1 Corinthians 15 - Study the King James Bible

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

Verse 5
Of Cephas; Peter. (Luke 24:12,Luke 24:34.) Jesus appeared to other individuals at this time; but, being probably not known to the Corinthians, they are not referred to.

After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

Verse 6
Of--five hundred brethren at once. This was most probably in Galilee, where Jesus repeatedly met his disciples after his resurrection. This particular interview however, is not recorded by the evangelists.--Remain unto this present; are still living.

After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

Verse 8
Of me also. This was when Paul was on his journey to, Damascus. (Acts 9:3-6.)--Born out of due time. Paul thus represents his late call to be a disciple of the Savior, and his being the last one to whom Jesus appeared, as a mark of unworthiness.

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet 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 which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Verse 10
But I labored, &c.; that is, this grace was effectual in leading me to labor.

11.

Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.

Verse 11
So we preach; so we testify, namely, that Jesus did actually arise from the dead.

12.

Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13.

But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:

14.

And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.

Verse 14
Vain; not to be believed or depended upon; for they had unequivocally declared that they had been witnesses of his resurrection.--And your faith, &c.; that is, all ground of your confidence in the gospel is taken away.

15.

Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

16.

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:

17.

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

Verse 17
Ye are yet in your sins; for all your hopes of pardon rest on the truth of the gospel; and of the evidence of this truth, the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ is the foundation.

18.

Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

Verse 18
In Christ; in spiritual union with him, trusting to his salvation.

19.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

Verse 19
Most miserable; being exposed to the severest trials and persecutions in this life, and, if hope in Christ is to be abandoned, without any prospect of happiness in another.

20.

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

Verse 20
The first-fruits. Jesus Christ was the first who arose to immortality. Others, as Lazarus, (John 11:1-57) the son of the woman of Shunem, (2 Kings 4:32-37,) and of the widow of Nain, (Luke 7:12-15,) were only restored to this mortal life, and therefore were not cases of resurrection in the sense of this chapter.

21.

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

Verse 21
By man; by Adam, through his first transgression.

22.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Verse 22
In Adam; through Adam.--In Christ; through Christ.--Shall all be made alive; shall be raised from the dead.

23.

But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

24.

Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.

25.

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

26.

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

27.

For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.

28.

And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Verse 28
Shall the Son--be subject unto him; that is, he shall deliver up the kingdom unto him, as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:24, meaning the mediatorial kingdom established for the accomplishment of human redemption. When the object is effected, the special commission intrusted to the Son will expire.

29.

Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?

Verse 29
Baptized for the dead. This expression has been a source of great perplexity, and has given rise to a great many conjectural explanations, from which it is difficult to select one less unsatisfactory than the rest. Some suppose the meaning to be, baptized in hope of resurrection from the dead.

30.

And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?

Verse 30
Jeopardy every hour; in such constant exposure to suffering.

31.

I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

Verse 31
Your rejoicing; rejoicing on account of you.--I die daily; I am daily environed by extreme sufferings and alarms.

32.

If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

Verse 32
Fought with beasts. In ancient times, men were often required to fight with ferocious beasts, in a large theatre, partly, as a punishment for crimes, and partly for the amusement of the populace. The form of expression does not render it certain that Paul had literally been put to this trial. The word beasts may refer to violent human enemies.--Let us eat and drink; that is, if there be no future state, we may as well enjoy life as it passes.

33.

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

Verse 33
Evil communications, &c. This passage is a quotation from a Greek poet.

34.

Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

35.

But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

36.

Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

Verse 36
Is not quickened; does not grow.--Except it die. The main body of the seed decays, and becomes food for the small germ which shoots from it.

37.

And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

Verse 37
That body that shall be; that is, the plant itself, with its foliage and fructification.--But bare grain,--mere grain; that is, the seed only. The meaning is, that, in the same manner, the body which rises will be of a very different nature from that which is committed to the ground.

38.

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

Verse 38
To every seed his own body. Each seed gives origin to its own proper plant.
1 Corinthians 15:39-41. The meaning is, that this great and obvious variety among the works of God should enlarge our conceptions of the greatness of the change to be expected in the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44. These statements of the apostle coincide fully with obvious philosophical considerations to forbid our harboring narrow views in our conceptions of the resurrection, in respect to the physical resemblance and identity of the body that shall rise, compared with that which is deposited in the ground. That stratum of animal and vegetable mould which covers the earth, and out of which all generations of men, of animals, and of plants, are successively formed, has an average of only a few inches in depth, and it remains from age to age the same. The animal and vegetable bodies which come from it, after their brief period of organized existence, return to it a gain, and are resolved once more to the original elements out of which they were formed,--elements which are soon reconstructed into new combinations. Hence there is no accumulation of the deposits of death and decay. In the oldest countries on the globe, where two hundred generations of men, and five hundred of domestic animals, have lived, died, and been dissolved, there is no accumulation. Even the materials of those bodies of the dead which are deposited, by mourning survivors, deep below the surface, or in tombs, are not preserved. They are gradually resolved into gaseous constituents, which rise through the intervening obstructions, and regain the soil and the atmosphere, thus entering again into that vast storehouse of materials, from which the whole face of nature receives its perpetual renovation. Thus the bodies of men and of animals, the trees and the fruits, the flowers and the foliage, now enjoying life upon the earth's surface, are composed of the same materials with those of the generation contemporary with Abraham. All this teaches us not to form gross and carnal ideas of the resurrection; and it gives great force and emphasis to the apostle's declarations, "It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body;" and in 1 Corinthians 15:50, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God."

39.

All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

40.

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

41.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

42.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

43.

It is sown in dishonour; 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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

45.

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Verse 45
The original of that part of the verse which is quoted, is found Genesis 2:7. The antithesis consists in the distinction intended between the words living and quickening; the former meaning here life-receiving, the latter life-giving.

46.

Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

47.

The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

48.

As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

Verse 48
As is the earthy; that is, as is Adam, the source and origin of the earthly, physical nature of man.--The heavenly; Christ, as designated in the 1 Corinthians 15:47.

49.

And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

50.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Verse 50
Flesh and blood cannot inherit, &c. See 1 Corinthians 15:42-44.

51.

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

Verse 51
Sleep; die.

52.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Verse 52
We; we, who shall then be alive.

53.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54.

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Verse 54
That is written. Expressions similar to those here used occur in Hosea 13:14.

55.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56.

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

Verse 56
Is the law. It is the law, which, by its denunciations and penalties, makes the consequences of sin so terrible.

57.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.