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15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
15:5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
15:6 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.
15:7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
15:8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
15:10 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.
15:11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15:15 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.
15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
15:24 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.
15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
15:27 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.
15:28 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.
15:29 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?
15:30 And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
15:32 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.
15:33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
15:37 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:
15:38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
15:39 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.
15:40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
15:41 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.
15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
15:43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
15:52 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.
15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
15:54 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.
15:55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
15:56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
15:58 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.

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Everything King James Bible:1 Corinthians

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to: 1 Corinthians
Book: 1 Corinthians
Chapter: 15

Overview:
The Apostle proves the Resurrection of Christ from the dead.
(1-11) Those answered who deny the resurrection of the body.
(12-19) The resurrection of believers to eternal Life. (20-34)
Objections against it answered. (35-50) The Mystery of the
change that will be made On those living at Christ's second
coming. (51-54) The believer's triumph over Death and the Grave,
An exhortation to diligence. (55-58)

1-11 The Word resurrection, usually points out our existence
Beyond the Grave. Of the Apostle's doctrine not a trace can be
found in all the teaching of philosophers. The doctrine of
Christ's Death and resurrection, is the foundation of
Christianity. Remove this, and all our hopes for eternity sink
at once. And it is By holding this Truth firm, that Christians
stand in the Day of trial, and are kept Faithful to God. We
believe in vain, unless we keep in the Faith of the Gospel. This
Truth is confirmed By Old Testament prophecies; and many saw
Christ after he was risen. This Apostle was highly favoured, but
he always had a low opinion of himself, and expressed it. When
sinners are, By Divine Grace, turned into saints, God causes the
remembrance of former sins to make them humble, diligent, and
Faithful. He ascribes to Divine Grace all that was valuable in
him. True believers, though not ignorant of what the Lord has
done for, in, and By them, yet when they look at their whole
conduct and their obligations, they are led to feel that none
are So worthless as they are. All true Christians believe that
Jesus Christ, and him crucified, and then risen from the dead,
is the Sun and substance of Christianity. All the apostles
agreed in this Testimony; By this Faith they lived, and in this
Faith they died.

12-19 Having shown that Christ was risen, the Apostle answers
those who said there would be No resurrection. There had been No
Justification, or Salvation, if Christ had not risen. And must
not Faith in Christ be vain, and of No use, if he is still among
the dead? The proof of the resurrection of the body is the
resurrection of our Lord. Even those who died in the Faith, had
perished in their sins, if Christ had not risen. All who believe
in Christ, have Hope in him, as a Redeemer; Hope for Redemption
and Salvation By him; but if there is No resurrection, or future
recompence, their Hope in him can only be as to this Life. And
they must be in a worse condition than the Rest of mankind,
especially at the time, and under the circumstances, in which
the apostles wrote; for then Christians were hated and
persecuted By all men. But it is not So; they, of all men, enjoy
solid comforts amidst all their difficulties and trials, even in
the times of the sharpest Persecution.

20-34 All that are By Faith united to Christ, are By his
resurrection assured of their own. As through the Sin of the
first Adam, all men became mortal, because all had from him the
same sinful nature, So, through the Resurrection of Christ,
shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit, and the
spiritual nature, revive, and live for ever. There will be an
order in the resurrection. Christ himself has been the
First-fruits; at his coming, his redeemed people will be raised
before others; at the last the wicked will rise also. Then will
be the End of this present state of things. Would we triumph in
that solemn and important season, we must now submit to his
rule, accept his Salvation, and live to his Glory. Then shall we
rejoice in the completion of his undertaking, that God may
receive the whole Glory of our Salvation, that we may for ever
serve him, and enjoy his favour. What shall those do, who are
baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Perhaps
Baptism is used here in a figure, for Afflictions, sufferings,
and martyrdom, as Mt 20:22,23. What is, or will become of
those who have suffered many and great injuries, and have even
lost their lives, for this doctrine of the resurrection, if the
dead rise not at all? Whatever the meaning may be, doubtless the
Apostle's argument was understood By the Corinthians. And it is
as Plain to us that Christianity would be a foolish profession,
if it proposed advantage to themselves By their faithfulness to
God; and to have our Fruit to Holiness, that our End may be
Everlasting Life. But we must not live like beasts, as we do not
die like them. It must be ignorance of God that leads any to
disbelieve the resurrection and future Life. Those who own a God
and a Providence, and observe how unequal things are in the
present Life, how frequently the best men fare worst, cannot
doubt as to an after-state, where every thing will be set to
rights. Let us not be joined with ungodly men; but warn all
around us, especially children and young persons, to shun them
as a pestilence. Let us awake to Righteousness, and not Sin.

35-50 1. How are the dead raised up? that is, By what means?
How can they be raised? 2. As to the bodies which shall rise.
Will it be with the like shape, and form, and stature, and
members, and qualities? The former objection is that of those
who opposed the doctrine, the latter of curious doubters. To the
first the answer is, This was to be brought about By Divine
power; that power which all may see does somewhat like it, Year
after Year, in the Death and revival of the Corn. It is foolish
to question the Almighty power of God to raise the dead, when we
see it every Day quickening and reviving things that are dead.
To the second inquiry; The Grain undergoes a great change; and
So will the dead, when they rise and live again. The seed dies,
though a part of it springs into new Life, though how it is we
cannot fully understand. The Works of Creation and Providence
daily teach us to be humble, as Well as to admire the Creator's
Wisdom and Goodness. There is a great variety among other
bodies, as there is among plants. There is a variety of Glory
among heavenly bodies. The bodies of the dead, when they rise,
will be fitted for the heavenly bodies. The bodies of the dead,
when they rise, will be fitted for the heavenly state; and there
will be a variety of glories among them. Burying the dead, is
like committing seed to the Earth, that it may Spring out of it
again. Nothing is more loathsome than a dead body. But believers
shall at the resurrection have bodies, made fit to be for ever
united with spirits made perfect. To God all things are
possible. He is the Author and Source of spiritual Life and
Holiness, unto all his people, By the supply of his Holy Spirit
to the soul; and he will also quicken and change the body By his
Spirit. The dead in Christ shall not only rise, but shall rise
thus gloriously changed. The bodies of the saints, when they
rise again, will be changed. They will be then glorious and
spiritual bodies, fitted to the heavenly world and state, where
they are ever afterwards to Dwell. The human body in its present
form, and with its wants and weaknesses, cannot enter or enjoy
the Kingdom of God. Then let us not sow to the Flesh, of which
we can only reap corruption. And the body follows the state of
the soul. He, therefore, who neglects the Life of the soul,
casts away his present good; he who refuses to live to God,
squanders all he has.

51-58 All the saints should not die, but all would be changed.
In the Gospel, many truths, before hidden in Mystery, are made
known. Death never shall appear in the regions to which our Lord
will Bear his risen saints. Therefore let us seek the full
Assurance of Faith and Hope, that in the midst of pain, and in
the prospect of Death, we may think calmly On the horrors of the
tomb; assured that our bodies will there sleep, and in the mean
time our souls will be present with the Redeemer. Sin gives
Death all its hurtful power. The sting of Death is Sin; but
Christ, By dying, has taken out this sting; he has made
Atonement for Sin, he has obtained remission of it. The strength
of Sin is the Law. None can answer its demands, endure its
Curse, or do away his own transgressions. Hence terror and
anguish. And hence Death is terrible to the unbelieving and the
impenitent. Death may seize a believer, but it cannot Hold him
in its power. How many springs of joy to the saints, and of
thanksgiving to God, are opened By the Death and resurrection,
the sufferings and conquests of the Redeemer! In verse 58, we
have an exhortation, that believers should be stedfast, firm in
the Faith of that Gospel which the Apostle preached, and they
received. Also, to be unmovable in their Hope and expectation of
this great privilege, of being raised incorruptible and
immortal. And to abound in the work of the Lord, always doing
the Lord's service, and obeying the Lord's commands. May Christ
give us Faith, and increase our Faith, that we may not only be
safe, but joyful and triumphant.

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