Lesson 9

Encouraging the Corinthians, Paul gives them instruction on how to live a Christian life that will lead to immortality. He also rebukes them for not knowing God very well as he continues to describe the resurrection. Can we presume their lack of Godly knowledge included their own resurrection? If Paul scolded the Corinthians for not having any resurrection wisdom, shouldn’t our knowledge of God include some?

1 Corinthians 15:33-34…35-44 International Standard Version
33 Stop being deceived: “Wicked friends lead to evil ends.”
34 Come back to your senses as you should, and stop sinning! For some of you—I say this to your shame—don’t fully know God.

In this next passage Paul educates his audience on how we die and decay, then later, as he already explained, the believers will receive a spiritual body when resurrected.

35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back?” 36 You fool! The seed you plant does not come to life unless it dies, 37 and what you plant is not the form that it will be, but a bare kernel, whether it is wheat or something else. 38 But God gives the plant the form he wants it to have, and to each kind of seed its own form. 39 Not all flesh is the same. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals in general have another, birds have another, and fish have still another. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of those in heaven is of one kind, and that of those on earth is of another. 41 One kind of splendor belongs to the sun, another to the moon, and still another to the stars. In fact, one star differs from another star in splendor.
42 This is how it will be at the resurrection of the dead. What is planted is decaying, what is raised cannot decay. 43 The body is planted in a state of dishonor but is raised in a state of splendor. It is planted in weakness but is raised in power. 44 It is planted a physical body but is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

How do those verses support your ideas of death and how believers receive eternal life? If you have other scripture references that support or refute Paul’s assertions about resurrection or suggest a different understanding of the points he makes, note them down now. Later on you can reflect on the thoughts and insights they provide.