Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
1 CORINTHIANS 15
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now, brothers and sisters, 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.
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 Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters 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 is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
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 of all people most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 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 turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 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.
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? 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
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 Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! 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. 39 Not all flesh is the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 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.
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 is of heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, 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. 54When 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.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, 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.
Application Notes
15:2 Most churches have people attending who do not yet believe in Jesus Christ. Some of these people are moving in the direction of belief, and others are simply pretending. Imposters, however, should not be removed (see Matthew 13:28-29) unless they are leading others away from Christ (see 1 Corinthians 5). When unbelievers are attending church and sincerely seeking the truth, the Holy Spirit will lead them to faith and new life. All who believe the Good News about Jesus Christ and faithfully live it out become children of God and members of the body of Christ.
15:3-4 The central theme of the gospel is given in these verses, a key text for the defence of Christianity. These are the three most important points:
(1) Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. Without the truth of this message, Jesus Christ's death was worthless, and those who believe in him remain in their sins without hope. However, Christ, as the sinless Son of God, took the punishment for sin so that those who believe in him can have their sins removed. "The Scriptures" refers to Old Testament prophecies, such as Psalm 16:8-11 and Isaiah 53:5-6. Christ's death on the cross was no accident or afterthought. It had been part of God's plan from all eternity in order to bring about the salvation of all who believe in him.
(2) He was buried. The fact of Jesus· burial reveals the reality of his death. Many have tried to discount the actual death of Christ, but Jesus did in fact die and was buried in a tomb.
(3) He rose from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said Christ was raised permanently-forever. His Father raised him from the dead on "the third day" as noted in the Gospels (Friday afternoon to Sunday morning-three days in Jewish reckoning of time). This also occurred "according to the Scriptures" Jesus quoted the book of the prophet Jonah in Matthew 12:40 (Jonah 1:17) to show the connection to the three days prophesied in the Old Testament. Psalm 16:8-11 and Psalm 110 also foretell the resurrection of the Messiah.
15:5-8 There will always be people who say that Jesus didn't rise from the dead. However, Paul assures us that many people saw Jesus after his resurrection: Peter (Cephas), the rest of the 12 apostles, more than 500 Christian believers (most of whom were still alive when Paul wrote this, although some had died), James (Jesus' brother), all the apostles, and finally Paul himself. The resurrection of Jesus stands as a historical fact. Don't be discouraged by doubters who deny the Resurrection. Be filled with hope because of the knowledge that one day you--and they--will see the living proof when Christ returns. (For more evidence of the Resurrection, see the chart on page 1711.)
15:7 This James is Jesus' half brother, who at first did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah (John 7:5). After seeing the resurrected Christ, he became a believer and ultimately a leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13). James also wrote the New Testament book of James.
15:8-9 Paul's most important credential to be an apostle was that he was an eyewitness of the risen Christ (see Acts 9:3-6). "Abnormally born" means that his was a special case. The other apostles saw Christ during his earthly life. Paul was in the next generation of believers--yet Christ appeared to him.
15:9-10 As a zealous Pharisee, Paul had been an enemy of the Christian church-even to the point of capturing and persecuting believers (see Acts 9:1-3). Thus, he felt unworthy to be called an apostle of Jesus Christ. Though undoubtedly the most influential of the apostles, Paul was deeply humble. He knew that he had worked hard and accomplished much, but only because God had poured kindness and grace upon him. True humility is not convincing yourself that you are worthless but recognising the value of God's work in you. It means having God's perspective on who you are and acknowledging his grace in developing your abilities.
15:10 Paul wrote of working harder than the other apostles. This was not an arrogant boast, because he knew that his power came from God and that it really didn't matter who worked hardest. Because of his prominent position as a Pharisee, Paul's conversion made him the object of even greater persecution than the other apostles; thus, he had to work harder to preach the same message.
15:12-58 Most Greeks did not believe that people's bodies would be resurrected after death. They saw the afterlife as something that involved only the soul. According to many Greek philosophers, the soul was the real person, imprisoned in a physical body, and at death the soul would be released. There was no immortality for the body, but the soul entered an eternal state. Christianity, by contrast, affirms that the body and soul will be united in the resurrection. The church in Corinth was in the heart of Greek culture. Thus, many believers had a difficult time believing in a bodily resurrection. Paul wrote this part of his letter to clear up their confusion about the resurrection.
15:13-18 The bodily resurrection of Christ is the centre of the Christian faith. Because Christ rose from the dead, as he promised, we know that what he said is true and that he is God. The Resurrection affirms the truthfulness of Jesus· life and words. It also confirms Jesus· unique authority to say, "I am the resurrection and the life" (John 11:25). Because he rose, we have certainty that our sins are forgiven. Because he rose, he lives and represents us before God. Because he rose and defeated death, we know we also will be raised. Jesus' resurrection guaranteed both his promise to us and his authority to make that promise. We must take him at his word and believe.
15:19 Why does Paul say that believers "are of all people most to be pitied" if this life is all there is? In Paul's day, faith in Christ often brought a person persecution, ostracism from family, and, in many cases, poverty. In the world of the Roman Empire, being a Christian had few tangible benefits. It was certainly not a step up the social or career ladder. More important, however, is the fact that if Christ had not been resurrected from the dead, Christians would not be forgiven for their sins or have any hope of eternal life. If what Christians believe were not true, we would be pitiful because we would be suffering for no purpose. Fortunately, that is not the case!
15:20 Just as the first part of the harvest was brought to the temple as an offering (Leviticus 23:10-44), Christ was the first to rise from the dead and never die again. He is our forerunner, the proof of our eventual resurrection to eternal life.
15:21 Death came into the world as a result of Adam and Eve's sin. In Romans 5:12-21, Paul explained why Adam's sin brought sin to all people, how death and sin spread to all humans because of this first sin, and the parallel between Adam's death and Christ's death.
15:24-28 This is not a chronological sequence of events, and no specific time for these events is given. Paul's point is that the resurrected Christ will conquer all evil, including death. (See Revelation 20:14 for more on the final destruction of death.)
15:25-28 Although God the Father and God the Son are equal, each is a distinct person with special work to do. One of the roles of Christ the Son involves defeating the evil in the world he created. First, he defeated sin and death on the cross, and in the final days, he will defeat Satan and all evil. World events may seem out of control, and justice may seem scarce. But God is in control. allowing evil to remain for a time until Jesus Christ returns to earth again to usher in his new creation.
15:29 Some believers were baptised on behalf of others who had died unbaptised. Nothing more is known about this practice, but it obviously affirms a belief in resurrection. Paul is not promoting baptism for the dead but illustrating his argument that the resurrection is a reality.
15:30-34 If death ends everything for us, enjoying the present moment would be all that matters. But Christians know that life continues beyond the grave and that our life on earth is preparation for a life that will never end. What you do today truly matters for eternity. In light of eternity, ignoring God and living your own way is a foolish gamble. Your belief or unbelief in the Resurrection will affect your view of the future. It also ought to affect how you live today.
15:31-32 "I face death every day" refers to the dangers Paul encountered daily. The "wild beasts" in Ephesus represent the savage opposition he had faced there.
15:33-34 It is impossible to avoid keeping company with those who don't have faith in Jesus (5:10), and we should not want to avoid them entirely. In fact, we are called to be salt and light to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Paul is not making a blanket statement about staying away from those who are not Christians, but he is cautioning us to be careful in our friendships and business relationships. If you spend a lot of time hanging around those who don't believe in Jesus or who ridicule people of faith, they may influence you to doubt your own faith. You may also find yourself becoming more comfortable with some of their sinful habits. Make sure when you go out in the world that you are equipped with strong faith, a solid understanding of God's Word, and the prayers and encouragement of other believers. Don't let your relationships with unbelievers lead you away from Christ or cause your faith to waver.
15:35-58 Paul launches into a discussion about what our resurrected bodies will be like. If you could select your own body, what kind would you choose- strong, athletic, beautiful? Paul explains that each believer will be recognisable in his or her resurrected body, but those bodies will be better than we can imagine, for they will be made to live forever. Each person will still have his or her own personality and individuality, but these will be perfected through Christ's work. The Bible does not reveal everything that our resurrected bodies will be able to do, but we know they will be perfect, without any infirmities, sickness, or disease {see Philippians 3:21).
15:35-58 Paul compares the resurrection of our bodies with the growth of a seed in a garden. Seeds placed in the ground don't grow unless they "die" first. The plant that grows looks very different from the seed because God gives it a new "body." There are different kinds of bodies--people, animals, fish, birds. Even the angels in heaven have bodies that are different from earthly ones in beauty and glory. Our resurrected bodies will be very different from our earthly bodies, and they will be glorious.
15:42-44 Our present, perishable bodies decay, but they will be transformed into resurrection bodies that are perfect and will never decay. Our new bodies will not be limited by the current laws of nature. This does not necessarily mean we'll be superpeople, but our bodies will be different from and more capable than our present bodies. Our new bodies will not be weak, will never get sick, and will never die.
15:45 The "last Adam" is Christ. Because Christ rose from the dead, he is a life-giving spirit; he is the source and giver of eternal life. This means that he has entered a new form of existence and is able to provide the spiritual life that will result in our resurrection from the dead. Christ's new, glorified human body now suits his new, glorified life-just as Adam's human body was suitable to his natural life. When we are resurrected, God will give us transformed, eternal bodies suited to eternal life.
15:50-53 We all face limitations. Those who have physical, mental, or emotional challenges are especially aware of this. Some may be blind, but they can see a new way to live. Some may be deaf, but they can hear God's Good News. Some may have legs that are disabled, but they can walk in God's love. In addition, we have the encouragement that those challenges and disabilities are only temporary. Paul explains that we all will be given new bodies when Christ returns and that these bodies will be without disabilities or limitations, never to die or become sick. This can give us hope in our suffering.
15:51-52 "We will not all sleep" means that Christians alive on the day when Christ returns will not have to die but will be transformed immediately. A trumpet blast will usher in the new heaven and earth. The Jews would understand the significance of this because trumpets were always blown to signal the start of great festivals and other extraordinary events (Numbers 10:10).
15:54-56 Satan seemed to be victorious in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3) and at the cross of Jesus (Mark 15:21-38). But God turned Satan's apparent victory into defeat when Jesus Christ rose from the dead (Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14-15). Thus, death is no longer a source of dread or fear. Christ overcame it, and one day we will also. The law will no longer make sinners out of us just because we cannot keep it. Death has been defeated, and we have hope beyond the grave.
15:58 Because of the Resurrection, nothing we do for the Lord is useless. Sometimes we become apathetic about serving the Lord or hesitate to do good because we don't see any results. Knowing that Christ has won the ultimate victory should affect the way we live right now. Don't let discouragement over an apparent lack of results keep you from doing the work of the Lord enthusiastically as you have opportunity, knowing that your work will have eternal results.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)