ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for 1 Corinthians 15

15:1–58 The Futility of Faith If the Dead Are Not Raised. Many people in the ancient Greco-Roman world believed that death ended life completely or led to a permanent but shadowy existence in the underworld. The concept of having a physical body after death was known mainly from popular fables. Educated people thought the idea was ridiculous. Paul deals with the Corinthians’ denial of and confusion about the future, bodily resurrection of Christians (vv. 12, 35). These issues were probably raised in their letter to him (7:1).

1 Cor. 15:1–11 Paul first establishes the historical reliability of Jesus’ resurrection. This lays a firm foundation for his argument that it was only the first step in the resurrection of all deceased believers.

1 Cor. 15:1–4 in accordance with the Scriptures. Compare Luke 24:27; Acts 17:2–3; Rom. 1:2–4. Paul may be thinking especially of Isa. 53:3–12. For the resurrection, compare Hos. 6:2 and Jonah 1:17; 2:1; Matt. 12:40. For the OT in general pointing to Christ, see Luke 24:27 and Overview of the Bible.

1 Cor. 15:6 though some have fallen asleep. Paul is careful not to exaggerate (compare 7:10, 12). This shows the great care that early Christians took in preserving historically accurate details about Jesus.

1 Cor. 15:7 James. See note on 9:4–5. all the apostles. The full group of apostles is larger than “the Twelve.” It included, among others, James and Paul (15:8). One of the qualifications for apostleship was seeing the risen Lord (9:1).

1 Cor. 15:9 On Paul as persecutor of the church, see Acts 7:58; 8:1–3; 9:1–2; Gal. 1:13; 1 Tim. 1:13.

1 Cor. 15:12 raised from the dead. Some of the Corinthians denied that believers would be raised. Paul emphasizes four times in vv. 12–19 that those who deny the bodily resurrection of believers also deny the bodily resurrection of Christ.

1 Cor. 15:17 still in your sins. Jesus’ resurrection is proof that his death was an effective substitutionary sacrifice for sin.

1 Cor. 15:20 Firstfruits is the first sample of an agricultural crop, which indicates the nature and quality of the rest of the crop. Christ’s resurrection body indicates what the bodies of resurrected believers will be like (see also Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:23; Col. 1:18).

1 Cor. 15:22 in Adam all die. See Rom. 5:12, 14–15, 17; Eph. 2:1, 5. in Christ shall all be made alive. See Rom. 5:17; 21; 6:4; Eph. 2:5–6. Adam represented the whole human race. His sin therefore affected all human beings. Similarly, Christ represented all who would belong to him. His obedience therefore affected all believers.

1 Cor. 15:23 at his coming. When Christ returns, all his people from all time will receive resurrection bodies. Until that time, those who have died exist in heaven as spirits without bodies (see 2 Cor. 5:8; Heb. 12:23; Rev. 6:9). The phrase those who belong to Christ shows that the “all” in 1 Cor. 15:22 does not mean that all people will be saved.

1 Cor. 15:24–27 On the reign of Christ and his control of all things (under his feet), see Ps. 8:6; 110:1; Eph. 1:20–21; Heb. 2:5–9. death. When believers are finally resurrected from the dead, the destruction of death will be complete. See 1 Cor. 15:54–55; Heb. 2:14–15; Rev. 20:13–14; 21:4.

1 Cor. 15:28 the Son . . . will also be subjected. Jesus is one with God the Father and equal to the Father in deity (8:6; John 10:30; 14:9; Heb. 1:8). Yet he also submits to God the Father (Mark 14:36; John 5:19; 26–27; 30; 17:4). God will be all in all, in the sense that God’s supreme authority over everything will be eternally established, never to be challenged again.

1 Cor. 15:29 baptized on behalf of the dead. Some interpreters believe this refers to baptism on behalf of deceased people, probably those who had believed in Christ but had not been baptized before they died (see Luke 23:43). Whatever the practice is, Paul reports it without necessarily approving it. He clearly does not command it. The Bible gives no support to the idea that anyone can be saved apart from personal faith in Christ (see notes on John 3:18; 14:6).

1 Cor. 15:30–34 Taking risks to proclaim the gospel makes no sense if there is no resurrection.

1 Cor. 15:35–58 Apparently the Corinthians did not understand how ma­terial bodies, subject to sickness, death, and eventual decay, could live eternally. Paul explains that God will change the bodies of believers to make them immortal.

1 Cor. 15:35–43 How are the dead raised? Using illustrations from the natural world, Paul explains that God will change the bodies of the deceased to make them appropriate for their new, imperishable existence.

1 Cor. 15:42 imperishable. No longer subject to physical decay or aging.

1 Cor. 15:43 The terms dishonor and glory refer here to outward physical appearance.

1 Cor. 15:44–47 Paul’s contrast between natural and spiritual is a contrast between that which is temporally alive and that which is eternal (compare 2:14–3:3). Starting from Gen. 2:7, Paul explains that God created Adam from the dust and animated him with breath. Christ, however, is the last Adam. His resurrection gave him a “spiritual” and therefore imperishable body (compare Phil. 3:21). spiritual body. Not a ghostly, immaterial body but a body animated and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor. 15:51–53 mystery. See notes on 4:1 and 1 Thess. 4:13–18.

1 Cor. 15:54–55 Death is swallowed up. See v. 26.

1 Cor. 15:56 power of sin is the law. See Rom. 5:20–21; 7:5–25; 8:1–3.

1 Cor. 15:58 Therefore implies a practical application for the doctrine of the resurrection. The work Christians do for the kingdom of God will bring results that last forever.