Lesson for September 25, 2022
The Book of I Corinthians
Chapter 15:26-41
Verses 26- 34
26 “The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. 29 For otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 30 Why are we also in danger every hour? 31 I affirm, brothers and sisters, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily. 32 If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what good is it to me? If the dead are not raised, let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34 Sober up morally and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.”
Abolished is the Greek word “katargeo.” Kata means according to a norm or standard; argeo means to be useless. Revelation 20:13-15 tells us that death and Hades will give up there dead. Death refers to fallen angels, including the Nephilim (half angel, half human from Genesis 6). Hades refers to unbelievers in Torments (a compartment of Hades) who will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever.
subjection under His feet is a reference to Operation Footstool where God the Father will place everything under the eternal authority of Christ. But when He says, ‘All things are put in subjection, it is clear that this excludes the Father who put all things in subjection to Him’ is taken from Psalm 8:6. Everything will be under Christ’s authority except God the Father. Up until now, angels have been superior to mankind, including the humanity of Christ. This changed for Christ once He was in His resurrection body and will change for believers when they receive their resurrection bodies. Believers in resurrection bodies will be superior to all angels. God the Father will subordinate everything under Christ and the Angelic Conflict will be resolved.
Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? If there was no resurrection of Christ, then water baptism, which portrays resurrection, would be pointless. Baptized for the dead means in the place of not on behalf of as some religions falsely teach. In other words, older believers had passed away and new believers had replaced them. Believers in Corinth were being baptized in water after salvation as a teaching aid to demonstrate their union with Christ at salvation. Water baptism pictured the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, which believers identify with when they believe in Christ. If there is no resurrection of the dead (as taught by false teachers known as Gnostics), why continue to practice water baptism?
Why are we also in danger every hour? Paul said that if there is no resurrection, then why place yourself in danger by believing in Christ and spreading the Gospel. Every hour means that believers were constantly facing danger. I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. Paul said he was solemnly declaring the truth on the basis of their relationship with Christ which he rejoices (boasts) in, that he dies daily (like putting his hand on the Bible). I die daily simply means Paul always faced death for preaching the Gospel.
If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? This is a hypothetical illustration Paul used as a picture of being in constant danger. Paul pictured himself in the arena at Ephesus to illustrate his point. He was writing from Ephesus, but he was not in the arena in Ephesus. Paul would not profit if he got into the arena and was killed by wild animals unless there was going to be a resurrection.
If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Become sober minded as you ought and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. Under the influence of Hellenistic/Greek culture and false doctrine, some Corinthian believers had been deceived and some had rejected the idea of resurrection. Not believing in life after death lead to the philosophy of “let’s eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (Isaiah 22:13) If a believer associates with people who reject Bible doctrine (bad company), their spiritual life (good morals) will be corrupted. To become sober minded means to think divine viewpoint and avoid the sin of rejecting or neglecting Bible doctrine. Association with those who reject Bible doctrine is shameful for a believer.
Verses 35-41
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 36 You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; 37 and that which you sow, you do not sow the body, which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of mankind, another flesh of animals, another flesh of birds, and another of fish. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.”
Paul summarized the two big questions which were on the minds of certain Corinthians: 1) How are the dead raised? 2) What kind of body will they have in eternity? Some Corinthians considered the resurrection body to be a human body like their human body. Others believed that the resurrection body was a spiritual body.
Fool is a very famous word in the Greek language: “aphron” meaning not to think. Paul used an illustration from agricultural life. That which you sow is the seed which is put into the ground, and it does not come to life unless it dies. The seed had to “die” before anything grew. From the “death” of the seed came whatever was going to grow. Paul was establishing that Christ’s death on the Cross would be meaningless without the Resurrection. The seed “dying” and being “raised” was illustrating Christ’s death on the Cross that brought eternal life to those who believe in Him as Savior and the guarantee of a resurrection body.
You do not sow the body, which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. Paul’s illustration meant that our human body must first die before we can receive a resurrection body (the exception is if you’re alive at the Rapture). The bare seed is the corruptible body (temporal) that we are born with and when it dies, it will eventually be raised an incorruptible body (eternal). The body we have now is not going to be like the body we will have in the future. Our resurrection body will be like Christ’s according to Philippians 3:20-21.
All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. This analogy means all believers will have a resurrection body like Christ’s, but all resurrection bodies are going to be different in appearance. We will look like ourselves in a resurrection body, just like Christ in His resurrection body looked like He did in his human body. Mankind and animals are living organisms, but each is different. So, it will be in eternity. We will retain our own identities in our resurrection bodies.
There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the gloryof the earthly is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. Just as the sun, the moon and the stars retain their own identity, each person will retain their own identity in their resurrection body. There is a great variety among planets and stars, and even among the galaxies. They are all light-bearing bodies, but they are all different. Paul’s point was that we will not lose our identities in eternity. We will recognize one another!