1 Corinthians 15:35-58 was written by Paul to further solidify his assertion in the previous verses that the resurrection from the dead is a certainty. The Corinthians had many questions about this. Remember that most of them believed that Christ would return to earth during their lifetimes. So, when many of them began to die from natural causes or to be martyred, as they all continued to age, they began to doubt other doctrinal truths. This doubt led to their contamination by various errors.
1 Corinthians was written to correct these.
They had many questions about how it would unfold, if the resurrection from the dead was a future certainty. The following verses were given to answer these questions.
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 Fool! What you sow will not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare seed—perhaps of wheat or something else. 38 But God gives it a body just as he planned, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same: People have one flesh, animals have another, birds and fish another.40 And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. The glory of the heavenly body is one sort and the earthly another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon and another glory of the stars, for star differs from star in glory.
42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is 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 also it is written, “The first man, Adam,became a living person”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man is from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 Like the one made of dust, so too are those made of dust, and like the one from heaven, so too those who are heavenly.49 And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, let us also bear the image of the man of heaven.
50 Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen,
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”“
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, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58 So then, dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Wiersbe1 points out that "resurrection is not reconstruction", the latter being what the Corinthians anticipated. Because the supernatural transformation from seemingly nothing into a heavenly body is difficult to understand, Paul used the analogy of a seed to illustrate. When one plants a seed, no one expects the seed itself to rise up in its planted form from the ground. Yet, undeniably, the roots, shoots and fruits come from the seed itself. Similarly, our earthly bodies are like "the first Adam's" - - - the Adam of Adam and Eve, our ancestors. But, our heavenly bodies will be like ("the second Adam) Jesus Christ's resurrected body.
What will that body be like, you ask? We are given some hints in Scripture, telling us some of the attributes of Jesus' resurrected body. Paul plainly states in Philippians 3:20-21 that our resurrected bodies will be like His. We know, then, that our new bodies will be incorruptible and eternal. (However, some believe that some of what we read about Jesus' actions after the resurrection were characteristics given only to Him. Frankly, I find no support for such in Scripture, preferring to adopt Paul's position.) If you want to explore the given characteristics of our "forever bodies", here are some references. I'll also include a web link in the Sources: section, where you can read about several more.
*teleportation His sudden appearance on the road to Emmaus Luke 24:13-14
"I must ascend to my Father" (spoken to Magdalene at the tomb) John 20:17
*walk through solid matter His walking through a locked door to appear to the 12 Jn. 20:19-26
*ability to disguise oneself Mark 16:12, Luke 24:13
Paul concludes this chapter by telling the Corinthians to be encouraged by these truths. Holding on to such a certainty gives us, as it gave the Corinthians, the power for victorious living, for a resplendent walk, as we work for the furtherance of our Lord's kingdom.
Father, thank you for these sneak previews of the glorious future You have planned for Your children. Since our only earthly experience has been with a troublesome, inconvenient human body, we cannot fathom how wonderful our heavenly bodies will be. Thank you for redeeming our souls, so that we, at the moment of our deaths, will fly into the loving arms of our Savior, to be with Him forever. And thank you for resurrecting our bodies on that day which only You know, to unite our spirits with our forever bodies. We may be here on that amazing day; or, we may already be with our Lord and Savior, worshipping our Triune God in Your presence. That is not for us to know. But, You know, O majestic Lord! Our times and seasons are in Your hands. With love and praise, in Jesus' name, amen.
Sources:
1 Wiersbe, Warren W. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. 2nd ed. Colorado Springs: David C Cook, 2007. 495. Print.
2 http://devotionalnet.faithsite.com/uploads/147/95680.pdf
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