I Corinthians 15:1 and 2:
15:1But I make-known to you, brothers, the good-message which I good-messaged to you which also you received (from me), in which also you stood2, .2by means of which also you are being saved with some word I good-messaged to you since you have held2 (it) down – outside-of except you yieldingly believed! –
Paul again addresses the Corinthian church of holy-people (sanctified-people, Christians, saints, children of the only true God) as "brothers" reminding them that they all, including himself, have received exactly the same holy spirit-life from God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ. They were all brothers in the spirit category and God was their Father and they were His children.
He writes: but I make personally known to all of you, brothers, the good-message (gospel, evangel)…
These people didn't have to know everything and believe everything before they were saved! But nobody can be saved and receive holy spirit-life without believing what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ (refer to Romans 10:8-10), and nobody can un-receive (lose) holy spirit-life at any time once it has already been received.
Now Paul writes something that may seem like a strange statement to make: “outside-of except you yieldingly believed!” The Corinthian holy-people are now saved and they still hold-down the basics of the good-message – but this is excluding the exception that they believed (had faith, trusted that word) in a relinquishing manner, without purpose. Is there definitely no purpose to having already believed God's Word which Paul taught them and which they were still holding firmly? He states it this way to encourage them to immediately reply, "Oh, we didn't yieldingly believe – yes, there is definitely a purpose!"
But, remembering that Paul had received a letter or letters from the Corinthian church, plus he had heard regarding them from other people, he is jolting the mind of the reader to recognize that the good-message which Paul had already preached to them was and still is the foundation of their standing with God, and it also includes a continuation of living in accordance with it during the everyday living of their lives, plus it includes a future continuation of living in accordance with it. It is not a case of believing the word of the good-message once and then forgetting about it and the rest of the good-message!
[Reference: Romans 1:16, 10:8-10, and 13:4; I Corinthians 1:17, 18, 7:30, 11:2, and 14:5(b); Galatians 1:11 and 12; I Thessalonians 2:13(a).]
Verses 3 and 4:
.3for I gave-over to you among (the) first-things that-which also I received: that Christ died on behalf of our sins according to the writings; .4and that he was buried, and that he was raised-up2 (on) the day, the third (day), according to the writings;
In truth, I gave-over (handed-over, delivered beside or alongside) to you Corinthian holy-people, among (in, within) the first-things that I taught you, that-which also I received (what I took from the Lord to beside or alongside myself):
The truth that the savior, redeemer, the Messiah/Christ, would die on behalf of the sins of mankind was not a secret. God had first spoken of it in Genesis 3:15 and God continued to speak about man's redemption by the blood of the sacrifice of the redeemer throughout the ages, and it had been written down in the old covenant writings by the prophets. Paul repeats that the information regarding the Christ had already been foretold and written-down. God's people were to know this and to have looked forward to it coming to pass, and now it has happened and Christ has been raised from among the dead-people never to die again. He is alive!
[Reference: Genesis 3:15 (you may read my study Appendix to Romans for details), and 4:4; Leviticus chapter 1 etc; Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:2-12; Daniel 9:26; Jonah 1:17; (plus many other old covenant scriptures referring to the reign of the Christ after his resurrection); Matthew 12:38-40, 16:21, 26:24, and 28:1-10; Mark 9:12; Acts 2:22-27, 3:12-26, 10:34-43, and 26:22 and 23; Romans 10:8-10; II Corinthians 5:21; the Book of Hebrews; I Peter 2:21-24, and 3:18.]
Verses 5-7:
.5and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve, .6next he was seen by over 500 brothers once, out-from whom more-people remain until now but some-people were caused-to-sleep, .7next he was seen by James, next by all the apostles;
Paul continues reminding them of some of the first-things he taught them:
[Reference: Matthew 10:2-4, and 13:55; Luke 24:34; John 20:19-31; Acts 1:1-11, 3:15, 10:38-41; and 15:13; I Corinthians 9:1; I Thessalonians 4:13-17.]
Verses 8-10:
.8but (the) last-person of all-people, wholly-as-if by the abortive, he was seen by me also – .9for I am the least-person of the apostles, who (is), I am, not sufficient to be called "apostle" for-this-reason-that I persecuted the church of God, .10but with God's grace I am that-which I am, and His grace, the (grace) into me, was not caused-to-become empty but I labored a more-exceeding (thing) of all of them, but not I but the grace of God, the (grace) together with me.
Now Paul reminds the Corinthian church that Christ was seen by him too! He writes: but the latest, time-wise, of all the people by whom Christ was seen since his resurrection, just as if it were by/with the abortive, he was seen (Christ presented himself to be perceived with the eyes and known) by me also.
An “abortive” refers to a living baby untimely born having come out-from the womb before the due-date, a premature baby who was not yet ready to see the world or to be seen by the world, who had not gone through the full term, all the processes usually required before a fully-developed baby is born. Paul saw him – but this most certainly was not expected by Paul himself or by anyone else who knew him during that time-period of his life.
Continuing to explain, Paul uses a figure of speech whereby he belittles himself to magnify "apostles," those who are sent-forth on a specific assignment or mission from God and/or the Lord Jesus Christ to others.
In truth, I am the least-person of the apostles, who is – I am talking about myself – not sufficing (not coming to enough, I have not reached the point of satisfying sufficiency) to be called "apostle" (to be invited to be and named an apostle). Why not? On this account that I persecuted the church of God (I pursued the assembly of God's called-out people from among all other people as enemies with hostility to harm them). But it is with the grace of/from God (God's bestowing unmerited or undeserved favor to me) that emphatically I presently and actively am what I am now.
He continues: and God's grace which is into me (proceeding from God directed-to and going into the interior of me) was not caused by me to come to pass to be empty (of its contents, vain by my not using it correctly), but on the contrary, I labored (exerted wearisome effort, toiled) that-which is more-exceeding (more abundant, more than above the measure already attained) of all the other apostles at that time-period who had also received this grace and were also laboring – but it was not I all by myself laboring a more-exceeding thing, but on the contrary, it was the grace of God in conjunction with me.
[Reference: Acts 8:1-3, 9:1-31, 22:1-21, and 26:1-23; Romans 1:5; I Corinthians 1:1, 3:5-11, and 9:1 and 2; II Corinthians 3:5, and 11:23-28; Galatians 1:11-16; Ephesians 3:1-12, and 4:11; Colossians 1:29; I Timothy 1:1, 15 and 16.]
Verse 11:
.11Therefore, whether I or those-people, thus we herald-forth and thus you believed!
Following on logically, whether it is I or-whether it is those other apostles, it is in this manner, as I have written above about God's having raised-up the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, that we presently and actively herald-forth (proclaim), and it was in this manner, having heard one or more of us, that you Corinthian holy-people believed (had faith, trusted), at that time.
Once they believed what God has given mankind to believe, God graciously gave them holy spirit-life by means of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[Reference: Romans 10:8-10; I Corinthians 3:5.]
Verses 12-19:
.12But since Christ is heralded-forth that he was raised-up2 out-from dead-people, how do some among you say that there is not a resurrection of dead-people? .13But if there is not a resurrection of dead-people neither was Christ raised-up2, .14but if Christ was not raised-up2 consequently our heralded-proclamation (is) empty and your belief (is) empty, .15and also we are found lying-witnesses of God because we witnessed against God that He raised-up the Christ whom He did not raise-up if-indeed consequently dead-people are not raised-up, .16for if dead-people are not raised-up neither was Christ raised-up2! .17But if Christ was not raised-up2 your belief (is) futile, you are yet in your sins; .18consequently, also the (people) in Christ having been caused-to-sleep destroyed-themselves! .19If in this life we are in Christ having hoped2 only, we are more-to-be-shown-mercy of all men! –
But since Christ is proclaimed that he was raised-up by God and he continues raised-up out-from among the rest of the dead-people, how do some of you holy-people say that there is not a resurrection (a standing-up) of dead-people? Even though all of you have at one time believed that Christ was raised-up by God from the dead (from among the rest of the dead-people who remain dead), some of you are now saying that God does not raise-up anyone from the dead?
Continuing in this line-of-thought step-by-step:
And if this were true, we are also found to be lying/false witnesses…. A “witness” is someone who has information or knowledge of that-which he is attesting to, and can therefore confirm it on the strength of his-own authority. Here the word is lying/false witnesses: we are also found to be lying witnesses giving a lying/false witness pertaining-to God because we actively witnessed against God that He raised-up the Christ (the Anointed-one, the Messiah) whom He did not raise-up if indeed it were true consequently that dead-people are not raised-up – in truth, if dead-people are not raised-up by God then neither was Christ raised-up and he is still not raised-up (he is still dead with the rest of the people who have died and are still dead)!
Paul, having logically gone through points regarding this wrong thinking which had crept into some of the people's minds in the Corinthian church, states: if it is only in this life that we are in (continuing within) Christ being people who have hoped and who continue to hope during the time that we remain alive (but our expectation of something coming to pass in the future won’t come to pass because there is no future) then we are more to be shown mercy (more in need of the withholding of merited judgment) among all of mankind!
[Reference: Matthew 26:59-65.]
Paul does not finish this train-of-thought right here, but in the middle of such repulsive thinking for a Christian's mind, he instead reminds the Corinthian holy-people reaffirming the truth of God's Word regarding God and His son, the resurrected Christ. What wonderful reassurance the following must have been for them to read, plus it is wonderful reassurance for all Christians who read this today.
Verse 20:
– .20But now Christ was raised-up2 out-from dead-people, a first-fruits-offering of the (people) having been caused-to-sleep2;
Emphatically at the present time, Christ was raised-up and he is still raised-up out-from among the rest of the dead-people. Christ is the first one, the first-fruits offering taken out from among the people who have died and who remain dead at this present time. The offering of first-fruits is the beginning-portion which is consecrated or dedicated to God taken from a mass of something (such as all the dead-people) – it is not the only part, but it is the first part of the whole. Christ is the only one thus far whom God has raised-up from the dead never to die again. The rest of the dead-people are still dead. They will not be raised up until Christ comes to gather the church of holy-people together with him, and other events will then occur which include the resurrection of everybody else – some to eternal life but some to their second death.
[Reference: Exodus 23:16-19; Nehemiah 10:35; John chapter 20; Acts 3:15, and 26:22 and 23; I Corinthians 6:14, Colossians 1:18; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Peter 1:3; Revelation chapter 20.]
Verses 21 and 22:
.21for since-indeed by means of man death (came to pass), also by means of man (the) resurrection of dead-people (came to pass); .22for wholly-as in the (man) Adam all-people die, thus also in the Christ all-people will be made-alive,
In truth, since absolutely it was by means of man (through man, man was the agency by way of which the initiated progress passed-through in order to reach its accomplishment, which was) that death came into existence, it was also by means of man that the resurrection (standing-up) of people who have already died came into existence.
In truth, wholly-as in (continuing within) the Adam, the man named Adam, all-people die both physically and spiritually, in this manner also in (continuing within) the Christ, the man named Christ, all-people will be made-alive (given life). All people within the sphere/realm of the Adam die – all people within the sphere/realm of the Christ will be made alive.
Living babies are born with a fleshy body with its soul/breath-life, and this body results in death both physically and spiritually because of the fall of Adam; but every person who believes what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ, receives holy spirit-life now within our present fleshy bodies, which is the spirit of Christ, and results in eternal life (receiving a spiritual body with its holy spirit-life) because of the resurrection of Christ.
[For more information regarding the first man, Adam, you may read my study of Appendix to Romans. Also see, John 5:17-47; Romans 5:8-21, and 8:11; I Thessalonians 4:23-17; Revelation chapter 20.]
Verses 23-28:
.23but each-person in (his) own arrangement: (the) first-fruits-offering (is) Christ, next the (people) of Christ in his presence, .24then the completion, whenever he may give-over the kingdom to the God and Father, whenever he may render-ineffective all rulership and all authority and ability; .25for it is necessary (for) him to reign-as-king continuously-until where He may put all the enemies under his feet, .26death is (the) last enemy rendered-ineffective, .27for "He subjected all-things under his feet," but whenever he may say, "all-things have been subjected2" (it is) clear that (it is) outside-of the (One) having subjected all-things to him; .28but whenever all-things may be subjected to him, then also the son himself will be subjected to the (One) having subjected all-things to him, in order that God may be all-things in all (people and things). –
Paul now explains regarding the order, the progression of the resurrections and what happens afterwards. Each person who dies is made-alive within the arrangement (that-which is arranged in ordered sequence, the rank as in the military sense, the class or group) that he/she belongs to, not a different one:
This includes the resurrections of the rest of the dead-people both just and unjust from among the children of Israel and the Gentiles who lived before the day of Pentecost, those who live today who refuse to believe the good-message, and those who will have died between Christ's presence to gather the church together and that time. The resurrection of those who will be beheaded during the wrath period of time (recorded in Revelation 20:4 and 5) will take place first, before the resurrection of the rest of the dead people both just and unjust (recorded in Revelation 20:12 and 13).
Paul continues to teach and explain: in truth, it is necessary (it ought to be, it is binding, it must occur) for Christ to reign as a king continuing during the whole time to when He – God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ – will put (place, set) all the enemies (those who oppose and exhibit enmity and hostility towards God and therefore towards Christ also) under Christ’s feet (legally subject or in submission to Christ, completely conquered). This is when Christ crushes the head of the adversary, that old serpent, the devil, satan (foretold in Genesis 3:15).
The last (extreme and concluding) enemy which is caused to be ineffective (inactive, inoperative, useless) is death – what? – death! Let us note that death is stated to be an "enemy" and most definitely not a "friend" – death is the last enemy rendered ineffective.
In truth, God caused all-things to be subject under (to be arranged in the position of being underneath, legally in complete submission or subjection to) Christ's feet. This is a reference to what God had previously foretold to King David, the prophet, and which David wrote-down so that God's people would read the prophecy, know it and remember it too. It is recorded in the Book of Psalms.
Psalm 8:6:
Thou madest him [Christ] to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.
In First Corinthians chapter 15, Paul continues: but at whatever time Christ will say that all-things have been made subject and continue subjected to him, it is clear (plain to see, evident) that this subjection to Christ is outside-of (on the outside of, excluding) God Who is the One having subjected all-things to Christ! It is with God's power that all-things are made subject to Christ, but God Himself is excluded from this subjection under Christ.
At whatever time that all-things will be subjected to Christ, then at that time also the son of God himself, Christ, will be subjected to (caused to be in submission, to be arranged in the position of being underneath) the One, God, Who has subjected all-things to Christ. Yes, even Christ will be subject to God. From the time Jesus was born he has always been willingly subject to God's will, and the resurrected Christ continues to willingly obey his Father, and he will continue doing so even when everything is completely and manifestly, both spiritually and physically, under his feet, excluding God His Father, of course. The Lord Jesus Christ has not and does not and will not try to usurp God's place.
Why will God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ, be subjected to God Who is the One having subjected all-things to him? For the purpose and result that God will definitely be all-things in all people and things, including the Christ. God is the One Who will be the source of everything within and among everyone and everything everywhere at that time. All the people who will be alive at that time will have received their new spiritual bodies like Christ's spiritual body, and all the spirit-beings which obey the only true God will still be alive. But all the people who will have rejected God and Christ will have already received their second death which will be final, together with all the spirit-beings which have also rejected God. Regarding everybody and everything in every place at that time – God will be supreme.
[Reference: Joshua 10:24; Psalm 110:1; Matthew 22:44, chapters 24 and 25, and 28:18; Luke 2:51; Acts 2:34; Romans 8:11; Ephesians 1:20-23; Philippians 2:9-11, and 3:20 and 21; II Timothy 1:9 and 10; Hebrews chapter 2, and 10:12 and 13; I Peter 3:21 and 22; Revelation chapters 19-22 (the Book of Revelation refers to the time after Christ will gather all of the church of holy-people together with him). For more information, you may read my studies on I Thessalonians and II Thessalonians.]
Paul now returns to his previous train-of-thought in teaching regarding the wrong thinking of some of the holy-people, and let us re-read some verses to remember where Paul had broken-off:
I Corinthians 15:17-19:
.17But if Christ was not raised-up2 your belief (is) futile, you are yet in your sins; .18consequently, even the (people) in Christ having been caused-to-sleep destroyed-themselves! .19If in this life we are in Christ having hoped2 only, we are more-to-be-shown-mercy of all men! –
Continuing where Paul picks back up in verse 29 in the scenario of Christ not having been raised-up from among the rest of the dead-people by God:
Verses 29-32:
– .29Since what will they do, the (people) being baptized on behalf of the dead-people? – since dead-people are not wholly being raised-up! Why are they even being baptized on behalf of them? .30Why also do we face-danger every hour? .31I die daily, yes-indeed your boasting which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord; .32if according to a man I fought-against-wild-animals in Ephesus, what (is) the profit to me if dead-people are not being raised-up? – "Let us eat and let us drink for tomorrow we die!"
What will they do – what will who do? – the people who are in the state of being baptized (immersed, surrounded) on behalf of the dead-people? – the reason for asking is if/since dead-people are not wholly being raised-up (they are not entirely being woken up from death)! What are they going to do? This is a startling question indeed. If it were true that Christ was still dead, then anyone who is baptized into him would be baptized on behalf of the people who are dead and remain dead, because Christ would be one of them! Let’s backup a little – why or what is the purpose of dead-people being in the state of being baptized on behalf of dead-people? This is absolutely ridiculous! What's the point of being baptized into a dead Christ with no hope of resurrection?
Why do we holy-people who are still alive also face-danger (run the risk, be in danger) all the time by endeavoring to behave and live our everyday lives as God asks us to, if we are all going to end up dead anyway with no hope of resurrection? Why go through all these hassles, etc? What's the purpose?
Paul writes regarding himself: it is on a day-by-day basis that I die (every day I face death), yes-indeed it is a boasting (a reason to speak justifiably loudly) which emphatically proceeds-from you Corinthian holy-people, and this boasting I have within Christ Jesus our Lord (the Master of you and I). And, if in a manly way (humanly, on the level of mankind without holy spirit-life) I fought with men who were behaving as wild animals, treating me as a condemned man in public humiliation, in Ephesus, what is the profit (benefit) to me if it is true that dead-people are not being raised-up from the dead and so Christ has not been raised-up?
What else is there to say if this is true except: let us eat and let us drink for tomorrow we die! What does it matter what we do today for we die tomorrow and will never again be made alive and so we will not receive any consequences of our actions – good or bad!
Paul refers to a scripture in the Book of Isaiah. Jesus Christ also spoke a parable that included this during his earthly ministry before his death.
Isaiah 22:13 and 14:
And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die.
And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.
Luke 12:16-21:
And he [Jesus] spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Paul is addressing those in the Corinthian church who had begun to consider that perhaps God did not raise Christ up from among the rest of the dead-people and that perhaps after they die they will not be raised up at a future time. Here, he is helping them to understand the complete fallacy and wrongfulness of that kind of thinking by writing such questions and statements.
[Reference: Acts chapter 19; Romans chapter 6, and 8:35-39; II Corinthians 1:8-11, and 11:23-33.]
I Corinthians 15:33 and 34:
.33You must not be caused-to-wander – bad companionships corrupt benevolent customs. .34You must righteously sober-out and you must not sin, for some-people have not-knowledge of God – I utter-forth to you towards shame.
You must not be caused to wander (to err, not stay in your rightful place, be led astray from the truth of God's Word, like a planet is constantly moving around when viewed from the earth unlike the stars which retain their position): bad companionships (bad associations, intercourses) presently and actively corrupt, decay benevolent customs (kind customs, customs that are appropriately needed for use in specific situations, benevolent ethical thinking consisting of manners, customs, habits, character, etc, in the seat of your minds).
Regarding your present walk/behavior: you must righteously sober-out (literally: sober-up, be free from intoxicants; figuratively: be in control of your mind and body so that you are receptive to what God wants to make known to you and you are not in a stupor, your drunken state of mind must change back to being sober - and do it justly, rightly, with justice, righteousness), and you must not sin (don’t miss the mark of what God says). In truth, some of you have lack of knowledge (ignorance, without personal knowledge) pertaining to God. Some of you have something that you may call "knowledge of God" but what it is is "not-knowledge of God"!
I utter-forth to you for the purpose of shame (causing you to turn in on yourselves and recoil from that-which is wrong when you reflect on your own walk, behavior, conduct).
[Reference: Matthew 22:29; Luke 21:8; I Corinthians 6:5; James 1:16; I Peter 2:15.]
Verse 35:
.35But someone will say, "How are the dead-people being raised-up? And with what-kind-of body do they come?"
Someone among you will mindfully tell me the questions of:
1. in what manner are the people who are now dead being raised-up?
2. with what sort of body do they come?
Paul knew by revelation that someone among them would be questioning the details of the resurrection, and if these questions were not answered in this letter then problems may be caused in the minds of the rest of the Corinthian Christians.
Verses 36-38:
.36Thoughtless-person, that-which you sow is not made-alive except it may die, .37and that-which you sow, you do not sow the body, the (body) it will be becoming, but a naked kernel, if attained (to be) wheat or some of the remaining-things, .38but God gives to it a body according as He intended, and to each of the seeds (its) own body;
Paul now answers to the individual person who would ask these questions, and so everyone who reads or hears what is written in this letter would be able to learn.
You (singular, individual) are a person who does not think in his mind (you are without-thoughts, senseless, foolish)…
God is the One Who will give it a body as He intends it to have. The seed itself does not decide which body it will have. God is the source for giving it its new body with its life. The naked kernel, which is sown into the ground, becomes into the different body that God intended it to have and gives to it as it grows.
[Reference: Genesis 1:11ff; Mark 4:26-28; John 12:24.]
Verses 39-41:
.39not all flesh (is) the same flesh but (there is) another (flesh) indeed of men, and another flesh of animals, and another flesh of birds, and another (flesh) of fishes – .40(there are) both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies but different indeed (is) the glory of the heavenlies and different (is) the (glory) of the earthlies – .41another glory of (the) sun and another glory of (the) moon and another glory of stars for a star differs-from (another) star in glory;
Today as we live we can see that not all flesh is the same flesh, but contrary to flesh all being the same, indeed there is the flesh which mankind has, and there is another flesh pertaining-to animals, and another flesh pertaining-to winged, feathered birds, and there is another flesh pertaining-to fishes. There are different fleshes but they are all flesh.
There are both bodies which are upon and pertain to heaven and there are bodies which are upon and pertain to earth, but indeed there is a different category or kind of glory (importance, splendor, renown) pertaining-to the heavenlies (all the bodies upon and pertaining-to heaven) and indeed there is a different category or kind of glory (importance, splendor, renown) pertaining-to the earthlies (all the bodies upon and pertaining-to earth).
As we live we can see that there is another glory of the sun, and there is another glory of the moon, and there is another glory of stars, and in truth even among stars, one star differs (carries differing ways, varies) from another star – how? – in glory.
[Reference: Genesis chapters 1 and 2; Romans 8:16-25; Hebrews 1:10-12; II Peter 3:7-13; Revelation 21:1-4.]
Verses 42-46:
.42thus also the resurrection of the dead-people: it is sown in corruption – it is raised-up in incorruption; .43it is sown in dishonor – it is raised-up in glory; it is sown in weakness – it is raised-up in ability; .44it is sown a soulish body – it is raised-up a spiritual body. Since there is a soulish body, there is also a spiritual (body), .45thus also it was written2, "the first man, Adam, became into a soul living," the last (man became) into a spirit making-alive, .46but the spiritual (body is) not first but the soulish (body is first), next the spiritual (body).
Paul continues to answer the questions: "How are the dead-people being raised-up? And with what-kind-of body do they come?" The resurrection (standing-up) of the dead-people (here referring to dead holy-people/Christians only) is in this manner also…
Since (no doubt but that it is true) there is a soulish body – there is a spiritual body; and it is in this manner also that it is written as part of the old covenant writings that…
Paul refers to the Book of Genesis chapter 2 regarding the first man, Adam.
Genesis 2:7:
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Adam had a fleshy body with soul/breath life in it – he was alive physically. [For further information regarding this, you may read my study of Appendix to Romans.]
The Lord Jesus Christ was born with a physical fleshy body which had soul-life in it so that he could live and breathe in the physical realm just like Adam. During his life God gave him holy spirit upon the same condition by-which He gave spirit to Adam, and that was to believe what God said. From the time Jesus Christ received his holy spirit he could receive information from God via his holy spirit. Jesus Christ chose to always do those things which pleased God, his Father. When Jesus was put-to-death by crucifixion, died, and was buried, three days and three nights later God graciously raised him up from among the rest of the dead-people. When God raised him up from the dead this is when he became a spirit making-alive. This is when he became the second and last man. Christ now has his new body with its life-making spirit, and so he cannot be put-to-death by anyone or anything!
The first man, Adam, the soulish bodied man died – but – the second/last man, Christ, the spiritual bodied man was made alive when God resurrected him from death, and Christ is still alive with his new body and life-making spirit.
Returning to chapter 15 of First Corinthians, Paul continues by emphasizing that it is not the spiritual body that is in existence first but it is the soulish body (that body which has soul/breath life in it) that exists first and next in sequence and time is the spiritual body. Jesus Christ, being a descendant of Adam, first lived with his fleshy/physical body with soul-life whereby he could live, but he was killed, however, God raised him up out-from the rest of the dead-people and Christ received his new body with spirit-life whereby he is now alive.
[Reference: Luke 24:36-49; John 5:21, and 6:32-58; Romans 1:3 and 4, 4:17, and 8:9-11; I Corinthians 2:14, and 12:1; II Corinthians 3:6; Philippians 3:20 and 21; Colossians 3:1-4; II Timothy 1:10; I Peter 3:18.]
I Corinthians 15:47-49:
.47The first man out-from earth (was) earthy, the second man (is) spiritual out-from heaven; .48of-the-kind the earthy-person of-this-kind also (are) the earthy-people, and of-the-kind the heavenly-person of-this-kind also (will be) the heavenly-people; .49even according as we carried the image of the earthy-person, indeed let us carry also the image of the heavenly-person.
Continuing to teach by making comparisons, Paul writes:
Before we holy-people received the gift of holy spirit, we only had a fleshy body with soul/breath-life (that was the image of the first man Adam which we bore, but we will never be like this again). From the time that we believed what God has given mankind to believe regarding Himself and Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 10:8-10) receiving holy spirit-life, we now have the spirit of Christ in us (Colossians 1:27), the image of the heavenly-person. The spirit of Christ in us is our deposit, our token of all that we will receive when Christ will come to gather all holy-people together with him, and this will include our receiving spiritual bodies like his glorious body – there is no doubt but that this will happen.
[Reference: John 3:13; Romans 8:29; II Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:20 and 21.]
.50But this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood are not able to inherit (the) kingdom of God, neither does corruption inherit incorruption.
Again, Paul addresses the Corinthian holy-people as "brothers" reminding them that they all had received the same holy spirit from God by means of the Lord Jesus Christ and so they were all brothers spiritually and God was their Father.
He continues to explain: but I bring this to light, brothers, that…
People, animals, birds, etc, in the natural category whether alive or dead – do not inherit the kingdom of God or incorruption.
[Reference: Leviticus 17:11; Matthew 16:17; John 3:3-12.]
Verses 51-54:
.51Look! I say a mystery to you: we will not all be caused-to-sleep but we will all be changed: .52in an atom, in a sinking of an eye, in the last trumpet, for it will trumpet and the dead-people will be raised-up incorruptible and we will be changed; .53for it is necessary (for) this corruptible-thing to clothe-itself-with incorruption, and this mortal-thing to clothe-itself-with immortality .54but whenever this mortal-thing may clothe-itself-with immortality then the word, the (word) having been written2, will come-to-pass, "Death was swallowed into victory."
Look (see, behold, pay attention)!, I say a mystery (lay out a secret) before you…. Paul writes to the Corinthian holy-people so that they will know and understand the details regarding this subject (which includes death, resurrection, life, etc).
We holy-people will not all be caused to sleep (be put to sleep, we won’t all die in the future). We will not all have to die first before we can receive our new spiritual bodies (as verses 35-44a above). But we, who will be alive when Christ will come for us, will all be changed (we will be caused to alter one thing for another).
Next is a detailed explanation:
…in truth, there is no doubt but that the trumpet of God will make its trumpet-sound…
In truth, it is necessary (it ought to be, it is binding, it must occur) for this corruptible-thing (being capable of decay, corrupt, in the state of corruption) to clothe itself with (to put-on as a garment by going inside of it, envelope itself with) incorruption (un-decay, the state of being incorrupt). The dead holy-people cannot be raised-up in the same physical bodies which they had before they died because that kind of body was corruptible. Corruption does not inherit incorruption, therefore the dead holy-people must be caused to stand-up (be resurrected) in an incorruptible state.
Also, it is necessary for this mortal-thing (living in the physical/natural category but is liable to death) to clothe itself with (to put-on as going inside of a garment which is given to it, envelope itself with) immortality (the state of not being liable to death). The living holy-people cannot be gathered-together with Christ in the physical bodies that we now live in because flesh and blood are not able to inherit the kingdom of God.
But at whatever future time, when Christ comes to be present to gather the church of holy-people together with him, this mortal-thing will clothe itself with immortality (i.e.: change directly into having our spiritual bodies without first having to die) – then at that specific time the word (that spoken account of God's inner thoughts), which He had previously revealed to mankind and which was written and is still written as part of the old covenant writings, will come to pass, it will come into being, it will happen at that time.
The word is that death was swallowed into or resulting-in victory (death was drunk-down into conquest). God's living holy-people (Christians) will not die at all, but we will be changed directly into having new bodies with its spirit-life. This reference is taken from the Book of Isaiah chapter 25.
Isaiah 25:8(a):
He will swallow up death in victory….
Whenever this mortal-thing may clothe-itself-with immortality then the word which is written will come-to-pass, "Death was swallowed into victory." This will happen once for the holy-people who will be alive when Christ comes to gather all holy-people together with him because once it is done – it is done – death was swallowed into victory! The full completion of this prophecy for the believing living Israelites and Gentiles, after the church of holy-people will have been taken from the earth, will occur when they also will be changed directly from their physical bodies with its soul-life directly into their spiritual bodies with its spirit-life (refer to Matthew 24:34; Revelation 21:1-7).
[Reference: Numbers 10:1-10; Romans 8:11; II Corinthians 5:1-5; Philippians 3:20 and 21. For more information regarding this subject, you may read my studies on I Thessalonians and II Thessalonians.]
Let us continue in First Corinthians chapter 15:
I Corinthians 15:55 and 56:
.55"Death – where (is) your victory? Death – where (is) your point?" .56But the point of death (is) the sin and the ability of the sin (is) the law.
Paul asks these questions as though he were addressing death itself: death, in what place do you have conquest? Death, in what place do you have a point (a prick, sting which hurts so as to eventually gain your victory)? This is a reference to what has been written in the Book of Hosea chapter 13, but here let us read the translation taken from the Greek rendering of the old covenant writings, the Septuagint, instead of the King James Version.
Hosea 13:14:
I will deliver them out of the power of Hades [gravedom, the state of death], and will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, O death? O Hades, where is thy sting? comfort is hidden from mine eyes.
Paul gives the explanation as to how death came to pass in an attempt to gain the victory:
Without God's law there could not be sin against it, and without sin there could not be death as a consequence of sin. Thus the devil (satan, the serpent) used Adam's sin against God to gain access to mankind in order to kill him and thereby attempt to thwart the purposes of the only true God.
[Reference: Romans 5:12, and 6:23. For a more detailed understanding of the fall of Adam, you may read my study of Appendix to Romans.]
I Corinthians 15:57 and 58:
.57But thanks to God, the (One) giving to us the victory by means of our Lord Jesus Christ, .58so-that, my loved1 brothers, you must become seated, un-removed, always exceeding in the work of the Lord, having known2 that your labor is not empty in (the) Lord.
Paul gives thanks to God Who is the One presently and actively giving us holy-people the victory (conquest) by means of (through) our Lord Jesus Christ, the Master of every holy-person, including those living in Corinth and Paul himself. God does not give us the victory without our Lord Jesus Christ – our Lord Jesus Christ is interposed between God's giving and our receiving the victory.
This word "thanks" in the Greek is the same word as the word "grace." Here it refers to the expression made by the freedom of will of the recipient expressing his gratitude to the giver of the grace (the bestowed unmerited or undeserved favor) given-to and received-by the recipient. We have the victory, not death, because of all that God our Father has accomplished for us by means of our Lord Jesus Christ – and so we can express our gratitude to God.
And again, Paul addresses the Corinthian holy-people as "brothers" reminding them that they were all brothers because they all had received the same holy spirit; and in addition here he emphasizes this truth by telling them that they were "my" brothers, and that they were "loved1." He loved them with God's love, the love of God manifested from him towards them (refer to I Corinthians chapter 13). Paul did not tell them that he loved them with the brotherly or friendly kind of love or that he was all emotional about them, but that he loved them with Godly-love.
Paul continues: the consequence or result of all that God has done for us by means of our Lord Jesus Christ, my loved1 brothers, is that…
…having known and still knowing (perceiving) that your labor (all the wearisome effort, toil that you exert following his instructions) is not empty (of contents, vain) in the Lord. The Lord Jesus Christ must be the source of this labor, not our own fleshy minds or someone else's intellectual calculations.
Thanks to God, the One giving to us the victory by means of our Lord Jesus Christ, so-that, my Godly-loved brothers, you must become seated, un-removed, always exceeding in the work of the Lord, having known and continuing knowing that your labor is not empty in the Lord.
[Reference: Romans 8:31-39; I Corinthians 16:10; Colossians 3:17; Hebrews 2:14 and 15; I John 5:1-5. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]
It might be helpful to read a passage from the Book of First Thessalonians chapter 4 which refers to that time when the Lord Jesus Christ will come to gather all of the church of holy-people together with him:
I Thessalonians 4:13-18:
.13But we do not intend you to not-know, brothers, concerning the (holy-people) sleeping in order that you may not be caused-sorrow according as also the remaining-people, the (remaining-people) not having hope, .14for since we believe that Jesus died and resurrected thus also God will lead by means of Jesus the (holy-people) having been caused-to-sleep together with him: .15for we say this to you in (the) word of (the) Lord that we, the (holy-people) living, the (holy-people) being-left-around into the presence of the Lord, may never go-ahead-of the (holy-people) having been caused-to-sleep .16because the Lord himself, in (the) call-to-assemble, in (the) sound of (the) archangel, and in (the) trumpet of God, will descend from heaven and the dead-people in Christ will resurrect firstly, .17next we, the (holy-people) living, the (holy-people) being-left-around, will be unitedly caught-away together with them in clouds into a meeting of the Lord into (the) air and thus we will always be together with (the) Lord; .18so-that you must encourage one-another in these words.