1 Corinthians 15:35

But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(35) But some man will say, How are the dead raised up?—The proof of the truth of the doctrine of the resurrection is concluded in the last verse. The truth of it is, in the early part of this chapter, maintained—(1) by the historical fact of Christ’s resurrection; (2) by a reductio ad absurdum, showing the consequences logically involved in a denial of it; (3) by an argumentum ad hominem. The former two arguments are still those on which we must rest our belief in the doctrine. The latter is, like every argument of that nature, only of force to those to whom it was actually addressed. The Apostle in this verse turns aside to another line of thought. He assumes that his previous arguments are conclusive; there still remain, however, difficulties which will suggest themselves. The difficulty is expressed in two questions, the second being an enlargement of the first—a more definite indication of where the suggested difficulty lies. “How are the dead raised up”—that is, not by what power? but in what manner? as is further explained by the next question, “In what body do they come?”

Benson Commentary

1 Corinthians 15:35. But some man possibly will say, How are the dead raised up — After their whole frame is dissolved? And with what kind of bodies do they come? — From the dead, after these are mouldered into dust. By the apostle’s answer to these inquiries, it appears that he considered the inquirer as not so much desiring to have his curiosity satisfied, respecting the nature and qualities of the bodies raised, as suggesting the impossibility of the resurrection in question taking place. He therefore begins with proving the possibility of the resurrection, by appealing to the power of God displayed in raising grain from seed which is rotted in the ground, and in giving to each of the kinds, when it is grown up, the body proper to it: also in making bodies celestial and bodies terrestrial, each having its own properties by which it is distinguished from all others. And from these instances of the power of God, he infers that the resurrection of the dead is possible, 1 Corinthians 15:36-42. As to the inquiry, with what kind of bodies men will be raised, his answer is given from the middle of 1 Corinthians 15:42-54. But what he advances respects only the properties of the bodies of the righteous, which he contrasts with the properties of the bodies which were laid in the grave. And with respect to the righteous, who are found alive on the earth at the coming of Christ, he declares that their bodies will be changed in a moment, and rendered incorruptible and immortal, because flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

15:35-50 1. How are the dead raised up? that is, by what means? How can they be raised? 2. As to the bodies which shall rise. Will it be with the like shape, and form, and stature, and members, and qualities? The former objection is that of those who opposed the doctrine, the latter of curious doubters. To the first the answer is, This was to be brought about by Divine power; that power which all may see does somewhat like it, year after year, in the death and revival of the corn. It is foolish to question the Almighty power of God to raise the dead, when we see it every day quickening and reviving things that are dead. To the second inquiry; The grain undergoes a great change; and so will the dead, when they rise and live again. The seed dies, though a part of it springs into new life, though how it is we cannot fully understand. The works of creation and providence daily teach us to be humble, as well as to admire the Creator's wisdom and goodness. There is a great variety among other bodies, as there is among plants. There is a variety of glory among heavenly bodies. The bodies of the dead, when they rise, will be fitted for the heavenly bodies. The bodies of the dead, when they rise, will be fitted for the heavenly state; and there will be a variety of glories among them. Burying the dead, is like committing seed to the earth, that it may spring out of it again. Nothing is more loathsome than a dead body. But believers shall at the resurrection have bodies, made fit to be for ever united with spirits made perfect. To God all things are possible. He is the Author and Source of spiritual life and holiness, unto all his people, by the supply of his Holy Spirit to the soul; and he will also quicken and change the body by his Spirit. The dead in Christ shall not only rise, but shall rise thus gloriously changed. The bodies of the saints, when they rise again, will be changed. They will be then glorious and spiritual bodies, fitted to the heavenly world and state, where they are ever afterwards to dwell. The human body in its present form, and with its wants and weaknesses, cannot enter or enjoy the kingdom of God. Then let us not sow to the flesh, of which we can only reap corruption. And the body follows the state of the soul. He, therefore, who neglects the life of the soul, casts away his present good; he who refuses to live to God, squanders all he has.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But some man will say - An objection will be made to the statement that the dead will be raised. This verse commences the second part of the chapter, in which the apostle meets the objections to the argument. and shows in what manner the dead will be raised. See the Analysis. That objections were made to the doctrine is apparent from 1 Corinthians 15:12.

How are the dead raised up? - (Πῶς Pōs.) In what way or manner; by what means. This I regard as the first objection which would be made, or the first inquiry on the subject which the apostle answers. The question is one which would be likely to be made by the subtle and doubting Greeks. The apostle, indeed, does not draw it out at length, or state it fully, but it may be regarded probably as substantially the same as that which has been made in all ages. "How is it possible that the dead should be raised? They return to their native dust. They become entirely disorganized. Their dust may be scattered; how shall it be re-collected? Or they may be burned at the stake, and how shall the particles which composed their bodies be recollected and re-organized? Or they may be devoured by the beasts of the field, the fowls of heaven, or the fishes of the sea, and their flesh may have served to constitute the food of other animals, and to form their bodies; how can it be re-collected and re-organized? Or it may have been the food of plants, and like other dust have been used to constitute the leaves or the flowers of plants, and the trunks of trees; and how can it be remoulded into a human frame?" This objection the apostle answers in 1 Corinthians 15:36-38.

And with what body do they come? - This is the second objection or inquiry which he answers. It may be understood as meaning, "What will be the form, the shape, the size, the organization of the new body? Are we to suppose that all the matter which at any time entered into its composition here is to be recollected, and to constitute a colossal frame? Are we to suppose that it will be the same as it is here, with the same organization, the same necessities, the same needs? Are we to suppose that the aged will be raised as aged, and the young as young, and that infancy will be raised in the same state, and remain such for ever? Are we to suppose that the bodies will be gross, material, and needing support and nourishment, or, that there will be a new organization?" All these and numerous other questions have been asked, in regard to the bodies at the resurrection; and it is by no means improbable that they were asked by the subtle and philosophizing Greeks, and that they constituted a part of the reasoning of those who denied the doctrine of the resurrection. This question, or objection, the apostle answers 1 Corinthians 15:39-50. It has been doubted, indeed, whether he refers in this verse to two inquiries - to the possibility of the resurrection, and to the kind of bodies that should be raised; but it is the most obvious interpretation of the verse, and it is certain that in his argument he discusses both these points.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

35. How—It is folly to deny a fact of REVELATION, because we do not know the "how." Some measure God's power by their petty intelligence, and won't admit, even on His assurance, anything which they cannot explain. Ezekiel's answer of faith to the question is the truly wise one (Eze 37:3). So Jesus argues not on principles of philosophy, but wholly from "the power of God," as declared by the Word of God (Mt 19:26; Mr 10:27; 12:23; Lu 18:27).

come—The dead are said to depart, or to be deceased: those rising again to come. The objector could not understand how the dead are to rise, and with what kind of a body they are to come. Is it to be the same body? If so, how is this, since the resurrection bodies will not eat or drink, or beget children, as the natural bodies do? Besides, the latter have mouldered into dust. How then can they rise again? If it be a different body, how can the personal identity be preserved? Paul answers, In one sense it will be the same body, in another, a distinct body. It will be a body, but a spiritual, not a natural, body.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Some of your vain philosophers, who are resolved to give credit to nothing upon the account of a bare Divine revelation, unless they can give a further rational account of it in the circumstances, will be ready to object and say: How is it possible, that those very bodies which are putrefied, and turned into dust, and that dust, it may be, scattered to the four winds, should be raised up? And if the same bodies shall not again rise, what kind of bodies shall the believers have in the resurrection? Shall they be bodies that will need meat, and drink, and clothes, as our present bodies do? Or what other bodies shall they be?

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But some man will say,.... Or "some one of you", as the Syriac and Arabic versions read; for there were some among them members of this church, that denied the resurrection of the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:12 a weak believer indeed may be designed, one of the babes in Christ in this church, that could not digest such strong meat, but had some doubt and difficulties in his mind about this point, though he did not absolutely deny it: but by the manner in which the objections and queries are put, and the sharpness in which the apostle answers them, it looks rather that an infidel as to this doctrine is intended, one of those Epicureans, who said, 1 Corinthians 15:32 "let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die"; or some Heathen philosopher, a mere natural man, that rejected this doctrine because not agreeable to his carnal reason, and laughed at it as monstrous and ridiculous:

how are the dead raised up? This query is put, not as though the person merely hesitated, and was in some suspense about this matter, or with a desire to be informed; but as denying the thing, and as objecting to it as a thing impossible, and impracticable; suggesting it could not be, it was a thing incredible that those dead bodies which have been laid in the earth for so many hundred, and some, thousands of years, and have been long ago reduced to dust, and this dust has undergone a thousand forms; that such whose bodies have been burnt to ashes, or destroyed by wild beasts, and digested by them, should ever be raised again. Such a doctrine must be past all belief:

and with what body do they come? out of their graves, as you say, and appear on the earth at the last day: will they come forth with the same bodies, or with other? with earthly or heavenly ones? mortal or immortal? with bodies different from one another, and from what they now are?

Geneva Study Bible

{20} But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

(20) Now that he has proved the resurrection, he demonstrates their doltishness, in that they scoffingly demanded how it could be that the dead could rise again: and if they did rise again, they asked mockingly, what manner of bodies they should have. Therefore he sends these fellows, who seemed to themselves to be marvellously wise and intelligent, to be instructed of poor rude farmers.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

1 Corinthians 15:35. The discussion on the point, that the dead arise, is now closed. But now begins the discussion regarding the nature of the future bodies. This is the second, the special part of the apology, directed, namely, against the grounds upon which they disputed the resurrectio.

ἀλλʼ ἐρεῖ τις] but, notwithstanding of my arguments hitherto adduced, some one will say. Comp. Jam 2:18. “Objicit in adversa persona quod doctrinae resurrectionis contrarium prima facie videtur; neque enim interrogatio ista quaerentis est modum cum dubitatione, sed ab impossibili arguentis,” Calvi.

πῶς] This general and not yet concretely defined expression is afterwards fixed more precisely by ποίῳ δὲ σώματι. The δέ places πῶς and ποίῳ δὲ σώματι in such a parallel relation (see Hartung, Partik. I. p. 168 f.; Klotz, ad Devar. p. 362) that it does not, indeed, mean or again (Hofmann), but sets over against the πῶς that which is intended to be properly the scope of the question: but (I mean) with what kind of a body do they come? Then from 1 Corinthians 15:36 onward there follows the answer to the question, which has been thus more precisely formulate.

ἔρχονται] namely, to those still alive at the Parousia, 1 Thessalonians 4:16 f. The presents ἐγείρ. and ἔρχ. bring what is in itself future vividly before us as a present object of contemplation. Comp. Dissen, ad Pind. Nem. iv. 39. So the same tense may bring the past also before us as present (Dissen, ad Dem. de Cor. p. 253). Erasmus puts it happily: “actio rei declaratur absque significatione temporis.”

Expositor's Greek Testament

1 Corinthians 15:35-42 a. § 54. THE MANNER OF THE RESURRECTION. We enter on the second part of the Apostle’s argument touching the Resurrection: see the analysis, Introd. to Div. V. He has established the truth of the doctrine and the certainty of the event, and proceeds consequently to set forth the manner of its occurrence and the nature of the new body to be assumed. P. has still in view the unbelieving “some,” and pursues the dialectical and apologetic vein of the foregoing context. The deniers found in the inconceivability of the process (1 Corinthians 15:35) a further and, in their eyes, decisive objection against the reality of the fact. In vindicating his doctrine upon this side, P. therefore confirms its truth; he traces its analogies in nature, and its harmony with the order of Divine revelation; and the first half of his grand argument culminates in the second. See Edwards’ subtle analysis of 1 Corinthians 15:35-44.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

35. But some man will say, How are the dead raised up?] We now proceed from the fact of the resurrection to its manner, a question which the Apostle discusses as far as 1 Corinthians 15:54, where he begins to treat of its result.

and with what body do they come?] It was the doctrine of the Resurrection of the body which was the stumbling-block of many hearers of the Gospel. Estius remarks that the Pharisees taught that men would rise again with bodies possessing in every respect the same functions as those in which they were laid in the grave. This was a difficulty to many, especially to the Sadducees. See St Matthew 22:23-33. To remove these difficulties St Paul now explains the nature (ποίος) of the Resurrection body, and of the process whereby it is brought into being.

Bengel's Gnomen

1 Corinthians 15:35. Τὶς) some one, who dares deny the fact itself, because he is ignorant of the manner, in which it is accomplished, inasmuch as death has been so great a destruction, and it is asserted that the resurrection will be so glorious.—δὲ, but then) An Epitasis [Emphatic addition.]—ἔρχονται, do they come?) The living are said to remain, 1 Corinthians 15:6. The dead to have gone away, ἀπελθόντες; Chrys. de Sacerd., p. 494: and to return, Psalm 90:3; Ecclesiastes 12:7. But when they revive, they come; and they are said rather to come, than to return, on account of their complete newness [of their resurrection state and body]: see the verses following; comp. Acts 1:11, note. Paul, writing to the Corinthians who had doubts as to the question, whether [there is a future resurrection at all], so treats of the question how [it is to be], as to express the identity of the falling [dying] and the rising body somewhat more faintly, as it were, and more sparingly than he is wont to do on other occasions.

Pulpit Commentary

Verses 35-49. - Material objections answered. Verse 35. - But some man will say. The objection is that of some philosophical materialist. The resurrection of the body was a difficulty alike to Sadducees and Gentiles. St. Paul meets this difficulty by natural analogies, which are intended to show that the resurrection body, though identical with the mortal body so far as the preservation of personal identity is concerned, is yet a glorified body, so that the objections urged on the ground that it is impossible to preserve the same material particles which have passed into dust, are beside the mark. St. Paul gives no sanction to the coarse physical conceptions of the resurrection which described the human being as rising (to use the words of the Christian poet Prudentius) "with every tooth and every nail." How are the dead raised up? This question is one which, of course, admits of no answer. And with what body do they come? literally, with what kind of body? St. Paul, while he only answers the question indirectly and by analogy, implies that the resurrection body is the same body, not so much by way of material identity as of glorified individuality. 1 Corinthians 15:35

Vincent's Word Studies

How - with what (πῶς - ποίῳ)

Rev., correctly, with what manner of. There are two questions: the first as to the manner, the second as to the form in which resurrection is to take place. The answer to the first, How, etc., is, the body is raised through death (1 Corinthians 15:36); to the second, with what kind of a body, the answer, expanded throughout nearly the whole chapter, is, a spiritual body.

Body (σώματι)

Organism. The objection assumes that the risen man must exist in some kind of an organism; and as this cannot be the fleshly body which is corrupted and dissolved, resurrection is impossible. Σῶμα body is related to σάρξ flesh, as general to special; σῶμα denoting the material organism, not apart from any matter, but apart from any definite matter; and σάρξ the definite earthly, animal organism. See on Romans 6:6. The question is not, what will be the substance of the risen body, but what will be its organization (Wendt)?