Lessons #555 and 556

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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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Further implications of denial of resurrection (1 Cor 15:29-34)

²⁹Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? ³⁰And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? ³¹I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³²If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ³³Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” ³⁴Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.

The message of this section of 1 Corinthians 15:29-34, as we stated in our last study, is that Your belief in resurrection should cause you to face difficulties associated with the Christian faith and to be mindful of doctrinal deception that would lead to sinful conduct. We also stated there are three further major implications of denial of resurrection that the apostle gave in the section of 1 Corinthians 15:29-34. The first further implication of denying the doctrine of resurrection in the section of 1 Corinthians we are studying is that some activities or practices related to Christian faith become unnecessary. These activities are detailed in verses 29 to 32. The second is that there is no need to be concerned about deception if there is no resurrection as stated in verse 33. The third is that it is needless to avoid sinful conduct if there is no resurrection as given in verse 34. The first further implication of denial of resurrection, as we have stated, is that some activities or practices related to Christian faith become unnecessary. There are four or five activities the apostle gave in the passage we are considering as unnecessary if there is no resurrection. A first activity we considered is the practice of water baptism for the dead, that is, water baptism because of the influence of dead believers. So, we proceed to consider the second activity that would be unnecessary if there is no resurrection.

A second activity or event that would be unnecessary if there is no resurrection is believers constantly endangering their lives for their faith in Christ. Some of us in this country may not fully understand what this means because we are hardly persecuted for our faith in Christ either because of the laws of this country or because we Christians are full of compromise. The reality is that in many countries, the fact that a person professes faith in Christ immediately puts the individual’s life in danger. There are those whose family members threaten to kill them or even killed them because of their faith in Christ. Some lose their material possessions or are driven away from their farmlands simply because they have believed in Christ. This should not be a surprise to us if we understand what the Holy Spirit says that if we believe in Christ, we are indeed expected to suffer for Him as the Holy Spirit puts it through the pen of Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:29:

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.

It is not only in this passage that the Holy Spirit tells of the suffering or endangerment of life because of faith in Christ so did He through Apostle Paul as recorded in 2 Timothy 3:12:

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Hence, it should be clear to us that faith in Christ exposes a believer to the threat of death or persecutions that may not necessarily involve death.

In any case, the second activity that we stated would be unnecessary if there is no resurrection is believers constantly endangering their lives for their faith in Christ. This second activity is derived from what Apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15:30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? This is a rhetorical question that may be understood as a declaration of constant endangerment of life. This rhetorical question is still based on the conditional clause the apostle stated in verse 29, that is, Now if there is no resurrection. We are saying that it is based on this condition that the apostle stated the third question of the section we are considering given in verse 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?

The apostle was being emphatic as he introduced the third of the four questions of the section of 1 Corinthians 15:29-34 that we are considering. We say this because the word and that begins verse 30 in the NIV is translated from a Greek particle (kai) that is often translated “and” in our English versions. However, the Greek particle has several other usages. For example, it may be used to introduce a result that comes from what precedes and so may be translated “and then, and so.” That aside, the word may be used to emphasize a fact as surprising or unexpected or noteworthy with the meaning “and yet” or “and in spite of that” or “nevertheless.” Of course, it could be used simply for emphasis with the meaning “even.” It may be used to mark an explanation so that what follows explains what goes before it, leading to the translation “that is, namely, and so.” In our verse, it is used in an emphatic manner so that verse 30 could begin as “why indeed…?” or because the interrogative particle (ti) used is used as an interrogative expression of reason for something, it could begin with “for what possible reason…?” In either case, it should be understood that the apostle was being emphatic as he introduced his third question of 1 Corinthians 15:30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour. Literally, the Greek reads And why are we in danger every hour?

Who does the apostle mean in the pronoun “we?” The apostle so far in this first epistle to the Corinthians has used the personal pronoun “we” in three ways. He has used it in such a way that it could refer to believers or all Christians when he conveyed the receiving of the Holy Spirit as recorded in 1 Corinthians 2:12:

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

Another usage of the pronoun “we” by the apostle is to refer only to the apostles when he addressed sarcastically the Corinthians who think they have arrived spiritually in 1 Corinthians 4:8–9:

⁸ Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have become kings—and that without us! How I wish that you really had become kings so that we might be kings with you! ⁹ For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.

Still another usage of the independent pronoun “we” in the Greek so far in this epistle is for the apostles and all teachers of God’s word as the apostle used it to convey to the Corinthians how fitting it is for such workers to be supported by them as we read in 1 Corinthians 9:11:

If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:30, the apostle used it to refer to himself, the other apostles, and all those who preached the gospel in the early church. This is because they are those that what the apostle described next are most appropriate.

The thing the apostle described next is given in the rhetorical question of 1 Corinthians 15:30 why do we endanger ourselves every hour? The word “endanger” is translated from a Greek word (kindyneuō) that means “to be in danger, to run a risk.” It is this word that is used to describe the danger the disciples faced during a boat ride when they encountered a sudden violent gust of wind that threatened their lives that caused them to wake up the Lord Jesus from sleep so He could miraculously deliver them as narrated in Luke 8:23:

As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

The word is used to describe the risk of losing business by those who made their living in Ephesus through making images of the goddess Artemis if people continued to respond to the gospel message Apostle Paul preached as Demetrius stated as recorded in Acts 19:27:

There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”

The word is also used to report what the city clerk told those who responded to Demetrius’ speech of the risk of the city being charged with rioting as we read in Acts 19:40:

As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today’s events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.”

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:30, it is used in the sense of “to be at risk,” that is, to be exposed to the possibility of damage or loss.

The record in Acts indicates that there are two kinds of danger the apostles and those who preached the gospel faced. The first is that of persecution in the form of imprisonment. Thus, Apostles Peter and John were arrested and thrown into jail because of preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ following the healing of a crippled man, as we read in Acts 4:3:

They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.

On another occasion, the apostles were arrested and put in jail although the Lord sent an angel to release them from jail as we read in Acts 5:18–19:

¹⁸ They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. ¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.

Apostle Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown into prison in Philippi because of preaching the gospel and driving out evil spirit from a young woman as recorded in Acts 16:22–23:

²² The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. ²³ After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

The second danger the apostles and those who preached the gospel faced was that of prospect of death. Stephen was stoned to death because of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ that the audience did not want to hear as indicated in Acts 7:54–58:

⁵⁴ When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Apostle James was certainly put to death by Herod because of the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ as we may gather from Acts 12:1–2:

¹ It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. ² He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.

Apostle Paul was stoned and left for dead as we read in Acts 14:19–20:

¹⁹ Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰ But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

Apostle Paul narrated his experiences that indicated he was in constant danger of death or imprisonment or other sufferings such as beating as he listed in 2 Corinthians 11:23–27:

²³ Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ²⁶ I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. ²⁷ I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

Anyway, the danger of imprisonment or death or other sufferings is one that is constant, in particular, for the apostle as implied in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:30 every hour. The word “hour” is translated from a Greek word (hōra) that may mean “time of day”, that is, an undefined period of time in a day as the word is used when the disciples urged Jesus to send away the crowd because it was getting late in the day as narrated in Matthew 14:15:

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

The sentence it’s already getting late is literally the hour has passed away. The word may refer to a period of time as a division of a day. Thus, it may mean “hour” in the sense of the twelfth part of a day, measured from sunrise to sunset, as the word is used in Jesus’ parable of workers in a vineyard recorded in Matthew 20:12:

‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

The period of time as a division of day may be a short period of time that may mean “moment” as Apostle Paul used it to indicate he and his team did not yield any ground to those in Jerusalem church that were promoting salvation by rituals, as he stated in Galatians 2:5:

We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.

The phrase for a moment is literally even for an hour. The word may mean “time”, that is, a point of time as an occasion for an event, as the word is used for the occasion of God’s judgment reported in Revelation 14:15:

Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

The clause because the time to reap has come is literally because the hour to reap has come. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:30, the word is used in the sense of “hour” but because of the Greek word (pas) that means “every, all” used, the Greek phrase involving our word means “hour after hour, every hour, constantly.” Thus, the apostle meant that he and others who preached the gospel of Jesus Christ were in constant danger or constant risk of death or persecution or various kinds of suffering.

Be that as it may, the point of the apostle was that it was needless for him and the others who preach the gospel to expose themselves to the risk of death or persecution or sufferings if there is no resurrection. Although the apostle focused on the apostles and those who preached the gospel at the time of writing but the point of exposure to danger of imprisonment or death, as we have already stated, is one that many believers since the first century of the church have faced and will continue to face. We know from the history of the church that some believers were thrown into arenas to be devoured by lions and killed by other torturous means because they were believers in Christ. If there was no hope of resurrection, it would not make sense for people to continue to believe in Christ knowing that death or imprisonment awaits them once they believed in Christ. In any event, the second activity that we stated would be unnecessary if there is no resurrection is believers constantly endangering their lives for their faith in Christ.

We stated that there are four or five activities the apostle gave in the passage we are considering regarding the first further implication of denial of resurrection. The reason for using the phrase “four or five activities” is that the number of activities the apostle gave depends on how one interprets what the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:31 I die every day—I mean that, brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If the sentence is interpreted as independent of the preceding verse, then we have five activities but if it is interpreted as related to verse 30, we have four activities that are involved in the first further implication of denial of resurrection.

It is our understanding that verse 31 is related to verse 30 in the sense of emphasizing what was stated in verse 30 or providing further explanation in an emphatic manner what the apostle stated in a general sense in that verse. We say this firstly, because of the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:31 I die every day.

The word “die” is translated from a Greek word (apothnēskō) that means “to die,” that is, to cease to have vital functions whether at an earthly or transcendent level. It is in the sense of to die in earthly level that the word is used in Apostle Paul’s response to believers in Caesarea who were concerned that he would die in Jerusalem as narrated in Acts 21:13:

Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

It is in the sense of dying in a transcendent level that involves not having eternal life that the word is used to report the warning of the Lord Jesus to a Jewish audience as narrated in John 8:24:

I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.”

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:31, the word is used primarily with the sense of “to face death” or “to be in lethal situations.” The sense of our Greek word of “facing death” or “being in lethal situations” explains further what the apostle said in verse 30 of he and others who preach the gospel being in constant danger or risk. We are saying that verse 31 explains that the risk or danger the apostle referenced in verse 30 is primarily that of death.

Secondly, because there are two indicators that the sentence in 1 Corinthians 15:31 I die every day explains what the apostle meant in 1 Corinthians 15:30 we endanger ourselves every hour. First, the word “die” in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:31 is in the present tense in the Greek. The implication is that what the apostle stated is something that happened at regular intervals or repeated at various intervals. In effect, it is when the apostle is involved in preaching the gospel that he would be in danger of death. Second, the phrase every day of verse 31 that may be understood as “daily” helps in understanding in a more realistic manner the phrase every hour in verse 30 that might have been a hyperbole since the apostle would have meant that he was daily at risk of death.

We stated that the apostle explained in verse 31 what he stated in verse 30 in an emphatic manner. This we say because of the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:31 I mean that, brothers. Literally, the Greek reads yes indeed brothers. This is because the expression “I mean that” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (nē) that appears only here in the Greek NT. According to the standard Greek English lexicon (BDAG) it is a marker pointing to the basis on which something is strongly affirmed, hence means “yes indeed.” This is usually followed by a reference to the person or thing by which one swears, affirms, or invokes sanction. Thus, by the use of this Greek word the apostle conveyed he was being emphatic in what he stated in verse 30. By the way, there is a manuscript problem in this sentence of verse 31 we are considering. The NIV used the word “brothers” that is not found in some of our English versions. This is because some Greek manuscripts do not contain the Greek word translated “brothers” in the NIV while others do. Those who did not translate it probably did so because the oldest known manuscript does not contain the word “brothers” that the apostle uses often in an affectionate way. This notwithstanding, the point is the sentence we have considered supports our assertion that the apostle in verse 31 was emphatic in what he stated in verse 30.

The apostle was not only emphatic in his explanation of what it means to be in danger or at risk he stated in verse 30 but interestingly or surprisingly, he conveyed that his strong affirmation or swearing is based not on God but on his boasting over the Corinthians as he stated in 1 Corinthians 15:31 just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord. This he probably did because of his certainty that the Corinthians were the fruit of his ministry. This aside, literally, the Greek reads by the pride that I have in you, implying that the phrase just as surely as of the NIV is not in the Greek but was added to make clearer what the apostle meant as suggested in the standard English Greek lexicon (BDAG) that we will mention later.

The word “glory” or “pride” in the literal translation is translated from a Greek word (kauchēsis) that may mean “boasting,” that is, the act of taking pride in something as we read in Romans 3:27:

Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.

The word can refer to that which constitutes a source of pride and so means “reason to boast, object of boasting” as it is used to write of the lifestyle of his and his team in 2 Corinthians 1:12:

Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace.

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:31, the word has the sense of “boasting,” that is, “the act of publicly (and ostentatiously) displaying or proclaiming a satisfied contentment with one’s own or another’s achievements.”

The word “have” in the literal translation by the pride that I have in you is translated from a Greek word (echō) that means “to have” in the sense of “to possess or own something” as the word is used to describe the rebuke of Lord Jesus to the Jews that did not believe in Him although they study the Scripture as a way to obtain eternal life as we read in John 5:39:

You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me.

The word may mean “to have on, wear” of clothes as it is used in the Lord Jesus’ parable of Wedding Banquet to describe a person who came without wearing the wedding dress as we read in Matthew 22:12:

‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.

The word may mean “to enjoy” as it is used to describe the state of the church in Jerusalem after the conversion of Paul as we read in Acts 9:31:

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:31, it means “to have,” that is, “to have or possess, either in a concrete or an abstract sense.”

The phrase over you in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 15:31 is translated from a Greek word (hymeteros) that pertains to persons addressed by a speaker or writer as possessors or recipients and so it may mean “belong to, your” as Apostle Paul used the word in describing the sincerity of the love of the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 8:8

I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.

The word may mean “you” as the apostle used it to describe what the Corinthians were lacking regarding him as we read in 1 Corinthians 16:17:

I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived, because they have supplied what was lacking from you.

The word may mean “yours” as in the declaration of the Lord Jesus to His disciples regarding the reception of their message by people as recorded in John 15:20:

Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:31, it is used with the meaning of “you.” Hence, the literal Greek of the sentence we are studying is by the pride that I have in you which the standard Greek English lexicon (BDAG) indicates is equivalent to saying as surely as I may boast about you. This suggested meaning is reflected in the 2011 edition of the NIV.

Boasting can be right or wrong depending on the object or reason for it. Boasting that is wrong is one that is self-centered so that God is left out or robbed of His glory and a human claims credit for what God has done. Apostle Paul mentioned this kind of wrong boasting as that which characterized his opponents who want to boast as to the number of people, they get to become circumcised, as we read in Galatians 6:13:

Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.

As we indicated, when God is left out in any kind of boasting then it is wrong, as conveyed in James 4:16:

As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.

In the context of James, the boasting that is evil is any kind of assertion about the future that is devoid of the recognition that God controls the future as should be indicated by prefacing such assertion by saying “if God wills or permits” or by the thought that a person’s plan is wholly in God’s hand.

The right kind of boasting is one that is centered on God or what He did or does through others or directly. Thus, we have examples of the right kind of boasting in the Scripture. Apostle Paul indicates that his boasting is in what Christ did on the cross hence, his assertion of wanting to boast about the cross of Christ in Galatians 6:14:

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

It is not only the cross of Christ that led the apostle to boast but also the impact of the cross in the spiritual lives of believers. Therefore, the apostle boasted about those who excel in their spiritual life, as he did to Titus regarding the Corinthians, according to 2 Corinthians 7:14:

I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well.

He did the same thing in praising the Corinthians to the Macedonians concerning their generosity, as we read in 2 Corinthians 9:2:

For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.

The apostle also boasted about an aspect of the spiritual life of the Thessalonians, as we read in 2 Thessalonians 1:4:

Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

Anyway, we should be careful about boasting that is self-centered. The apostle was careful of this that when he boasted of the revelations he had received from the Lord, he used the third person in 2 Corinthians 12:5:

I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.

The “man” the apostle meant is himself. It is because he was cautious regarding boasting about self that he used the third person in his boasting of the visions he received from the Lord. A reason we should be careful not to boast about self is so that others do not overrate us, so to say, as the apostle stated in 2 Corinthians 12:6:

Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.

Boasting about self or self-achievement is an indicator that one does not understand that there is nothing that the person achieved or attained were it not for the grace of God, as indicated in the penetrating questions of 1 Corinthians 4:7:

For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

It is important that we be conscious that whatever we have by way of blessing is from God, as the Holy Spirit taught us through Apostle John in John 3:27:

To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.

The word “heaven” here is a reference to God. Consequently, it is important that we constantly remind ourselves that everything we receive is from God. Boasting that is correct should be related to spiritual matters. This is the implication of boasting about knowing God that the Holy Spirit spoke through Prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 9:24:

but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD.

In any event, the boasting of the apostle regarding the Corinthians is confined to theirs and his relationship with Christ so we have the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:31 in Christ Jesus our Lord. This phrase indicates that boasting or the pride the apostle has regarding the Corinthians is the right kind of boasting. This aside, since we interpreted verse 31 as related to verse 30 in the sense of emphasizing what was stated in verse 30 or providing further explanation in an emphatic manner what the apostle stated in a general sense in that verse, we are still dealing with the second activity that would be unnecessary if there is no resurrection which is believers constantly endangering their lives for faith in Christ. This brings us to the third.

The third activity that would be unnecessary if there is no resurrection is battling with opponents of Christian faith. This activity is derived from Apostle Paul’s activity that he stated in the question of 1 Corinthians 15:32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained?

The word “if” is translated from a Greek particle (ei) that is used in different ways in the Greek. For example, the Greek particle is used as a marker of condition that exists in fact or hypothetical so that it is translated “if.” On the one hand, if a writer presents an action associated with a verb as real, although the writer may or may not believe the action to be real, there is the implication there is no doubt or uncertainty about what is stated when our Greek particle is used. Thus, in some context the meaning “if” may be understood to mean “since”, especially if the action has already taken place as in the statement of the brothers of the Lord Jesus to Him about public display of Himself based on His miracles as we read in John 7:4:

No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”

The clause Since you are doing these things is literally If you are doing these things. On the other hand, if a writer presents the action associated with a verb as possible, the implication is that the thing in question is possible but uncertain, though assumed probable. Thus, it is used to state the possibility of suffering of Christians recognizing that not everyone may suffer in a given time as we read in 1 Peter 3:14:

But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:32, the Greek particle is used to express a condition thought of as real or to denote assumption relating to what has already happened.

The thing the apostle assumed to have occurred is given in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:32 I fought wild beasts in Ephesus. The expression “fought wild beasts” is translated from a Greek word (thēriomacheō) that appears only here in the Greek NT. Outside the NT Greek, it is used literally with the meaning “to be forced to fight with wild animals as a punishment” hence “to fight with wild animals.” Figuratively, the word means “to be in a position of having to contend with adversaries,” that is, “to struggle with, contend with.” It is uncertain in which way the apostle used it in our passage. If he used it literally then the conditional clause involved would be understood as contrary to fact or being unreal. However, there is no indication of believers being punished in the first century with wild beasts as was done in Rome in the second century of church history. Furthermore, Apostle Paul, being a Roman citizen, would not have been punished by having him fight with a wild beast. Thus, the apostle most likely used it in a figurative sense of contending with opponents of the gospel message. The interpretation of figurative usage is supported by the fact that Ignatius, a second century apostolic father and bishop of Antioch of Syria, used similar description of the soldiers who were bound to him as he made his way to Rome to stand trial as we may gather from the translation of his letter that reads:

From Syria even unto Rome I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of soldiers, who only wax worse when they are kindly treated. Howbeit through their wrong doings I become more completely a disciple; yet am I not hereby justified.¹

Anyway, it is our interpretation that Apostle Paul was being figurative when he stated that he fought wild beasts in Ephesus. The problem is there is no specific reference in Acts that describes him personally encountering hostile opponents that could be so described. Some think that the apostle probably used the sentence to describe the riot in Ephesus led by Demetrius against Christianity because his livelihood was threatened as people responded to the gospel message according to the narrative in Acts 19:23–31. The problem with that narrative is the apostle did not personally encounter the opponents as believers kept him from going to the place of the riot. The most likely situation is that the apostle encountered hostility by those who opposed the gospel message that he had to contend with that was not recorded in Acts since the apostle stayed two years in Ephesus and encountered stiff opposition to the gospel by the Jews living there as we read in Acts 19:8–10:

⁸ Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

The verbal phrase had discussions of verse 9 is better translated “discussing” since the context does not imply expressing of opinions by others but only Paul spoke. The point is that the apostle was being figurative in describing fighting with wild beasts in Ephesus as a way to depict his battling with the opponents of the gospel of Jesus Christ whereby he put his life in constant danger.

Apostle Paul completes the condition he set up that would lead to his question by introducing the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:32 for merely human reasons that the 2011 edition of the NIV translates with no more than human hopes. Literally, the Greek reads according to man. This is because the word “for” of the NIV is translated from a Greek preposition (kata) that may mean “by” to express isolation or separateness as the word is used to indicate that Apostle Paul lived by himself during his first Roman imprisonment according to Acts 28:16:

When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

The word may mean “according to, in accordance with, in conformity with, according to” as a marker of norm of similarity or homogeneity. It is with this meaning that the word is used to indicate that the Holy Spirit intercedes for believers in accordance with God’s will, as recorded for us in Romans 8:27:

And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

The word may mean “with respect to, in relation to” to relate relationship to something so that the word is translated “in regard to” in Apostle Paul’s use of it to describe himself as a pharisee as it pertains to his relationship with the law in Philippians 3:5:

circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee.

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:32, it is used with the sense of “according to” but when combined with the noun associated with it, the Greek phrase has a meaning that we will state later.

The noun involved is literally “man” although the NIV reads merely human reasons. Anyhow, the expression “merely human reasons” is translated from a Greek word (anthrōpos) that means “a human being” without regard to gender, as Apostle Paul used it to describe the fate of evil doers in Romans 2:9:

There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;

The word may mean “man” as male person as the apostle used it to describe Jesus Christ in His humanity in Romans 5:15:

But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

The word may mean “self” as it is used in the instruction of Romans 6:6:

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—

The phrase old self is literally old man. The word may mean “person” as that is the way the word is used when the concern is to be inclusive of men and women, as in the doctrine of justification by faith the apostle stated 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.

Justification is for both men and women so that the phrase a man is to be understood as “a person,” hence the NRSV simply used the phrase a person. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:32, it is used in the sense of a “human being” with stress on their limitation and weakness. However, because our Greek word is used with a Greek preposition that we considered previously, the Greek phrase that literally translates “according to man” means “in a human way, from a human standpoint” with emphasis on the inferiority of human beings in comparison with God.

The apostle having completed the conditional clause that enables him to make his argument that there must be resurrection, conveys that there is no benefit for battling with opponents of the gospel of Jesus Christ if there is no resurrection. It is this concept that he expressed in the fourth question of the section we are considering given in 1 Corinthians 15:32 what have I gained?

The word “gained” is, of course, translated from a Greek word (ophelos) that refers to an advantage derived from something; it is used only twice in the Greek NT. In its other occurrence, it is given the meaning “good” in the question of James regarding saying nice things to a person in need without backing them up with action as stated in James 2:16:

If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?

In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:32, it has the meaning of “advantage” or “benefit” resulting from some event or action. The point of Apostle Paul is that from human point of view there is no benefit to him or any other believer to battle against the opponents of the gospel if there is no resurrection as such activity would be needless. In any event, the third activity the apostle stated in the section of 1 Corinthains 15:29-34 that we are considering is battling with opponents of Christian faith. Let me end with a reminder of the message of the section we are considering which is that Your belief in resurrection should cause you to face difficulties associated with the Christian faith and to be mindful of doctrinal deception that would lead to sinful conduct.

09/15/23