Evidence and Belief (15:1–11)
When Paul addressed the Areopagus at Athens, the pagan hearers sneered at the ridiculous suggestion of a bodily resurrection (Acts 17:32). But those Greeks and Romans trained in Greek, and especially Platonic philosophy, would understand about the immortality of the soul.
I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand (15:1). Paul’s starting point is to find the common belief that all Christians shared, especially in the light of the pagan world around them. Note also his similar message to Christians in Galatia: “I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up” (Gal. 1:11). The gospel of Jesus is not like the fantastic stories connected with the pagan gods. The Roman travel writer Pausanias, for example, later recounted the story of the miraculous preservation of the baby Kypselos—the future tyrant of Corinth—when his mother placed him in a chest at birth; a chest that supposedly could still be seen at Olympia in Pausanias’s day.138 The gospel of Jesus is based on fact, not fiction.
By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain (15:2). The Corinthian Christians had understood the vanity, the emptiness, of the pagan deities that filled their city and required acts of piety. Paul brings them back to the essentials of the Christian gospel through which they received salvation.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance (15:3). Paul’s argument is parallel to an earlier one in the letter concerning the Lord’s Supper: “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you” (11:23). This type of language probably reflects the Jewish form of instruction. What follows appears to be an early Christian creed that contains the “basic” Christian doctrines (15:3–5).
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures (15:3). The Scriptures Paul is alluding to are the books of the Old Testament; in other words, these books point to the need for the Messiah to die for our sins. Paul perhaps had in mind the picture of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, who “was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isa. 53:5). This language resonates with the words of Jesus at the Last Supper: “This is my body, which is for you” (1 Cor. 11:24). Paul emphasizes the fact that Jesus died for our sins as the Christ, the anointed Messiah.
He was buried … he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (15:4). The doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was central to the early Christians. Peter’s speech in Jerusalem at Pentecost emphasized how the resurrection had been predicted by David in Psalm 16:10b (quoted in Acts 2:27). Similar to the present passage is 1 Thessalonians 4:14, probably written on Paul’s first visit to Corinth: “We believe that Jesus died and rose again.” “The third day” may be derived from Jesus’ own teaching to his disciples about his resurrection in connection with the temple at Jerusalem: “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19; see also Matt. 26:61; Mark 15:58). The “third day” may also pick up on Hosea 6:2: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.” Burial presupposes death and excludes misunderstanding about Jesus’ physical death on the cross. Matthew recalled the misleading story derived from the guards that Jesus’ disciples “came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep,” an account that “has been widely circulated among the Jews to this day” (Matt. 28:13, 15).
He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve (15:5). As burial presupposed death, so resurrection was confirmed by appearances to trustworthy witnesses. These were no vague appearances that formed part of a folklore or mythology about Jesus; at the time of writing, Peter and the other disciples could be pressed about what they had seen and witnessed. The appearance to Peter was a cry of the early disciples: “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:34). Paul’s language here resembles Jesus’ words when he appeared to the disciples: “This is what is written: ‘The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day’ ” (24:46).
He appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time (15:6). This appearance is not recorded in any of the Gospel accounts of the post-resurrection appearances of the risen Jesus. There were others available in the first century besides those recorded in the Gospels.
Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles (15:7). Paul had met James, “the Lord’s brother,” at Jerusalem at the start of his ministry (Gal. 1:19). The “apostles” may be another way of referring to the “Twelve” (15:5), though it might include others who had seen their risen Lord.
Last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born (15:8). Paul has already referred to meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus (9:1; see Acts 9). “Abnormally born” translates a word that can denote either a miscarriage or an abortion. Perhaps some of the Christians at Corinth dismissed Paul’s position as an apostle because he had not been one of the Twelve or questioned his becoming an apostle in an abnormal route after having been a chief persecutor of Christians.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle (15:9). Paul had come to the Corinthians in “weakness and fear, and much trembling” (2:3), hardly what was considered to have been the stature for an apostle.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me (15:10). Paul’s earlier hard work had gone into pursuing the early followers of Jesus: “as for zeal, persecuting the church” (Phil. 3:6). Yet Paul was transformed by the grace of God.
Whether … I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed (15:11). Paul’s preaching on the resurrection was in keeping with other teachers of the church, presumably including Apollos and Cephas (cf. 1:12); the Corinthians are the ones who have moved away from that teaching.
Immortality (15:12–34)
Paul now develops a series of six “ifs” relating to the beliefs of some of the Corinthian Christians. This rebuffs the view held by some that there was no resurrection of the dead.
How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? (15:12). The resurrection was central to the preaching and teaching of the church from the earliest days. For example, Peter on Pentecost proclaimed that “God raised [Jesus of Nazareth] from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24). Both Jewish and Roman authorities had had ample opportunity to reject this teaching by presenting an alternative to the Christian message of the resurrection, but none had presented a convincing case to the contrary.
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised (15:13). A commonly held view in the ancient world at the time, and in the province of Achaia in particular (see Acts 17:32a), was a disbelief in the possibility of dead people rising back to life. Paul uses this mistaken view to show that it was incompatible with Christian belief.
If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (15:14). However eloquent the teaching, however vibrant the outworking of faith, the core of Christian belief and life is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God (15:15). The integrity of Paul and the apostles is now at stake. Paul sees the presentation of the resurrection in legal terms with witnesses bearing testimony.
If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either (15:16). The logical extension of the argument presented by some of the Christians at Corinth is that Christ in whom they had placed their trust had not been raised. The resurrected Christ and the general resurrection of the dead are linked.
If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins (15:17). Without the resurrection, there is no forgiveness of sins.
Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost (15:18). Those who have abandoned the worship of pagan deities are now addressed. The (flawed) logic is that the gods that the Corinthian Christians have rejected in response to the good news of Jesus Christ would save them. Paul is reducing the argument to the absurd so that the Corinthians can see afresh the power of the Christian gospel.
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men (15:19). The logical conclusion of the argument held by some of the Corinthian Christians means that the Christian faith has no place or relevance against the multiplicity of religious expression found in the colony; Paul wants the Christian community to see the error in their argument.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (15:20). The Christian view of death is in marked contrast to that held in the ancient world. The Christians perceived death as no more than sleep, whereas pagan society saw it was important to protect the dead in the next life by sometimes placing apotropaic images (i.e., images to ward off evil) above the grave. The “firstfruits” was a concept familiar to both Jews and Gentiles; they were often offered to the gods in the sanctuaries of the Greek world.
Since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man (15:21). The allusion is to the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” in the Garden of Eden; “for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17).
As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive (15:22). This alludes to the curse on Adam: “For dust you are and to dust you will return” (Gen. 3:19).
Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power (15:24). Such words must have been disturbing when Paul wrote them to the Christians at Corinth. The familiar authority structures they are accustomed to—the emperor, the Roman senate, the provincial governor, the Roman army, the civic magistrates—will all disappear. These structures, which brought peace to the Mediterranean world in their lifetime, will be no more.
He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet (15:25). This view picks up on Psalm 110:1: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” Residents of Corinth know how enemies of Rome are brought before the emperor in chains.
The last enemy to be destroyed is death (15:26). Roman emperors might look for new territory to acquire on the fringes of the existing empire. For the Christian the ultimate battle and victory is over death. The resurrection serves the same function as the triumphal arches at the city of Rome, which marked the final defeat of a foe.
For he “has put everything under his feet” (15:27). The quotation is from the Psalms (8:6) which affirms, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” It is also a psalm that speaks of “the son of man,” a title of the Messiah or Christ (see Heb. 5–9).
Then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all (15:28). The Corinthian Christians are brought back to the Psalms: “You have made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet” (Ps. 8:6). God’s authority will be in force.
Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? (15:29). It seems as if members of the church at Corinth were conducting baptism services for those—probably members of their families—who had already died. The precise details are unclear and there is no obvious precedent from the pagan world.
As for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? (15:30). Travel in the ancient world was a dangerous thing, and Paul himself experienced shipwreck in his travels (cf. 2 Cor. 11:23–28; Acts 27). Yet it was dangerous to speak out against the beliefs and views of the ancient world, and Paul had faced arrest and a beating at Philippi and a trial at Athens before the Areopagus. Ultimately, he was to lose his life in speaking of his risen Lord.
I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord (15:31). Paul imposes a firm discipline on himself rather than adopting an attitude, common in the ancient world, that self-indulgence was important.139
If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons (15:32). Hunts were often a feature of games established in the Greek east on a Roman model. They were an unusual feature in the first century A.D., but an inscription from the Roman colony of Pisidian Antioch records the gift of such an event by Caius Albucius Firmus in his will.140 Animal games are likely to have formed part of the civic life at Ephesus. Paul is writing this letter to the Corinthian church from Ephesus, and this imagery reflects the opposition that he is facing.
CORINTH AND EPHESUS
Ephesus was just across the Aegean Sea from Corinth.
THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD
Paul would travel from Ephesus to Macedonia and on to Corinth as he gathered the collection to take to Jerusalem.
Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die (15:32). Paul quotes here from Isaiah 22:13. The belief in eating and drinking (i.e., self-indulgence) was part of Epicurean belief.
Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God (15:34). Paul may be suggesting here that those who deny the bodily resurrection feel they can adopt the ethical standards of the pagans in the Roman colony.141 But Christians will stand before the judgment throne of God, where they will be accountable for their actions. If they look ahead to this day, they will change their lifestyle.
Resurrection (15:35–58)
The emphasis in the chapter moves from the “dead” to the word “body.” The Corinthian Christians are presented with questions and answers about death.
With what kind of body will they come? (15:35). The roads leading to the gates of cities in the ancient world were lined with cemeteries, often with images of the deceased. It was not uncommon for families to visit graves and leave offerings, and it must have troubled Corinthians who knew from firsthand experience that bodies decomposed. How could these bones be turned into bodies?
How foolish! (15:36). This translates the Greek word aphrōn (“foolish man”; lit., “without sense”). It was often used to describe inanimate statues. But the word would also resonate with Greek-speaking Jews, who would recognize it as the one used in the LXX for “fool,” especially in Proverbs.
When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed (15:37). Paul uses the agricultural imagery to explain the transformation. The Corinthia was an area suitable for growing large amounts of grain to support the large population of the colony.
GREEK COUNTRYSIDE NEAR THE ACROCORINTH
But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body (15:38). God the Creator lies behind this resurrection, just as he lies behind the natural world.
All flesh is not the same: Men … animals … birds … fish (15:39). These four different types also appear in the created order in Genesis but in the reverse of how they appear in here: “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth” (Gen. 1:20); “let the land produce living creatures … livestock … and wild animals” (1:24); and “let us make man in our image” (1:26). Such a view is derived from Paul’s view of the Old Testament.
Heavenly bodies and … earthly bodies (15:40). Science was well developed in the ancient world. “Heavenly bodies” may relate the sun and other bodies.
The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor (15:41). The Greek scientist Empedokles from Akragas in southern Sicily had written about the cosmos in the fifth century B.C. He attempted to explain night and day. Such views formed part of Roman education.142
The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable (15:42). The analogy of the transformed seed is used for the transformation of the body that decays in the grave but is transformed through the resurrection.
“The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit (15:45). The allusion is to the creation of Adam and specifically to when God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life” (Gen. 2:7).
The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual (15:46). The emphasis is on the sequence of the natural then the spiritual, rather than some philosophical idea that there is a spiritual state in conjunction with the physical.
The first man was of the dust of the earth (15:47). The earlier city of Corinth made use of the surrounding clay beds to produce fine figure-decorated pottery, which is found in some quantity around the shores of the Mediterranean. Such an allusion to Adam made of clay may have had special significance to the Corinthian Christians.
As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven (15:48). Ancestry was important in a city like Corinth, where status was valued; important ancestors meant high status. The ancestry that matters for the Corinthian Christians is that they are now descendants of Jesus Christ by faith.
Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven (15:49). If the Corinthians looked at the portraits of the Roman emperors, in particular those of Augustus and his heirs (Gaius and Lucius), they would see a family likeness in the treatment of the hair. No doubt Roman sculptors intended this so that people could be convinced by the legitimacy of rule. For Christians, they need to show the characteristics of Jesus Christ in their community to emphasize the validity of their professed faith.
I tell you a mystery (15:51). Unlike the mystery cults, such as Demeter and Kore at Eleusis in Attica at the other end of the isthmus of Corinth, where mysteries were kept quiet, the Christian gospel, the good news of the resurrection, must be told.
For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed (15:52). Paul may have in mind Zechariah 9:14, a prophecy about the Lord’s appearing: “The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet.”
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality (15:53). In the Greek east there was a philosophical belief about the immorality of the soul. For the Christian the resurrection of Christ allows the individual to be “clothed” with eternal life.
Then the saying … will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (15:54). This appears to be an adapted form of Isaiah 25:8: “He will swallow up death forever,” though the word “victory” does not appear.
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (15:55). The context for this quotation is a modified version of Hosea 13:14: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.”
The sting of death is sin (15:56). The result of Adam and Eve’s disobeying God and eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was death (Gen. 2:17).
God … gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (15:57). Corinthian Christians would be familiar with the way the Roman emperor celebrated famous victories, especially when new provinces were acquired. Such secular celebrations—though with religious overtones, such as sacrifices—pale into insignificance with Christian rejoicing. The emperor Augustus passed through Corinth after the fall of Alexandria in 30 B.C. on his way to celebrate a triple triumph at Rome in August, 29 B.C.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (15:58). Paul develops this theme more completely in 2 Corinthians 5:8: “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”