The Resurrection of the Dead

Some Corinthians, marked by the Greek thought that despised the body, denied the resurrection of the dead. Paul answers with the most decisive chapter on this hope: he shows that the resurrection of Christ is the foundation of the faith, and that ours follows from it.

What Paul received and handed on

Paul begins by recalling the most ancient core of the faith, a profession he himself received from the first witnesses and handed on unchanged: “I handed on to you, above all, what I myself had received: Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; he was placed in the tomb, he rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 He then lists those to whom the Risen One appeared, Peter, the Twelve, more than five hundred brothers at once, then himself. The resurrection is a fact, attested by witnesses.

If Christ is not risen

Paul then measures all that depends on this fact. Take away the resurrection of Christ, and the Gospel collapses: “if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is empty, and empty too is your faith.” 1 Corinthians 15:14 The Christian faith does not rest on a wisdom nor on a morality alone, but on an event, the living Christ. And this event is secured: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20 Firstfruits, that is, the first sheaf of a harvest: his resurrection draws ours after it. Paul gives the reason by the bond of the two Adams: as all men, descendants of Adam, inherit the death that entered the world by his fault, all who are united to Christ, the second Adam, receive life from him. “Just as all die in Adam, so all will be brought to life in Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:22 The first Adam had received life; the last Adam, Christ, gives it: “The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” 1 Corinthians 15:45

The risen body

To those who asked how the dead rise and with what body, Paul answers by the image of the sown grain: what is put into the ground corruptible rises incorruptible, the body sown in weakness rises in glory. It is not a pure spirit, but a body transformed, spiritual, freed from death. Those still living on the last day will not be left behind: “we will not all die, but we will all be transformed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 Their mortal body will be changed at a stroke, like that of the dead raised. Then shall come to pass the ancient word: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:54 And Paul throws the victor’s challenge at the vanquished enemy: “Where is your victory, O death? Where is your sting, O death?” 1 Corinthians 15:55 The resurrection of Christ opens for his own a life that death no longer takes back. This victory reaches to the end of history. The risen Christ reigns until everything is subjected to him, and the last enemy struck down will be death itself: “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:26 Then the Son will hand everything over to the Father: “when everything has been subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the One who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.” 1 Corinthians 15:28