In verse 35, Paul asks two questions, “How are the dead
raised” and “With what kind of body do they come?” Paul
responds to the questions by turning first to nature, to
God’s creation, to make several very powerful points. First,
death and decay is the means of the resurrection and not a
barrier. If we claim that death and decay renders the
resurrection impossible, all we need do is trace the steps
of the farmer, who every year sows seeds in the soil to
undergo the process of “dying” so that a new plant can be
produced through its “death.” There is a direct connection
between the seed and the plant. The once “bare” (v 37) seed
becomes something much more beautiful. There is nothing
particularly beautiful about a grain bin filled with wheat
seed, but there is great beauty in a wheat field.
Second, God is the giver of bodies. The grain of wheat that
“dies” in the ground and comes to life in a new resurrected
“body” comes to life in a body that God Himself has given (v
38). It is important to notice that in the question raised
in verse 35, God is not mentioned. Paul uses “nature” as an
example of the resurrection. However, he specifies that the
body that is given is the body God has given. Paul goes even
further, indicating that the body God gives is exactly the
body He wishes to give. Would anyone dare to deny the
resurrection? Then let them dare to deny that God raises the
dead. Would anyone dare to question the quality of the body
God gives those whose corpses He raises? Then let them hear
that God gives them just the body He wants.
The God who called creation into existence is surely the God
who can cause a decaying corpse to come to life. To put it a
little differently, God created man from the dust of the
earth. Death turns man back to dust, out of this “dust,” God
can create anything He purposes and promises to fashion.
Paul applies the principles he has established from nature
in verses 36-41 to the issue at hand, the resurrection of
the dead, in verses 42-44. The resurrection of the dead is
like the death of the seed and the new, resurrected life of
the plant that springs forth from the earth due to the
germination of that seed. Thus, Paul speaks of the “sowing”
of our earthly bodies, linking verses 42-49 to verses 36-41.
There is a direct link between the earthly body that dies
and decays in the earth and the new, resurrected body. The
resurrected body comes forth from the body that died. The
resurrection body is superior to the old body in several
important ways. Our physical bodies are “perishable,” which
is why they are subject to aging, disease, and death. Our
resurrected bodies are imperishable. They are not subject to
corruption or death.
In verses 45-49, Paul links our earthly bodies with the
“first Adam” and our resurrected bodies with Jesus Christ,
the “last Adam.”
Both the “first Adam,” the Adam of Genesis, and the “last
Adam” were men. The actions of both men affected the lives
of humanity. How can the death, burial, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ affect all men? The answer: The same way Adam’s
sin and death affected all men. The “first Adam” became a
living being; the “last Adam” became a giver of life. The
“first Adam” through his sin and death, brought sin into the
world and caused all men to be under the sentence of death.
Jesus Christ, the “last Adam” through His righteousness,
death, burial and resurrection, has brought about
resurrection for all men.
By virtue of being human, we are identified with Adam in his
fallen humanity, in his condemnation, and thus in his death.
Jesus Christ came to the earth so that men might be saved by
identifying with Him in His death, burial, resurrection, and
ascension. By acknowledging our sin and the condemnation, we
rightly deserve, and by trusting in the death, burial, and
resurrection of Jesus Christ in our place, we enter into a
new identity. The gospel is the good news that we can change
our identity by faith in Jesus Christ. It is by identifying
with Him by faith that we are saved from our sins and enter
into eternal life.
If Christ identified with man in his natural, weak and
dishonorable condition, and Paul is similarly characterized,
what does this tell us about the Corinthians and their
denial of the resurrection of the dead? The Corinthians are
trying to be “spiritual” in the present with what Paul and
the apostles tell us is a future “spirituality.” True future
spirituality means a new, “spiritual” body that is
incorruptible and imperishable. That comes at the
resurrection of the dead, which takes place when our Lord
returns to the earth to establish His kingdom. At that time,
we will be able to identify with the risen Christ by the
possession of our new, resurrected bodies that are free from
sin, corruption, sickness, and death.
True spirituality in the present is our identification with
our Lord’s earthly body. We must identify with Him in His
weakness, in His dishonor, and in His death. This is why
Paul speaks of his ministry in terms of dishonor and
weakness. This is the calling of the Christian: to identify
in body, soul, and spirit with the Lord in His earthly
coming, in His rejection, weakness, shame and death.
Some of the Corinthians wanted to reject the doctrine of the
resurrection of the dead because they wanted to deceive
themselves into thinking they could be spiritual by entering
into our Lord’s future blessings by identifying with the
glories of our Lord now, rather than His sufferings now.
They did not want to identify with His weakness and dishonor
but with His power and glory. To reject a future
resurrection, with a spiritual and glorified body was to
open the door to a spiritual existence now which permitted
bodily indulgences and which assured them of peace and
prosperity, health and wealth now, without having to endure
the sufferings and shame of our Lord in this life. For those
who wish to avoid pain, suffering, and shame for Christ’s
sake and to label self-indulgence as spirituality, the
rejection of the resurrection of the dead was a great
pretext.
For us to dwell eternally in the presence of God, we must
have different bodies. We cannot dwell in heaven in these
bodies. It is just that simple. If we are to dwell in God’s
presence for all eternity, we must have imperishable,
incorruptible bodies, and that means we must trade in these
earthly, perishable bodies. For those who have died, this
will happen at the resurrection of the dead. That is what
Paul has been saying in verses 35-49. At the resurrection of
the dead, we exchange our natural bodies for spiritual
bodies; our earthly bodies transformed into heavenly bodies;
our perishable bodies transformed into imperishable bodies.
The resurrection of the dead is the means by which bodies
unfit for heaven are miraculously transformed into bodies
that are perfectly suited for heaven.
In verses 51 and 52, Paul adds yet another category, those
who are alive at the time of Christ’s coming. The
resurrection of the dead is a truth which was revealed in
the Old Testament Scriptures (Job 19:25-27; Psalm 73:23-24;
Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:1-2). This is what the Bible calls a
mystery. If our earthly bodies are not suited for the
kingdom of God, then it is not just dead bodies that need to
be raised. We need a transformation of our earthly bodies,
whether living or dead. This is the mystery that Paul now
reveals.
We shall not all “sleep”, die. Paul uses the term “sleep”
because death is not a permanent state. Just as those who
sleep “wake up,” so those who die will rise again. However,
not all men will die. The kingdom of God begins with the
return of our Lord to this earth. Those alive at the time of
His return Paul says shall all be changed.
The sequence of events is spelled out in verse 52. It will
begin with the sounding of a trumpet, the “last trumpet.”
When the trumpet sounds, things begin to happen. Our Lord
returns to the earth, although this is not specifically
mentioned here, the dead in Christ are first raised from the
grave, the old body being transformed as it is raised so
that what was sown as a natural body rises as a spiritual
body. After the dead in Christ are raised, those alive at
this time are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of the
eye, so that their perishable bodies are now imperishable,
their natural bodies are now spiritual bodies.
When these transformations take place, Old Testament
prophecy is fulfilled. Paul turns to the prophecy of Isaiah
to show that the resurrection of the dead and transformation
of the living is, indeed, the same victory over death that
he spoke of in verses 20-28. The last enemy defeated and
abolished by our Lord is death (v 26). This is accomplished
by the resurrection of the dead and the transformation of
the living. Thus, Paul sees this as the fulfillment of
Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 25.
Of all the obsessions and fears named these days, one almost
never hears of the fear of death. Yet it is this fear that
makes virtual slaves of all men. The writer to the Hebrews
tells us that the devil has a grip on men through their fear
of death. Death is the destiny of all men. The Son of God
took on humanity, flesh and blood, at His incarnation, and
then by His death and resurrection rendered death and the
devil powerless. Those who have trusted in Christ need no
longer live in fear of death. Death and the fear of death
have been swallowed up by the triumph of our Lord over them.
“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” (v 58).
Jesus said, “He who loves his life loses it; and he who
hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.
If any one serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am,
there shall My servant also be; if any one serves Me, the
Father will honor him… And I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:25-26, 32).
Do you see it? The way Jesus would “draw all men to Himself”
was by being lifted up on the cross of Calvary. Jesus taught
that the way to life was the way of the cross. By means of
His death, burial, and resurrection, we have been given life
by faith in Him. Now, as Christians, we are to apply the
same principle to our earthly life. We are to take up our
cross, to hate our life, to die to self, and in this way, we
will obtain life eternal. Here is an unique approach to
life. It is one you will never find originating from
unbelievers, but you will find it repeatedly taught in the
Word of God. Death is a defeated enemy; indeed death is our
friend, and our way of life. To God be the glory.
