Monday, June 02, 2014

1 Corinthians 15:36 and Resurrection from Death

Paul specifically writes ἄφρων, σὺ ὃ σπείρεις οὐ ζωοποιεῖται ἐὰν μὴ ἀποθάνῃ in 1 Cor 15:36, using language reminiscent of Jesus (John 12:24). He is particularly elucidating the concept of "the resurrection of the dead" in 1 Cor 15:42. So how fitting that Paul brings up the "death" of one seed which opens the way for a disparate "body" to materialize: one that is starkly different from the body which was initially planted (1 Cor 15:36-38).

Raymond B. Brown (Broadman Bible Commentary on Acts and 1 Corinthians) writes:

"The body that is buried is not the same body that is
raised because a transformation takes place. Paul sets
forth four antitheses to show the difference between
the body that dies and the body that is raised from
the dead" (page 391).

"So there is continuity between what dies and what is
raised because it is the same person who is buried and
raised. But there is discontinuity in the sense that
the same physical body will not be raised. The same
person will be raised in a new spiritual body [which
Brown evidently does not define as a 'soul']. Paul does not
describe the body but lives in faith that God will
give the body its appropriate form for life in his
presence" (page 392).

But consult the entirety of Brown's comments on 1 Cor 15:36ff.

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