Lessons #563and 564
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 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 +
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Analogy from the final body of a sown seed (1 Cor 15:35-38)
35 But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
Our last study focused on what we described as the first paragraph of the major section of 1 Corinthians 15:35-50 that is concerned with the nature of resurrection body. This first paragraph that covers verses 35 to 38 is concerned with analogy drawn from the final body of a sown seed. Consequently, we stated that its message is that God alone determines the nature of resurrection body. Furthermore, we asserted that there are four assertions contained in this first paragraph that help in expounding it. A first assertion is that the issue of analogy from the final body of a sown seed as it relates to resurrection is warranted by a possible question raised regarding the nature of resurrection. This assertion is based on the questions of 1 Corinthians 15:35 But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”. The second assertion regarding the analogy from the final body of a sown seed is that a sown seed dies before it is made alive. This assertion is derived from the clause of verse 36 What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. It is with this assertion we ended our last study and so we continue with the third.
A third assertion regarding the analogy from the final body of a sown seed as it relates to resurrection is that it is a seed and not a body that is sown. This third assertion continues logically the train of thought of the apostle that was expressed in the second assertion. We say this because 1 Corinthians 15:37 begins in the Greek with a Greek particle (kai) that although not translated in the NIV 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, the Greek particle is used to connect logically what is said in verse 37 to what was stated in the preceding verse 36 so it is used to continue what was stated in verse 36. This means that it could be translated “and” or left untranslated
Be that as it may, the third assertion is derived from what is conveyed beginning with the first clause of 1 Corinthians 15:37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be. Literally, the Greek reads And what you sow, not the body that will be you sow.
The word “when” that begins verse 37 in the NIV is how its translators rendered a Greek word (hos) that may be used as a relative pronoun with different meanings. It is with the meaning “which” that Apostle Paul used it to reference the gospel message he preached as a servant of Christ for which he also suffered for doing so as he informed the Colossians as we read in Colossians 1:23:
if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
It is with the meaning “whatever” that Apostle Paul used our Greek pronoun to instruct the Philippians to practice what he taught them as we read in Philippians 4:9:
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
The word may mean “what” as Apostle Paul used it to reference the gospel, he preached to the Galatians, that they also accepted. Concerning which gospel, he pronounced God’s judgment on someone who preaches a different one as we read in Galatians 1:9:
As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
The Greek word may be used as a demonstrative pronoun with the meaning “this” as that is the sense that it is used when Apostle Paul referenced the doctrine of the mystery of Christ that he espoused in his epistle to the Ephesians as we read in Ephesians 3:4:
In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ.
In our passage of 1 Corinthian 15:37, the Greek word is used as a relative pronoun with the meaning “what” that refers to the thing the apostle stated in verse 36 about sowing of seed. Thus, we have the literal translation of what you sow instead of the reading of the NIV When you sow.
The word “sow” in the NIV is translated from a Greek word (speirō) that we considered in detail in 1 Corinthians 15:36 that we indicate has the meaning of “to sow seed.” It is this meaning that is applied in verse 37. The apostle used a present tense in the Greek to convey a universal or common practice that is concerned with sowing. It is the practice everywhere on the planet that when people sow, what they sow is the seed of grain producing plant. It is this fact that the apostle recognized when he used the present tense in the Greek.
To ensure there is no misunderstanding of the universal practice of sowing of seed that the apostle meant, he stated what would never happen in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:37 you do not plant the body that will be or literally not the body that will be you sow. The apostle, of course, states what cannot be disputed. We say this because the word “not” the apostle used is translated from a Greek negative particle (ou) that is an objective negative, denying the reality of alleged fact fully and absolutely in contrast to another Greek negative (mē) that is a subjective negative, implying a conditional and hypothetical negation. Thus, the apostle states strongly or absolutely that what he wrote is factual in the sentence you do not plant the body that will be.
The word “body” is translated from a Greek word (sōma) that we considered in 1 Corinthians 15:35. We indicated that it can be used both literally and figuratively. Literally, it is used for the body of a human being or an animal. Figuratively, Apostle Paul uses the word “body” to refer to the Christian community. The word may mean “nature” or “physical.” In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:37, it means “body” as “plant and seed structure.” In effect, the apostle asserted that what is sowed is different from the body of grain producing plant that eventually results or “the full-grown plant” as again we read you do not plant the body that will be.
The expression “will be” is translated from a Greek word (ginomai) that may mean “to be” although it is different from another Greek word (eimi) that may also mean “to be” in that our Greek word emphasizes that of being what one was not before. That aside, our Greek word has several meanings. For example, it may mean “to come into existence” so may have the sense of “to perform” as it is used for the description of the miracles of the apostles in Acts 5:12:
The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.
The word may mean “to become something” as Apostle Paul used it in cautioning believers not to become stumbling blocks to others in their use of their freedom in Christ in 1 Corinthians 8:9:
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
The word may mean “to occur as process or result” hence may mean “to take place, to happen.” It is in this sense of something occurring because of another thing that the word is used by Apostle Paul regarding the commendation the Lord will give in the future as stated in 1 Corinthians 4:5:
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
The sentence each will receive his praise from God is literally praise will come to each one from God. It is with the meaning “to happen” that Apostle Paul used the word to describe his sufferings as stated in 2 Timothy 3:11:
persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:37, the general sense of the word is “to become” or “to be produced,” that is, “to come into being through a natural production.” So, the apostle communicates that after sowing, the body that a sown seed would have would be different from what is sown.
To continue elaborating his point that it is not the body of grain producing plant that a seed would have that is sown, the apostle became emphatic in what he says next in 1 Corinthians 15:37 but just a seed. Literally, the Greek reads but bare seed. There are two indicators that the apostle was emphatic in this phrase. The first is the word “but” translated from a Greek particle (alla) that primarily is used to indicate a difference with or contrast to what precedes. In effect, it is used to express contrast between an immediate clause and the one preceding it so it may be translated “but, rather, on the contrary.” The word may be translated “indeed, certainly” when it is used as a marker of contrastive emphasis. In the phrase but just a seed we are considering, the apostle used the Greek particle in an emphatic contrastive manner to indicate emphatically that what he wrote in the phrase we are considering is contrary to sowing the body that a seed would eventually have. A second indictor of the apostle being emphatic in the phrase we are considering is the word just in the NIV or bare in the literal translation. The word “bare” is translated from a Greek word (gymnos) that pertains to being without covering. Thus, literally, it means “naked, bare” as it is used to describe what happened to the seven sons of Sceva that received a thorough beating by a man with evil spirit in him as narrated in Acts 19:16:
Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
Figuratively, the word may mean “uncovered, bare” as it is used to indicated that nothing is hidden from God as stated in Hebrews 4:13:
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
The word may pertain to being lightly clad, that is, without an outer garment which at the time of the NT no decent person would appear in public without it, as it is used to describe the action of Apostle Peter when the resurrected Lord Jesus appeared to His disciples by the Sea of Tiberias as narrated in John 21:7:
Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
The clause for he had taken it off is literally for he was naked. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:37, the word is used with the meaning “uncovered” or “bare,” that is, “lacking natural or customary covering.” The word is an adjective, so it is used to describe the seed in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:37 but just a seed or literally but bare seed. By the way, the use of the word “just” of the NIV is because it may sound strange to describe seed as “naked.” Some use the meaning “naked” in our passage because they say it suits better in the analogy since the apostle applied the concept of a naked body to seed. Such interpretation is based on the parallelism found in the description of what would happen to believers in the future as stated in 2 Corinthians 5:3–4:
3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
This notwithstanding, the concept of “bare seed” is probably what the apostle had in mind since it is known that before farmers sow grains, they often would strip them of the natural protective covering over the grains that kept them from being harmed by weather elements. The resultant grains that have been stripped of such covering are then known as “bare kernel” or “bare seed” that when planted would easily decay to lead to new plants.
In anyway, the word “seed” in the phrase just a seed of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (kokkos) that means “kernel of various plants” so means “seed, grain” as it is used in our Lord’s description of faith that would accomplish much in Matthew 17:20:
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
The word is used with the meaning of “kernel” in our Lord Jesus’ declaration to His disciples of the necessity of His death and resurrection as recorded in John 12:24:
I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:37, the word is used in the sense of “plant seed.” Hence, the apostle meant that it is seed that is bare that is sown and not the body that the seed would eventually have after its decay. Anyway, we should recognize that the apostle is concerned with grain producing plants and not ever other plants since there are plants where the stems are used to grow new ones.
The apostle continued with his analogy in the last phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:37 perhaps of wheat or of something else. This phrase indicates the apostle is concerned with grain producing plants. Anyhow, literally, the Greek reads perhaps of wheat or of some others. The word “perhaps” is translated from a Greek word (tygchanō) that may mean “to experience some happening,” hence may mean “to attain, gain, find, experience.” It is this meaning that is reflected in the NIV with the word “to obtain” in describing the salvation to be attained or gained by an elect as we read in 2 Timothy 2:10:
Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.
It is with the meaning “to gain” that the word is used to describe resurrection associated with heroes of faith in Hebrews 11:35:
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
The word may mean “to happen, to turn out” and so it is used as a part of a formula or an idiom that literally translates “if it should happen” or “if it should turn out that way” and so means “probably, perhaps” although the translators of the NIV used the meaning “undoubtedly” to translate the Greek idiom that involves our Greek word in 1 Corinthians 14:10:
Undoubtedly there are all sorts of languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.
The word Undoubtedly is used to translate a Greek expression that literally reads if it should happen. That aside, in our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:37, it has the sense of “perhaps.” So, the apostle used our Greek word to introduce the example of what may be sown as wheat.
The apostle recognized there are other things sown other than wheat and so he adds the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:37 or of something else or literally or of some others. The expression “of…else” or literally “of…others” is translated from a Greek word (loipos) that as an adjective describes the same group of being or thing that is not previously mentioned and so means “other” or “rest of.” Thus, it is used to describe Roman Gentile believers that Apostle Paul had not ministered to as other Gentile believers, as in Romans 1:13:
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
It is in the same sense that the apostle used the adjective to describe believers who were Jewish that got sucked into Peter’s hypocrisy of the type that even Barnabas who had ministered to Gentiles and associated with them got involved in, according to Galatians 2:13:
The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
The adjective translated “rest of” is used by Apostle Paul to describe the workers in the ministry of preaching of the gospel with him in Philippians 4:3:
Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.
The adjective is used by Apostle Peter to describe the Scriptures that did not include the ones written by Apostle Paul in 2 Peter 3:16:
He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
When our Greek word is used with a noun where a Greek article “the” is used so we have the phrase “the rest” or “the other,” it refers to a subgroup within a main group. We can substantiate this assertion using several examples from Scripture. During the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the phrase is used to refer to a subgroup of those standing by to watch the crucifixion that mocked Him, as stated in Matthew 27:49:
The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
The phrase is used to describe a subgroup of passengers in the ship that was taking Apostle Paul to Rome to stand trial that could not swim as we read in Acts 27:44:
The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety.
The same phrase is used to describe members of a congregation that were not being rebuked for their sins in 1 Timothy 5:20:
Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.
Hence, it should be clear that the phrase “to the rest” or “to the other” refers to a subgroup of the main group. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:37, since our Greek word is used with a definite article it has the sense of “the other things, the rest” or “the remaining.”
The apostle was being general in his description as he recognized the other things that only their seeds are sown in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:37 or of something else or literally or of some others. The word “something” or “some” of the literal translation is translated from a Greek word (tis) that may mean “a certain one, someone” as a reference to someone or something indefinite as Apostle Paul used it to state one of the reasons Timothy stayed in Ephesus was to stop some unnamed false teachers in Ephesus from erroneous teaching as stated in 1 Timothy 1:3:
As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer.
The word may mean “some” as Apostle Paul used it to describe some of those who were eyewitnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ but were no longer living when he referenced the resurrection of Jesus Christ as part of his gospel message as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:6:
After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
The word may refer to “a person of importance” as the word is used to report the caution of Gamaliel to the Sanhedrin regarding their treatment of the apostles as he mentioned someone who claimed to be important, but his movement went nowhere after his death as stated in Acts 5:36:
Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:37, the word has the sense of “something” referring to something indefinite. Hence, the apostle conveyed that he referenced something indefinite that is sown through the seed so that the resultant product after the decay of the seed would have a body that is different from what is sown.
It is important to recognize that the analogy the apostle makes about sowing a seed and not the body that the seed will assume when it decays should not be pressed far in the apostle’s argument of the reality of resurrection. We mean that we should not take it that the human body is equivalent to seed that is sown that when it decays would have a different body at resurrection. The point of the apostle is simply to indicate that as from a seed that dies new life comes, we should expect that the decay of the body in the grave is not the end for any human. Instead, there is still going to be life associated with the person whose body decays in the grave. Furthermore, as the body of a sown seed is different from the seed sown that the body of any human that dies and is buried would certainly be different from the original body that was buried in the grave at resurrection. It is true that when the body of a sown seed is fully matured, it would have fruits that would contain the same seed sown but that is not to be the same with a resurrection body. A resurrection body would not have anything in common with the original body that was buried in the grave. In effect, we are saying that no part of earthly body would become a part of the resurrection body whether that of an unbeliever and certainly not that of the believer since later in verse 50 the apostle indicates that the human body as we know it would not be a part of what would be in heaven. In any event, the third assertion regarding the analogy from the final body of a sown seed is that it is a seed and not a body is sown. This brings us to the fourth and final assertion of the section we are studying.
A fourth assertion regarding the analogy from the final body of a sown seed is that God gives appropriate body to a sown seed. This fourth assertion is connected to the third, especially because of the clause of 1 Corinthians 15:37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be. The connection is by way of contrasting statement introduced by the first word but of verse 38. The word “but” is translated from 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 particle may be left untranslated. In its usage in verse 38, it is possible that the particle is used to connect verse 38 to verse 37 in which case it could be translated “and.” However, because of the clause we referenced in verse 37, it is more likely that the apostle intended us to understand the particle as used to provide a contrast to what was said in verse 37. The contrast the apostle conveyed is between the body that a sown seed receives after it has been sown and experienced decay to the seed sown.
In any case, the apostle writes in 1 Corinthians 15:38 God gives it a body as he has determined. “God” is used here without distinction to the persons of Godhead involved in what is stated. This we can understand because every member of the Godhead is involved in creation and whatever body is given to any seed that is sown is an extension of creative activity.
The word “gives” of the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:38 God gives it a body as he has determined is translated from a Greek word (didōmi) that may mean “to give” as an expression of generosity as the word is used in Paul’s quotation of a sayings of the Lord that was not recorded in any of the gospels but probably in other sources, as we read in Acts 20:35:
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
The word may mean “to offer” as in bribing someone as it is used to describe the expectation of Governor Felix regarding Paul’s trial as we read in Acts 24:26:
At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.
The word may mean “to give” in the sense of instructing someone to act in specified manner as it is used by Apostle Paul to remind the Thessalonians of the source of his and his team’s instructions to them as we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:2:
For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.
The word may mean “to give” in the sense of offering counsel or advice as it is used in Mark 3:6:
Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
The verbal phrase began to plot is literally began to give counsel. The word may mean to cause something to happen especially in a physical sense, hence means “to produce” as it is used to describe the effect of Prophet Elijah’s prayer in Israel, following the famine the Lord brought through him as we read in James 5:18:
Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
The word may mean “to make” as in the promise of the Lord to the church in Philadelphia as to what He would do to those who claim to be Jews as we read in Revelation 3:9:
I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:38, the word has the meaning of “to give,” that is, “to cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense.”
The thing God causes a sown seed to have, is a body as described in the sentence God gives it a body as he has determined. The word “as” is translated from a Greek adverb (kathōs) that may be used “as a marker of cause or reason, often with the implication of some implied comparison,” hence the meaning “in as much as, because.” The word may also mean “as” to describe degree or extent of something. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:38, it is used to describe extent of or degree to which something takes place and so may mean “as, to the degree that.” The thing that takes place is given in the sentence he has determined.
The word “determined” is translated from a Greek word (thelō) that may mean “to wish to have, desire, want,” that is, to have a desire for something as Apostle Paul used it to describe what he wanted Roman believers to do about being wise regarding what is good, as stated in Romans 16:19:
Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
The word may mean to have something in mind for oneself and so means “to purpose, will, wish, decide.” It is with the meaning “to decide” that the word is used in the NIV to describe Jesus’ decision to travel to Galilee in John 1:43:
The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”
It is with the meaning “to wish” that Apostle Paul used it in his question to the Galatians of desiring to be enslaved back to what they had been freed from in Galatians 4:9:
But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
The word may mean “to choose” as Apostle Paul used it to describe those God has chosen to reveal Christ as we read in Colossians 1:27:
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
The word may mean to take pleasure in something in view of its being desirable and so means “to enjoy, like, take pleasure in something” as Apostle Paul used it to describe false individuals in Colossae that took pleasure in false humility and in the worship of angels in Colossians 2:18:
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions.
The word may mean “to have an opinion,” “to think something to be so,” that is, “to maintain” something that is contrary to the true state of affairs as it is used to describe false teachers whose opinion is described in 2 Peter 3:5:
But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water.
The clause they deliberately forget is literally in maintaining this it escapes them. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:38, the Greek word means “to will” or “to desire.”
Anyway, the apostle used aorist tense in the Greek for the Greek word translated “determined” in the NIV or we indicated means “to will or to desire” to indicate that what he stated as far as giving a body to a seed is something that occurred in the past, that is, prior to any creation activity. In effect, God willed in the past what each body of seed would be and for what purpose. Furthermore, the Greek word used speaks to God’s sovereign control over creation both at the present and in the future. He controls what body each seed receives at the present as He will control the body of resurrection that would be given in future. The point is the word “determined” of the NIV is a reminder that God is sovereignly in control of creation. Thus, the body that is given to a sown seed after its decay had been determined by God in accordance with His will or desire.
The apostle having indicated that there are different kinds of seeds sown, conveyed that God acts by providing different kinds of bodies to the sown seeds. It is this fact that is given in the second and last clause of 1 Corinthian 15:38 and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
The last clause of 1 Corinthians 15:38 is an explanation of the first clause of the verse. We say this because of the word and that begins the last clause of verse 38 is translated from a Greek particle (kai) that we indicated in verse 37 is often translated “and” in our English versions but that it has several other usages. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:38, it is used as a marker of an explanation so that what follows explains what goes before it, leading to the translation “that is, namely, and so.” This being the case, we could translate the last clause as that is/and so to each kind of seed he gives its own body.
The expression “each kind” 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 the 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 15:38, the word is used with the meaning “each” in the sense of every seed considered individually.
Each seed considered according to its kind receives a body that is in keeping with its distinct nature as indicated in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:38 he gives its own body. 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 15:38, the word is used in the sense of “particular,” that is, unique or specific to a seed. So, God gives each sown seed a body that is in keeping with His original creation of that seed as indicated in creation account recorded in Genesis 1:11–12:
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
With this understanding, we have considered the fourth and final assertion of the section that we are studying regarding the analogy from the final body of a sown seed which is that God gives appropriate body to a sown seed. So, let me end by reminding you of the message derived from the analogy of sown seed receiving a body of this section that we have expounded which is that that God alone determines the nature of resurrection body.