1 Corinthians 15

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

The apostle enters on his discourse concerning the resurrection of the dead; which he introduces with some remarks on the certainty and importance of Christ’s resurrection. 1 Cor. XV. 1—11.

THERE is one topic more that remains to be handled, of those concerning which you write to me; I mean, the great doctrine of the resurrection of the dead; which I perceive some among you begin to doubt; whether seduced by any Jewish teachers of Sadducean principles, or biassed by the vain pretences of heathen philosophers, who would despise it as a mean and unworthy hope. But I make known unto you, brethren, and remind you of the gospel which I have preached to you at the very beginning of my ministry among you; which ye have also received with readiness and delight, and in which ye may be said to stand, as much of your establishment in Christianity will

• Unworthy hope.] It is well known, that the primitive Christians were often insulted by the heathen philosophers, for their hope of a resurrection; which one of them, ridiculously enough, calls the hope of worms. Compare 2 Tim. xi 18, and the note there. Others taught virtue to be its own necessary reward, in such a manner as tended to overthrow the strongest of all natural arguments for a future state; I

mean, that taken from such an unequal distribution of rewards and punishments, as could not otherwise take place under the government of a righteous God. If Christians were by this tempted so to refine on the doctrine of the resurrection, as in effect to explain it away, it shews the propriety of the apostle’s setting himself to prove the resurrection of Christians, rather than a resurrection in general.

e evidence of the resurrection of Christ.

depend on your retaining it in its genuine simplicity and purity: By which gospel also, whereof the doctrine of the resurrection makes so considerable a part, *ye are happily brought into the way of being completely and eternally saved, if ye faithfully retainᵇ those joyful tidings which I delivered unto you; unless indeedᶜ ye have believed in vain: which will certainly be the case, if ye let go that great anchor of your soul which must support it in the fierce storms and tempests to which you will here be exposed. For I delivered to you among the first [principles] which I inculcated, when I came to preach the gospel among you, what I have also received,ᵈ and been taught by Divine inspiration, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures of the Old Testament, in which he was foretold, and represented, as the great Sin offering; (Isa. liii. 6, 12; Dan. ix. 26.) And I also instructed you, that he was buried in a new tomb; and that his dead body was kept by a guard of his enemies: but kept in vain, for to their confusion, and the perpetual establishment of the faith and hope of his humble followers, he was raised the third day, according to the scriptures,ᵉ which intimate, that he should not see corruption in the grave, (Psal. xvi. 10.) And in confirmation of this great truth, I told you, that the same day that he rose, he was seen first of Cephas, or Peter, to whom, that he might comfort his wounded heart under its sorrows for his late fall, he condescended to make his first appearance, excepting that to the women at the sepulchre; and

ᵇ Retain.] So xalēxīle evidently signifies. To keep in memory suggests a very inadequate sense.

ᶜ Unless indeed.] Bālos uṁ is a very remarkable form of expression. Perhaps there may be more in it than most readers are aware. If I mistake not, it suggests the thought expressed, verse 17. So the two first verses may be a transition; as if he had said, I preach the same gospel still, and I hope you will retain it; yet I have reason to fear some of you entertain notions which tend quite to enervate it.

ᵈ Received.] For the import of this phrase, see Gal. i. 12; 1 Cor. xi. 23.

ᵉ Raised the third day, according to the scriptures.] It has been queried, where the scriptures foretell, that Christ should rise from the dead on the third day. Some think there is a transposition, or parenthesis; so that the meaning will be, he rose again, according to the scriptures; and this on the third day. Chand of Christianity, p. 370; and so Dr. Bullock replies, that he would have risen according to the scriptures, had it been on the fifth, or tenth day. (Bull. Vind. p. 48.) But Mr. Jeffries, whom I follow in the paraphrase, gives what appeared to me the best solution, as it is intimated, John xi. 39, that bodies began to corrupt on the fourth day. See Jeff. Review, p. 127.

Who was seen by the twelve, and above five hundred

afterwards he was seen by that company who were called the twelve apostles, though several of the number were then absent. Afterwards he appeared according to his repeated appointments, to above five hundred brethren at once in Galilee, where he gave the most glorious and incontestible proof of the reality of his resurrection, in the presence of this great concourse, of whom the greater part continue [alive] until now, and constitute a cloud of witnesses to this important truth; but some are fallen asleep in Jesus, and gone to dwell with him, as the great Lord of life.

And you may remember, I told you also, that after this he was seen of James, and afterwards, just before his ascension, by all the apostles. But last of all he also appeared to me, as to an embrio, or one born out of due time, a poor, weak, contemptible creature, from whom nothing good was to be expected, not worthy of the least patience; how much less worthy of being marked out with such distinguishing favours! For I must humbly acknowledge, and I

Of the twelve.] It is certain, neither Judas nor Thomas were there; and as it is observed below, James might probably be absent; but as the council of twenty three among the Jews might be said to be assembled, if the greater part were present, though the number might not be complete; so the company might be called the twelve, though we should suppose the fourth part to have been absent. Compare Mark xvi. 14; Luke xxiv. 36; John xx. 26.

Above five hundred.] Probably it was in Galilee, where there was such a number of disciples; though there were no more than an hundred and twenty at Jerusalem, when Matthias was chosen. Dr. Prideaux, Mr. Ditton, and many others, urge this as a glorious proof of the resurrection of Christ. Had it been an imposture, so many false hearts and tongues could never have acted in concert; nor would they all have kept a secret, which remorse, interest, and perhaps often torture, might urge them to divulge; especially as there had been one traitor among the twelve, on account of which, had they been conscious of fraud, a general suspicion of each other’s secrecy must have arisen. See Prid. Lett. to a Deist. . 241.

By all the apostles.] The change of phrase, from that in the conclusion of the 5th verse, is very remarkable; and, as a very learned, candid, and sagacious person, has suggested to me, it very probably intimates, that they who were there called the twelve, that is, the greater part of the company who used to be so denominated, were not all the apostles. On which circumstance this gentleman grounds a very probable conjecture, that James might, by some accident, perhaps illness, or affairs indispensibly necessary, be detained from meeting his brethren, both on the day of the resurrection, and that day seventh night, and likewise at the time when Christ appeared to the five hundred; and that he might, in this respect, be upon a level with them, our Lord appeared to him alone, after all the appearances mentioned before. An this account of the matter appears vastly more credible than that which St. Jerome quotes from the gospel of the Nazarenes, that on the death of Christ, James made a vow, that he would neither eat nor drink till he saw Christ risen from the dead: an event of which the apostles has certainly no expectation.

last of all, by the apostle Paul himself.

would continually bear it in my mind, that I am the least of all the apostles, who am not indeed worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God; on which account, considering the transports of my savage zeal, I think myself hardly deserving to be numbered amongst the meanest followers of my Divine Master, and less than the least of all saints. (Eph. iii. 8.) But by the grace of God I am what I am, a Christian, an apostle, and not inferior to any of my honoured brethren in that office; and his grace [manifested] towards me, in raising me to so high a dignity, and so happy a state, was not displayed in vain: but I laboured more abundantly than they all, conscious that I could never do enough to balance the mischief I had formerly committed, or answer the obligations under which such rich and distinguishing mercy laid me. I exerted myself therefore to the utmost in my apostolical work; which should, by the way, shelter me from the contempt which some are ready to throw upon me: yet, to speak more properly, it was not I, but the grace of God that was with me: God furnished me for the work, he excited me to diligence and zeal in it; to him be the glory of all. His grace was the cause of all; and whether therefore I, or they, laboured most, and to whomsoever we delivered our message, whether among you, or elsewhere, so we preach, and so ye believed. All agree in bearing our testimony to the death and resurrection of Christ, and ye, with all other Christians, have agreed to receive it, as the great foundation of our holy religion.

IMPROVEMENT.

Let it be the daily joy of our hearts, to think how firm that foundation stands, and what various and convincing evidence we have, that as Christ became incarnate, visited this wretched verse world, and died for our sins, according to the scriptures; that as the condescended to go down into the caverns of the grave, and die there in the cold and silent tomb, humbled in the dust of death; so also, according to the same scriptures, he was raised again on the third day. Let us be very thankful, that such convincing proof was given of his resurrection, demonstrated by such infallible tokens, and repeated appearances, to all the apostles;

VOL. 4.

Reflections on the evidence of Christ’s resurrection.

who had every opportunity the most scrupulous doubt could demand, of examining at leisure into its certainty. More than five hundred persons were witnesses to it at one time; and witnesses, who survived to many future years to attest this important fact, that our faith and hope might be in God: in God, who quickeneth the dead, and who by this resurrection of Jesus his Son, hath begotten us again to a lively hope of an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. As we have received, so let us stand fast in this doctrine; and remember, that our salvation depends on our steadfastly retaining it, and that we believe in vain, and worse than in vain, if we ever, on any considerations, make shipwreck of faith, and of a good conscience.

It is matter of joy and thankfulness, that St. Paul was added to this cloud of witnesses, who attested the resurrection of Jesus; that great apostle, in whom the grace of God was so richly magnified; magnified particularly in that humility which he here expresses in so amiable a manner; calling himself the least of the apostles, and declaring that he was unworthy of the name of an apostle; and amidst all the labours and glories of this eminent station in the church, still keeping in his eyes that madness with which, in the days of his infidelity, he had wasted it. Shall we not all learn of him to say, By the grace of God I am what I am? Let us be solicitous, that his grace bestowed upon us be not in vain; and ever bearing in mind the many sins of our unconverted state, and our great unprofitableness since we have known God, or rather been known of him, let us labour in our Lord’s service with proportionable zeal; and when we have laboured to the utmost, and exerted ourselves with the greatest fidelity and resolution, let us ascribe it to that Divine agency which strengthened us for all, and say again, though some should esteem it a disagreeable tautology, Not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

1 Corinthians 15:12-34

The apostle shews the necessary connection between the resurrection of Christ, which he had established above, and the resurrection of the dead; and urges the importance of retaining that great fundamental of Christianity: in the series of his argument mentioning the surrender of the mediatorial kingdom which Christ shall make at the consummation of all things. 1 Cor. XV. 12—34.

1 CORINTHIANS XV. 12.

YOU have heard, my brethren, something of the convincing evidence which attended this great and important doctrine of Christ’s resurrection; but if Christ is thus preached, 1 Cor. XV. 12. NOW if Christ be preached that

dead rise not at all, Christ is not raised:

that he was assuredly raised from the dead, how do some among you presume to say, That there is no resurrection of the dead? With what face can any, who allow of Christ’s resurrection, pretend to deny the other, whether out of an attachment to Sadducean, or philosophical prejudices? For it is certain, that if there is no resurrection of the dead, if that doctrine be in the general altogether incredible, then neither is Christ raised.ᵃ And this would be a consequence, at once the most false, and the most melancholy, that can be conceived; for if Christ be not raised, then our preaching, which pretends to take its authority from a commission after his resurrection, in a view of declaring the certainty of it [is] vain; and your faith, founded chiefly upon the testimony which God then bore to him, [is] also vain. Yea, and we the apostles, notwithstanding all the miraculous evidences we give of the truth of our mission, are found, what I am sure you cannot believe we are, false witnesses of God; because you know that we bore this as our most important and solemn testimony concerning God, that he raised up Christ, whom nevertheless he indeed did not raise up, if the notion of a resurrection in the general be, as they teach, an absurdity, and the dead rise not all. I repeat it again, as a point of the highest consequence; for if the dead are not finally to be raised, neither is Christ raised: And what terrible consequences would arise from hence? Surely such as might be sufficient to strike us with horror: for if Christ be not raised, all your faith in the gospel [is] vain, and ye are without any salvation: ye are in that case still in your sins,ᵇ under the pressure of their unexpiated guilt; for with the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, that of

ᵃ Neither is Christ raised.] This argument, on which the apostle dwells in so copious a manner, would appear to be of great moment, whatever the principles were by which the doctrine of the resurrection was assaulted. It could not be said, that was in its own nature impossible, which was accomplished in Christ; and it would prove, that the hope of a resurrection was not, as the Gentiles represented it, a mean and sordid how, since it was

accomplished in the Son of God. Compare verse 1, noteᵃ.

ᵇ Still in your sins.] This plainly shews how necessary it was that there should be something more than reformation, which was plainly in fact wrought, in order to their being delivered from their sins; even that atonement, the sufficiency of which God attested by raising our cat Surety from the grave.

But Christ being raised, is the first fruits of them

the efficacy of his atonement is inseparably connected. And then also there would be this deplorable consequence farther attending, that they who sleep in Christ, are perished; even all deceased Christians, not excepting the most excellent of them, who have died for their religion. They have lost their life and being together, on this supposition, in the cause of one, who, if still among the dead, must have been an impostor, and false prophet.

And this scheme, which would represent those that sleep in Christ as perished, would, I am sure, be a very terrible doctrine to us the apostles of Jesus, in such a circumstance as this; for if it were in this life only that we have hope in Christ, we, who are exposed to such a variety of calamities and dangers for his sake, were of all men in the world the most pitiable:ᶜ since it is evident, that amidst such evils as these, nothing could comfort and support us, but the hopes of immortality; and we must be at once the vilest and the most wretched of mankind, if, while we make such pretences to them, we were indeed governed by any lower views.

But we will now dwell no longer on these melancholy suppositions, for we assuredly know that Christ is indeed risen from the dead;ᵈ

ᶜ Of all men the most pitiable: ἀκοινόησι.] It is quite foreign to the purpose, to argue from this text, as some have done, that “if there were no future state, virtue would make men more miserable than they would otherwise be.” It is evident, St. Paul here speaks, not of the case of good men in general, if their hopes of future happiness should after all be disappointed; but of the case of the apostles, and other preachers of Christianity, if amidst all their hardships and persecutions, they were not supported by this hope. Destitute of this amidst the extremest sufferings, they must have been perpetually subjected to the upbraidings of their own minds, for sacrificing every view of happiness in this world or another, to advance what they knew to be a pernicious falsehood. Perhaps there never were men on earth so criminal, and so wretched, as they must, on this suppo-

sition, have been. See the thought illustrated at large in my Sermons on the Power and Grace of Christ, &c. Ser. ix. p. 259—262.ᵈ Christ is indeed risen, &c.] It is a great mistake to imagine that the apostle is employed throughout this chapter in proving the resurrection. The proof lies in a very little room, chiefly verse 12—19, and almost all the rest of the chapter is taken up in illustrating, vindicating, or applying it. The proof is indeed very short, but most solid and convincing, that which arose from Christ’s resurrection. Now that not only proved a resurrection to be in fact not impossible, but, which was much more, as it proved him to be a Divine teacher, it proved the doctrine of a general resurrection, which he so expressly taught. It was natural for so good a man also, to insist on the sad consequences which would follow with respect to himself and his

For as all die in Adam, all shall be made alive in Christ :

[and] we are sure, that in this his resurrection, he is become the first fruits of them that slept; so that it is the security of ours. For as death [came] on the whole human race by means of one man, who brought mortality on all his posterity as the consequence of that one great offence, so likewise by means of another man [cometh] the resurrection of the dead; and our happy relation to him, abundantly repairs the damage we sustained by our fatal relation to the former. For as in Adam all are dead, and a sentence of inevitable death is come upon us all, as descended from him; so we Christians have a joyful persuasion for ourselves, and for our brethren, that, (though we are neither capable of effecting or meriting such a change,) in Christ we all shall also be made alive. But it was fit that every one should be reanimated, raised and glorified in his own order: it was fit that Christ, after a very short abode in the grave, should rise as the first fruits, and as such should present himself to God, and use his recovered life in his service; and they who are Christ’s property, the whole body of those that belong to him, should be raised up a considerable time afterwards, and appear as a glorious harvest in full maturity, at the important hour of his coming, when his voice shall awaken, and his almighty hand restore them.

And then [shall] the end of the world [be,] the grand catastrophe of all those wonderful scenes that have held in suspense so many succeeding generations; when he shall publicly and solemnly deliver up the mediatorial kingdom to God, even the Father, by whose commission he has held it, and to whose glory he has always administered it; when he shall have abolished

rethren, from giving up so glorious a hope; and the cordial manner in which the speaks of this, is a noble internal argument, which I hope many of my readers will feel, though I have been obliged to be less copious in the paraphrase than I could have wished.

First fruits of them that slept.] It is without sufficient reason, that Mr. Fleming, (Christ. Vol. I. p. 218,) would render ap, ruler, governor, or commander. Κε-

κομμηνών here is explained by κοιμηθογιές, verse 18, and both must refer to Christians, of whose resurrection alone, and not that of the wicked, he evidently speaks in this whole chapter.

Abolished and deposed.] The word καταχωμαι, generally signifies, “divesting a thing of some power, whether lawful or usurped, which it formerly had, and reducing it to an incapacity of exerting that energy any more.” Thus it is used of

and death, the last enemy, shall be destroyed

and deposed all principality, and all authority, and power, that has opposed itself to his government, and shall have triumphed over all the efforts, which either men or devils could ever make against his ever growing empire and dominion. For we know, that according to the tenor of that ancient prophecy, (Psal. cx. 1,) which carries with it so illustrious a reference to the Messiah and his kingdom, he must reign, till he have put all [his] enemies under his feet; so as that they should become his footstool, and subserve that exaltation which they have endeavoured to prevent. And so universal shall the triumph be, that the very last enemy, [even] death, shall be deposed and destroyed: that enemy which continues in some measure to hold the subjects of Christ under its dominion, even when the temptations of the world, and the malice of Satan, can hold them no longer, and when every remainder of corrupt nature and human infirmity has long since ceased in the perfect holiness of the intermediate state, and its unmingled serenity and joy.

This, I say, must necessarily be implied; for it is elsewhere said, he hath put all things under his feet, (Psal. viii. 6,) and it must accordingly be accomplished; but [it is] evident enough, that when he saith, that all things were subjected to him, it is with the exception of him by whom all things were thus subjected to him. None can surely imagine, that the Son was ever to reign over the great and glorious Father of all; but on the contrary it may naturally be concluded, that he would still direct his administration to the glory of him from whom he received his kingdom. But when the Father shall have fulfilled this promise in its utmost extent, and all things shall be subjected to him, so that it shall appear to every eye, that he is indeed Lord of all; then shall the Son also himself, amidst all the glories of that triumph, be, and declare himself to be, subject to him that subjected all things to him,⁸ by a public act,

Satan, Heb. ii. 14; of death here, and verse 26, and 2 Tim. i. 10; of temporal princes, ject, &c.] I hope I shall be forgiven, i 1 Cor. i. 28, chap. ii. 6; and of the cere- after the best attention I could use, I have monial law, Eph. ii. 15.

Why else are persons baptized in the room of the dead?

that God may be all in all.

in the midst of this most august assembly, giving up, as it were, his commission to preside as universal Lord in the mediatorial kingdom, to him; as having answered the end for which it was given him, in the complete salvation of all his people, whom he shall then introduce into a state of the greatest nearness to God, and most intimate converse with him; that God may be, and that he may appear to be, all in all; that they all may enjoy complete and everlasting happiness, in the full communication of the Divine favour to them, for ever, in a world where they shall no longer need a Mediator to introduce them to him.

xxix. 1 Cor. xv. 26

Else what shall they do, which are baptized for the

Such are our views and hopes, as Christians; 29 else if it were not so, what should they do, who are baptized in token of their embracing the Christian faith in the room of the dead, who are just fallen in the cause of Christ, but are yet supported by a succession of new converts, who immediately offer themselves to fill up their places, as ranks of soldiers, that advance

missed the true and exact sense of this most difficult text. It is surprising to find authors of such different sentiments, as Witsius, and Crellius, agreeing to speak of Christ, as returning, as it were, to a private station, and being “as one of his brethren,” when he has thus given up the kingdom. The union of the Divine and human natures in the person of the great Emanuel, the incomparable virtues of his character, the glory of his actions, and the relation he bears to his people, with all the texts which assert the perpetuity of his government, prohibit our imagining that he shall ever cease to be illustriously distinguished from all others, whether men or angels in the heavenly world through eternal ages. To me it appears, that the kingdom to be given up, is the rule of this lower world, which is then to be consumed; and that it may not seem, as if a province of his empire were destroyed, his administration, undertaken in avowed subservience to the scheme of redemption, (Eph. i. 10,) and completed in the resurrection of all his people, shall close in a decent and honourable manner; God will declare the ends of it fully answered, and the whole body of his people shall be introduced by him into a state of more intimate approach to, and communion with God, than had been known by the

spirits of the blessed in their separate state.

h Who are baptized in the room of the dead] It would be almost endless to enumerate, and much more to canvass, all the interpretations which have been given of this obscure and ambiguous phrase, υπρ των νικραν. I think that of Sir Richard Ellys, which I have given in the paraphrase, much preferable to any other. See Fortuita Sacra, p. 137, &c. As for other interpretations, there is no reason to believe, that the superstitious custom, mentioned by Epiphanius, of baptizing a living person, as representing one who had died unbaptized, is here referred to; it is more likely to have risen from a mistake of this passage, than to have been so early prevalent. Mr. Cradock’s supposing it to allude to washing dead bodies, neither suits the grammar, nor really makes any significant sense. Nor is there any need of supposing, that νικραν is put for νικρα, and refers to their being baptized into the religion of Jesus, who, on the adversary’s hypothesis, is still dead. The senses, which Crellius, and bishop Atterbury maintain, differ so little from each other, and that we have given, that it may suffice to say, that each expresses but a part of the sense, and loses something of the spirit which we apprehend in these words.

And why are the apostles exposed to danger

to the combat in the room of their companions, who have just been slain in their sight. If the doctrine I oppose, be true, and the dead are not raised at all, why are they nevertheless thus baptized in the room of the dead, as cheerfully ready at the peril of their lives to keep up the cause of Jesus in the world? And indeed, how could my conduct be accounted for in any other light, but by supposing, that we act with a steady and governing view to this great principle, and this glorious hope? Why otherwise are we every hour exposed to so much danger, in the service of a master from whom it is evident we have no secular rewards to expect? Yet, my brethren, I do upon this solemn occasion protest, and even swear to you, by the greatest of all asseverations, by our hopes and our joys as Christians, by our rejoicing¹ and confidence common to us all, and which I with you have in Christ Jesus our Lord; I protest, I say, by this, that I daily die; that is, that I am every day surrounded, as it were, with death in its most terrible forms, and bear so many evils, that every hour of my life seems a new martyrdom. One great instance of this has so lately happened, that I cannot forbear mentioning it. If to speak after the manner of men, or to use a common proverbial phrase, I have, like a slave exposed upon a public theatre, fought with wild beasts at Ephesus,ᵏ having been

¹ Our rejoicing.] Our received copies read it, ὑμῖλαν, your rejoicing; but the reading which I follow, seems so much more natural and easy, that one can scarce orbear believing it authentic. Yet it may be interpreted into a very pertinent sense, “I protest by your joys, which I do so cordially take part in, that I may call them my own”

ᵏ Fought with wild beasts at Ephesus.] The stories which Nicephorus, (lib. 11. cap. 25,) and Theodoret give us, of an encounter which St. Paul had with wild beasts on the theatre at Ephesus, (see Witsii. Mel. Vit. Paul. cap. viii. sect. 23, &c.) have been so far regarded by Dr. Whitby, that he contends for the literal interpretation of this passage; in favour of which it is also urged, that had he spoken of brutal men, he would rather have mentioned the assaults that were made upon him at Lystra, where he was

stoned, and supposed to be dead. But the danger of being pulled to pieces might be greater at Ephesus; it had happened very lately, and as the scene was much nearer Corinth, it might be more natural for him to mention it here. The silence of St. Luke in his history, as to so memorable an event, as a combat with beasts would have been, and St. Paul’s omitting it in the large catalogue of his sufferings, (2 Cor. xi. 23,) together with his known privilege as a Roman citizen which would probably, as to be sure it should legally, have protected him from such an insult, do all, (as Mr. Cradock, and others have observed,) favour the figurative interpretation. And the expression καὶ αὔβατον, after the manner of men, or humanly speaking, has a propriety on this hypothesis, which it cannot have on the other, and seems to be quite decisive.

apostle Paul. particularly, at Ephesus

assaulted with the most savage fury by a tumultuous multitude there, what advantage have I gained by such a combat, if my hopes may not be allowed to open into immortality? On the contrary, if the dead rise not at all, the epicurean maxim might seem to be justified, “Let us make the best of this short life, which is the whole period of our being; and giving up those sublime sentiments and pursuits which belong not to creatures of so short and low an existence, let us eat and drink, since we are to die, as it were, tomorrow,¹ or the next day: for so little is the difference between one period of such a life, and another, that it is scarce worth while to make the distinction.”

Be not deceived, brethren, but be upon your guard against such pernicious maxims and reasonings as these; and if you value either faith, or a good conscience, do not converse familiarly with those that teach them; for, as the poet Menander well expresses it, Good manners are debauched, by talk profane.ᵐ Awake therefore, as becomes righteous and good men,ⁿ from the intoxications of such wild and delusive dreams as these; and sin not in supporting or countenancing doctrines, so subversive of the Christian faith and hope; for some are still ignorant of God, and with the abused light of Christianity know less of him than well improved reason might teach them. I say this to your shame, considering how much you boast of your

¹ Let us eat, &c.] This is the great argument urged to prove, that by the resurrection of the dead, St. Paul means a future state. But the true solution seems to be, that he writes all along upon a supposition, that if such proof as he had produced of Christ’s resurrection, were not to be depended upon, we could have no certainty at all with respect to any future existence. And I must declare, that it seems to me, that the natural arguments of the immortality of the soul, and future attributions, do appear to carry with them great probability, notwithstanding all that Mr. Hallet has offered to invalidate them. Yet the degree of evidence is by no means comparable to that, which, admitting the truths of the facts alleged, the Corinthians must have had of Christ’s resurrection, with which ours has so necessary connection. And consequently, had these proofs been given up, what might have been pleaded in favour of the other, would probably have made very little impression

ᵐ Good manners are debauched.] The original words of Menander are an iambic verse; I chose therefore to translate them thus, and it is very agreeable to the Greek, in this connection, which seems to determine quixiat xxxi to profane discourses.

ⁿ Awake, as becomes righteous men.] As some read for liixtixt, liixtixt, which gives rather a more forcible sense, I chose this rendering, which is a kind of medium between the two readings.

Reflections on our resurrection from the dead.

knowledge, which in this plain and important branch of it, appears so wretchedly deficient; while you cultivate so many vain 1 Cor. subtitles, which tend rather to corrupt, than to exalt and perfect your minds. xv. 34

IMPROVEMENT.

WELL may we rejoice, to see the doctrine of our own resurrection so closely connected in the sacred writings, and especially in this excellent discourse of St. Paul, with that of our blessed Redeemer; as that they should be declared to stand, or to fall together. For Christ is assuredly risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that sleep. He hath repaired, to all his spiritual seed, the damage that Adam brought upon his descendants; yea, he is become to them the author of a far nobler life, than the posterity of Adam lost by him.

24-26 Let us meditate with unutterable joy on the exaltation of our glorified Head, of our gracious Sovereign, who has conquered death himself, and will make us partakers of his victory. He hath received from his Father, glory, honour, and dominion; and he shall reign till his conquest be universal and complete, and till death be not only stripped of its trophies, but rendered subservient to his triumphs; shall reign, till all his purposes for his Father’s glory, and his own, be finally accomplished.

But O, who can express the joy and glory of that day! when Christ shall give up the kingdom to the Father, and present unto him all his faithful subjects, transformed into his own image; a beautiful and splendid church indeed, for ever to be the object of the Divine complacence, for ever to dwell in the Divine presence, in a state of the greatest nearness to God, who shall then be all in all. Well may the expectation of this illustrious period cheer the Christian under his greatest extremities, and make him of all men the most happy, when otherwise, on account of his sufferings in the flesh, he might seem of all men the most miserable. Well may this his rejoicing in Christ Jesus, that sacred oath, which this persecuted and distressed apostle, with so sublime a spirit, here uses, encourage him to go on, though he be daily dying; though he were daily to encounter the most savage of mankind, and death itself in its most dreadful forms. Well may this knowledge of God, of his gracious purposes, and of his exalted Son, awaken us to righteousness; well may it deliver us from the bondage of sin.

Let us retain these noble principles of doctrine and action, and guard against those evil communications, those sceptical and licentious notions, which would corrupt our spirits, which would enervate every generous spark which the gospel kindles up into a flame, and by bounding our views within the narrow circle of

ne will say, How are the dead raised up?

degrade us from the anticipations of angelical suits of brutal gratification.

S E C T. XXX.

ers objections against the resurrection, drawn ing able to conceive of the particular manner in e effected; and concludes with urging it, as a o the greatest steadiness and zeal in religion, to the end.

CORINTHIANS XV. 35.

I HAVE thus endeavoured to confirm your faith, and establish your hope, in the great and glorious doctrine of a resurrection; but some one will perhaps be ready petulantly to object, and say, how are the dead raised up, when their bodies are quite dissolved, and the particles, of which they consisted, scattered abroad, and perhaps become parts of other bodies? and if they are raised, with what [kind of] bodies do they come out of their graves, and what alteration is made in their constitution, and organization, to fit them for a future life, in so many respects different from this?

Thou thoughtless creature, who perhaps pridest thyself in the sagacity of this objection, as if it were some mighty effort of penetration, how easily mightest thou find an answer to it from what passes every day in the works of nature? That seed which thou sowest in thy field, is not quickened to new life and verdure, except it appear to die: a before it springs up to the future vegetable, whatever it be, it is macerated, decayed, and at length consumed in the earth. And [as for] that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body which shall be produced from that seed which is committed to the ground, but bare grain, perhaps of wheat, or of any other kind of [grain,] in which there is no appearance of root, or of stalk, of blade,

a Except it die.] To this it hath been new life, and is fed by the death and corobjected, “that if the seed die, it never ruption of the rest. So that these wisbears fruit.” But it is certain, that the philosophers of our own, talk just as foolseed in general does consume away in the ishly as the Corinthian freethinkers, who ground, though a little germen, or bud, they vindicate. See John xii. 24. which makes a art of it, springs up into

The apostle, by the similitude of seed sown in the earth,

ECT. or of ear. But God, in the course of his natuxxx. ral operations, by certain laws of vegetation, with which thou art entirely unacquainted, 1 Cor gives it a body as he pleases, and such a variety xv. 38 of parts as he hath thought fit to determine for that particular species, and to each of the seeds its own proper body :b not only a body of the same sort, but that which by virtue of some connection it had with this or that individual

grain, may properly be called its own, though in its form much different, and much more beautiful.

There is an immense variety in the works of God, even in those which fall under the inspection of our senses, feeble and limited as they are, while we dwell in flesh and blood. All flesh, you know, is not the same kind of flesh, but the flesh of men, and of cattle,c of fishes, and of fowls, is different each from the other, in its form, qualities, and manner of being subsisted. [There are] also celestial bodies, and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial, and terrestrial, are apparently different, and the brightest lustre the latter can have, is but a faint reflection of what is received from the former. And even in the glory of the celestial bodies there is also a wonderful variety: There is one superior and incomparable glory of the sun, which often shines with a lustre scarce to be endured; and another reflected and milder glory of the moon; and another glory of the stars, which as they appear to us, are far inferior to either of the two great luminaries. And again, [one] star differeth from [another] star in glory,d

But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

b Its own proper body.] The apostle seems more directly to speak of that as its proper body, which is peculiar to that species of grain; yet undoubtedly each ear has a peculiar reference to one individual, as its proper seed, in such a manner, as another of the same species has not; and what follows, plainly suits such a view. God is said to give it this body as he pleases, because we know not how it is produced; and the apostle’s leading thought is, “that it is absurd to argue against a resurrection on a principle which is so palpably false, as that must be, which supposes us to under-

stand all the process of the Divine works.” c Cattle.] So xlvwr signifies; but it seems to be put for beasts in general. d And one star differeth. &c.] It is in the original γαg, that is, for; but I conclude, that particle is here used only as a copulative; else we must suppose the apostle to argue more philosophically than he probably intended, and to assert that th sun and moon were stars. He plainly speak of the lustre which these celestial luminaries exhibit to us, not of what they have in themselves, without any regard to their aspects on us.

tes the truth and glory o the resurrection.

according to their respective magnitudes, in reference to which they are ranged by astronomers under different classes.

So [shall be] also the resurrection of the pious dead: another kind of glory shall appear, than human nature has known in its purest state, in any beauty of form, or ornaments of dress. There shall indeed, as I intimated but now, be some difference in the degree of that glory, correspondent to the different excellencies in the characters of good men, on whom it is to pass; but all shall experience a most illustrious and happy change; so that it may be said concerning the body of them all in general, it is sown, or committed like seed to the ground, in corruption, just ready to putrify, and through various forms of putrefaction to be reduced to the dust: but it is raised in incorruption, so that no accident or disorder whatsoever shall be able to dissolve it again, or to threaten it in the least degree. It is sown in dishonour, in a poor contemptible state, and under a kind of infamy, put upon it by the execution of God’s first sentence against sin: but it is raised in glory, every part and trace of the curse being abolished, and itself being formed in such a manner as to make it appear that the King of heaven delights to honour the happy spirit on which he bestows such a dress. It is sown in weakness, absolutely incapable of any, even the lowest degree of action, or sensation, and deprived of those limited abilities which it possessed in this its mortal life: but it is raised in power, endowed with almost angelic degrees of strength, vigour and activity. It is sown an animal body, formed to the purposes of animal life in this present world: but it is raised a spiritual body, formed to a noble superiority to the mean gratifications of this imperfect state,

The resurrection of the pious dead.] Of them it is evident the apostle here speaks, and not of the dead in general. Compare verses 23, 43, 49, and 57, with 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17, and verse 54. St. Paul, (Phil. iii. 11,) and our Lord, (Matt. xxii. 30, Luke xx. 35,) mean the same thing by the resurrection.

It is raised in glory.] Some think this refers to the garment of light which the body shall put on at the resurrection; o which Dr. Whitby has a remarkable not here, (compare Mat. xvii. 2; Acts ix. 3; Rev i. 14, 15; Dan. xii. 3; Wisd. iii. 7; Mat. xiii. 43; and Mark ix. 3,) and which he thinks remarkably to illustrate the matter ex adverso.

As we have here borne the image of the earthly

and fitted to be the instrument of the soul, in the most exalted services of the spiritual and Divine life. For it is certain, that as there is an animal body, with which we are now by daily, and frequently, by unhappy experience, acquainted; so there is also a spiritual body: God can exalt and refine matter to a degree of purity and excellence to us unknown; and there are many bodies now existing so pure and active, as that in comparison they may be called spirits. And so it is written with respect to the former, (Gen. ii. 7.) that the first man Adam, when God had breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, was made a living soul; so that even in the original state of rectitude and felicity, in which man was created, he was made capable of, and fitted to, an animal life here upon earth: whereas the Lord Jesus Christ, who by virtue of the influence he has upon all his seed, as their spiritual Head, and great federal Representative, may well be called the second, or latter Adam, [is] for an enlivening spiritᵇ to those who are united to him, and will not only purify their souls by the operation of his Spirit communicated to them, but at last spiritualize their very bodies. Nevertheless, the spiritual Adam [was] not first, but the animal, and afterwards the spiritual; and as the first Adam existed before Christ was sent to become our Saviour, so must we first wear that animal body which we derive from the one, before we put on that spiritual body which we derive from the other. The first man [was] from the earth, and so earthy: he was created out of the dust of the earth, and his body was only a mass of animated clay, in reference to

ᵃ Made a living soul.] This is a quotation from Moses; and there seems to be a peculiar emphasis in the original, which I know not how to preserve in the translation, in the reference of ἡνχ to ἡνχικον, in the former verse, as distinguished from ἀντυμαλικον; and refers to such a difference between ἡνχ, the animal soul, and στυμα, the rational spirit, as is more clearly expressed, (1 Thess. v. 23.) and is also very agreeable to the import of στυμα, the word which Moses uses.

ᵇ The second—an enlivening spirit ] This is not a quotation from scri ture, as some

have thought, but what the apostle adds on occasion of the quotation brought above as if he had said, Christ is the last Adam, as an illustrious antitype of the first (Rom. v. 14;) and he hath in himself spirit, with which he quickeneth who he pleases, and in what degree he pleases, John i. 4; and verse 21, 26. The words living, and enlivening, have such a correspondence to each other, as ζωσαν, and ζωστοιον. I therefore preferred the latter of them to quickening, though the sense be entirely the same.

which it was said, Dust thou art, (Gen. iii. 19;) the second man, of whom we speak, [is] the word from heaven: he came originally from the heavenly world, to which he is returned; and whatever of earth there was in the composition of the body he condescended to wear, it is now completely purified and refined into the most glorious form. And such as the earthy [was, are] they also that are earthy: they all descended from him, and have no higher original, are clean, mortal, corruptible creatures; and such as the heavenly [is, are] they also that are heavenly; they who are, as it were, born of Christ by the regenerating influences of his Spirit, and therefore are to live with him in heaven, shall at last have such glorious bodies as he hath. And it is delightful beyond all expression, to think of it with self application, that as we in particular have borne, and do now bear the image of the earthy; as assuredly as we are now sinful, afflicted, and mortal men, like the first Adam; so surely shall we also bear the image of the heavenly; so surely shall we be brought to resemble Christ in purity, glory, and immortality. But when I spake of bearing the image of the earthy Adam in mortality, I would not be understood as asserting, that every one of the descendants of Adam shall, in fact, go through these pangs of death, and that dissolution in the grave, which Adam has experienced. This I say, brethren, I affirm it as a constant and important truth, that flesh and blood, such weak and crazy systems of it, as those in which we now lodge, cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth a body impregnated with the seeds of corruption inherit incorruption: it is utterly unfit for the pure ethereal regions of the blessed, and indeed incapable of subsisting in them. This is universally true; yet behold! I tell you a mystery, that is, a doctrine hitherto unknown, and which you cannot now be able fully to comprehend: for we Christians shall not all sleep, shall not all submit to the stroke of death, so that our bodies should all lie mouldering in the grave, which is their general doom; but we shall all, the living as well as the dead, at the

For this corrupt: le must put on incorruption.

appearance of Christ to the final judgment, be changed in a most glorious and happy manner into the image of our descending Lord. And this change, great and illustrious as it is, the Divine power shall effect in less time than we have been speaking of it: for it shall pass in a moment, in an imperceptible point of time, and even in the twinkling of an eye, just at the instant when the last trumpet is blown by the Divine command, to awaken all the millions of saints who are sleeping in the dust: for the trumpet shall then sound, the voice of the archangel, and attending celestial legions, shall fill the whole earth and heaven with an astonishing noise, and the dead shall immediately, as upon its summons, be raised incorruptible, and we, that is, those of us Christians who are living, shall be changed,¹ as Enoch and Elijah were in the day of their translation: that body, which but a moment before appeared just as ours now do, shall, quick as thought, be transformed into an image of that worn by our triumphant Lord, and fitted for all the most active services, and all the purest sensations and delights of the celestial state. For in order to that, as I have just observed, it is necessary, that this corruptible put on incorruption, and that this mortal put on immortality, so as to be no longer subject to diseases or death. But when this glorious and long expected event shall be accomplished, when this corruptible part of our frame shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall the saying be brought to pass, which is written, (Isa. xxv. 8,) Death is swallowed up in victory, and perfectly subdued and destroyed, and so happy a state introduced, that it would not be known, that death had ever had any place or power among Christ’s subjects at all: And in the assured view of this, may the Christian, even now, with the greatest

¹ We, that is, those of us Christians who are living, shall be changed.] As the phrase will admit of the looser sense the paraphrase gives, I cannot allow of the argument drawn from hence, to prove, either that the apostle expected he should live till Christ appeared to judgment, or that he should be raised from the dead, and continue upon earth some time before that great event happened: Though I confess, the argument which Mr Fleming draws from hence, in favour of the last of these opinions, is very plausible. Compare 1 Thess. iv. 15.

hould be steadfast, their labour not being in vain.

pleasure take up his song of triumph; Where [is] thy pointed and destructive sting, O death? Where [is] thy victory, O grave? How little hurt canst thou do me? For how little a while shalt thou be able to triumph over me? The very sting and torture of death, that which arms it with its greatest terrors, [is] the consideration of its being the punishment of sin, and consequently its foreboding future misery, as the effect of the Divine displeasure; and the power of sin, that which constitutes its malignity, and gives it these killing weapons, [is] that it is a transgression of the Divine law: But thanks [be] to God, who in his infinite mercy hath taken away the sting and terror of death, giveth us the prospects and the joys of a complete victory over it, by the displays of his pardoning grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ. May we ever remain under those grateful impressions that suit so important an obligation!

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye fixed on this as the great foundation of your souls, and immoveable in your regards to it, though strongly borne and pressed upon, by a variety of temptations and dangers; be abounding always in the work of the Lord, in every service you are capable of performing, which may be acceptable to this your great and compassionate Redeemer; as well knowing, that your labour in the service of such a Lord is not, on the whole, in vain; but that whatsoever you may at present suffer for his sake, you shall receive a most glorious reward, in that happy day of the resurrection, concerning which I have been speaking so largely.

IMPROVEMENT.

LET us learn from this incomparable discourse of the apostle, verse to curb that vain curiosity which is so ready in matters of 35

k Where is thy sting, &c.] The original has a kind of poetical turn, which seems in some measure to suit the sublimity of the sentiment; for the first of the clauses is an ionick, and the second, a trochaick verse, Πυ συ, Σαναῖ, το κινήσον; πυ συ, αδυ, το νικᾶ; and Mr. Pope has only transposed them to make them, as they stand in our version, the conclusion of one of his stan-

zas; O grave, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? It is generally thought, that these words are borrowed from Hos. xiii. 10, 14, which we render, “O death, will be thy plague, &c.” and some urge that νικ has been read for νικ; but I do not see there is any certain evidence that the apostle intended any quotation at all.

VOL. 4.

Reflections on the glory of the resurrection.

вест. Divine revelation, to break out into an unbecoming petulance; xxx. and where we are sure, that God declares the thing, let us leave — it to him to overcome every difficulty that may seem to attend the manner in which it shall be effected. Nothing may be more useful, in order to the conquering such a weakness, than to observe the operations of God, in the works of nature, where he verse gives to every seed, whether animal or vegetable, such a body as 38 shall please him. Each is proper for its sphere, and beautiful in its connection and order, though the degree of their glory be dif- 39, 40 ferent. And thus all the diversity of glory, which shall at last be apparent, among the children of God, even the children of the resurrection, shall serve to illustrate the Divine wisdom, and goodness, and faithfulness.

The alterations made in every instance, will indeed be won- 53 derful, when this mortal puts on immortality, and this corruptible 47 puts on incorruption. Let us for ever adore the Divine goodness, &c. that when, by our relation to the first Adam, we were under a sentence of condemnation and death, he was pleased in his infinite mercy to appoint, that we should stand related to Christ, as the second Adam, in so happy a bond, that by him we might recover what we had lost in the former; yea and far more: so that, 49 as we have borne the image of the earthy, we might as surely bear the image of the heavenly. O let us earnestly aspire after this blessedness; and remember, that our bearing the image of his holiness, is inseparably connected with the hope of so glorious a privilege!

Let us endeavour, therefore, by cultivating holiness in all its branches, to maintain this hope in all its spirit and energy; longing for that glorious day, when in the utmost extent of the pro- 54 phetic expression, Death shall be swallowed up in victory, and millions of voices, after the long silence of the grave, shall burst 55 out at once into that triumphant song, O death, where is thy sting? 56 O grave, where is thy victory? And when we see death dis- 57 armed, and the terrors of the law silenced, let us bless God for Jesus Christ, by whom the precepts of the law were perfectly fulfilled, and its penalty endured; that so we might not only be 18, 19 delivered from the curse, but called to inherit the blessing. Let it be considered, as an engagement to universal obedience; and 58 in the assurance, that whatever other labours may be frustrated, those in the Lord shall never be vain, let gratitude, and interest, concur to render us steadfast, immoveable, and continually active in his service.

le proposes a collection for the saints in Judea.