Lessons #567and 568
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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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Superiority of resurrection body (1 Cor 15 42-44)
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
We have considered the first two paragraphs of the major section of 1 Corinthians 15:35-50 that is concerned with the nature of resurrection body. The 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 as it applies to resurrection body. A message the Holy Spirit conveyed in this first paragraph is God alone determines the nature of resurrection body. 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 message of the second paragraph, we stated in our last study, 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. So, we continue with the third paragraph.
The third paragraph of the major section of 1 Corinthians 15:35-50 is concerned with comparing the body buried at death and the resurrection body. The contrasts between the two are given in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. Based on the contrasts given in this paragraph, we derive a simple message the Holy Spirit wants us to hear in this subject of resurrection. The message is that Resurrection body will be markedly superior to the body buried at death. This message will become clearer as we consider the various comparisons the apostle gave in this third paragraph. You see, the apostle described the resurrection body in four distinct ways that prove its superiority to the body that is buried at death. We will consider these at the appropriate time.
Apostle Paul wanted us to recognize that he was still concerned with elaborating on the differences between created objects or the differences in the composition of earthly and resurrection bodies that he began verse 42, according to the NIV and a handful of our English versions, with the word So although the Greek literally reads So also. The word “so” is translated from a Greek word (houtōs) that is used primarily in two ways in the Greek. It could refer to that which follows in a discourse material and so may be translated “in this way” or “as follows.” Another usage is to refer to what precedes, in which case, it may mean “in this way, in this manner, so, thus.” It is in the second usage of “in this manner” or “in that way indicated” that the apostle used the word in our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:42 to apply what he discoursed regarding differences in the nature of created objects. The word “also” in the literal translation So also is translated from a Greek word (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.” It 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 for emphasis so that it may be translated “also” as in the NASB or the Revised edition of the NAB, or it may be translated “too” as in the NJB. The point being that the apostle is being emphatic as he continued with his comparison of bodies or composition of bodies depending on whether they are earthly or heavenly.
The apostle’s focus, of course, is on the comparison of resurrection body to the physical body that is buried after death occurs. Thus, he wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. Although the NIV used a verb “be” that is implied but the Greek does not have a verb since literally the Greek read So also the resurrection of the dead.
The word “resurrection” is translated from a Greek word that we have encountered severally in this fifteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians, but we will continue to repeat our examination of the Greek word used. The word “resurrection” is translated from a Greek word (anastasis) that may mean a change in status for the better hence may mean “rising up” as in the blessing of Simeon on the human family of Jesus as we read in Luke 2:34:
Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against.
The word predominantly has the meaning of “resurrection from the dead” as Apostle Paul used it to describe what he wants to know about Christ in Philippians 3:10:
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:42, it is used with the meaning “resurrection,” that is, the change of state from being dead to being alive and never to experience physical death anymore.
The word “dead” in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead is translated from a Greek word (nekros) that literally pertains to being in a state of loss of life and so means “lifeless, dead.” It is in the literal sense that the word is used to describe a person whose life has left his or her body so that we say that the person is dead. However, the adjective is used figuratively to describe a person who is morally or spiritually deficient so that the person is said to be dead. It is in the sense of being morally deficient that the word is used to describe the wayward or prodigal son in Luke 15:24:
For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
In a figurative sense, the word may mean “unfaithfulness” or “inactive” in spiritual matters, as it is used to describe the local church in Sardis in Revelation 3:1:
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
Of course, there is the implication that the local church was dead in the sense of being hypocritical in that its members gave an impression of spiritual vitality that was not true. The word can also mean one that is without spiritual life as evident in the person being annoyingly insensitive to spiritual things. It is this kind of person that Jesus described in Luke 9:60:
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
In this passage of Luke 9, the word “dead” appears twice. In the first usage, it refers to those who are spiritually dead and in the second it refers to those who died physically. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:42, the word means “dead” in the sense of people not physically alive.
Be that as it may, the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. implies that the apostle was concerned with the concept of body as he was in the preceding section he discoursed on different nature of bodies of created objects. In this verse, the apostle’s focus is primarily on the concept of body whether the physical or the resurrected. That the apostle is concerned with the concept of “body” is indicated in the next sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:42 The body that is sown is perishable. The Greek does not explicitly use the word “body” since literally the Greek reads It is sown in corruption. The problem is to determine what is meant by the pronoun “it” in the literal translation. The context suggests that the apostle had in mind the concept of “body” as what is sown. In the apostle’s analogy using the sowing of seed, he did not directly mention the word “seed” in 1 Corinthians 15:36:
How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
But the context enables us to understand that the apostle was concerned with sowing of seed. It is for similar reason that in verse 42 because of the mention of body in verse 44, we have to assume that what is sowed is body as in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:42 The body that is sown is perishable although literally the Greek reads It is sown in corruption.
The word “sown” is translated from a Greek word (speirō) that means “to sow seed.” It is used literally of sowing seed in the parable of Jesus Christ narrated in Luke 8:5:
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up.
It is metaphorically used for the word of God as we read in Mark 4:14:
The farmer sows the word.
The word is used metaphorically in proverbial sayings, so it is used in matter of blessing associated with generosity in 2 Corinthians 9:6:
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Similarly, it is used in the spiritual law of sowing and reaping stated in Galatians 6:7:
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:42, it is used in the sense of “to be sown” although figuratively it is used for burial of a body. Of course, there are those who interpret the sowing involved here as a reference to the general condition of humankind in their mortal bodies. This notwithstanding, because of the concept of decay given in what follows next in the verse, we believe the apostle was more concerned with burial of body than with the general condition of humankind in their mortal bodies.
The characteristic of the body buried is that of being subject to decay as described in the NIV in the sentence The body that is sown is perishable or literally It is sown in corruption. The Greek preposition (en) used indicates a body is buried in a state of corruption. Anyway, the word “perishable” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (phthora) that refers to break down of organic matter and so means “decay, deterioration” as it is used by Apostle Paul to describe the liberation of creation in Romans 8:21:
that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
The word may refer to total destruction of an entity hence it means “destruction” as it is used to describe the spiritual law of sowing and reaping in Galatians 6:8:
The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
The word may refer to inward depravity so that it is translated “corruption” in Apostle Peter’s description of the depravity associated with the world as stated in 2 Peter 1:4:
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:42, the word is used to refer to state of being perishable and so it has the sense of “decomposition,” that is, the process of every created thing breaking down into its constituent parts. Hence, when the apostle wrote The body that is sown is perishable he meant that a buried body is subject to decomposition or decay. It is a fact that every human body buried suffers decay, the only exception being Jesus Christ as Apostle Peter testified in his sermon on the day of Pentecost according to Acts 2:31:
Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.
The declaration of Apostle Paul regarding the decomposition of a body buried at death leads to the first description that enables us to assert that the resurrection body will be markedly superior to the body buried at death.
The first description of the resurrection body that speaks to its superiority over a buried body is that it is incorruptible as in the sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:42 it is raised imperishable. The word “raised” is translated from a Greek word (egeirō) with a range of meanings. The word may mean “to wake from sleep” as it is used to describe what the disciples of the Lord Jesus did when He was asleep and there was violent storm during a boat ride of the disciples with the Lord as we read in Matthew 8:25:
The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
The word may mean “to raise up from sickness,” that is, to restore to health as in the promise of healing through prayer of faith given in James 5:15:
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
The word may mean “to cause to return to life” after death hence means “to raise up.” The raising up to life is of two kinds. A person who died but is caused to return to life, that is, resuscitation, might still die at a later time as was the case with Lazarus that Jesus Christ raised from the dead as referenced in the record of John 12:17:
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word.
The other kind of being caused to return to life involves a state where death could no longer occur or be experienced by the one raised up from the dead. It is this kind of returning to life after death that is best described with the word “to resurrect” that is applicable to Jesus Christ. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:42, the word means “to resurrect,” that is, to enter into a state of life as a result of being raised without the possibility of any further physical death. This state of incapable of further physical death is implied in the sentence it is raised imperishable.
The word “imperishable” is translated from a Greek word (aphtharsia) that pertains to the state of not being subject to decay hence the word has the meaning “immortality” as it is used to describe a result of Christ’s death on the cross in 2 Timothy 1:10:
but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
The word has the meaning of “unceasing” or “undying” as it is used to describe the kind of love believers ought to have toward the Lord Jesus as used in Apostle Paul’s final greetings to the Ephesians as recorded in Ephesians 6:24:
Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.
The meaning “imperishable” is used for our word in the NIV in 1 Corinthians 15, for example, that is the meaning used in 1 Corinthians 15:54:
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:42, the Greek word has the sense of “incorruptibility,” that is, the incapability of decay. The resurrection body, of course, is not composed of any organic substance or atoms for otherwise, Jesus Christ, after His resurrection, could not enter a house that was locked as He did when He appeared to His disciples as recorded in John 20:19:
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”
There is more to the resurrection body that we cannot fully understand or explain. For example, we cannot explain how the Lord Jesus could have eaten food after His resurrection as we may gather from Luke 24:42–43:
They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate it in their presence.
Jesus’ eating of food after His resurrection is probably similar to Him eating food in Abraham’s house prior to His incarnation. Anyway, the first description of the resurrection body is that it is incorruptible, that is, it is not subject to decay. This makes it markedly different from physical body that we have.
The apostle set up the contrasting factor necessary to state the second description of the resurrection body. This contrasting factor concerns the state of burial of the body, so the apostle wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:43 it is sown in dishonor. Again, sown here refers to burial. The manner in which the body is committed to the ground is described in the phrase in dishonor, that is, in a state of dishonor.
The word “dishonor” is translated from a Greek word (atimia) that may mean “common use” as the apostle used it to describe pottery that a porter makes from a lump of clay for ordinary use in Romans 9:21:
Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
The word may mean “dishonor, disgrace, shame” as Apostle Paul used it to describe himself probably in a sarcastic manner in 2 Corinthians 11:21
To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! What anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:43, it means “dishonor,” that is, a state of shame or disgrace.
We have indicated that sowing in the context of the passage we are studying involves burial of the body. So, what would the apostle have meant when he said that the body is committed to the ground in a state of dishonor or shame? The apostle did not explicitly state here but what causes shame helps us in understanding what the Holy Spirit would have brought in the apostle’s mind when he wrote the sentence it is sown in dishonor. We know that one thing that causes shame as we may gather from the scripture is nakedness as implied in the invitation given to the church in Laodicea as we read in Revelation 3:18:
I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
Furthermore, we are informed that Adam and Eve were naked but felt no shame prior to the Fall as stated in Genesis 2:25:
The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
So, if nakedness causes shame, then the Holy Spirit might have brought the thought that a body is buried in a state of shame or dishonor to mean that a dead body is naked because there is no living soul in it. This interpretation is in keeping with Apostle Paul’s referring to soul’s existence in a bodiless state as being naked as implied in the apostle’s declaration in 2 Corinthians 5:2–4:
2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 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.
It is known that the adjective “naked” was used in Hellenistic religious texts to express the concept of a soul that is stripped of its physical body. It is likely that the apostle applied this concept in reverse order to dead body to mean that a body buried is naked because the soul has departed. This being the case, it is a disgrace to even look at a corpse because that is a naked body. By the way, the apostle had already referenced seed that is naked or uncovered in the phrase of 1 Corinthians 15:37 but just a seed or literally but bare/naked seed. Thus, it should not be difficult to see that he had in his thought nakedness with respect to a corpse as we have explained. In any event, once the apostle described the state of a buried body in terms of shame, he gave the second description of a resurrection body.
A second description of a resurrection body that speaks to its superiority over a buried body is that it is glorious or is characterized by radiant beauty. It is this that is given in the next sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:43 it is raised in glory.
The word “glory” 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 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 may, according to the standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG, 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 15:43, the word is used in the sense of “brilliant, radiant beauty” or “glory.” Hence, we are correct to state that a second description of a resurrection body that speaks to its superiority over a buried body is that it is glorious or is characterized by radiant beauty. Although there is no way to understand this at this time, compare how a person that is genuinely cheerful looks to when the person is not cheerful. This gives a hint to the radiance of the resurrection bodies and why they will radiate differently because they will reflect the state of maturity of souls. Of course, part of the radiant beauty of the resurrection body is that it is associated with a living soul unlike the buried body that has no living soul.
In any event, before the apostle gets to the third description of resurrection body, he describes another thing that makes a body buried inferior to the resurrection body which is that it lacks vigor. It is this description that is given in the next sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:43; it is sown in weakness. This sentence may be expounded to read “it is sown in a state of weakness.”
The word “weakness” is translated from a Greek word (astheneia) that may mean “weakness” in the sense of lacking confidence or feeling of inadequacy, as it is used to describe us believers for whom the Holy Spirit intercedes with God the Father because we are spiritually not strong, as reported in Romans 8:26:
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
The Greek word may mean “weakness” in the sense of incapacity for something or experience of limitation as Apostle Paul used the word to report the Lord’s reply to his petition to heal him of his thorn in the flesh in 2 Corinthians 12:9:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
The word may mean “weakness” in the sense of the frailty that characterize human nature as it is used to describe Christ in 2 Corinthians 13:4:
For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him to serve you.
The Greek word may mean a state of debilitating illness hence means “sickness, disease” as the word is used in the Apostle Paul’s instruction to Timothy about drinking some wine for medicinal purpose in 1 Timothy 5:23:
Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:43, it is used in the sense of “weakness,” that is, “a lack of strength or vigor.” A body buried because it is without life certainly lacks vigor or strength since that which gives vigor to the body has departed from it. This limitation leads to the apostle’s third description of the resurrection body.
A third description of a resurrection body that speaks to its superiority over a buried body is that it possesses an inherent power that functions supernaturally. It is this description that is given in the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:43 it is raised in power. This sentence may be fully translated “it is raised in a state of power.”
The word “power” is translated from a Greek word (dynamis) from which our English word “dynamite” is derived; it basically means “power.” The word may refer to special enablement or strength that the Lord Jesus promised the disciples would receive to help them be His witnesses as we read in Acts 1:8:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The word can refer to the power that works wonders as the power associated with Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry on earth, as the Apostle Peter stated in Acts 10:38:
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
Power may be understood in a general way of the potential for functioning in some way. It is in this way that the word is used to describe the gospel message in Romans 1:16:
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
When the Greek word is used in the plural the word predominantly means “miracles” as that done by God through Apostle Paul as stated in Acts 19:11:
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:43, our word has the sense of “power,” that is, an inherent capability that functions, in our context, in a supernatural manner. So, we assert that a third description of a resurrection body that speaks to its superiority over a buried body is that it possesses an inherent power that functions supernaturally. This brings us to the next limitation of a buried body the apostle gives before he stated the fourth description of the superiority of resurrection body.
The next limitation of the body that is buried is that it is finite, material, and associated with the fallen world of humankind as in the first sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:44 it is sown a natural body.
The word “natural” is translated from a Greek word (psychikos) that outside the NT refers to what pertains to the soul but in the NT, it pertains to the life of the natural world and whatever belongs to it, in contrast to the realm of experience whose central characteristic is spirit. Thus, we can say that the Greek word is used of people who put emphasis on the physical rather than on the spiritual, and who depend on their natural instincts rather than on the help of God’s Spirit, hence it means “natural, unspiritual, worldly.” It is with the meaning “unspiritual” that the word is used to describe the wisdom of this world in James 3:15:
Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
The word is used with the meaning “natural” to describe mockers or false teachers in Jude 19:
These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.
The clause who follow mere natural instincts of the NIV is more literally worldly men or natural men. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:44, the word has the sense of “finitely natural,” that is, “characterized by the created, finite, and fallen world.” The meaning perhaps refers also to “the nature that humanity shares with animals.” Hence, a buried body is “finitely natural” and belongs to the fallen world of humanity in contrast to the resurrection body described next.
A fourth description of a resurrection body that speaks to its superiority over a buried body is that it is immaterial and belongs to supernatural order. It is this description that is given in the next sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:44 it is raised a spiritual body.
The word “spiritual” is translated from a Greek word (pneumatikos) that means either “belonging to the Spirit” or “determined by the Spirit.” As an adjective, the word means “spiritual” as it is used to describe the drink involved in the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 10:4:
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
But when the word functions as a noun in the neuter gender in the plural with a Greek definite article the word means “spiritual things/matters.” It is in this sense that the word is used in Apostle Paul’s argument that as an apostle he should be supported by those who have been blessed spiritually by his ministry 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?
The clause If we have sown spiritual seed among you is literally If we have sown spiritual things among you. It is in the sense of “spiritual matters” that the apostle used the word to indicate that Gentiles owe sharing their material blessings with the Jews because the Jews through the Apostles have shared their spiritual blessings with them as stated in Romans 15:27:
They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.
The phrase Jews’ spiritual blessings is literally their spiritual things. In our passage of 1 Corinthians 15:44, the word has the sense of “spiritual,” that is, that which belongs to the immaterial and supernatural order of being. Thus, we are correct to state that a fourth description of a resurrection body that speaks to its superiority over a buried body is that it is immaterial and belongs to supernatural order.
Apostle Paul, having given four descriptions that speak to the superiority of the resurrection body over physical buried body, makes a summary statement that supports his descriptions. This summary statement is that there is such a thing as a spiritual body. It is this that he gives in the last clause of 1 Corinthians 15:44 If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
The English translation that begins with the word “if” although correct could be interpreted to mean that the apostle states something that is subject to doubt. This is not the case. This is because 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 Apostle Paul to the Galatians who were already saved and so were clearly children of God as we read in Galatians 4:7:
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
The apostle asserted that a believer is a child of God as in the phrase but a son. Based on this reality, he then stated a believer is an heir of God as in the clause since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. The clause since you are a son is literally if you are a son; but it is correct to replace the word “if” with “since” because there is no doubt regarding what the apostle stated that had already happened in that the Galatians were saved. 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 15:44, the Greek particle is used to express a condition thought of as real or to denote assumptions relating to what has already happened so that it has the sense of “since.” None of the English versions I consulted used the word “since” but some of them imply this meaning. For example, the ISV, the NCV, and the TEV, among others, instead of beginning the last clause of 1 Corinthians 15:44 with “if” reads There is a physical body, implying they interpreted the conditional clause as stating what is true that has already happened.
It is because the apostle recognized that there is a material body that is associated with this world that he asserted the existence of spiritual body associated with the supernatural realm in the last sentence of 1 Corinthians 15:44 there is also a spiritual body. We have already noted that the word “spiritual” is translated from a Greek word (pneumatikos) that means either “belonging to the Spirit” or “determined by the Spirit.” As we stated, in our verse, it has the sense of “spiritual,” that is, that which belongs to the immaterial and supernatural order of being. Thus, the apostle indicates that there is a kind of body that is immaterial and belongs to the supernatural order of being. This body is superior to the one that is material and associated with this world. This truth is a reminder of the message of this section that we have considered which is that Resurrection body will be markedly superior to the body buried at death. 10/27/23