1 Corinthians 15

Chap. XV. Ver. 1—19. Christ’s resurrection, the ground and pledge of ours.—The resurrection of the body, however ridiculed by ancient or modern philosophers, is a fundamental truth of Christianity, constantly insisted upon in the public preaching of the apostles, (as we find in the Book of Acts,) as well as in the apostolical epistles. But as the general resurrection arises out of Christ’s resurrection, it was necessary, therefore, to establish that fact, as the foundation of this doctrine. Now, as a fact can only be established by testimony, St. Paul here refers to the various witnesses by whose testimony it may be established. After his resurrection, our Lord was “seen of Cephas, (or Peter,) of the twelve,”

or body of the apostles and afterwards of “five hundred brethren at once,” of whom, says the apostle, “the greater part remain (alive) unto this present, (time.”) The other appearances are mentioned by the Evangelists; but this is not, though it is thought to be referred to in (Matthew 28:10). The modest manner in which St. Paul speaks of himself, as one of these witnesses, is very remarkable. He calls himself an abortive—“one born out of due time,” and too insignificant to deserve notice: because, though an apostle, and especially so to the Corinthians, ((1 Corinthians 9:2),) he had been a persecutor of the church of God; yet since he had been born again, and become a child of God, and a servant of Christ, he had been indefatigable in serving the great cause in which he was now engaged.

This he mentions, however, not to praise himself, but to honour his divine Master. “It was not I, (says he,) but the grace of God which was with me;” and to that grace he gives all the glory. After this exordium, he adverts to the subject already named, and which was now evidently in full view of his mind—the general resurrection, as arising out of the fact of Christ’s resurrection. To this fact he, as an apostle, and as one who had himself seen Christ after his resurrection, bore unequivocal evidence: and upon it founding the resurrection of all believers, he thus reasons—“If there be no resurrection, then Christ is not risen; then is our preaching vain, and your faith also is vain. We are found false witnesses concerning God, in saying that he raised his Son, Jesus, from the dead,”

((Acts 2:24), &c.,) and you also are left to perish “in your sins;” the atonement of Christ being of no avail if it be not accepted of God, and the evidence of acceptance resting on his resurrection.

Ver. 18. Are perished.—This verse implies, that all who had been saved, were saved through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Ver. 19. Most miserable.—Douay, “Pitiable.”
Ver. 20. Become the first-fruits.—This is said in allusion to the law, (Leviticus 23:10-11). (“The resurrection of Christ has been demonstrated, and our resurrection necessarily follows: as sure as the first-fruits are the proof that there is a harvest, so surely the resurrection of Christ is a proof of ours.”)—Bagster.

Ver. 22. For as in Adam, &c.—The whole context shows, that the Apostle in this passage is speaking of the resurrection of the body, and has no reference to the future condition either of the righteous or the wicked. His meaning is the case of Roman viceroys, or governors of provinces; who, when their administration was ended, delivered up their government into the hands of the emperor.—Bagster.
Ver. 27. He is accepted—i.e. God the Father.
Ver. 29. Baptized for the dead.—That is, probably, as Ellis and Doddridge interpret, “who are baptized in the room of the dead;” referring to the case of those who presented themselves for baptism immediately after the martyrdom of their brethren or friends; as if fresh soldiers should enlist and press forward to the assault, to supply the places of those who had fallen.—Bagster. Macknight considers the passage as elliptical, and reads it, “Baptized for—”

“O God! awake our souls to righteousness,
And on our hearts eternal things impress!”

Ver. 35—50. The resurrection of the dead.—The apostle now comes to explain, so far as the mysterious subject can be rendered intelligible to our present faculties, the nature of this resurrection; and this he does by analogy, comparing the death and resurrection of our bodies to the process of vegetation in the production of corn. It is true the subject might have been illustrated from other analogies, particularly from the natural history of insects; and the changes which human nature undergoes might have been well illustrated from the changes which pass on certain insects, from the caterpillar to the apodalic, and from the chrysalis to the fly; whereby the creature which before crawled upon the earth, by means of passing through a state of insensibility, becomes the inhabitant of another region, and flies in the midst of heaven.

So man goes to sleep a worm, and wakes an angel. The analogy here used, seems to have been borrowed from a suggestion of our Lord himself, ((John 12:24),) that “except a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die,” it cannot bring forth fruit. There is one grand distinction, however, between the two cases: the grain of corn that vegetates brings forth many, even “thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold;” but in man, the individual which dies is alone restored to life. We do not think it necessary, or even appropriate, to enter into any philosophical inquiries, in this place, as to the nature of that death to which every grain of corn is subject in the earth. Whether it be absolute, or apparent only, like the chrysalis of the caterpillar, it is sufficient to illustrate the subject.

The change of “The single grain of wheat which is sown, (says Mr. Fuller,) does not reproduce itself, but produces another like itself: for to every seed is given its own body: that is, a body of its own nature or kind. So also is the resurrection of the dead. If the body do not retain the sameness of identity, it will produce the sameness of nature or kind. God giveth it a body as it pleaseth him, and to every seed its own body.” But the introduction of celestial bodies in this place—sun, moon, and stars, with birds, beasts, and fishes, seems to us mysterious and perplexing; unless, indeed, it be designed to intimate that the glorified bodies of the redeemed, at the resurrection, will as much exceed their present forms as the celestial orbs exceed those terrestrial bodies.

So the prophet Daniel tells us, (ch. xii. 3,) that “then the wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” In this life, indeed, we all bear the image of the first Adam “of the earth, earthy;” and at death this is sown a “natural body:” but in the last day it shall be raised a spiritual body, like that of “the second Adam, the Lord from heaven.” The former was made “a living soul;” the latter Adam is a quickening (a life-giving) spirit. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, so must we “bear the image of the heavenly” or, as the same apostle elsewhere expresses it—“The Lord Jesus shall change our vile bodies, to be transformed like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself.”

((Philippians 3:21).) Could we accurately ascertain the nature of Christ’s present body, we might also easily ascertain what ours will be. The apostle indeed says, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven,”—yet our Lord himself speaks of his raised body as composed of “flesh and bones,” and as bearing the marks of his crucifixion. ((Luke 24:39-43).) In the same passage we find, also, that Jesus did eat with them, even animal food, namely, a piece of “a broiled fish and of a honey-comb;” which seems clearly to imply that his resurrection body contained all the organs necessary to receiving food. We stop here, however, being desirous not to push our factor [feet] the letter of the text, on subjects wherein we are so liable to err.

When the glorious events here predicted shall be accomplished, we shall, doubtless, find reason to exclaim, with the queen of Sheba, that the half had not been told us.

Ver. 51—58. The effect of the last trumpet, and the Christian’s final triumph!—“Behold! I show you a mystery,” says the apostle. A mystery is a secret—but that secret may be, at least partially, revealed; and here a scene opens to us, full of “terrible majesty.” The “trumpet of the archangel” shakes both earth and heaven, and the voice of God awakens the dead—that is, the dead saints, for they alone are referred to in this first resurrection. Poets and painters have amused themselves in sketching this awful scene, and have represented the awaking dead as crawling from beneath their tombs: but the event defies every attempt of human imagination—in a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—the dead saints are raised, and the living changed.

It can be compared only to that Almighty fiat, “Let light be, and light was.” (Gen. 1. 3.) And with what ease is all this effected, as relates to the happy subjects of this change—it is only a change of dress! The old garment of mortality and corruption shall be thrown off, and immortality put on: and then is fulfilled the saying of Isaiah, (ch. xxv. 8,) “Death is swallowed up in victory;” that is, not only conquered, but destroyed. And then the sacred writer borrows from another prophet (Hosea xiii. 14) this triumphant song, “O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory?” Death is thus described by Milton as a hideous, shapeless monster,—“Black as night,
Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell,
He shook a dreadful dart; what seem’d his head,
The likeness of a kingly crown had on.”

But the sacred writers compare the monster to a dragon, whose sting is sin, and its wound always fatal; but, through the death of our Lord Jesus, that sting is drawn, and the poison is extracted.

Notes on the verses

Chap. XV. Ver. 2. What I preached.—Doddridge, “those joyful tidings.”
Ver. 3. First of all that, &c.—Doddridge, “Among the first [things,] that which,” &c.
Ver. 4. Rose again the third day, according, &c.—He was not to see corruption, which generally occurred before the fourth day. See (John 11:39).
Ver. 5. Then of the twelve—So they were called, though only ten of them were present, Judas being dead, and Thomas absent. They were called the Triumviri and twelve, thus implying their office: so the Romans spake Decemviri, when meaning only a part of them.
Ver. 18. Then is Christ not risen.—Doddridge, “neither is Christ raised.” So in verse 14.
Ver. 17. Ye are yet in your sins.—(If Christ be not risen, ye have no evidence of God’s having accepted his mediation for you, nor, consequently of your being justified.)—Bagster.
Ver. 27. That, as the first Adam was the cause of natural death, so Christ, the second Adam, is the author of the resurrection.
Ver. 23. Afterward they that are Christ’s.—This plainly shows that the resurrection of believers will be distinct, and precede that of the wicked.—At his coming i.e. at his second coming to raise the dead, and judge the world.
Ver. 24. Then cometh the end.—(The mediatorial kingdom; an allusion to “the resurrection of the dead.”) In Rob. Wahl the passage is thus paraphrased—“If the dead do not rise, of what avail is it to expose ourselves to so many dangers in the hope of a future reward?”
Ver. 31. I protest by your rejoicing.—Macknight, “By the boasting (which I have) on account of Christ Jesus,” &c.
Ver. 32. If…. I have fought, &c.—Lardner understands this hypothetically—“If I had”—and not that he literally did so.
Ver. 36. Thou fool.—Doddridge, “Thoughtless creature.”
Except it die.—Macknight, “rot.” Doddridge, “(appear to) die.” [That is, the germ, or principle of vegetable life, does not spring up in the form of a plant, till the external body, consisting of the lobes or farinaceous part of the seed, dies, and is decomposed; and thus, forming a fine earth, becomes the appropriate nourishment of the young plant that is springing into life, till it thus becomes capable of deriving nutriment and support from the grosser particles of earth in which it was deposited.]—Bagster.

Ver. 38. His own body.—Macknight, “its proper body.” (Greek idion) i.e. “the body proper to its own kind.” So Doddridge. Not the body which it had before: so this will not prove the identity of the resurrection body; but only, as Macknight expresses it, “The raised body of the saints will resemble their body which was laid in the grave, so far as their new state will admit.” In one respect we know that they will materially differ. See (Luke 20:35). It is the general opinion, however, and is largely argued by Mr. Drew, in his ingenious Essay “On the Resurrection of the Body,” (1 Corinthians 6), that there is a principle of identity (some germ or stamen) which will be preserved till the resurrection; though what this is, it seems utterly in vain to conjecture.

Ver. 41. One star differeth from another star in glory.—This, it is probable, is literally true: we know of no two bodies in nature perfectly alike, not any two bodies which have uniformly the same motion. This applies particularly to the heavenly bodies; and if we are to consider this (as many do) as referring metaphorically to the saints, it may be equally true that spiritual bodies have the same diversity, though all glorious. Though the earth is now supposed to have 800 millions of inhabitants, or more, it is probable that the human “face divine,” in every instance, varies in some of its features.
Ver. 44. A spiritual body—is a body refined from all the corruption and defilement attached to matter in the present state.
Ver. 47. The Lord from heaven.—The word Lord is wanting in some ancient MSS., and Tertullian says, was inserted by Marcion; yet both Doddridge and Macknight retain it. The Vulgate reads, “The second man from heaven is heavenly.” Dr. Pye Smith remarks, that in the ancient book Zohar, Messiah is called “The Adam on high;” and so distinguished from the first man, who is called the “Adam below.”
Ver. 50. Flesh and blood—i.e. in its present corrupt state; Or, [in the next member of the sentence, corruption.] “Our bodies, after they are raised from the dead, (says Mr. Fuller,) may be flesh and blood, and yet not what they now are.”
Ver. 51. We shall all be changed—i.e. We believers. Macknight.

Nothing like this is said of the wicked. Compare (Philippians 3:21).
Ver. 52. The trumpet shall sound.—The awful sound of this trumpet is possibly illustrated by a reference to the thunders of Sinai, which seem to have been attended with volcanic phenomena. See (Hebrews 12:19). Bishop Berkeley, who heard an eruption of Vesuvius at twelve miles’ distance, compares it to the raging together of a tempest and a troubled sea, mixed with the roaring of thunder and of artillery: and some of the volcanic eruptions of South Sea are said to have been heard from 150 to 600 miles. See Dick’s Christ.
Ver. 54. Death is swallowed up in victory—O-, “for ever.” Whitby and Macknight. Compare verse 26. But the same word is rendered victory in ver. 55 and 57.

Ver. 55. O grave.—Greek, Hades, or the invisible world. The Jews speak of the angel of death as having the keys of Hades; and St. Paul describes Satan under a similar character—“Him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil.” (Hebrews 2:14).
Ver. 56. The sting of death is sin.—For it is sin that arms death with all its terrors.—And the strength of sin is the law.—Because it is by the law that we have the knowledge, and feel the consequences of sin.

Chap. XVI. Ver. 1. Concerning the collection.—It is evident, that the Corinthians had been previously made acquainted with the apostle’s intention, of raising a contribution from the Gentile churches for the poor Christians in Judea: and, as they were more wealthy than most of their brethren, he did not intimate even a doubt of their liberality in that good work.

But he judged it proper to point out to them the method, about which he had given orders in the churches of Galatia, whence he had lately come.—Scott.
Ver. 2. First day of the week.—The argument from this passage for the observance of the first day of the week, as ‘the Lord’s day,’ the Christian sabbath, is very fair, unless that were the custom in apostolical churches, why should ‘the first day of the week’ be mentioned in this connexion? ‘On Sunday,’ says Justin Martyr, ‘all Christians, in the city or country, meet together, because that is the day of our Lord’s resurrection: and then we read the writings of the prophets and apostles. This being done, the president makes an oration to the assembly, exhorting them to imitate and do the things which they have heard; then we all join in prayer, and after that we celebrate the sacrament.’”—Scott.

—Lay by him in store.—Doddridge, “Lay something by, treasuring it up;” namely, in the common stock. —Instead of in store, Macknight reads, “in the treasury;” i.e. the public stock of the church. This plan of setting apart, to benevolent uses, a portion of the gains of each week is admirably adapted to promote the spirit of liberality. The sums being comparatively small, avarice is not excited. But when the portion of a year’s profits is looked at, it is so large that avarice fastens her talons upon it, and nothing short of the grace of God can unfasten her.
Ver. 3. Your liberality.—Greek, “gift;” or, “grace.”
Ver. 5. When I pass through Macedonia.—By (1 Corinthians 2)it appears that Paul had been at Corinth, and by this verse, that he was about to visit it a second time.

But instead of sailing directly from Ephesus to Corinth, as he had formerly purposed, he intended to go round through Macedonia; and that he did so, appears from (Acts 20:1-2).
Ver. 8. I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.—This, compared with verse 6—“And it may be, that I will winter with you,” fixes the time of writing this Epistle—after winter, but before Pentecost, which includes the time of the Passover, about which time Benson, from (1 Corinthians 5:7-8), supposes it to have been written.
Ver. 9. For a great door and effectual.—See (2 Corinthians 2:12). (Colossians 4:3). (Revelation 3:8).
Ver. 10. If Timotheus come—Timothy had been sent before the apostle into Macedonia, with directions to visit Corinth.
Ver. 12. Our brother Apollos.—It seems, that a party at Corinth professed