Lessons #543 and 544
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Resurrection Related Matters (1 Cor 15:20-28)
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
The message of this section of 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 that we have been studying is that Christ’s resurrection ensures orderly future resurrection and successful conclusion of God’s plan in relationship to creation. So far, we have considered the emphatic confirmation of Christ’s resurrection as Apostle Paul stated in verse 20. We have also examined Apostle Paul’s explanation about the causal and means of death and resurrection. We noted that Adam is the cause and means of death of all that are associated with him while Christ is the cause and means of resurrection of all that are associated with Him. We argued that the word “all” as used in connection with Christ is a reference to all humans and not just believers since it is because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ that there will be general resurrection of believers and unbelievers. So, we proceed to consider the third concern of the section we are studying, which is the order of resurrection as given in verses 23-28.
Apostle Paul ended verse 22 with the assertion that general resurrection would occur because of Christ and so to ensure that there is no misunderstanding of what he had asserted, he introduced verse 23 in such a way to cause the reader to slow down to recognize that there will be distinctions in the concept of general resurrection. It is for this reason that he started the verse with a Greek particle (de) that may be used to connect one clause to another, either to express contrast or simple continuation but in certain occurrences the marker may be left untranslated. Although it is often translated “but” in the English when there is a perceived contrast between two clauses, but it has other meanings such as “now,” “then,” “and,” “so” when it is used to link segments of a narrative. It can also be used to indicate transition to something new. Nonetheless, in our verse, it is used to contrast what the apostle wrote next to what he wrote in verse 22 regarding general resurrection since he wrote in Christ all will be made alive. However, the apostle conveyed that although “all” will be made alive, that is, be resurrected, such resurrection would follow a specified order.
The resurrection of all believers and unbelievers that would take place would not occur for everyone at the same time. Therefore, the apostle writes next 1 Corinthians 15:23 But each in his own turn.
The word “each” is translated from a Greek word (hekastos) that may mean “each, each one, everyone.” It is in the sense of “everyone” that Apostle Paul used it to convey that believers would be rewarded for good works they do irrespective of their social standing in a given society as we read in Ephesians 6:8:
because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
The meaning “each” may be used to focus on a member of a group as Apostle Paul used it to instruct individual believer regarding avoidance of falsehood in Ephesians 4:25:
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
The word may mean “anyone” as it is used to describe the service rendered by the early church in terms of meeting needs of members as we read in Acts 4:35:
and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:23, the word is used with the meaning “each” in the sense of everyone considered individually. This meaning is indeed correct since the apostle had used the word “all” in verse 22 as it pertains to the concept of resurrection of both believers and unbelievers. Anyway, the apostle conveyed that general resurrection will not take place at the same time for everyone as in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:23 each in his own turn.
The word “own” is translated from a Greek word (idios) that may mean “one’s own” as it is used in describing the situation in the early church when no one laid claim to his property as we read in Acts 4:32:
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
The word may mean “unique” or “something that is distinctive” as it used for the fruit of a tree in Luke 6:44:
Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers.
Although the Greek word is translated “own” in this passage, but “fruit” is that which is distinctive or unique to a given tree so that the phrase its own fruit could be translated its unique fruit. The word may mean a possessive pronoun “your” as in the instruction to wives about submitting to their husbands as we read in 1 Peter 3:1:
Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives…
The phrase to your husbands is more literally the one’s own husband. Similarly, the word may mean “his” as in the instruction to believers of caring for those in their family as implied in declaration of 1 Timothy 5:8:
If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
The phrase his relative is literally the one’s own. The word may mean “privately” as it is used by Apostle Paul to describe his meeting with some leaders in the church in Jerusalem as stated in Galatians 2:2:
I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.
The word privately is literally by oneself. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:23, the word is used in the sense of “particular,” that is, unique or specific to a person. This implies that the phrase each in his own turn may be translated each in particular order.
The resurrection of each person is expected to follow the unique or particular class or group that the individual belongs to. We say this because the word “turn” in the phrase each in his own turn is translated from a Greek word (tagma) that appears only once in the Greek NT; it may mean “class, group” or “turn, order” as a stage in a sequence. Although the meaning “turn” is one reflected in a handful of our English versions while the meaning “order” is reflected in majority of our English versions, the apostle probably meant that the resurrection would be in order or in turn, according to the class or group one belongs.
The interpretation that Apostle Paul probably meant resurrection would take place in order or turn in accordance with the class one belongs is implied in the unique class the apostle mentioned in the next phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:23 Christ, the firstfruits. Christ is in a unique class by Himself in that He is God man. He is different from all humans because He is God, but He is now also different from the other members of the Godhead in that He has assumed human nature as well. Thus, we are correct to assert that He is a class by Himself. Being in a class by Himself, He was the first to experience resurrection so that the apostle described him as the firstfruits.
The word “firstfruits” is translated from a Greek word that we have considered previously but we will review it here. The word “firstfruits” is translated from a Greek word (aparchē) that may mean “first fruits, first portion” as it is used in the Septuagint in a literal sense to describe the instruction of the Yahweh to Israel regarding what they were to offer to Him from their harvest as recorded in Numbers 15:17–21:
17 The LORD said to Moses, 18 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land to which I am taking you 19 and you eat the food of the land, present a portion as an offering to the LORD. 20 Present a cake from the first of your ground meal and present it as an offering from the threshing floor. 21 Throughout the generations to come you are to give this offering to the LORD from the first of your ground meal.
By the way, the word LORD is translated from a Hebrew word (yhwh) that is the personal name of the God of Israel that is best translated Yahweh. This aside, it is in the literal sense that Apostle Paul used the word “firstfruits” in his illustrations from Israel’s practice of offering first portion of their harvest to God to explain in which way Gentiles have become God’s people through being grafted into Israel as we read in Romans 11:16:
If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Some of our English versions, such as the NET, rendered the Greek word as “first portion” while others such as the TEV rendered it “first piece.” By the way, Israel’s firstfruits that are indeed the first sample of grain or fruit offered to God symbolized a promise or pledge to Israel and their confident expectation that the rest of the harvest is guaranteed. Figuratively, the word was used to refer to the first convert to the Christian faith in Asia as stated in Romans 16:5:
Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
The phrase the first convert is literally the first fruits. Still figuratively, the word may have the sense of “guarantee or pledge or birth certificate” as it is used by Apostle Paul to describe the Holy Spirit given to believers in Romans 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.
The word may mean “beginning” as Apostle Paul used it to describe the election of the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 2:13:
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:23, the word has the sense of “first” or “firstfruits”, that is, the first element in a countable series of resurrection of the dead. Anyhow, Christ is the first to resurrect to guarantee that resurrection is a reality and that others would follow after Him.
To indicate that another class would follow Christ’s resurrection at a specified time, the apostle writes in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 15:23 then, when he comes, those who belong to him. The idea of sequence or order is introduced with the word “then” that is translated from a Greek word (epeita) that is used as a marker of succession of time and order and so may mean “then, thereupon, thereafter.” The word may be used without giving a specific indication of chronological sequence as Apostle Paul used it to narrate his movements following his conversion on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians as we read in Galatians 1:18:
Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days.
The word may be used with the word “first” to indicate chronological sequence as it is used to describe the order in time of the sacrifices offered by a priest under the Levitical priesthood as we read in Hebrews 7:27:
Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
The word may be used in the sense of being next in position of an enumeration of items as Apostle Paul used it to enumerate offices in the church of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:28:
And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:23, it is used with the meaning “then” to indicate chronological sequence so has the sense of “sequentially” or “soon afterward.” Hence, sometimes after Christ’s resurrection another group or class will experience resurrection at a specified time.
The time for resurrection of the next group or class is given in the clause of 1 Corinthians 15:23 when he comes. Literally, the Greek reads at his coming. This is because we do not have a verb but a Greek noun that the translators of the NIV rendered as a verb. In other words, the sentence of NIV he comes is how the translators rendered a Greek noun (parousia) that may mean “presence” as Apostle Paul used it in his instruction to the Philippians concerning working out their salvation as stated in Philippians 2:12:
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
By the way when the apostle says for you to work out your salvation, he was not advocating salvation by works. Instead, he is saying that the believer must work out his deliverance from sin in his daily life and everything that will hamper him from enjoying fully his salvation in this life. This aside, our Greek word may mean “coming” that, according to the standard Greek English lexicon (BDAG), is used technically in two ways. It is used as a sacred expression for the coming of a hidden divinity, who makes his presence felt by a revelation of his power, or whose presence is celebrated in the cult. Another usage is as the official term for a visit of a person of high rank, especially of kings and emperors visiting a province. The meaning “coming” is often used for the second coming of Christ to judge the world at the end of this age as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:15:
According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
The meaning “coming” is also used for the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:9:
The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders…
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:23, the word is used with the sense of “arrival,” that is, the act of arriving at a certain place. Thus, the time at which the next resurrection would take place is at the second coming of Christ. By the way, there is no implication of Christ’s secretly taking away His own at His second coming as some contend.
The clause of the NIV of 1 Corinthians 15:23 then, when he comes points to the fact that creation and redemption are centered on Christ. Christ is the creator of humans as attested severally in the Scripture. Take for example, the mention of Christ’s creation of humans and all things by Apostle Paul as recorded in Colossians 1:16:
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
The pronoun him is a reference to Jesus Christ as the context of Colossians 1:16 demands. It is not only the NT Scripture that informed us that Christ is the creator of humans and all things, but also the OT Scripture did the same only that most people would not know this. Creation activities of things and humans are introduced in Genesis 2:4:
This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens—
The phrase the LORD God is better translated Yahweh God since the word “LORD” of the NIV is how the translators rendered the Hebrew word (yhwh) we mentioned previously that is the personal name of God of Israel by which He identified Himself to them through Moses. The Hebrew word being a personal name of God of Israel is better translated Yahweh. Who is this Yahweh God? It is no other than Jesus Christ although He was not at that time described with the title “Jesus Christ.” However, there can be no doubt that Yahweh God refers to Christ. Let me show you that this is the case. The God who accompanied Israel through its travels from Egypt to the Promised Land is Yahweh as we read in Exodus 13:21:
By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.
Again, the word LORD is better rendered Yahweh. The Holy Spirit tells us that the Yahweh that guided Israel during its travels is Christ because of what He directed Apostle Paul to pen down in 1 Corinthians 10:3–4:
3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
The phrase the spiritual rock must refer to Yahweh that went ahead of Israel in a pillar of cloud. Therefore, there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that Yahweh is Jesus Christ prior to His incarnation. This being the case, we are correct to state that the OT Scripture described Christ as the creator using the phrase Yahweh God in Genesis 2:4. Anyway, it is our assertion that the clause of the NIV of 1 Corinthians 15:23 then, when he comes points to the fact that creation and redemption are centered on Christ. It is for this reason that the order of resurrection is referenced to Him and also the timing of resurrection is referenced to Him. I am saying that it is the centrality of Jesus Christ in human history and redemption narrative that the timing of subsequent resurrections following His should be referenced to His second coming.
It is not only that the timing of resurrection that would occur after that of Christ is referenced to Him but those in the next class of resurrection are also related to Him as stated in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 15:23 those who belong to him. Literally, the Greek reads the ones of Christ. The literal Greek phrase that is translated the ones of Christ is properly unpacked to read those who belong to him as in the NIV.
Who are those who belong to Christ or “the ones of Christ”? They are both OT and NT believers. We say this because there is no distinction among believers from God’s perspective. Believers who have died are all in heaven with a form of interim body. We assert that all believers who have died are in heaven for two reasons. The OT believers were transferred to heaven after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This we can deduce first from the fact that at the time of Jesus’ death the grave holding believers opened as per the record of Matthew 27:52–53:
52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
Matthew is the only gospel writer that recorded this specific event, so some scholars reject it as part of Matthew’s gospel but theorize that these two verses were inserted from the gospel of the Nazarenes. That Matthew is the only gospel writer that narrated this event does not make it untrue. Such an approach would imply that Jesus Christ did not turn water into wine since Apostle John is the only gospel writer to record it. So, it would be incorrect to reject the narrative on such a reasoning. That aside, we believe that these two verses in Matthew are part of the original writing of Matthew since there is no ancient Bible manuscript that disputes this passage. However, we must admit that there are many details that this passage does not provide us with. For example, there is no direct information regarding whom the “holy ones” appeared to, following their being raised from their tombs. Nonetheless, our concern at the present is not to exegete the passage but to consider the information provided in it that helps in our answer that the clause those who belong to him of 1 Corinthians 15:23 include OT believers. The passage in Matthew indicates that OT believers were raised to life, following Jesus’ death and resurrection. An important information is given in the clause of Matthew 27:52 the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. An important issue is how to understand the phrase holy people. Some interpret the phrase as a reference to exceptional people such as patriarchs, prophets, or martyrs or martyrs and spiritual heroes from the Old Testament era or the intertestamental era. This notwithstanding, it is our interpretation that the phrase holy people or “saints” as used in some English version is a reference to all OT believers. This is because the expression “holy people” is translated from a Greek adjective (hagios) that pertains to being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God and so means “dedicated to God, holy, sacred.” When the Greek adjective is used with the definite article in the plural, as in Matthew 27:52, the meaning is “the holy ones.” The phrase “the holy ones” most often rendered with the word “saints” in our English versions is one that is used in the Scripture to describe God’s people, that is, those in a covenant relationship with Him. In the OT, the psalmist used it to describe God’s people in Psalm 16:3:
As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
Daniel used the word “saints” for God’s people in Daniel 7:25:
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time.
In both passages of Psalm and Daniel, the word “saints” from the Septuagint literally reads “the holy ones” because the plural of the definite article and plural of our Greek adjective are used. In the NT, the combination of the plural of the definite article and our Greek adjective is used primarily to describe believers in the Lord Jesus Christ where, the Greek phrase is commonly translated “saints” in our English versions. The observation we have made about the Greek word translated holy ones in Matthew 27:52 leads us to the conclusion that those who were raised during the time of death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were OT believers. However, they did not have resurrection body but a kind of interim body that allowed them to reside in heaven. These believers are those that the Lord Jesus took with Him as He returned to heaven as the Holy Spirit conveyed to us through Apostle Paul in Ephesians 4:8:
This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”
The sentence he led captives in his train most certainly refers to the people of God that were raised to life that Matthew narrated as we have mentioned briefly. Thus, we are correct in asserting that the OT believers are already in heaven with an interim body so their presence in heaven is one reason we assert that the last clause of 1 Corinthians 15:23 those who belong to him refers to both OT and NT believers. Another reason for asserting that all believers are in heaven is that those who died after Christ’s resurrection immediately go into heaven with an interim body. This we deduce from what the Holy Spirit communicated through Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:8:
We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
If the believer is at home with the Lord, we would expect that the believer should have some form of interim body since there is a heavenly body for all those in heaven as it is clear from the assertion of 1 Corinthians 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.
Since there is a heavenly type of body, we are right to conclude that there is a certain type of body that believers in the presence of the Lord now have. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit through the apostle tells us that a soul never exists without a body or clothing, as implied in the apostle’s declarations in 2 Corinthians 5:2–3:
2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
The sentence we will not be found naked implies that the apostle does not conceive of a bodiless soul. Thus, we are correct in deducing that believers who are with the Lord at the present time have an interim body and this interim body is the same kind that those who were raised to life with Jesus Christ have. However, this body is not the resurrection body that will be given to all believers when Christ returns. Hence, we believe that believers in heaven have some form of interim body that is suitable for heaven. Also, consider the fact that when Moses and Elijah appeared during our Lord’s transfiguration experience, they had bodies by which Peter, James, and John recognized them. So, there must be an interim body for all believers in heaven now. That aside, the OT believers who died before Christ’s death and resurrection together with believers who die after Christ’s death and resurrection constitute God’s family in heaven referenced in Ephesians 3:15:
from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
The point is that it is our interpretation that the clause of 1 Corinthians 15:23 those who belong to him should be understood as a reference to both OT and NT believers who have died and are with an interim body in heaven, waiting for their final resurrection body.
“Why then did the apostle describe all believers as those who belong to Christ?” you may ask. Our passage does not directly state but from what the Holy Spirit communicated to us in the Scripture, we are able to give the answer. The answer is that no one is saved without faith in Christ as per the assertion of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Peter as recorded in Acts 4:12:
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
The name that Peter mentioned is that of Jesus Christ and it is only through His name that anyone is saved. In effect, we are asserting that it is by faith in Jesus Christ that anyone is saved.
Some Christians think that those in the OT times were saved by keeping the law but that could not possibly be because there is no passage in the OT Scripture that remotely implies that salvation is by observance of the law. The Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul clearly indicated that no one is justified before God and by implication saved by keeping the law as in Galatians 2:16:
know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
In the OT Scripture, the law served to define a way of life for those who are already in covenant relationship with God to please Him. Thus, obedience to the law was a way for an Israelite to enjoy life on the planet as implied in Leviticus 18:5:
Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.
That the law was given to Israel as a way of pleasing God is implied in Deuteronomy 6:25:
And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”
Righteousness here does not lead to salvation but to pleasing God. Of course, there is such a thing as righteousness by law and righteousness by faith. The righteousness that one obtains by faith is one that is associated with salvation as we may gather from Romans 10:5–10:
5 Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: “The man who does these things will live by them.” 6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Apostle Paul, as a believer, claimed that he had righteousness that is by faith in Philippians 3:9:
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Hence, it should be clear that the righteousness associated with salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ. It is this kind of righteousness that makes a person acceptable before God in the sense of being saved. Anyway, it is our assertion that those in the OT times were not saved by keeping the law as some think.
“How then were people in the OT saved?” you may ask. They were saved in the same way that people are saved today in that it is through faith in Jesus Christ as He was then revealed to them. The first person that was clearly stated as saved by faith in that he received faith righteousness was Abraham as recorded in Genesis 15:6:
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
The sentence Abram believed the LORD is more literally he believed in Yahweh. The literal translation indicates that Abraham known then as Abram received faith righteousness because he believed in Yahweh. We have already demonstrated that Yahweh as God of Israel is the same person as the Lord Jesus Christ. Hence, Abraham was saved by faith in Jesus Christ who as we stated previously was revealed to Israel as Yahweh. Thus, those who were saved in the OT time were saved by faith in Yahweh. It is because Abraham’s salvation that was based on faith in Christ is the indeed the pattern for salvation that he was described as the father of those who are saved by faith in Christ as Apostle Paul stated in Romans 4:16:
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
It is not only to the Roman believers that the apostle implied that Abraham was the pattern of faith in Christ but also to the Galatians as we read in Galatians 3:6–9:
6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Gentiles are not genetically related to Abraham but the apostle states in Galatians 3:7 those who believe are children of Abraham. The phrase children of Abraham is literally from the Greek sons of Abraham. The literal word “sons’ is to be understood either as people who have the same characteristic of faith that Abraham had, or they are those who rely on faith like Abraham did. Either way, those who have faith in Christ for salvation described as belonging to Him are said to be Abraham’s true descendants and heirs to the promise God made to him as the apostle stated later in Galatians 3:29:
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
All the same, the fact is that the OT believers were saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to them as Yahweh as NT believers are by faith in Jesus Christ. This being the case, we are correct in our interpretation that the clause of 1 Corinthians 15:23 those who belong to him refers to all believers regardless of the time they lived. This means that the next to resurrect would be believers in Christ, that is, both OT and NT believers. Of course, the apostle did not go into any detail regarding the sequence of resurrection among believers who as a class would be the next that would experience bodily resurrection. We say this because, among believers, the sequence is that those who have died before the second coming of Christ would receive a resurrection body prior to those who are alive when Christ returns. This is implied in what the Holy Spirit communicated through Apostle Paul as he stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17:
15 According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Of course, the apostle recognized that not all believers would experience resurrection although all will receive transformed bodies since not all believers would experience death as to warrant resurrection as implied by what the apostle stated later in 1 Corinthians 15:51–52:
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
It is not only that the apostle did not in the passage of 1 Corinthians 15:23 that we are studying not say anything about the sequence of resurrection in the class of believers in Christ but also, he did not make any statement about the resurrection of unbelievers. This was probably because he was not concerned as such with the full details of general resurrection as he was with the resurrection of believers. Nonetheless, it seems that the apostle expected those who read his epistle to draw the conclusion that unbelievers since the creation of the world as a class would be the last in resurrection order since he believed in the resurrection of both believers and unbelievers as he voiced out and recorded by Luke in Acts 24:15:
and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.
In any event, unbelievers would be the last to be resurrected to face final judgment. We know that they would be those that would be resurrected last because the Scripture indicates that there are two resurrections: the first that involves believers and the second that involves unbelievers as the Holy Spirit conveyed through Apostle John in Revelation 20:5–6:
5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
In any case, let me end by reminding you of the central message of 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 which is that Christ’s resurrection ensures orderly future resurrection and successful conclusion of God’s plan in relationship to creation.
08/04/23