As we consider the entire 15th chapter of this letter to the Corinthians we have to conclude that Paul was very concerned about some teachings among these people which promoted that the dead are not raised, despite the fact that they obviously believed that Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead.

With Corinth being in the heart of the Greek world where Greek thought advanced the notion that the material world, including the physical body, was inherently evil, Paul is trying to show the rhyme and reason behind God’s plan to raise the dead and especially the resurrection of believers to glory with the Lord.

To have a wrong view here robs the future hope we’ve been promised in Christ that we will rule and reign with Him in glory in the new heaven’s and the new earth. To take away our hope for the future causes us to become complacent here in the present as it relates to what Christ has called us to do in advancing the Kingdom of Christ through the gospel.

But more than that it makes the resurrection of Jesus Christ a non-event since it doesn’t touch us personally. In fact, this is the reason the world seems to participate in a collective yawn during Easter time because the reality of the Son of God actually rising bodily from the dead doesn’t hit home with them.

Since it doesn’t touch them personally they simply gloss over the most important event in all of human history. Because you see, without the resurrection of Jesus Christ you and I are still in our sin and deemed guilty of our sin if we don’t have a Savior, who not only paid our debt at the cross, but had that debt accepted by the Father as seen in the Father receiving His Son to Himself in glory after His resurrection.

Jesus Christ is not simply some wonderful prophet or wise man. He is fully God and fully man. He is the One chosen by the Father to represent us and to reconcile us back to God, and if He is still in the grave He is no more a Savior than Buddha or Mohammed, who both are still in the grave.

The resurrection is essentially the Father putting His Amen to the atonement of Christ on our behalf as He joyously accepts the payment for you and me. And now, we can approach the throne of God, knowing that we have Christ’s righteousness put to our account, and we are declared not guilty.

And so, through Christ we have been justified and as Paul says in Rom. 8:1, "there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

We can approach the throne of God with confidence as a child approaches a loving father who will not turn away His child, because in Christ our sin no longer separates us from our Creator. Paul and the writer of Hebrew addresses this.

EPH 3:12 "In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence."

HEB 10:19 "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."

The Lord will not turn us away. But if Christ is still in the grave then obviously He is not the Savior He claimed to be. But the tomb is empty, the Lord Jesus has risen, it is a fact of history.

We should never treat this as though it’s just one more part of being a Christian. There are no Christians without a risen Christ. And if Christ is the first fruits of the resurrection, as Paul describes in this very chapter, then we necessarily will rise bodily in Him one day.

And keep in mind that Paul has already taught these Corinthian believers all about this truth and yet there were those who simply rejected it in favor of the Greek thought of the day instead of believing what the Lord taught in His word.

And so, as we come to our text Paul is anticipating that some there in Corinth stubbornly continue in this attitude and ask such questions as , if there is a resurrection of the dead how in the world will they be raised and with what kind of a body will they end up with?

1CO 15:35 But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?"

Now, these are legitimate questions for those with inquiring minds. There’s nothing wrong with the questions themselves, but the way in which these came to Paul were in a condescending way. How do we know this?

If you ask me a question about any matter regarding the word of God, and you’re looking for answers which will help you better understand the Lord and His word and His will, there is no way I would ever accuse you of being a fool. There are no foolish questions in that sense.

But if you are not interested in the truth, or you’re not interested in answers, but only trying to pick a fight to justify your unbiblical position then it would not be inappropriate in stating that that is a foolish approach to gaining knowledge, because you have no intention of receiving such knowledge.

Paul was a very patient and loving man who loved the sheep placed in his care personally by the risen Christ. He would never abuse Christ’s flock or make fun of someone who truly wanted answers to hard questions. But Paul pulls no punches here.

In fact, if you have the NIV it reads, "how foolish." This English translation is much kinder than the original Greek which uses only one word. Fool. Thus the NASB and the KJV use, "you fool," or "thou fool."

Paul is addressing a person, and by extension any group in Corinth who subscribes to this false teaching that believers will not be raised bodily in glory. He’s calling them a fool, not simply behaving in a foolish way.

This is strong language and it is meant to show how important this teaching is and how to hinder the truth is not only detrimental to the individuals in that church, but to the entire church.

But none the less these are interesting questions and since Paul has got their attention he is going to address the issue of how the dead are in fact raised and with what kind of a body we will be raised.

1CO 15:36 ".... What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.
38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body."

As to the issue of how the dead are raised Paul is going to make the argument that in a sense we see a glimpse of the resurrection all around us every day. Now, he has no intention of going too far with this illustration, but it is a valid illustration.

"What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else."

Many people in Corinth would have been very familiar with such an agricultural illustration. I’m sure many of these people had their own gardens to supply some of their food needs.

Anybody who has ever planted a seed knows that the seed essentially dies before it produces a crop. Try it some time. Take that hard dry seed and water it. After a time it becomes moist, swells a bit and the outer shell begins to get soft and begins to peel away.

Soon afterward you’ll see a small white root along with a green leaf begin to emerge from that seed. But what happens to the rest of the seed? The roots and the stalk begin to grow through it and the seed part deteriorates and eventually falls to the ground.

The seed has done it’s job. The plant takes over and begins to grow as the root system digs deep into the earth to get moisture and the green leaves begin to go through the photosynthesis process. It’s now a vibrant independent plant, no longer in need of that seed.

1CO 15:37 "When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else."

Can you imagine taking a stalk of wheat and burying it expecting that from it will grow a stalk of wheat just like you planted?

No. The seed you put in the ground will not look anything like what you planted and yet it will still possess all of the elements which makes it either wheat or barley or whatever.

You cannot plant a water melon seed and expect to get an apple tree. Every seed has encoded in it the specific genetic information placed there by God which only produces what that tree or plant will eventually be.

In the same way Paul is saying that when the body is buried in the ground what will be produced will not be anything like what was planted. It will still possess all of the same elements of humanity, but when it comes back to life after the dead seed is planted something more wonderful and supernatural will come forth.

Now again, this is an illustration Paul is using. He’s not teaching that simply planting a dead body will produce a glorified body. He’s simply showing us how God is the one who created all things and that all things will produce after their kind as He gives life.

Our bodies will die and we will go to the dust of the earth. But that’s not the end, is Paul’s point. Just as a seed must die before it produces a beautiful rose, for example, we too must die before we can be resurrected. But just as certain as that rose bush coming to life and producing beautiful and fragrant flowers, so too will all believers be raised to life immortal with their Lord and Savior.

It is just as foolish to question God’s ability to take a dead seed and produce a rose bush as it is to question if God can raise the dead. How hard can it be? After all, He created the entire universe out of nothing. He simply spoke and everything leaped into existence, both non-living matter and living beings, including man.

It’s not a big deal for God. Now I know that someone will question how God can raise the dead if they’ve been eaten by a shark or were cremated, or were blown up in war where part of that person was able to be found to be buried in their home town, and yet other parts were simply destroyed on the battlefield never to be discovered.

How can God bring that person’s body together at the resurrection? Someone will say, well God won’t do that, He’ll just create new hands or legs that were destroyed, or will simply give an entirely new body to the one who was eaten by that shark and eventually distributed all along the ocean floor.

No. That would not be a resurrection. That would be a post creation act on God’s part. The whole concept of a resurrection entails the very individual who once was alive will be resurrected as the person he was before death with the distinction that he will be resurrected in glory without any imperfection.

It will be the same body that was destroyed or died or was cremated. Again, if God holds the entire universe together, then believe me He knows where every single atom of this universe is. For Him to gather our bodies together from the four winds if necessary will not be a problem for God.

So, that’s the first part of Paul’s thought. "How are the dead raised?" They are raised by the same God who created them. He didn’t have any problem arranging all of your atoms and constructing your DNA and every single gene of your body when He made you, and He will not have a problem reconstructing you after the seed has been planted in the ground, if you will.

And our glorified bodies will not be anything like what was put into the ground any more than a seed of a Palm tree is the final form of what is to come out of the ground.

Now as to the issue of what will this body be like, which is the second question in verse 35, Paul begins to elaborate. And by the way, what Paul is describing here is not something any human being can fully comprehend on this side of heaven.

Paul actually saw the risen glorified body of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus, and yet he could no more tell us what the molecular structure of such a body is, or how that body interacts in this physical world. He could no more give us any details of how that body worked.

For example, does a glorified body have a working digestive system? We know that the risen Christ ate with the disciples on several occasions after His resurrection. Think about it.

Does a glorified body need to breathe air or drink water? If our glorified bodies are restricted by such physical needs how do we physically explain its ability to seemingly move with ease between the spiritual world and the physical world? Do the angels need to breath in the spiritual world?

Now, you and I can surmise from the nature of the glorified body of Jesus Christ that none of these issues are really important. Keep in mind that our glorified bodies are designed for the new heavens and the new earth. If that’s the case then most of what we need in this present physical world will not be needed there.

This is why Paul doesn’t address such issues here. But he can give us some insight as to the nature of a resurrected body. The nature of our resurrected bodies is important, because if what goes into the grave comes out in exactly the same form and with the same nature, then what’s the point of a resurrection?

In fact, this seems to have been a problem in Paul’s day with some of the Jewish leaders believing in the resurrection but teaching that it essentially is no different from their present bodies.

John MacArthur records that, "the writer of the Jewish apocryphal book of Baruch wrote, the earth shall then [at the resurrection] assuredly restore the dead; it shall make no change in form, but as it has received so shall it restore."

If this is the case, it’s no wonder some of the Jewish and even Gentile Christians were denouncing the resurrection as something to be avoided. Who wants to come back again in a body that is still prone to disease and suffering and death?

Just as God has given all living things a body, so too will He give man a special body at the resurrection. In fact, this is the reasoning Paul uses in our text.

1CO 15:38 "But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
39 All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another."

Again, what Paul is doing here is showing how God is the one determining all of this. God is creator. He is the one who gives life, and He is the one who has clothed all life with whatever body He deems fit for that life form.

He begins with men and ends with fish. Interestingly enough, this is the exact opposite of the order in the creation account where the first living creatures mentioned are fish and then birds on the fourth day of creation, according to Gen.1:20-22.

On the fifth day, according to Gen.1:23-25, God created all of the land creatures. And then on the sixth day man was created. Paul reverses the order here in our text to show the importance of man and the importance of man’s resurrection, since there is no mention of animals being resurrected. So, enjoy Fluffy or Spike now.

Paul then moves from different bodies of flesh to different bodies which display degrees of glory in the heavens and compares them to earthly bodies as he shows how each is different according to God’s plan.

1CO 15:40 "There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another."

God is very diverse in His creative genius and perfection. Everything was created for a reason and each serves the function of bringing glory to God; even heavenly bodies. Did David not say, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands"? (PSA 19:1)

And yet even in the heavens where we have all these heavenly bodies, no two heavenly bodies are identical, just as there are no two people who are identical. Every created thing in the universe is unique from that stand-point. And Paul points this out in the next verse.

1CO 15:41 "The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor."

Notice the pattern here in our text. Paul is describing the sun, the moon and the stars and he is saying that each one is different in splendor. Other translations say that each is different in glory. Each has been given a measure of glory, so that each can glorify the One who made them.

Isn’t the reason for the existence of all created things to give glory to God? In fact, the created universe speaks so loudly of the existence of God and the glory of God that the universe alone bears witness to God and therefore holds all men accountable for seeking this Creator God.

ROM 1:20 "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Paul is saying that just as God has given a measure of glory to all created things, He has given a measure of glory to our present physical bodies, and will one day give a greater measure of glory to our new bodies, which will be resurrected so that we may give glory to the One who rose before us and gave us this resurrection life.

Every single body is different in this world, and our new bodies will be different in degree of glory though retaining its humanness. And so, what comes out of the grave must necessarily be better and more glorious than what went into the grave.

1CO 15:42 "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;
43 it is sown in dishonor, 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body."

And so, to answer the second question in verse 35, with what kind of body will they come?, Paul says it will be a body which is imperishable, a body with no weaknesses, a body which is Spirit filled and ruled.

Again, Paul does not give any detailed explanation of the individual body parts and how they function, how well they work both in a physical or spiritual world, because he probably was not given that information.

But he can describe what our future bodies will be like by describing what they won’t be. They will be imperishable, or incorruptible. In other words, they can never die. They are not subject to disease or pain or anything that would cause those bodies to be anything less than perfect for eternity.

Scientists speak of the second law of thermodynamics which addresses the problem of how all things are moving from a higher order to a lesser order as they decay or deteriorate. If you own a car or house you know what that means.

Everything in this universe is in a constant state of breaking down because of the curse of sin. Prior to sin the universe was in a constant state of equilibrium. After sin entered into the world, along with the curse from God, the clock of destruction started.

Paul is saying that our new bodies in Christ, along with the entire universe, will one day come out of that state of breaking down and will one day be in a constant state of perfection.

Now, when Paul says that our present bodies are natural bodies and will one day be spiritual bodies, he is not describing a departure from being human bodies. The word for natural in the Greek is psuchikos which mean belonging to breath.

In other words, a body which was given breath or life by God to live in this specific world. The spiritual body Paul mentions is a body which is not made for this world, but is very much as human, and yet very much different from our present human body.

He is saying that everything about us, from our bodies to our future homes in the new heaven’s and the new earth will be glorious, imperishable and flat out unbelievable. And if we can get past the restrictions of our present world and focus on our Creator God and look to Him in hope, then the wait for such a position with God will not be so bad.

ROM 8:23 "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

Yes, we along with this world groan patiently until Christ comes back for us, but we don’t lose hope in the midst of trials and tribulations. One day they will all be gone for us and eternity will be a state of perpetual bliss and glory and paradise where we will be with the Lord who created us forever.

But in the meantime we need to faithfully give this message of hope to a dying world. We need to alert them to the consequences of sin together with the solution to their sin found in the resurrected Christ alone. And until Christ comes back, or we go to the grave first, we need to seek the Lord above all as we bring glory to His name.

COL 3:1 "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry."

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