Lessons #565and 566
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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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Different natures of created objects (1 Cor 15:39-41)
39 All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 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. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
We have considered 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, as we stated previously, covers verses 35 to 38 that is concerned with analogy drawn from the final body of a sown seed. A message the Holy Spirit conveyed in this first paragraph is God alone determines the nature of resurrection body. So, we proceed to consider the second paragraph and a message, we believe the Holy Spirit conveyed through the apostle in it.
The second paragraph consists of 1 Corinthians 15:39-41 that is concerned with different nature of created objects and still involves analogy drawn from creation. The apostle made two declarations based on the surface reading of the paragraph. The first made in verse 39 is that all flesh of living objects God created is not the same. The second is that there are heavenly and earthly bodies, each with their unique splendor. This he stated in the first sentence of verse 40. He then proceeds in verse 41 to focus on the luminaries: sun, moon and stars. But in the only luminary that is given in the plural, that is, the stars, he made the point that stars differ from one another. This summary indicates that the central proposition of the apostle in this second paragraph is that there are differences between created objects and the differences concern the nature of flesh of living objects and the composition of living and nonliving objects. The concern is really to determine the point of the apostle in focusing on the different natures of created objects – living and nonliving. It seems to me that a good way to do so is to present the message we believe the Holy Spirit wanted the apostle to convey as he continued his discourse on the nature of resurrection. Hence, the message we believe the Holy Spirit wants us to hear from this second paragraph is that There will be a difference between resurrection body and earthly body in their composition and even then, there will be differences in the radiance of resurrection bodies. The way we derived this message would be clearer as we expound on the second paragraph that we are about to consider.
Apostle Paul did not use any connective to indicate he was moving from the first paragraph to the second of the major section of 1 Corinthians 15:35-50 that is concerned with the nature of resurrection body. The apostle introduced the first paragraph (1 Corinthians 15:35-38) of the major section we are considering with a contrasting word “but” in verse 35 that enables the reader to recognize that he was moving to a different aspect of his argument regarding the matter of resurrection. However, he had no connective at the beginning of verse 39 that would signal that a new paragraph is being introduced. Nonetheless, we know that the apostle has moved to another paragraph because of the change of his focus. In the first paragraph, he was concerned with the topic of sowing seed, but in verse 39 he introduced a different word “flesh” since the first sentence is All flesh is not the same or literally Not all flesh (is) the same flesh.
What does the apostle mean with the word “flesh?” This question sounds trivial, but it is not because the word “flesh” is translated from a Greek word (sarx) with a range of meanings but we will mention briefly some of these in this study. The word may refer to the material that covers the bones of a human or animal body hence means “flesh” as it is used for the ritual of circumcision 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.
The word may mean “body, physical body” as it is used to reinforce the point that a husband should love the wife as himself, as indicated in Ephesians 5:29:
After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—
The word may mean “person, human being” as the word is used in the priestly prayer of our Lord to refer to His authority over humans in John 17:2:
For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
The phrase over all people is literally over all flesh. The word may mean “human nature” in a neutral sense of not being concerned with its activities as it is used to describe Jesus Christ in Romans 1:3:
regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,
The word may mean “sinful nature” as it is used in Romans 8:5:
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
The phrase the sinful nature is literally the flesh but the apostle does not mean “flesh” as that which covers the bones of humans since he was contrasting between living a life that is controlled by one’s own human nature and living the life that is controlled by the Holy Spirit. Thus, the meaning “sinful nature” of the NIV captures the sense of the Greek word in Romans 8:5. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:39, the word is used in the sense of “flesh,” that is, the soft tissue of the human or animal body consisting of muscle tissue and fat.
Our understanding that “flesh” consists of muscle tissue and fat means that when the apostle wrote All flesh is not the same he meant to convey that there are differences in the texture of various muscle tissues and fat of some of living creatures. To clarify or explain what he meant the apostle first wrote next in verse 39 Men have one kind of flesh. Our assertion that this sentence is used by the apostle to clarify or explain what he meant when he wrote All flesh is not the same is because the sentence we are considering begins in the Greek with Greek particle (alla) that was not explicitly translated in the NIV although its translators used a “colon” in its place but translated “but” in such English versions as the NASB, the ESV, and the NRSV, among others. Although the meaning “but” is permissible, it is probably that the apostle used it in the sense of “therefore” or “so” in view of the fact that he stated that all flesh is not the same. In effect, he would be saying that because of that fact, what he was about to state is a consequence of all flesh not being the same. This meaning “so” or “therefore” we have given to the Greek particle is one that is adopted by the translators of the NIV in translating what the apostle did after he could not find Titus as stated in 2 Corinthians 2:13:
I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia.
The meaning “so” for our Greek particle is adopted by translators of the NIV and the TEV to describe that the instruction given to Peter to go with the men Cornelius sent results from what the Holy Spirit said to him about three men that were looking for him as we read in Acts 10:20:
So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
The point is that the Greek particle (alla) used after Apostle Paul stated that all flesh is not the same, is used in the sense of “therefore” to provide an explanation of the preceding sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:39 All flesh is not the same. The NIV used a colon before the next sentence that we stated provides an explanation to do the same thing. Our interpretation of the Greek particle used means we can read the Greek as All flesh is not the same therefore people have one kind of flesh.
The first clarification the apostle gave after his statement is that humans have a different kind of muscle tissue and fat, that is, flesh as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:39 Men have one kind of flesh. We say that this sentence indicates that humans have a different kind of flesh because the word “men” is better understood here as humans or people. This we can demonstrate by briefly considering the Greek word the apostle used. The word “men” of the 1984 edition of the NIV 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 as stated 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 a 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 “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 in Christ 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 15:39, it is used in the sense of “human being” or “people” as reflected in the 2011 edition of the NIV. Thus, the apostle meant that humans have one kind of flesh, that is, one kind of muscle tissue and fat.
The expression “one kind” is translated from a Greek word (allos) that may mean “other” in the sense of being distinguished from the person who is speaking as it is used for Apostle Paul’s preaching to individuals other than himself in 1 Corinthians 9:27:
No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
The word may pertain to that which is different in type or kind from other entities in comparisons hence means “another, different.” It is with the meaning of “different in kind” that Apostle Paul used it to describe a gospel other than the one he preached to the Corinthians that they put up with, as we read in 2 Corinthians 11:4:
For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:39, the word is used in the sense of “different in kind.” Hence, the flesh (that is, muscle tissue and fat) of humans is of a different kind from all the other living creatures the apostle mentioned.
The next kind of flesh the apostle mentioned is that of animals so we have the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:39 animals have another. Literally, the Greek reads and another flesh of animals. The word “animals” is translated from a Greek word (ktēnos) that refers to a domestic animal capable of carrying loads, hence in our passage has the sense of “large pack animal.”
Another flesh mentioned as different is that of birds as in the phrase birds another. The word “birds” is translated from a Greek word (ptēnon) that appears only here in the Greek NT; it refers to “a winged animal.”
The last kind of flesh mentioned by the apostle is associated with fish as in the last phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:39 and fish another. The word “fish” is translated from a Greek word (ichthys) that means “fish,” that is, “any of various kinds of cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates usually having scales and breathing through gills.” By the way, the apostle listed the creatures he mentioned in a descending order in contrast to the ascending order in creation of going from fish to humans given in creation account (see Genesis 1:20-28). In any event, the first declaration of the second paragraph that consists of 1 Corinthians 15:39-41, as we have stated, is that on a surface reading that not all flesh of living objects God created is the same. This brings us to the second.
The second declaration is that there are heavenly and earthly bodies each with their unique splendor. This declaration is introduced in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies. The Greek indicates that the apostle added a second declaration or continued with his concern regarding different natures of created objects. This is because the Greek of verse 40 begins with a Greek particle (kai) that is often translated “and” in our English versions as done here in the NET. 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 logically convey that the declaration given in verse 40 is related to the first declaration in verse 39 that it should be translated “also” as in the NIV and the NCV. Of course, the apostle moves from living objects in verse 39 to nonliving objects in verse 40.
Be that as it may, the apostle states in 1 Corinthians 15:40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies. This sentence has presented interpretation difficulties for centuries because of the phrase heavenly bodies. The problem is whether the phrase refers to the heavenly luminaries or to angelic beings. The support of the interpretation for heavenly luminaries is that the apostle listed heavenly luminaries in the verse following, that is, verse 41 without any connective to verse 40 implying that he gave examples of heavenly bodies. The interpretation that the phrase refers to angelic beings is that the Greek word translated “body” that we will consider later is not used elsewhere in Scripture to refer to inorganic entities. Furthermore, it is argued that the context here calls for a contrast between bodies for inhabitants of the earth and bodies for inhabitants of Heaven, the angels. Which of these interpretations is correct? I contend that both interpretations are correct and necessary to fully explain what the apostle meant. I am saying that the apostle was not concerned merely with one or the other but with both in that he expounded, to a limited extent, both interpretations as we will argue in what follows by examining the Greek words used. My approach is to go from the word in the English that causes least problem in the Greek to the one that presents the greatest difficulty.
The word in the English that causes least difficulty in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies is the word “earthly” that is translated from a Greek adjective (epigeios) that means “earthly” as it pertains to what is characteristic of the earth as opposed to heavenly as it is used to differentiate two kinds of wisdom in James 3:15:
Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:40, it is used in the sense of what is characteristic of the earth as opposed to heaven.
The second English word in 1 Corinthians 15:40 is “bodies” that is translated from a Greek word (sōma) that is used both literally and figuratively that we have considered in detail in our study of 1 Corinthians 12:12 but we will simply summarize that study to enable us to interpret its usage in our passage. Literally, it is used for the body of a human being or an animal. Figuratively, it is used to refer to the Christian community. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:40, the word means “body” or “composition” in the sense of “the material composition of an entity considered as a whole.” This brings us to the more difficult word used in our verse.
The most difficult word in 1 Corinthians 15:40 is the adjective “heavenly” translated from a Greek word (epouranios) that pertains to “being associated with a locale for transcendent things and beings,” hence means “heavenly” as it is used to describe heavenly Jerusalem in Hebrews 12:22:
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.
It is with the phrase “heavenly realms” that the word is used to describe where Jesus ascended after His resurrection as we read in Ephesians 1:20:
which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:40, the word is used with the meaning “heavenly, celestial” as it pertains to being in the sky and or in the heavens. A commentator suggests the meaning “super-earthly”, but it is probably better to understand the word as a reference to heavens that would include the first heaven, that is, the sky.
It is our contention that Apostle Paul used the Greek word translated “heavenly” in 1 Corinthians 15:40 to mean heavens in the sense of the sky and beyond. This is because the apostle used the plural of the Greek word in our passage. In fact, the apostle used the singular form of our Greek word only three times in his epistles out of the seven times the singular form is used in the NT. He used the singular form twice to describe the residence of the Lord Jesus Christ prior to incarnation as we may gather from 1 Corinthians 15:48–49:
48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
The apostle used singular form of our word with regard to the reign of God in 2 Timothy 4:18:
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The remaining usage of the singular form of the Greek word is in Hebrews to describe nonliving objects. For example, it is the singular form that it is used to describe a gift from God described as “heavenly gift” in Hebrews 6:4:
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit.
It is in the singular form that the word is used to describe city of Jerusalem in a passage we cited previously, that is, Hebrews 12:22:
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,
The apostle used the Greek word in the plural five other times in his epistle excluding 1 Corinthians 15:40 and in these usages, there is implication that the apostle was thinking of either the first heaven or second or third heaven or all three. The apostle described believers’ position in Christ in terms of being seated with Him in heavenly realms in Ephesians 2:6:
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.
The phrase heavenly realms is more literally heavenlies implying that the apostle meant the highest of the heavens that would be the third heaven since he describe the place of God’s residence as the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12:2:
I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.
Another usage of the plural form of our Greek word implies a reference to both the second and third heavens in Ephesians 3:10:
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
Rulers and authorities in this passage would include the gods that are hostile to God and those who are not. In this case, the hostile gods would be confined to first and second heavens while those submissive to God would be in third heaven. The same situation also applies when the apostle states of worshipping of Christ by every creature in Philippians 2:10:
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
The word “heaven” here is translated from the plural form of the Greek word we are considering implying that those who bow down to Jesus Christ would include the gods in second and third heaven. The apostle also used the plural of our Greek word probably to describe the hostile gods that hover or operate in the first and second heavens as implied in Ephesians 6:12:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Since the apostle’s use of the plural form of the Greek word we have been considering is to reference the heavens, it is most likely that when he used the word in 1 Corinthians 15:40, he had in mind the three heavens. This being the case, the apostle was thinking of both living and nonliving objects associated with the three heavens so that we can state that the phrase heavenly bodies in 1 Corinthians 15:40 refers to both the luminaries and angelic beings or simply the gods. By the way, let me be clear, our Scripture does not directly mention second heaven but since the apostle mentioned third heaven there must be a second heaven. Of course, the pseudepigraphic book 2 Enoch the seventh chapter describes the second heaven as follows:
1* And those men took me up to the second heaven. And they set me down on the second heaven. And they showed me prisoners under guard, in measureless judgment. 2 And there I saw the condemned angels, weeping. And I said to the men who were with me, “Why are they tormented?” 3 The men answered me, “They are evil rebels against the Lord, who did not listen to the voice of the Lord, but they consulted their own will.”1
In any case, the understanding of “body” in the sense of “the material composition of an entity considered as a whole” and our interpretation of what the apostle meant with the word “heavenly” imply that when the apostle wrote in verse 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies, he meant to convey that there are different compositions for living and nonliving objects depending on whether they are associated with the first heaven or the second and third heavens. However, his focus in verses 40 and 41 is on the nonliving objects of the first heaven but in verses 48 he focused on living objects. To convey this fact, the apostle begins the next clause with the word but that is translated from the same Greek particle (alla) used in verse 39 although this time it is used for contrast.
The contrast the apostle is concerned with making is different compositions of living and nonliving objects as given in the next clause of 1 Corinthians 15:40 but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. Both the phrase one kind and the word another are translated from the same Greek word (heteros) that pertains to being distinct from some other item implied or mentioned, hence means “other” so it may mean “other of two” as Apostle Paul used it to state he does not go beyond the Scripture in his application of truth as stated in 1 Corinthians 4:6:
Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.
The word may mean “another, different” as it pertains to being dissimilar in kind or class from all other entities as the word is used by Apostle Paul to express his surprise that the Galatians were turning to a different gospel than the one he preached to them and by which they were saved as we read in Galatians 1:6:
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:40, the word is used in the sense of “other (of two).” Thus, the apostle intended to convey that splendor of heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly.
Anyway, the apostle’s focus is on the word “splendor” used twice in verse 40 of the NIV although our Greek text used it once, but the word “splendor” is used four times in verse 41 indicating that it is the focus of the apostle as he considered the composition of living and nonliving objects either situated on earth or in the heavens.
The word “splendor” is translated from a Greek word (doxa) that may mean “brightness, splendor, radiance”, that is, the condition of being bright or shining and so it is used to describe the physical phenomenon associated with the light that blinded Paul prior to his conversion while on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians, as stated in Acts 22:11:
My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
The phrase the brilliance of the light is more literally the brightness of the light. It is in this sense of “brightness” that the word is used to describe Moses’ face after he came down from Mount Sinai as Apostle Paul referenced in 2 Corinthians 3:7:
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was,
The phrase because of its glory refers to the brightness or shining brilliance of Moses’ face. It is in this sense of “brightness” that it is used to describe the appearance of an angel with authority described in Revelation 18:1:
After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor.
The word may mean “majesty, power, might” as it is used to describe an effect of Jesus’ miracle of turning water into wine that the Holy Spirit through Apostle John indicates reveals an element of Jesus’ true nature in John 2:11:
This, the first of his miraculous signs, Jesus performed at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.
The sentence He thus revealed his glory, according to the UBS Translators’ Handbook, may be translated “there he showed how wonderful he was.” Of course, what Jesus revealed was His power or might in the miracle so that “glory” here refers to His power or might. The Greek word may refer to the state of being in the next life and so it is described as participation in the radiance or the glory. In this usage, it may mean heaven as Apostle Paul used it in 1 Timothy 3:16:
Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
In this passage, “glory” has the sense of heaven since that is where Jesus Christ ascended. As referring to the state of being in the next life, the word is used to indicate believers will share in that which belongs to the Lord Jesus in 2 Thessalonians 2:14:
He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Greek word we are considering may mean “greatness, splendor”, that is, a state of being magnificent as the word is used in 1 Peter 1:24:
For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
Here “glory” refers to “greatness” or “whatever is beautiful” about people. The word may mean “praise” as the word is used to describe what Apostle Paul said he and his team were not seeking from humans in 1 Thessalonians 2:6:
We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you,
The word may mean “prestige” as in oxymoron the apostle stated in Philippians 3:19:
Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.
The sentence their glory is in their shame, according to the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG, may be translated whose prestige is in their disgrace. The word may mean “honor” as it is used in Jesus’ declaration that He spoke for the honor of the One who sent Him in John 7:18:
He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:40, the word is used in the sense of “radiance” or “brightness,” that is, “the quality of emitting beautiful and bright light.” Thus, the apostle is concerned with radiance of bodies but really his focus is on the luminaries.
We know that the apostle was concerned with celestial or heavenly objects because he did not mention the earthly bodies he had in mind at this point, but he listed the heavenly bodies or the luminaries in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
The apostle listed the luminaries in accordance with the intensity of their brightness or radiance in descending order. The first he mentioned is the sun as in the sentence The sun has one kind of splendor. The word “sun” is translated from a Greek word (hēlios) that here has the sense of “sun,” that is, “the celestial body that is the source of light and heat for the Earth” in daytime. That the sun is associated with light is stated in what happened to Elymas when Apostle Paul pronounced judgment on him as stated in Acts 13:11:
Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
The heat associated with the sun is referenced in Revelation 7:16:
Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat.
The intense heat of the sun will be an instrument of God’s judgment that will come to the world as described in Revelation 16:8–9:
8 The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was given power to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him.
Anyway, the sun is associated with the greatest intensity of radiance or brightness of all the luminaries in the sky or the first heaven hence the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:41 The sun has one kind of splendor.
The second luminary with the next level of intensity of brightness is the moon as mentioned next in 1 Corinthians 15:41 the moon another. The word “moon” is translated from a Greek word (selēnē) that means “the moon,” that is, the major luminary that provides light at night. The intensity of brightness or radiance associated with it is different from that of the sun and so the phrase the moon another.
The third luminary with the least level of intensity of brightness with respect to the earth is the star hence the apostle writes and the stars another. The word “star” is translated from a Greek word (astēr) that means “a luminous body (other than the sun or moon) visible in the sky,” hence “star.” It was used in a supernatural manner to guide the Magi to the location that baby Jesus was as narrated for us in Matthew 2:9–10:
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
The intensity of the brightness of a star is certainly different from that of the sun and moon hence Apostle Paul’s use of the word another in phrase in 1 Corinthians 15:41 and the stars another.
In any case, the apostle indicated that there is a difference in level of the intensity of the brightness or radiance within the class of luminaries known as “stars” as in the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:41 and star differs from star in splendor. Literally, the Greek reads for star differs from star in glory. The word “and” in the NIV is translated from a Greek conjunction (gar) that has several usages. For example, it can be used as a marker of inference with the meaning “so, then, by all means” or it can be used as a marker of cause or reason for something in which case it may be translated “for, because.” It can be used as a marker of clarification or explanation so that it may be translated “for” or “you see.” In our verse, although some of our English versions translated it with the word “for” but it is used in emphatic manner to state strongly what the apostle asserted about the differences between the stars as far as intensity of their brightness or radiance is concerned. Thus, the conjunction may be translated “indeed” as reflected in the NRSV. It is probably this interpretation of emphasis that is reflected in the TEV that rendered the conjunction as “and even.” The point is that the apostle was emphatic when he wrote in the NIV of 1 Corinthians 15:41 and star differs from star in splendor.
The word “differs” is translated from a Greek word (diapherō) that may mean “to carry something through a place or structure” as the word is used to describe Jesus’ action of preventing merchandizing in the temple courts as narrated in Mark 11:16:
and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.
The word may mean “to be worth more than, be superior to” as it is used to report the Lord Jesus’ teaching that indicates believers should not worry about the necessities of this life since their heavenly Father provides for birds and so He would certainly provide for us who are more valuable or worth more to God than birds as we read in Luke 12:7:
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
The word may mean “to be unlike, differ, be different” as Apostle Paul used it to argue that a child is no different from a slave until he is of full age of inheritance of what belongs to his father as stated in Galatians 4:1:
What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:41, the word means “to differ, be different.”
Be that as it may, it is the emphatic declaration of the apostle in the sentence star differs from star in splendor that contributed to the message of this section we stated. We gave the message as: There will be a difference between resurrection body and earthly body in their composition and even then, there will be differences in the radiance of resurrection bodies. Specifically, it is the part of the message that states there would be differences in the radiance of resurrection bodies that is derived from the sentence we are considering. How is that? You may ask. To begin with, there would have been no need for the last sentence that we are considering if the Holy Spirit through the apostle did not mean that we should draw an inference about resurrection body from it. Furthermore, the word “star” is used figuratively in the Scripture. Star along with sun and moon represents individuals in Joseph’s dream as we read in Genesis 37:9:
Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
A ruler that would come out of Israel or Jacob is described as “star” in Numbers 24:17:
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
Daniel described the Israelites who teach their fellow Israelites concerning God’s way or leading them to the right relationship with God as shining as stars in eternal state according to Daniel 12:3:
Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
Apostle Paul describes believers’ conduct or witness in terms of stars in Philippians 2:15:
so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.
Jesus Christ Himself is described with the word “star” in Revelation 22:16:
“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”
When we put these various descriptions together, we are led to conclude that Apostle Paul must have thought beyond the stars in the sky to humans that would receive resurrection bodies. It is because of this that we contend that since the apostle emphasized the difference between stars that he probably meant for us to conclude that the glory or radiance of resurrection bodies will differ as a way to make distinction in eternal state that reflects the reward each believer receives based on the individual’s activities on this planet as implied in1 Corinthians 3:12–15:
12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.
Make no mistake about it, there will be distinctions in heaven as reflected in the different places of honor that believers would receive as implied in the Lord Jesus’ statement in Matthew 20:23:
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
Furthermore, the concept of differentiation in the eternal states is portrayed figuratively in the NT Scripture with the word “crown.” In any event, we end this section by reminding you once more its message which is There will be a difference between resurrection body and earthly body in their composition and even then, there will be differences in the radiance of resurrection bodies.
10/20/23 [End of Lessons #565 and 566]
1 Charlesworth, J. H. (1983). The Old Testament pseudepigrapha: Alternate Texts (Vol. 1, pp. 113–115). Yale University Press.