10-11, 17, 20). When they gave God this offering, they were showing that they believed the rest of the harvest would come about. Paul draws on this OT concept to show that if Jesus was raised, then this implies that we will be raised as well. As Morris writes, “First fruits imply later fruits.”[] We’ve been burying “seeds” in the ground for millennia, but now, One of them has risen! This implies that the other (i.e. Christians) will rise as well.

(15:21) “For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.”

Paul saw that Adam was a type of Christ (cf. Rom. 5:12-15). A type is similar to a “prototype” in engineering or “foreshadowing” in literature. This is an earlier picture that points to a later and greater reality.

(15:22) “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”

Universalists argue that this passage implies that “all” will be saved. But look closely: Paul specifies that this only for those who are “in Christ” (v.22) and to “those who are Christ’s” (v.23). All people will be raised, but some will be raised for judgment. We were born into Adam, but we need to be reborn through Christ.

(15:23-26) “But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, ²⁴ then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”

Scholars debate how these passages should be understood regarding views of eschatology. In our estimation, these verses support Premillennialism (see Endless Hope or Hopeless End, pp.133-134).

Paul specifies the resurrection of different GROUPS. He writes that Christ will bring people to life “each in his own order” (1 Cor. 15:23). The term “order” (tagmata) is “a clearly defined group” or “a stage in a sequence” (BDAG, p.987). If Paul believed that everyone would be raised all at once (as Amillennialism teaches), then this statement would carry no meaning.

Paul specifies the resurrection at different TIMES. Throughout this section, he uses the term “then” (eita) to distinguish the separate events that will occur. Just as a large gap of time occurred between Jesus’ resurrection (“Christ the first fruits”) and his Second Coming (“after that those who are Christ’s at His coming”), so there will also be a gap between his Second Coming and the New Heavens and Earth (“then comes the end”).[]

Death came for Christ, but Christ will come back for death.

(15:27) “For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, ‘All things are put in subjection,’ it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.”

God the Father is not subject to God the Son. This verse avoids “ending with two rival deities and two kingdoms.”[] Instead, this shows that the members of the Trinity work together beautifully and dynamically. In fact, Paul alludes to Psalm 110:1 and Psalm 8:6 to show that the OT predicted the ruling and reigning of Christ. Moreover, earlier Paul mentioned our death “in Adam.” Here, he cites these two psalms “to emphasize that what was lost in Adam is regained in Christ and fulfills God’s intention for humanity.”[]

(15:28) “When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”

Jesus will “hand over the kingdom to the God and Father” (v.24). This is what is meant by Jesus “subjecting” himself to God. That is, God the Father gave Jesus the kingdom, and Jesus will give the kingdom back to the Father. This is complete and ultimate humility on Christ’s behalf (Phil. 2:5-11).

The expression “all in all” refers to all the glory going to God (cf. Rom. 11:36), God being “pervasively sovereign,”[] or “an affirmation of the absolute lordship of God over all creation and human life in particular.”[] God is already sovereign over creation. In eternity, however, this loving sovereignty will be fully displayed and exercised. It could refer to the “summing up of all things in Christ” (Eph. 1:10).

#1. If there is no resurrection, then why do people baptize the dead?

(15:29) “Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?”

#2. If there is no resurrection, then why would we suffer for Christ?

(15:30) “Why are we also in danger every hour?”

Paul continues to build his case for the resurrection by appealing to his own personal suffering (1 Cor. 16:8-9; 2 Cor. 11:22ff). If he won’t be raised, why endure persecution like this?

(15:31) “I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.”

This is an idiom that might be loosely understood as, “I swear by all that I hold dear.”[]

(15:32a) “If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me?”

Some argue that this could refer to literal beasts. After all, Paul referred to nearly dying in Asia (which included Ephesus) in 2 Corinthians 1:8. Later, he refers to being “rescued out of the lion’s mouth” at the end of his life (2 Tim. 4:16).

However, we agree with Morris,[] Johnson,[] Taylor,[] and Blomberg[] that this statement about fighting lions is metaphorical. Paul was a Roman citizen, and he wouldn’t have been made to fight the lions in the gladiatorial games. Moreover, Ignatius used this expression in AD 105 to refer to fighting with Roman soldiers (Epistle to the Romans, 5:1). Morris cites many other examples of sages who used this expression in a non-literal way.[] Thus, he concludes, “Paul is surely employing this metaphorical use.”

On the other hand, Paul was well acquainted with giving up his rights as a Roman citizen in order to further the cause of Christ (e.g. suffering a beating and imprisonment in Philippi, Acts 16). Moreover, sometimes Romans (like Acilius Glabrio) were commanded to fight in the arena.[]

Some commentators relate this incident to the riot in Acts 19:23ff. But this doesn’t fit Paul’s language because Gaius and Aristarchus were being attacked (Acts 19:29), not Paul (Acts 19:30). In the end, we are simply not sure if Paul was speaking literally or metaphorically. Regardless, Paul was writing seriously! He faced severe trials at the hands of his enemies: either literal lions or simply some other form of persecution.

#3. If there is no resurrection, then how is that working out in your practical lives?

(15:32b) “If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

This is likely a citation of Isaiah 22:13. However, Sardanapallus (the founder of the city of Tarsus) had these words on his tombstone:

Eat, drink, and play, because all things else are not worth this.… Well aware that you are by nature mortal, magnifying the desire of your heart, delighting yourselves in merriments, there is no enjoyment for you after death. For I too am dust, though I have reigned over Ninus. Mine are all the food I have eaten, and my loose indulgences, and the delights of love that I have enjoyed; but those numerous blessings have been left behind. This to mortal man is wise advice on how to live (Cited in Strabo, 4 BC).[]

Johnson comments, “This is close to the advice given by the modern hedonist Hugh Hefner in his Playboy philosophy of life!”[] Additionally, Paul may have mentioned “eating” and “drinking” because this was something central to the problems in Corinth (1 Cor 10:21-22; 11:20-22).

(15:33) “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.’”

Paul cites a fourth century BC comic-playwright named Menander. This comes from his comedy Thais. In the context of the play, Menander is referring to “sexual companionship.”[] Johnson writes, “When a Roman boy came of age, his father gave him a special robe (toga virilus), and when it was put on he recited the words, ‘I have the right to do anything,’ to show he had entered into his majority. Something of this spirit was apparently at work in those who, adopting the Greek concept of the soul’s eternal separation from the body at death and denying the future bodily resurrection, felt free to pursue whatever they desired and go wherever their desires took them.”[] It’s in this context that Paul tells them, “Do not be deceived.” Our bodies belong to Christ (1 Cor. 6:12-20).

(15:34) “Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.”

“Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning.” Paul uses the word “sober-minded” (eknēpsate) which “originally meant become sober after drunkenness.”[] In the context, these false views of the afterlife led to “sinning.” Theology and practice are closely intertwined in Paul’s mind.

“For some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.” Does this refer to some of the Corinthians themselves, or does it refer to their lifestyle and witness to the outside world? We opt for the latter—not the former. Paul has been quoting non-Christian sources, and he must have these lost people in view.

Objections considered

(15:35) “But someone will say, ‘How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?’”

Many people still raise this objection today. They make an argument (from ignorance!) that God cannot possibly resurrect our bodies, because the molecules have been spread all around the world. This has all the theological depth of the King in “Humpty Dumpty,” but has very little to do with the God of the Bible! God will be able to retrieve, reform, or recreate every molecule in the universe to raise us from the dead. His power is limitless, and his knowledge is infinite. Taylor comments, “Resurrection does not entail the reanimation of dead corpses but rather the transformation of perishable bodies.”[]

Analogy #1. Seeds “die” to become plants

(15:36) “You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; ³⁷ and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.”

Paul uses a botanical analogy to describe our resurrected bodies. In the illustration, the seed needs to be buried and die before it can transform into a massive tree. Furthermore, the tree looks far more glorious than the little seed. Similarly, our resurrection bodies will have continuity with our mortal bodies in their identity (just as a seed is continuous with a tree). However, our resurrected bodies will be far more glorious than our mortal bodies (just as a tree is far more glorious than a tiny seed).

Analogy #2. If God already created with incredible design and diversity, why would we expect any less in the afterlife?

(15:39) “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.”

Just as there are different types of creatures in the natural world, there will be different types of resurrection bodies in the supernatural world (vv.40-42). Blomberg writes, “The world is filled with different kinds of bodies… that God has created. So why should it be thought incredible that he could create still one more kind—a resurrected human body?”[] Or as Johnson writes, “If God is so imaginative in creating bodies in this present creation, how much more can he create a resurrection body that is unimaginably glorious!”[]

(15:40) “There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.”

The “heavenly bodies” do not refer to the stars. The contrast is between heavenly and earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies refer to angels.[]

(15:41) “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.”

God has already made such a beautiful and diverse universe. Paul is encouraging us to wonder what the next universe (i.e. the New Heavens and Earth) will look like.

(15:42-43) “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; ⁴³ it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.”

Paul compares and contrasts the natural body with the supernatural (spiritual) body. Currently, we try to delay death with medicine, or cover up our dying and decay through cosmetics.

(15:44) “It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.”

(15:45) “So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

Paul cites Genesis 2:7. The English translation doesn’t reveal that Paul is again using the term “natural” (psychē) to describe Adam as a “living soul” (psychēn zōsan). Thus, Taylor writes, “Just as the natural body came to all humans through Adam so also Christ became in resurrection a life-giving spirit (pneuma), that is, the source of life to all who are ‘in him.’[] The first Adam received life. The last Adam imparts life. Just as humans have a natural body after the pattern of Adam so also Christ is representative of all who will be raised and given a spiritual body.”[]

Jesus is not the “second Adam,” as we often read. Instead, he is the “last Adam.” There is no more need of a savior now that Jesus has come.

(15:46) “However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.”

Paul could be contradicting teachers like Philo (On the Creation, 134; Allegorical Interpretation, 1.31),[] who taught that God made a spiritual man first, and a natural man second.

(15:47-48) “The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸ As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.”

Jesus will make our bodies like his (cf. Phil. 3:21). When we read the descriptions of Jesus’ resurrected body, this is the archetype for what our resurrected bodies will look like.

(15:49) “Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.”

We know that we received a physical and mortal body from the first Adam. Similarly, we can know that we’ll receive a new and immortal body from the last Adam (Jesus). God breathed life into the first Adam, but the last Adam (Jesus) will breathe life out for us.

(15:50) “Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.”

We can’t enter the New Heavens and Earth the way that we are. We need resurrected bodies.

(15:51) “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.”

In this passage, Paul teaches that some believers will not need to physically die (“not all sleep”). Of course, “sleep” is a biblical euphemism for death (cf. 1 Cor. 15:18; Jn. 11:12-14). When Jesus returns, he will not kill the remaining believers, only to immediately raise them from the dead (!!). Instead, this final generation of Christians will be instantly given immortal and imperishable bodies.

Paul calls this teaching a “mystery” (1 Cor. 15:51). But why? The OT repeatedly taught both the Second Coming (Dan. 7:13-14; Zech. 14:1-5) and the resurrection of the dead (Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; Job 19:25-26; Ps. 22:29). He must be saying that the rescue of the Church is a new teaching—not foreseen in the OT Scriptures.

(15:52) “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

“In a moment” (en atomos) is the root from which we get the term “atom” or “atomic.” It literally means “indivisible” (BDAG, p.149). Hitchcock writes, “Today, we would translate this ‘in an instant,’ ‘in a split second,’ or ‘in a flash.’”[] The rescue of the Church will be instantaneous. While this might be difficult to conceive of, we need to remember that God has supernaturally rescued (or at least transported) many people exactly like this in the past. These would include Enoch (Gen. 5:24), Elijah (2 Kings 2:1, 11), Jesus (Rev. 12:5; Acts 1:9), Philip (Acts 8:39-40), and Paul (2 Cor. 12:2-4).

(15:53-55) “For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?””

God will bring death to an end. When Jesus rescues the Church, we will be raised with imperishable bodies. Paul seems to be alluding to Hosea 13:14.

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Paul is using a “taunt” to speak about death. Indeed, “The rhetorical questions now sneer defiantly at death’s impotence before the power and mercy of God, who wills to forgive sins (1 Cor. 15:3, 17) and to raise the dead.”[]

(15:56) “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”

Paul assumes that the Corinthians would understand his use of “theological shorthand”[] to describe how the law brings about the power of sin. While the beginning of this chapter paralleled Federal Headship from Romans 5, these two verses parallel the transition in Romans 7 and 8. Put simply, the law doesn’t help with spiritual growth, but only brings more power to sin in our lives.

(15:57) “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This closely parallels Paul’s order in Romans 7:24-25.

(15:58) “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Theology has practical implications for the Christian life. If what Paul wrote about the resurrection is true, it has practical consequences. Just compare this verse with Paul’s rant about a world with “no resurrection” in verses 12-19. This is the difference between a life with endless hope, or a life with a hopeless end. If we are working “in the Lord” (i.e. in our new identity), then we can bank on the fact that our work is not in “vain” (cf. 1 Cor. 15:2).

Questions for Reflection

If heaven is so important, why don’t Christians think about the afterlife very often?

Is it escapism to look forward to the afterlife?

Reflecting on Heaven can be abstract. What does it practically look like to focus on Heaven? What might be some key ways to develop this?

Why might discussing these common questions regarding Heaven be important to us as believers? Won’t we just find out when we get there? In other words, how might false or inaccurate views of Heaven negatively affect Christians or non-Christians?

Most Christians would never outright deny the reality of Heaven. But what does it look like to compromise on the eternal perspective?