The Resurrection Chapter

Overview

The Resurrection Chapter is the name Korean churches use for chapter 15 (verses 1–58) of 1 Corinthians in the New Testament. The chapter is so called because, among the letters Paul sent to the church at Corinth, it deals most extensively with the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the bodily resurrection of believers. The name follows the same pattern by which 1 Corinthians 13 is called the Love Chapter and Hebrews 11 the Faith Chapter.

Contents

• Summary of the gospel (vv. 1–11): Paul declares that Christ died according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He then records that the risen Christ was seen by Cephas (Peter), by the twelve, by above five hundred brethren, by James, and by all the apostles, and last of all by Paul himself.
• If there is no resurrection (vv. 12–19): Some members of the Corinthian church were saying that "there is no resurrection of the dead." Paul counters that if this were so, Christ would not have been raised either, and faith would be in vain.
• Christ the firstfruits (vv. 20–28): Paul calls Christ "the firstfruits of them that slept." He states that as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. He looks ahead to the consummation, when death, the last enemy, is destroyed and God becomes "all in all."
• Resurrection hope and daily life (vv. 29–34): Paul cites the practice of those who are "baptized for the dead" and the life of the apostles, who face danger daily, as arguments for the resurrection.
• The resurrection body (vv. 35–49): Paul uses the analogy of a seed that is sown in the ground, dies, and grows into a different form. He explains that the dead are raised in this way: "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body."
• Victory over death (vv. 50–58): Paul states that at the last trumpet the dead will be raised incorruptible and those still living will be changed. After exclaiming, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" he closes with an exhortation to abound ever more in the work of the Lord.

Background

Paul appears to have written this letter while staying in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8). It is commonly dated to the mid-50s. A Greek intellectual climate that held the body in low regard is frequently cited as the background to the Corinthians' denial of the resurrection, although the text does not specify exactly what they were claiming. The term "firstfruits" (Greek aparchē) recalls the Old Testament ordinance of offering the first of the harvested grain to God (Leviticus 23:10).

Significance within Scripture

Verses 3–5 are a confessional tradition that Paul says he himself "received," and for this reason they are regarded as among the earliest testimonies to the resurrection in the New Testament. Verses 54–55 quote Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14. The contrast between Adam and Christ connects with Romans 5. The passage on the last trumpet and the transformation of believers is read, together with 1 Thessalonians 4:13–14 and the verses that follow, as a text concerning the Second Coming.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Baptism for the dead (v. 29): Because the meaning of this verse is unclear, interpretations vary widely. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cites it as the basis for performing proxy baptisms on behalf of the dead. Protestant denominations do not accept this practice. Many Protestant interpreters hold that Paul was not endorsing the practice but was citing what the Corinthians did as an illustration in his argument.
• The spiritual body (v. 44): Mainstream Protestant interpretation understands this not as a disembodied spiritual state but as a transformed body governed by the Holy Spirit. Explanations differ as to how the old body and the new body are related.
• The order of the resurrection (vv. 23–24): Premillennialism reads the passage as placing a millennial kingdom between Christ's return and "the end." Amillennialism holds that the resurrection and the end come together at Christ's return.
• The last trumpet (vv. 51–52): Dispensationalism links this transformation with the Rapture. Other traditions read it as one scene of the Second Coming.
• The chapter addresses the raising of the body on the last day. It does not discuss in detail the state of the soul immediately after death, a question that is addressed in light of other passages.

In Korean Churches

The chapter is frequently used as a sermon text on Easter and is often read at funeral services and graveside committal services. It is also a key text for explaining "the resurrection of the body" in the Apostles' Creed. Because verses from this chapter are set as text in Part III of Handel's Messiah, the chapter is also familiar through choirs' Easter performances.