The Resurrection of the Dead (preaching resource for Epiphany 5, 6 & 7)

This exegesis of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 provides context for the RCL Epistle readings on Epiphany 5, 6 & 7 (2/9, 2/16 & 2/23/25). Insights are drawn from commentary by Warren Wiersbe ("Bible Expository Commentary") and Bruce Winter ("New Bible Commentary").

(via Tim Staples at https://timstaples.com/2019/resurrection-of-the-body/)

Introduction  

The doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is an encouraging core teaching of the Christian faith. Sadly, it was rejected by Greeks who embraced a dualistic philosophy that viewed the body as evil and the spirit (viewed as an immortal soul) as good. Death was thus seen as the release of the spirit/soul from its bodily prison. The idea that God will resurrect people bodily was thus to Greeks both absurd (Acts 17:32) and unwelcome. Despite this Greek viewpoint, Corinthian Christians (most who were Greek) embraced (at least at first) the doctrine of the bodily resurrection. However, by the time Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, their belief had waned (see v. 12b). So in chapter 15, Paul moves to shore it up. He does so by answering four related questions. 

Will the dead be resurrected? 

1Cor. 15:1–20

Paul’s answer to this first question is a resounding, “Yes!”  As proof, he offers three lines of testimony.

1. The testimony of the Gospel (1–2) 

1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Paul begins with general evidence—the testimony of the Gospel. And fundamental to the Gospel message is the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Indeed, his resurrection is the evidence and guarantee of our own. 

The Corinthians had accepted the Gospel as Paul had preached it—including his teaching concerning the bodily resurrection. Jesus had died in a human body and had been raised in the same body—a human body now glorified through resurrection. Indeed, it is Jesus’ human death and resurrection that secures our.s A dead Savior saves no one.   

2. The testimony of the Old Testament (3–5) 

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve…

This second proof supports the first. Jesus’ bodily resurrection was prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures—our Old Testament. Where are those prophecies? Well, first there is the entire OT sacrificial system, which points to Jesus as humanity’s Substitute and Savior. Even more specifically, the OT speaks of Jesus’ resurrection occurring ”on the third day.” Where?  Well, there is the story of Jonah (which Jesus himself referenced in Mat. 12:38–41). And there is the wave sheaf ceremony to which Paul refers (compare 1Cor 15:23 with Lev. 23:9-14). In this ceremony the priest waved before the Lord a sheaf of the first cuttings of Spring harvest. This ceremony occurred on the Sunday following the Passover—the same Sunday when Jesus, resurrected from the dead, walked out of his tomb. There are also other possible OT prophecies of Jesus’ bodily resurrection: Psalm 16:8–11 (see Acts 2:25–28); Psalm 22:22ff (see Heb. 2:12); Isaiah 53:10–12; and Psalm 2:7 (see Acts 13:32–33). 

3. The testimony of eyewitnesses (5–11) 

5 …he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. 9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve 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 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. 11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

The third proof of Jesus’ bodily resurrection (which attests to and guarantees our own) involves these eyewitness accounts. Hundreds saw Jesus alive following his death and burial (see Acts 1:22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32). There were far too many eyewitness accounts to write them off as mass hysteria or hallucination. Paul himself was among the eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus. As an unbeliever, he had been convinced that Jesus was truly dead (and thus, in his eyes, a false Messiah). But then Paul met Jesus who appeared to him bodily, and his entire life and view of Jesus was radically changed. Indeed, Paul’s personal witness to the risen Jesus was very compelling. 

Summary:  These three lines of testimony to Jesus’ bodily resurrection lead Paul to an important conclusion: because Jesus was resurrected bodily from the dead, so shall we be. Here Paul associates Jesus’ resurrection with our own. Note this reasoning in 1Cor. 15:12-20:

12 But 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? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More 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. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Through his incarnation (which continues in his now-glorified, human body), Jesus remains, forever, fully divine and fully human. In his humanity, Jesus is the first person to be resurrected from the dead (before Jesus’ resurrection, others, like Lazarus, were resuscitated but not resurrected—those who are resurrected never die again). So Jesus is the first to be resurrected, and Paul’s conclusion is that many will follow. 

Indeed, Paul calls Jesus the “firstfruits” of a great “harvest” yet to come. As noted above, “firstfruits” refers to the OT wave-sheaf ceremony on the Sunday following the Passover. As the Lamb of God, Jesus was sacrificed for us on the Passover. As the “sheaf” of firstfruits, he arose the third day—the Sunday following Passover. When the priest waved the firstfruits of grain before the Lord that Sunday morning, he was signifying that a larger harvest was yet to come. When Jesus was raised from the dead, it was God’s assurance that all humanity (the larger harvest), in union with Jesus, would be raised bodily as well. Thus death is rightly referred to as “sleep” because it’s temporary. The dead await a future “awakening” in resurrected bodies. 

Paul is making this point out of his understanding that when Jesus (who is one with God and with all humanity) died, all humanity died with him (see 2Cor. 5:14-15). And because Jesus rose, still joined to us in his incarnation, all humanity rose with him—and each person will experience this reality in their own bodily resurrection. For believers, this truth of bodily resurrection is a source of great hope, because we know that when we rise, we will be forever with our Lord in the joy of his new heaven and new earth. Without this hope, the life of a Jesus-follower in this world (Corinth, in particular) can be most pitiable, for indeed, many Christians suffer terribly to follow Jesus. 

Thus we learn that Jesus rose from the dead, and because he did, so shall we. But this raises a second question, to which Paul now turns.

When are the dead resurrected?

1Cor. 15:20–28

Remember what Paul said in v. 20: “Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…” Jesus’ resurrection is conclusive evidence that we too will be resurrected. But when will our resurrection occur?  Paul’s answer has three parts—each with its own distinctive illustration. 

1. Firstfruits (23) 

23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

Again we note that Jesus is the “firstfruits”—the first of a much larger harvest yet to come. Jesus’ resurrection insures ours. But when will ours occur? Paul notes that it will be “each in his own turn”—the resurrection of those who “belong to him” will occur “when he comes”—a reference to Jesus’ bodily return to earth. This raises other questions, but Paul moves us on to a second image related to the issue of timing.

2. Adam (21–23) 

21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn…

Paul saw in Adam a type of Jesus by way of contrast (see also Rom. 5:12–21). The first Adam was made from the earth, but the Last Adam (Christ, 1Cor. 15:45–47) came from heaven. The first Adam disobeyed God and brought sin and death into the lives of “all” humanity. But the Last Adam obeyed the Father and brought righteousness and life to the same “all.”  The same “all” who fell in Adam, are the same “all” who will be made alive in Jesus—“but each in his own turn” (verse 23a).  

Paul is here referring to the universal scope of the fall (in Adam) and the universal scope of the bodily resurrection from death (in Jesus). Indeed, because Jesus, the man, is now alive from death, the time (“turn) is coming for all humans who are dead to rise in their own resurrection (see John 5:25–29). All humans will be resurrected from the dead—made alive again bodily. What happens to them, once resurrected? Paul does not here say, but every human who has or ever will live, will one day rise from the dead bodily. This is insured by Jesus’ own bodily resurrection.

3. The kingdom (24–28) 

24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For 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. 28 When 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.

This resurrection of all humanity (called the “general resurrection”), occurs at “the end”—the consummation of Jesus’ “reign” (v. 25). This resurrection means the final defeat of death (v. 26b) and thus it is the crowning achievement of Jesus’ reign as the resurrected God-man, whose now-present kingdom is spreading until it eventually negates all resistance; death included. 

Thus we learn that we will indeed be resurrected. But what will that be like?  It is to this question that Paul now turns.


What is the resurrection body like? 

1Cor. 15:35–57

35 But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36 How foolish…

Paul here gives voice to an argument of the Greek philosophers, namely that decomposed bodies become soil that is then dispersed among many other bodies. If there is a bodily resurrection, which body would get which dust? Paul’s reply is rather blunt: “How foolish!” (v. 36). Paul counters by noting that resurrection is not the same as reconstruction. The Bible does not teach that God will reassemble the disbursed dust of decomposed bodies. The resurrection body has continuity (it is still our body), but it does not have identical correspondence (it is not the same body). Because all this is hard to fathom, Paul offers four illustrations concerning the nature of the resurrection body: 

1. Seeds (36b–38, 42–48) 

36b …What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body….

When you sow seed, you do not expect that same seed to come up at the harvest. The seed dies, but from that death there comes life (Jesus uses the same analogy in John 12:23–28). The seed harvested is not the same seed that was planted; yet there is continuity. If you sow wheat seed you don’t reap barley seed. Furthermore, what is produced is usually more beautiful than what was planted (think of tulips, for example—an ugly bulb produces a beautiful flower). If at the resurrection, all God did was to put our bodies back together again, there would be no improvement. Furthermore, “flesh and blood,” as we know it, “cannot inherit God’s kingdom” (1Cor 15:50). The only way we can enjoy the glory of the resurrection life in a new heaven and new earth is to have a body suited to that glorified environment. 

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 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. 45 So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.

Here Paul discusses the details of this marvelous, seed-like bodily change. The body which is sown (in burial) in perishable—it will decay; but it is raised in a bodily resurrection with a nature that is imperishable (not subject to decay). There is no decay or death in the new heaven and new earth. Our bodies are buried in dishonor (in spite of the cosmetic skill of the mortician!); but it will be raised in glory. In burial, the body is weak; but in resurrection, the body has power. We will have glorified bodies like that possessed by the glorified human person Jesus. 

Today, we have a “natural body”—one suited to our present earthly environment. We received it from our first parent, Adam: he was made of dust, and so are we (Gen. 2:7). But the resurrection body will be a “spiritual body” (note that it’s not a “spirit body”) that is suited to a spiritual environment. When Jesus appeared in his resurrected body, he moved quickly from place to place, and even appeared in rooms with locked doors. Yet he still ate food, and his disciples were able to touch him (Luke 24:33–43; John 20:19–29). Paul’s point here is this: the resurrection body completes our redemption—giving us fully the image of the glorified human Jesus, both in spirit and in body.

2. Flesh (39) 

39 All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.

The human body has a “kind of flesh” (bodily nature) of one kind, while animals, birds, and fish have their own particular kind. The conclusion is this: If God is able to make different kinds of bodies for men, animals, birds, and fish, why can he not make a different kind of body for us at the resurrection? Indeed he can; and he will! 

3. Heavenly bodies (40–41) 

40 There 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. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

Not only are there earthly bodies, but there are also heavenly bodies; and they differ from one another. In fact, these heavenly bodies differ from each other in glory as far as the human eye is concerned. Paul seems to suggest here that in our resurrection bodies, we may differ from one another in glory, though all will have glorified (heavenly) bodies. This seems to be related to different rewards in glory, though Paul says little about this. 

4. Jesus’ glorified human body (49–57) 

49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- 52 in 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. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When 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." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The resurrection will fit all humans with a new body—one designed for the fullness of the never-ending kingdom of God. It will be unlike the “flesh and blood” of the present body, which is subject to death. But it will still be fully human—a body like the one the resurrected man Jesus now possesses (1John 3:1–3). This body, though still human, is not subject to decay or death and the other debilitating limitations we now face in our bodies. 

This is great Good News. Indeed, this bodily resurrection is the final unfolding and crowning achievement of Jesus’ victory over death. Jesus achieved that victory long ago through his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. Jesus bore all our sins on the cross (1Pet. 2:24), and also bore the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13). It is through him that our sins are forgiven and the curse broken. We share in his victory. We share in it today: the literal translation of 1Cor. 15:57 is, “But thanks be to God who keeps on giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We experience even now “the power of his resurrection“ as we yield to him (Phil. 3:10). But the fullness of that experience will come to us when we are given a resurrection body, which is fit for experiencing Jesus’ victory over death to the full. 

We will all receive a resurrection body at Jesus’ return. For those who are alive at that moment in time, their “resurrection” will be an instantaneous transformation. For those already dead (who “sleep” in the grave), this resurrection will mean being raised from death. Either way, all will be transformed, receiving new,  imperishable, immortal, resurrection bodies like that of Jesus.

Summary: These four illustrations of the nature of the resurrection body may not answer every question, but they assure us that it will be a wonderful blessing to be given a body suited to life in a new heaven and new earth. We will use this new body to serve and glorify God for all eternity. But this truth about our coming bodily resurrection is not just about the future—for Paul, it has profound implications for our lives right now. It is to this issue that Paul now turns with his fourth question.

Present implications of the resurrection

1Cor. 15:29–34

If there is no coming resurrection, we might as well forget the future and live now as we please (“eat and drink for tomorrow we die!”—v. 32). But, wait a minute: the resurrection is coming! Jesus is returning and we will be joined with him in a bodily resurrection. This truth has huge implications for all of us, and Paul here addresses three of them: 

1. Evangelism counts (29) 

29 Now 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?

This is, admittidly, a difficult verse. Some think it refers to being baptized on behalf of a person who has already died (“proxy baptism”). But we find no such teaching elsewhere in the New Testament and the early Greek Fathers of the church concluded that in this verse Paul is asking why one would get baptized if our bodies are meaningless (“dead”) and will one day simply be cast aside? Well, our bodies, though headed for death, are important to God. And so we are baptized in the body and that body rises from its watery grave, picturing our future bodily resurrection. 

The truth is that, because all humans are in our union with Jesus, the firstfruits, every person will rise bodily at his return where they will meet Jesus, the judge who is also their savior, “face to face.” Every person, now resurrected, will be invited to the wedding supper, though Scripture seems to indicate that some refuse to enter (see Jesus’ parable in Matt. 22:1-14). Because of the truth of this coming bodily resurrection for all, we have every reason to share with all the Good News of their invitation to the great banquet with Jesus. Here is positive, hope-filled motivation for evangelism! 

2. Suffering is worth it (30–32) 

30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I die every day-- I mean that, brothers-- just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

I die every day refers to the physical dangers and suffering Paul faced as a servant of Jesus (2Cor. 4:8–5:10; 11:23–28). He was in constant jeopardy from his enemies and on more than one occasion had been close to death. If there is no future for the body, then why suffer and even die for the cause of Christ? Why deny yourself (“die” to) earthly pleasures? Why not just “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (a reference to Isa. 22:13). But the truth, which we see in Jesus, is that our suffering in the body to serve God, which includes denying ourselves certain bodily pleasures, results in great glory for us in our bodily resurrection (2Cor. 4:7–18). 

3. Sin has consequences (33–34) 

33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." 34 Come 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.

The Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul apart from the body. Thus many of them believed that what they did in the body did not really matter—it would be jettisoned anyway, so go ahead and indulge it. But the truth in Jesus says that both the soul (spirit) and body count, and the body will be raised up and given enduring life. So what we now do in the body counts. Therefore, keeping “bad company” has lasting consequences, namely, it  “corrupts good character” (v. 33, which is a familiar quotation from the Greek poet Menander). Indeed, our bodies are God’s temple and we should not use them for sin (see 2Cor. 6:14–7:1 and Eph. 5:6–17). Though we are not to withdraw from the world (we are sent to serve it), we are to avoid its unfruitful works of darkness. Indeed, believers who simply indulge their bodies, and thus compromise with sin, lose their positive witness in a world that is sadly “ignorant of God.” 

Conclusion: our labor is not in vain 

1Cor. 15:58

58 Therefore, my dear brothers, 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.

As Paul considers the sum-total of these truths about our coming bodily resurrection, he breaks out in a hymn of praise that serves as a summary admonition. Because of the assurance of Christ’s final victory over death in our resurrection, we know that nothing we do for him now is wasted or lost. Thus we stand firm in our service, unmovable in our suffering, abounding in our ministry to others. Why? Because we know we have an enduring future in a resurrected body. Thus our labor in and with the Lord now is not in vain.