Verse by Verse

1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also:

² On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.

³ And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.

⁴ But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.

⁵ Now I will come to you when I pass through Macedonia (for I am passing through Macedonia).

⁶ And it may be that I will remain, or even spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey, wherever I go.

⁷ For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to stay a while with you, if the Lord permits.

collection (v.7) — a special offering to meet then then-current needs of those in Jerusalem — 2 Corinthians 8-9; Romans 15:26

as he may prosper (v.2) — based on income with no set percentage

with (v.6) — preposition “with” (here) indicates taking a special interest

on the way (v.7) — briefly

⁵⁵ “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.

⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Hades (v.55) — This quote is taken from Hosea 13:14 which refers to Sheol, the place where the spirits of the dead dwelt until Christ’s resurrection. For the believer today, absence from the body is presence with the Lord.

sin (v.56) — as a personified governing principle

Whereas sin gave death its power, and the Law gives sin its power, Christ is the end of the Law for the believer (Romans 10:4) and through Christ sin and death have been overcome. Death has, while retaining its outward form, lost its sting and is powerless to injure. — Vine, page 117.

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If behind death we find sin, then behind sin we find the law. The law is “the strength of sin.” The law gives sin its penalty and its teeth. The law still exacts its sentence. You will be careful to notice that the law is not the strength of salvation. The law does not bring salvation. It is that which gives to sin its power to hurt. As long as sin is here, there will be death’s penalty. As long as there are those living under the law, there will be subjects for that penalty. IN grace there is a stingless death and a defeated grave. — Laurin, page 310.

gives (v.57) — present tense

be (v.58) = lit. “become” — in contrast to what they had been

knowing (v.58) = assured knowledge

labor (v.58) = toil resulting in weariness

vain (v.58) = empty

⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—

⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

⁵⁴ So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

mystery (v.51) — revelation, previously withheld, that can only be obtained by communication from God

we (v.52, 1st use) — those living at the time

sleep (v.51) = should be “fall asleep”

last trump (v.52) — perhaps a reference to military trumpet calls

The last trump should not be confused with those in Revelation, but rather be taken of the last trumpet that was blown in the series of the Jewish feasts. To Israel were given the two silver trumpets as a memorial before their God. They had a fourfold use. First, for the gathering of the congregation and of the princes before Moses; second, for the trek of Israel through the desert; third, for the alarm of war; and fourth, for the call to the glad feasts in Israel. This was the last trump, and this trump will gather the redeemed unto His glorious presence. The Apocalyptic trumpets cannot be blown until after this has taken place. 

This last trump of our passage is evidently the same as the trump of God in 1 Thessalonians 4:16. This trumpet blast is a special privilege for God’s peculiar people (Numbers 10); but in Revelation they blast forth against the ungodly. The trump of God and also the voice of the archangel belong to the redeemed people of God only. — Bultema, pages 151-152.

dead (v.52) — believers only

we shall be changed (v.52) — the dead rise first, followed immediately by those still living, and all will receive a new, incorruptible body

corruptible (v.53) — those who have died before the Rapture

mortal (v.53) — those still alive at the Rapture

put on (v.53) — The verb rendered “put on” (metaphorical of the putting on of a garment) is in the aorist tense, signifying the momentary character of the event. It specifies the nature of the change, and confirms what was set forth in verses 42 to 44, that there is an element involving a definite connection between the former body and the raised or changed body. The change is more fully described in Philippians 3:21, and in 2 Corinthians 5:4, which repeats the metaphor of the clothing and adds that what is mortal shall be “swallowed up of life.” — Vine, pages 116-117.

then (v.54) — death is not now swallowed up, but will be at the resurrection

written (v.54) — Isaiah 25:8 — the Aramaic word for “victory” is similar to the Hebrew word for “forever”

⁴⁵ And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

⁴⁶ However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.

⁴⁷ The first man was of the earth,made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.

⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.

⁴⁹ And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

⁵⁰ Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

written (v.45) — Genesis 2:7

Adam (v.45) — had life, but couldn’t give life to others

spiritual is not first (v.46) — Humans begin with only the natural life and then receive the spiritual

of the earth (v.47) — Adam was formed of the dust of the ground

earthy (v.47) = lit. “dusty, muddy” — referring to origin and characteristics

the Lord (v.47) — not in the best manuscripts

From Adam all members of the human race spring. From Christ all members of the new world of Christian men spring. After creating Adam, the creative process ceased. From Adam the race springs by natural law. After Christ the incarnation ceased. From Him the new race springs by spiritual law. — Laurin, page 296.

heavenly (v.48) — referring to origin (in the sense of where He was from) and characteristics

those who are made of dust (v.48) — those descended from Adam — humanity — those who take on his characteristics

those who are heavenly (v.48) — those who receive spiritual life from Christ are “seated together with Christ in heavenly places” and take on heavenly characteristics

Just as surely as we now bear the image of the muddy old Adam so surely shall we bear the image of the heavenly Adam. Alas, in this sinful state here below we show His image all too little! God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29) and His predetermination shall not fail but will be fully realized some day. Old Adam’s impress is still in the way. The world is in the way and our sinful old self is still marring our likeness to the Son. With our humiliated bodies we still bear the stamp of old Adam, the mud man, but spiritually we are already united to the second Man from heaven, and no power in heaven, earth or hell can break the bonds that binds us to Him. By looking unto Him we undergo even now a spiritual transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18); but at the resurrection His mighty energy shall make even our bodies like unto the body of His glory (Philippians 3:21). — Bultema, page 146

image (v.49) = representation and manifestation (Romans 8:29; 1 John 3:2)

The two questions raised in verse 35 have been completely answered. As to the first, it has been show that, instead of resurrection being impossible on account of the condition of the body after death, that very condition is essentially preliminary to resurrection, for it involves the principle of a new life. And as to the second, the resurrection body is to be in the likeness of that of the risen Lord. — Vine, page 115.

³⁹ All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.

⁴⁰ There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.

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. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

glory (v.40) = manifestation — the evidence of the nature of a thing and its degree of splendor

The point in all this is not that there will be differing degrees of glory in the bodies of the saints in the resurrection, but that God, who has arranged all things in nature in the differing degrees of glory, has power to bring about the state of glory to be manifested in the raised bodies of believers. Differences in degrees of glory in their glorified bodies is not in view. — Vine, page 113

dead (v.42) — (here) believers

corruption (v.42) — the result of the absence of life

sown/raised (4x in vs.42-44) — The body (itself) of the believer will be redeemed, but with an entirely new manifestation — Romans 8:23

natural (v.44) = belonging to the soul — soul-governed — man — sometimes translated “sensual”

spiritual (v.44) — all that is produced and maintained by the Spirit — It does not mean that we will be spirit only.

Our present body is called a “natural body.” This is another way of saying soulish body. It is a body suited to the expression of our souls, and the soul is the seat of all our natural instincts and desires. Some day this soulish body will be slipped off and discarded as an old garment and we shall inhabit a “spiritual body.” This spiritual body is exactly what the name indicates. It will be a body of the spirit. It will be suited to and fit for the spirit. — Lauin, page 294.

³⁵ But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”

³⁶ Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.

³⁷ And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain — perhaps wheat or some other grain.

³⁸ But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

The “someone” in v.35 is a doubter who questions the resurrection based on his own intellect. Paul calls him a fool (v.36) for doing this because he’s witnessed resurrection in his crops.

you (v.36) — stressed. He should know because he’s seen in in the plants he’s sowed.

unless it die (v.36) — The seed perishes to bring forth new life.

Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain (John 12:24).

The plant that comes from the seed is by God’s design (v.38)

The original kernel which is planted dies and rots away, but it results in a new crop of grains, all of them just like the one which was planted. Each seed planted will spring up with new seed which will resemble in every way that which was sown. To be sure there have been new elements added, and the old seed itself has perished and wasted away, but yet the new seed which comes forth out of the death of the old is similar in every respect to that which was planted. Our body, therefore, in the resurrection will resemble our present body (without the infirmities and blemishes and faults which it has here below). We will not all look alike in heaven, but we will be as different in appearance as we are here below. — DeHaan, pages 180-181.

²⁹ Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead?

³⁰ And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?

³¹ I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

³² If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

³³ Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”

³⁴ Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.

Nobody knows what verse 29 means. I saw at least five different views in the commentaries I use, and most of them admitted to not being sure. One author mentioned 27 different interpretations of the verse and said he still wasn’t satisfied.

Some think Paul was referring to a practice among believers at that time to be baptized for those who died without being baptized. It’s obvious that there is no Scriptural support for this practice, but there is also no Scriptural (or non-Scriptural) evidence that it ever took place.

Some think that Paul was referring to new believers being baptized to take the place of believers who had died, but that’s not really being baptized “for” the dead.

Some twist the Greek around to make it mean that baptism, as a picture of our association with Christ in His death and resurrection, is “for the dead.” But even with the rearranged text, I find that a stretch.

So what does it mean? The explanation that made most sense to me is Bultema’s, and I offer it here with the caveat that I’m not at all certain.

Since there is no other verse or theme like it in the Bible we have only two things to go by; and that is the words of this passage and the preceding and following context. It is our conviction that these point to the blood baptism of the martyrs.

The apostle has before his mind the military picture of an army in battle array which is constantly thinned by death, yet always replaced by others that press on against the foe. Paul draws many figures from military life. In all his travels he met the clank of the iron legions of Rome, for the Roman Empire was based and built upon armed might.

And so he sees here the holy army of God constantly thinned by the bloody death of martyrdom. Why should they go through this all and be baptized in blood unto those who have already fallen, if it were not for the resurrection of their bodies.  Martyrs can sing and have sung when consumed by the flames when they realized that they would soon get a new body in that cloudless resurrection day. It is easy to give up the old for Christ’s sake when the new body is in sight. Why maintain such a a lost cause, if Christ does not conquer death and the grave? The next verse strongly corroborates this view. — Bultema, pages 134-135.

jeopardy (v.30) — If there is not resurrection from the dead, why bother suffering for your faith?

I die daily (v.31) — probably referring to his physical suffering (Philippians 3:7-11)

in the manner of men (v.32) — from purely human motives — if his faith has no substance, then human motives are the only ones left.

beasts (v.32) — probably a metaphor for the angry mob. There is no record that Paul faced beasts in the forum, and as a Roman citizen, he could not be forced to.

do not be deceived (v.33) — tense is “cease being deceived”

awake (v.34) — tense is immediate action with continuing results

do not have the knowledge (v.34) = negligent ignorance — Some in Corinth were culpably ignorant regarding the resurrection and they were affecting the whole assembly.

²⁵ For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.

²⁶ The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

²⁷ For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted.

²⁸ Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

He must (v.25) — it is God’s will

under His feet (v.25) — Psalm 110:1, quoted in Hebrews 1:13

death (v.26) — A time is coming when all who will die have died.

He says (v.27) — Psalm 8:6 — The first Adam lost his position over creation, but the second Adam (Christ) never will.

all things (v.27) — emphasized — The Father is the only exception to the “all things.”

when (vs. 27 and 28) = whensoever

then (v.28) = immediately following, with no interval

Son Himself will also be subject (v.28) — having fulfilled the Father’s will. His oneness with the Father will continue eternally.

When it says that He will give up the Kingdom, it does not mean that the Kingdom itself will be terminated. The millennial reign is only the introduction to the eternal reign (Revelation 22:5), and has to crush all rebellion. But the Son ceases to reign as man when the thousand years shall have run their course, though as King of Israel He shall also reign forever. As God He is blessed forever and reigning with the Father and the Spirit forever. That God may be all in all. — Bultema, page 133.

²⁰ But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

²¹ For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.

²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

²³ But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

²⁴ Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power.

but now (v.20) — turning from the “if Christ is raised” of the previous verses to the fact of His resurrection

firstfruits (v.20) = two words in the original, “chief or principle” and earliest ripe fruit of a crop or tree

Here is a fact positive. It is stated so because it can be proved true — “but now is Christ risen.” The ample proofs have preceded in the apostle’s argument.

The result of this proven fact is the pledge which Christ’s resurrection brings concerning our resurrection. He had “become the firstfruits of them that slept.” This was a very understandable thing. Every Jew knew what the “firstfruits” were. They were the farmer’s first sheaf of ripened grain presented to the Lord as the pledge of the ingathering of the whole harvest. This procedure was in connection with the third of seven Jewish feasts known as “The Feast of the First-Fruits.” On the first day of the feast, selected delegates marked out the spot in the grain field from which the sheaf would be cut. On the second day the sheaf was cut and brought into the sanctuary. On the third day, corresponding to the day of Christ’s resurrection, this sheaf was presented to the Lord as a pledge, sample or guarantee, that the remainder of the harvest would be brought in.

According to this previous type, the present fact is that Christ, as the firstfruits raised from the dead, is the sample pledge and guarantee that all Christians will be raised from the dead. Prove Christ’s resurrection and you prove the Christian’s resurrection It has been proved and its proof is our certainty. — Laurin, pages 280-281

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Notice first of all that Christ is the first fruits of all resurrections. At the resurrection of the Lord Jesus a great host of Old Testament saints were also raised from the dead and were seen upon the streets of Jerusalem. In Matthew 27 we read: And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many (Matthew 27:52-53). — DeHaan, page 175.

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Christ is not only the firstfruits from the dead, but also the firstborn (Colossians 1:18). The others raised from the dead before were only resuscitated, and died again, but not so our Lord. He arose with a new resurrection life that can never die. In that order of dignity He is absolutely the firstborn. The firstborn of the Father in Israel had all the prerogatives of might, authority, right, and all the inheritance, and thus it is with  our Lord. Whereas the term only begotten denotes His essential relation to the Father, the term firstborn describes His relation the the creatures. The honors of primogeniture are His. — Bultema, page 127.

by man came death (v.21) — Adam — Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12).

by Man (v.21) — Christ

resurrection of the dead (v.21) — The hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:28).

in Christ all shall be made alive (v.22) — As Adam is the head of the natural race, and, in virtue of this natural relation with him, death is the common lot of men, so by reason of the fact that Christ is the Head of the spiritual, all who possess spiritual relation with Him will be made alive. There is no idea of the universalism of the human race in the comparison of the second statement with the first. That unbelievers are “in Christ” is utterly contrary to the teaching of Scripture. — Vine, page 109.

order (v.23) — used of military rank

coming (v.23) = arrival and consequent presence

then (v.24) = after an interval — sequence — not referring to an immediate next action

comes (v.24) — not in the original text — it should read “then the end [ones] — Revelation 20:5 — at the end of the millennial kingdom

end (v.24) = last in a series, the last ones

delivers (v.24) — when Christ has accomplished what the Father committed to Him

when (v.24) = whenever — indicating the time is unknown

puts (v.24) = reduces to inactivity

¹² Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

¹⁴ And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

¹⁵ Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up — if in fact the dead do not rise.

¹⁶ For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

¹⁷ And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!

¹⁸ Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

¹⁹ If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

has been raised (v.12) — tense indicates past action with continuing results

If Christ rose from the dead, then there is no grounds for believing that resurrection is impossible (v.12).

And if resurrection is impossible, then Christ couldn’t have risen again (v.13).

vain (v.14) = to no purpose

To deny Christ’s resurrection is to deny everything about the faith (v.14).

found (v.15) = discovered, detected

“If Christ be not risen,” says the apostle, “we are found false witnesses of God,” having testified that God raised Christ from the dead. Indeed Paul had solemnly declared that he had seen the risen Christ and had heard Him speak (Acts 22:14 et al). Had this great church, then, amid so much opposition and persecution, been founded on the word of a liar? “If Christ be not risen,” says the apostle in effect, “this is the conclusion you must come to.” — Stam, page 256.

vain (v.17) = lacking result — a different word than that used for “vain” in v. 14

Without the resurrection, Christ’s sacrifice is not sufficient and we are sill in our former state, lost in sin.

The Christian’s salvation involves not only the cancellation of the penalty which was upon us for our sins, but it also involves a new contribution to us; the contribution of a new life, a new righteousness and a new standing. The cancellation of the old came by Christ’s death while the contribution of the new came by Christ’s resurrection. So says Romans 4:25, “Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” Therefore, if the resurrection is not true, salvation is not true and we are yet in our sins. This cancellation was of no effect if Christ was not raised. What good is a negative salvation? What good is a salvation that deals with the past but does not deal with the future? This is the kind of salvation we have if Christ be not raised. — Laurin, pages 278-279.

perished (v.18) — not loss of being, but loss of well-being — in this case, loss of eternal life with Christ and loss of the joy and peace that goes with it — ruined in regards to the purpose of existence

we have hope (v.19) = lit. “we are having hope”

only (v.19) — in the original text, it’s at the end of the clause — “If we have had our hope in Christ in this life, and nothing more …” — Then the hope has no realization and is confined to this life only.

miserable (v.19) = misery and pitiableness