1 Corinthians chapter 15
Paul affirms the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the resurrection of the dead. He describes the resurrection body. The resurrection is victory itself.
THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST
VERSE 1. Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,
VERSE 2. by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
believed in vain. The Greek word for “vain” is heikê. It means “without cause” or “without success.”
To reject the teaching of bodily resurrection is to eviscerate the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to make the faith unsuccessful.
VERSE 3. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
NIV translation: For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
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first of all. This is the essence of the Christian faith. Paul says it is of first importance. Knowing this is a high priority.
If you can memorize this verse and the next one, you will always have available a very simple way to share the faith with someone who knows nothing of it.
VERSE 4. that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
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that he was buried. Jesus Christ truly died. His followers would not have buried him alive.
John 19:42. Then because of the Jewish Preparation Day (for the tomb was near at hand) they laid Jesus there.
the third day. The Lord Jesus predicted that he would be killed, spend three days in the tomb, and then be raised up. Read more »
VERSE 5. and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
VERSE 6. Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.
he appeared. Peter and many of the biblical authors were eyewitnesses. They saw with their own eyes, and they testified. Read more »
over five hundred brothers at once. This might have been the group gathered for the great Commission recorded in Matthew chapter 28.
VERSE 7. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,
VERSE 8. and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also.
child born at the wrong time. Most translations say “abnormally born.”
Job alluded to a similar thing:
Job 3:11. “Why didn’t I die from the womb? Why didn’t I give up the spirit when my mother bore me?
That is, Paul did not have the “gestation period” of having walked with Jesus Christ during the years of his earthly ministry.
he appeared to me also. Paul had seen the Righteous One. He saw the Lord Jesus Christ. That qualified Paul to be an apostle. Read more »
VERSE 9. For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.
the least of the apostles. Paul had persecuted the believers.
Acts 22:4. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
VERSE 10. But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
His grace … was not futile. The grace of God is not given in vain.
VERSE 11. Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
SUMMARY: Some people said there was no resurrection of the dead. If so, then Jesus Christ did not rise, and neither will we, and then the whole Christian message is a fraud. However, Jesus Christ really was resurrected.
VERSE 12. 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?
some among you say that there is no resurrection. The resurrection of the dead is a core teaching of the Christian faith. But some people in Corinth denied it.
In our day as well, some people view the Christian faith as a philosophy of life. Or a culture. They reject the teaching about the resurrection.
VERSE 13. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised.
neither has Christ been raised. If there is no resurrection, then Jesus Christ was not resurrected from the dead.
VERSE 14. If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain.
our preaching is in vain. If Jesus Christ was not resurrected, then the apostles were preaching a lie.
your faith also is in vain. If Jesus Christ was not resurrected, then to believe in him would be to believe in a lie.
VERSE 15. Yes, we are also found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up, if it is so that the dead are not raised.
VERSE 16. For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised.
VERSE 17. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins.
you are still in your sins. If Christ was not resurrected, then he is not capable of securing the forgiveness of our sins. That would mean that we are not “saved.” We would not have eternal life.
VERSE 18. Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If Jesus Christ was not resurrected, then no Christian believer will be saved. The entire Christian movement is a deception of the very worst kind.
VERSE 19. If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.
in this life. Our faith in Jesus Christ is not only for the days of our earthly life. Rather, it takes us beyond this life to the resurrection and eternity with God the Father.
we are of all men most pitiable. If the Christian faith is only for the days of our earthly life, then it is a fraud and we have been deceived. That is not the case. However, if it were, then people should feel sorry for us. Very sorry.
VERSE 20. But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep.
Christ has been raised from the dead. He really was resurrected.
He became the first fruits. Jesus Christ is the first of many to be resurrected.
VERSE 21. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man.
death came by man. As the first human and the first sinner, Adam brought death to us all.
Romans 5:12. Therefore as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
VERSE 22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
VERSE 23. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming.
Christ the first fruits. Jesus Christ was the first to be resurrected.
then those who are Christ’s. The followers of Jesus Christ will be resurrected:
at his coming. That is, when Jesus Christ returns in glory at the End of Time.
VERSE 24. Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
VERSE 25. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
VERSE 26. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
death. Death itself will be destroyed.
VERSE 27. For, “He 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 subjected all things to him.
VERSE 28. When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.
VERSE 29. Or else what will they do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead aren’t raised at all, why then are they baptized for the dead?
baptized for the dead. This is very interesting. We have not found a compelling interpretation of it, though many have tried.
The simplest explanation is that Paul is describing a custom in Corinth, and that he is not necessarily endorsing it.
Mormons get baptized on behalf of dead people. Their theory is that this will cause the dead person to become “saved.”
VERSE 30. Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour?
VERSE 31. I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
I die daily. Paul’s life was often in danger.
VERSE 32. If I fought with animals at Ephesus for human purposes, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, then “let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
If the dead are not raised. Paul stakes everything on the resurrection of the dead.
VERSE 33. Don’t be deceived! “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.”
Daniel 13:5. The same year two of the elders of the people were appointed to be judges, such as the Lord spoke of, that wickedness came from Babylon from elders who were judges, who were supposed to govern the people.
VERSE 34. Wake up righteously, and don’t sin, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
THE RESURRECTION BODY
VERSE 35. But someone will say, “How are the dead raised?” and, “With what kind of body do they come?”
VERSE 36. You foolish one, that which you yourself sow is not made alive unless it dies.
You foolish one. That is, “you senseless one” or “you thoughtless one.”
VERSE 37. That which you sow, you don’t sow the body that will be, but a bare grain, maybe of wheat, or of some other kind.
VERSE 38. But God gives it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own.
VERSE 39. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.
VERSE 40. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial differs from that of the terrestrial.
VERSE 41. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
VERSE 42. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown perishable; it is raised imperishable.
VERSE 43. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
VERSE 44. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is also a spiritual body.
VERSE 45. So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
VERSE 46. However that which is spiritual isn’t first, but that which is natural, then that which is spiritual.
VERSE 47. The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven.
VERSE 48. As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
VERSE 49. As we have borne the image of those made of dust, let’s also bear the image of the heavenly.
THE RESURRECTION IS VICTORY ITSELF
VERSE 50. Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s Kingdom; neither does the perishable inherit imperishable.
VERSE 51. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
VERSE 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 incorruptible, and we will be changed.
VERSE 53. For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
VERSE 54. But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
VERSE 55. “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”
Hosea 13:14. I will ransom them from the power of Sheol. I will redeem them from death! Death, where are your plagues? Sheol, where is your destruction? “Compassion will be hidden from my eyes.
VERSE 56. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
VERSE 57. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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VERSE 58. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
KJV translation: 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.
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Keep up the good work! Keep the faith! Your labor is not in vain!
1 CORINTHIANS
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize
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