The Resurrection of the Dead
12Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. 15We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have diede in Christ have perished. 19If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died.f 21For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end,g when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For “Godh has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is plain that this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. 28When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all.
29Otherwise, what will those people do who receive baptism on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?
30And why are we putting ourselves in danger every hour? 31I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters,i as my boasting of you—a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If with merely human hopes I fought with wild animals at Ephesus, what would I have gained by it? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
33Do not be deceived:
“Bad company ruins good morals.”
34Come to a sober and right mind, and sin no more; for some people have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
35But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. 41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory.
42So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. 43It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being” the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. 47The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man isj from heaven. 48As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. 49Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we willk also bear the image of the man of heaven.
50What I am saying, brothers and sisters,l is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die,m but we will all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my beloved,n be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
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a Gk brothers
b Or gospel
c Gk brothers
d Gk fallen asleep
e Gk fallen asleep
f Gk fallen asleep
g Or Then come the rest
h Gk he
i Gk brothers
j Other ancient authorities add the Lord
k Other ancient authorities read let us
l Gk brothers
m Gk fall asleep
n Gk beloved brothers
15.1–11 Here Paul lays the theological foundation for the last major topic of the Letter, the resurrection of the dead (see v. 12).
15.1 I would remind you. In what follows, Paul summarizes the message he had proclaimed in Corinth as a missionary (cf. 2 Cor 1.19).
15.3 Handed on…received identifies what follows (at least through v. 5) as the church’s tradition (see also 11.23). Christ died for our sins. See also Rom 5.8; Gal 1.4; cf. Rom 3.25; 4.25; 6.10; 2 Cor 5.19, 21. The scriptures, what would later be called the Old Testament. Certain passages were interpreted as references to Christ’s death, e.g., Ps 69.9 (see Rom 15.3); Isa 53.4–12 (see 1 Pet 2.22–25).
15.4 Buried, possibly an allusion to Isa 53.9. Raised on the third day. See Mt 16.21. Belief in Christ’s resurrection is central to Paul’s argument in vv. 12–34. The scriptures. It is uncertain what specific passage(s), if any, may be in mind (Hos 6.2? Jon 1.17?).
15.5 Cephas, Peter (as in 1.12); see Lk 24.34. The twelve, Jesus’ disciples (even after Judas’s defection); see Lk 24.36; Jn 20.19.
15.6 More than five hundred, perhaps on some occasion like that recounted in Acts 2.1–42.
15.7 James, Jesus’ brother; see Mk 6.3; Gal 1.19. All the apostles, a more inclusive group than the Twelve.
15.8 Untimely born, some kind of unusual birth, possibly first used about Paul’s conversion by his critics. Appeared also to me, at the apostle’s conversion and call; see 9.1; Gal 1.15–16; Acts 9.3–6.
15.9 Persecuted. See Gal 1.13; Phil 3.6; Acts 8.3.
15.10 The grace of God. See 3.10.
15.11 Cf. vv. 1–3. Whether…I or they. What Paul proclaimed was not unique to him.
15.12–34 Paul argues that those who do not hope for the resurrection of the dead are in effect denying Christ’s own resurrection and thus the gospel on which their faith rests (see vv. 1–11).
15.12 Some of you. If Paul knows who or how many, he never says; he could mean “most.” No resurrection of the dead. Paul does not indicate the reasons alleged for this view.
15.13–14 See also vv. 15–16; the connection between Christ’s resurrection and the resurrection of the dead has already been stated in 6.14, and will be explained in 15.20.
15.15 Misrepresenting God. See also 1 Jn 5.10.
15.17 Sins. See v. 3.
15.19 This verse may echo a Jewish proverb; see 2 Baruch 21.13.
15.20 Raised from the dead echoes v. 4. In ancient Israel the first fruits, the earliest produce of a season’s harvest, were dedicated to God; see Ex 23.19.
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15.21–22 Adam and Christ are also compared in vv. 45–49; Rom 5.12–21.
15.23 At his coming. See 1.7–8; 1 Thess 4.13–17.
15.24 The kingdom. See 4.20; 15.50. Every ruler…authority…power, both earthly and heavenly; see also Rom 8.38; Eph 1.21; Col 2.10, 15; 1 Pet 3.22.
15.25–28 Interpreters disagree about which pronouns refer to God and which to Christ.
15.25 See Ps 110.1.
15.26 On the victory over death, see also vv. 54–55.
15.27 Ps 8.6. See also Phil 3.21.
15.28 The Son…subjected. See also 3.23; 11.3.
15.29 Why the Corinthians practiced baptism on behalf of the dead is unknown; see also 2 Macc 12.44–45.
15.30 For examples of this danger, see 4.11–13.
15.32 Wild animals at Ephesus, a figure of speech, perhaps alluding to the troubles mentioned in 2 Cor 1.8–9; see also 16.8–9. Let us…we die. Isa 22.13.
15.33 A proverbial saying, deriving from a lost play by the Athenian writer Menander (d. early third century BCE).
15.34 This verse epitomizes all of the appeals in this Letter. No knowledge of God, perhaps specifically that God raised Christ from the dead (v. 15).
15.35–58 Paul explains that at Christ’s return the dead will be resurrected with “spiritual” bodies and that those who have not died will also be transformed.
15.38–39 See Gen 1.11–12, 20–25.
15.40–41 See Gen 1.14–18.
15.43 In glory…in power. Cf. Phil 3.21.
15.45 Adam became a living being. Gen 2.7. The last Adam, Christ; see vv. 21–22. Life-giving spirit, in distinction from the first Adam, who was simply alive; see also v. 22.
15.47 Cf. Dan 7.13.
15.49 Image. See 11.7; Gen 1.26–27; 5.3; also Rom 8.29; 2 Cor 3.18; 4.4.
15.50 Flesh and blood, the physical body; see v. 44. Kingdom of God. See 4.20; 15.24.
15.51 We will not all die. Paul believes that at least some Christians (likely including himself) will survive until Christ’s return; see also 1 Thess 4.15.
15.52 The last trumpet. See Mt 24.31; 1 Thess 4.16; Rev 8.2; also Isa 27.13. We will be changed. See also Phil 3.21; 2 Baruch 51.1–6.
15.53 Put on immortality. See also 2 Cor 5.4.
15.54–55 Death…sting draws from Isa 25.8; Hos 13.14.
15.56 Death is understood to be the consequence of Adam’s (humanity’s) sin (vv. 21–22; Rom 5.12; see Gen 2.17), which is brought to life by the law (Rom 5.13; 7.9–13).
15.57 Through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the life-giving spirit (v. 45).
15.58 The work of the Lord, activities on behalf of the gospel; also 16.10. Not in vain. Cf. v. 10; Isa 49.4; 65.23.
1 Corinthians 16
The Collection for the Saints
1Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. 2On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. 3And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem. 4If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
Plans for Travel
5I will visit you after passing through Macedonia—for I intend to pass through Macedonia—6and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way, wherever I go. 7I do not want to see you now just in passing, for I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 9for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
10If Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord just as I am; 11therefore let no one despise him. Send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I am expecting him with the brothers.
12Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but he was not at all willinga to come now. He will come when he has the opportunity.
Final Messages and Greetings
13Keep alert, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. 14Let all that you do be done in love.
15Now, brothers and sisters,b you know that members of the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints; 16I urge you to put yourselves at the service of such people, and of everyone who works and toils with them. 17I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence; 18for they refreshed my spirit as well as yours. So give recognition to such persons.
19The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, greet you warmly in the Lord. 20All the brothers and sistersc send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 22Let anyone be accursed who has no love for the Lord. Our Lord, come!d 23The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus.e
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a Or it was not at all God’s will for him
b Gk brothers
c Gk brothers
d Gk Marana tha. These Aramaic words can also be read Maran atha, meaning Our Lord has come
e Other ancient authorities add Amen
16.1–4 These instructions presuppose that the Corinthians already know about Paul’s collection project.
16.1 Now concerning. See note on 8.1. The collection for the saints, a fund for the Jerusalem church to which Paul had committed himself and his congregations; see Gal 2.10; also 2 Cor 8–9.
16.2 First day of every week, perhaps at a weekly meeting of the church or of its constituent house churches.
16.3–4 In the end, Paul does take the Corinthians’ gift to Jerusalem; see Rom 15.25–29.
16.5–12 Paul informs the Corinthians of his travel plans and of the whereabouts of two others known to them.
16.5 Macedonia, the Roman province of which Thessalonica was the capital.
16.8 Ephesus, the capital city of the Roman province of Asia (see v. 19). Pentecost, a Jewish festival, also observed by Christians, which took place each spring some weeks after Passover (see 2 Macc 12.32; Acts 2.1).
16.10 If Timothy comes, probably “whenever Timothy arrives,” since he has been sent; see 4.17.
16.11 Whether the brothers are with Timothy or Paul is unclear. If the latter, they are perhaps the three named in v. 17.
16.12 Now concerning. See note on 8.1. Apollos. See 1.12. The other brothers, either persons traveling with Timothy or those named in v. 17.
16.13–24 Paul often precedes the closing benediction of a Letter, as he does here, with brief appeals, instructions, and comments on a variety of topics.
16.14 This appeal is implicit throughout the Letter (see 12.31–14.1).
16.15 Stephanas. See 1.16; 16.17. Achaia. See Introduction. Saints. See 1.2.
16.17–18 Fortunatus and Achaicus, like Stephanas, were probably Corinthians.
16.19 Asia. See note on 16.8. Aquila and Prisca, two of Paul’s closest associates; see Acts 18.1–3; Rom 16.3–5.
16.20 Holy kiss, a form of Christian greeting; see also Rom 16.16; 1 Thess 5.26; 1 Pet 5.14.
16.21 With my own hand. The earlier portion of the Letter was dictated to a secretary; see also Gal 6.11; Col 4.18; 2 Thess 3.17; Philem 19.
16.22 Accursed. See also Rom 9.3; Gal 1.8–9. Our Lord, come! See also Rev 22.20.
16.23–24 An invocation of Christ’s grace is found at the end of most of Paul’s Letters, but only here does he add a comment about his love for the addressees (see, however, 1 Thess 3.12; cf. 2 Cor 2.4; 11.11; 12.15).
The Second Letter of Paul to the CORINTHIANS
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
OF ALL PAUL’S LETTERS, 2 Corinthians is perhaps the most difficult to interpret. One contributing factor is the seemingly disjointed nature of its argument. 2 Cor 6.14–
7.1 seems to be a digression from an appeal that begins in 6.11–13 and resumes in 7.2–4. The narration of Paul’s journey from Asia Minor to Macedonia (2.12–13) is interrupted, only to resume five chapters later (7.5). In addition, the tone of the Letter varies widely. Ch. 7 is joyful and conciliatory, whereas chs. 10–13 are ironic and argumentative. Because of the digressions, abrupt transitions, and differences in tone, many scholars have argued that 2 Corinthians is composed of several fragments. Certainly it is a mixed Letter, containing different styles and various elements such as appeals, exhortations, rebukes, threats, attacks, counterattacks, self-defense, self-praise, and irony.
Nature and Sequence of the Corinthian Correspondence
AFTER PAUL ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH at Corinth, he carried on an extensive correspondence with the Christians in that city. They wrote him at least once (1 Cor 7.1), and he wrote them no fewer than four times. His first letter (Letter A) is mentioned in 1 Cor 5.9; the second (Letter B) is our 1 Corinthians, written from Ephesus (1 Cor 16.8). About the same time as Letter B, Paul sent his co-worker Timothy to Corinth (1 Cor 4.17; 16.10–11). According to most reconstructions, shortly thereafter a group of Jewish-Christian missionaries (2 Cor 11.22–23) arrived in Corinth and began to criticize the apostle. Timothy (1.1) apparently returned to Ephesus with a troubling report about the church, which prompted Paul to change his plans and to travel directly to Corinth. He later described this second visit as “painful” because some individual there wronged him (2.1–11; 7.12). Subsequent to this second visit and in lieu of a third visit, Paul wrote an emotionally charged letter, a “letter of tears” (1.23–2.4; 7.5–11). It was written either in Macedonia immediately after Paul’s departure from Corinth (1.16) or upon his return to Ephesus. Instead of sending Timothy back to Corinth with this letter, Paul apparently sent Titus, another co-worker.
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