In 1 Corinthians 15:1-58, Paul addressed some serious misconceptions in the church surrounding the future state of the dead. Perhaps it was due to proto-Gnostic influences or Greco-Roman Platonic worldview that dismissed the physical existence as a prison to be escaped from. Some Corinthians may have spiritualized the resurrection as simply the immortality or transmigration of the soul. It could also be caused by an over-realized eschatology that mistook the resurrection as something that had already taken place (2 Timothy 2:17- 18).
In that context, the apostle began by reminding them the kerygmatic message, which he had received and passed on “as of first importance” (verse 3). The thematic affirmations of Christ’s death for our sins, his burial, resurrection on the third day and appearances to the disciples are integral to the gospel, by which the church is saved and the foundation upon which she stands. The Corinthian community accepted and believed this apostolic tradition from the very beginning. Having set the stage, Paul brought their shared belief in the resurrection of Christ to bear upon two related doctrinal confusions regarding whether the dead shall be raised at all (verse 12 – 32) and the nature of the resurrected body (verse 35 – 56).
In a series of rhetorical questions and reductio ad absurdum arguments, Paul pushed their denial of a general resurrection to its absurd or undesired logical conclusions. If the dead are indeed not raised, then Christ has not been raised either (verse 16). If that is so, then the faith, which they had received and which Paul had testified in the past, is futile. There is no future hope beyond the grave if our sins remain unforgiven (verse 17 -18). If the dead are not raised, we may as well live in meaningless pursuit for merely temporal pleasures like ‘eating and drinking’ (verse 32).
But since Christ is indeed risen as they have already affirmed in the gospel, the decisive inbreaking of the Kingdom has begun in the present world. Like the firstfruits that herald an imminent harvest, the historical resurrection of Christ is a precursor of our future resurrection from the grave and points forward to the consummation of God’s reign over all things and ultimate defeat of all oppressive dominions and powers, including death itself (verse 23 – 26). What God had done in power for Christ on Easter morning, He would also do for the renewal of the entire creation when He returns. The resurrection of the dead is the future culmination of heaven-on-earth eschatology, a detached otherworldly state no matter how blissful.
After that, Paul turned his attention to questions probably asked by his opponents, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” Contrary to Bultmann, resurrection language is not used for just a spiritual extension of life in heaven while the body is still laid decaying in the grave. The embodied existence, which involved a concrete and physical body, will be redeemed. Using the analogy of a seed, the apostle pointed out that unless it first “dies” i.e. sown into the ground, a potential plant would not come to life (verse 37). Of course, there is continuity between the wheat in the form of a grain and in the form of a plant. The same body that is sown in dishonor will also be also raised in glory by the life-giving power of God (verse 43). However, Paul also stressed a radical discontinuity as our existing perishable and natural bodies will be transformed into an imperishable, spiritual body. We should not confuse the spiritual body (soma pneumatikos) with a non-physical entity found in ancient or modern dualism. A similar contrast is found in 1 Corinthians 2:14 – 15 between a ‘soulish’ or psychical person who does not receive the things of the spirit and the spiritual (pneumatikos) person who discerns everything. It does not mean some persons (spiritual or otherwise) do not possess material bodies! The issue was whether these living persons are “living at the level of life common to all human kind” or “indwelt, guided and made wise by the creator’s Spirit”. Therefore, a ‘spiritual body’ does not refer to its composition but to a body animated or moved by the Spirit.
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By drawing on the creation account in Genesis, Paul is contrasting the earthly world-order represented by Adam as a living psyche (combination of body and soul) with the heavenly new creation inaugurated by the resurrected Christ, the last Adam, who became a life-giving spirit. The phrase “life-giving spirit” does not exclude a resurrection body since the risen Christ could be seen and touched. As Fee convincingly explained, “the transformed body is not composed of ‘spirit’; it is a body adapted to the eschatological existence that is under the ultimate domination of the Spirit”. Again, we see the significance of the bodily resurrection at cosmic, eschatological proportions. In the likeness of Adam, we all share in his common humanity. As such we are subject to death and decay. In order to inherit the kingdom, this “flesh and blood” mode of existence must be animated with the life-giving power of the Spirit and put on immortality. The new creation has already been set in motion at the resurrection of Christ, who serves as a prototype for “those who are of heaven” (verse 48). It would be a fulfillment of God’s good creation, not an abandonment of the physical body. Through the agency of the last Adam, our perishable bodies would be made imperishable and alive again as a new kind of humanity bearing His likeness (verse 22).
Finally, Paul’s theological discourse climaxes with triumphant praise and worship. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 56 – 57). The teachings on resurrection do not issue in a wistful passive waiting for otherworldly escapism but for fresh impetus to stand firm and be devoted to the work of the Lord in the present world (verse 58).
In that context, the apostle began by reminding them the kerygmatic message, which he had received and passed on “as of first importance” (verse 3). The thematic affirmations of Christ’s death for our sins, his burial, resurrection on the third day and appearances to the disciples are integral to the gospel, by which the church is saved and the foundation upon which she stands. The Corinthian community accepted and believed this apostolic tradition from the very beginning. Having set the stage, Paul brought their shared belief in the resurrection of Christ to bear upon two related doctrinal confusions regarding whether the dead shall be raised at all (verse 12 – 32) and the nature of the resurrected body (verse 35 – 56).
In a series of rhetorical questions and reductio ad absurdum arguments, Paul pushed their denial of a general resurrection to its absurd or undesired logical conclusions. If the dead are indeed not raised, then Christ has not been raised either (verse 16). If that is so, then the faith, which they had received and which Paul had testified in the past, is futile. There is no future hope beyond the grave if our sins remain unforgiven (verse 17 -18). If the dead are not raised, we may as well live in meaningless pursuit for merely temporal pleasures like ‘eating and drinking’ (verse 32).
But since Christ is indeed risen as they have already affirmed in the gospel, the decisive inbreaking of the Kingdom has begun in the present world. Like the firstfruits that herald an imminent harvest, the historical resurrection of Christ is a precursor of our future resurrection from the grave and points forward to the consummation of God’s reign over all things and ultimate defeat of all oppressive dominions and powers, including death itself (verse 23 – 26). What God had done in power for Christ on Easter morning, He would also do for the renewal of the entire creation when He returns. The resurrection of the dead is the future culmination of heaven-on-earth eschatology, a detached otherworldly state no matter how blissful. After that, Paul turned his attention to questions probably asked by his opponents, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” Contrary to Bultmann, resurrection language is not used for just a spiritual extension of life in heaven while the body is still laid decaying in the grave. The embodied existence, which involved a concrete and physical body, will be redeemed. Using the analogy of a seed, the apostle pointed out that unless it first “dies” i.e. sown into the ground, a potential plant would not come to life (verse 37). Of course, there is continuity between the wheat in the form of a grain and in the form of a plant. The same body that is sown in dishonor will also be also raised in glory by the life-giving power of God (verse 43). However, Paul also stressed a radical discontinuity as our existing perishable and natural bodies will be transformed into an imperishable, spiritual body. We should not confuse the spiritual body (soma pneumatikos) with a non-physical entity found in ancient or modern dualism. A similar contrast is found in 1 Corinthians 2:14 – 15 between a ‘soulish’ or psychical person who does not receive the things of the spirit and the spiritual (pneumatikos) person who discerns everything. It does not mean some persons (spiritual or otherwise) do not possess material bodies! The issue was whether these living persons are “living at the level of life common to all human kind” or “indwelt, guided and made wise by the creator’s Spirit”. Therefore, a ‘spiritual body’ does not refer to its composition but to a body animated or moved by the Spirit.
Text
By drawing on the creation account in Genesis, Paul is contrasting the earthly world-order represented by Adam as a living psyche (combination of body and soul) with the heavenly new creation inaugurated by the resurrected Christ, the last Adam, who became a life-giving spirit. The phrase “life-giving spirit” does not exclude a resurrection body since the risen Christ could be seen and touched. As Fee convincingly explained, “the transformed body is not composed of ‘spirit’; it is a body adapted to the eschatological existence that is under the ultimate domination of the Spirit”. Again, we see the significance of the bodily resurrection at cosmic, eschatological proportions. In the likeness of Adam, we all share in his common humanity. As such we are subject to death and decay. In order to inherit the kingdom, this “flesh and blood” mode of existence must be animated with the life-giving power of the Spirit and put on immortality. The new creation has already been set in motion at the resurrection of Christ, who serves as a prototype for “those who are of heaven” (verse 48). It would be a fulfillment of God’s good creation, not an abandonment of the physical body. Through the agency of the last Adam, our perishable bodies would be made imperishable and alive again as a new kind of humanity bearing His likeness (verse 22). Finally, Paul’s theological discourse climaxes with triumphant praise and worship. “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 56 – 57). The teachings on resurrection do not issue in a wistful passive waiting for otherworldly escapism but for fresh impetus to stand firm and be devoted to the work of the Lord in the present world (verse 58).
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