1Cor.15.35

Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?"

1Cor.15.35

But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?"

1Cor.15.35

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

1Cor.15.35

But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?"

1Cor.15.36

If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing.

1Cor.15.36

How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

1Cor.15.36

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

1Cor.15.36

What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn't grow into a plant unless it dies first.

1Cor.15.37

We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant.

1Cor.15.37

When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

1Cor.15.37

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

1Cor.15.37

And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a dry little seed of wheat or whatever it is you are planting.

1Cor.15.38

You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.

1Cor.15.38

But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

1Cor.15.38

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

1Cor.15.38

Then God gives it a new body--just the kind he wants it to have. A different kind of plant grows from each kind of seed.

1Cor.15.39

You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies--humans, animals, birds, fish--each unprecedented in its form.

1Cor.15.39

All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.

1Cor.15.39

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.

1Cor.15.39

And just as there are different kinds of seeds and plants, so also there are different kinds of flesh--whether of humans, animals, birds, or fish.

1Cor.15.40

You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies--

1Cor.15.40

There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.

1Cor.15.40

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

1Cor.15.40

There are bodies in the heavens, and there are bodies on earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the beauty of the earthly bodies.

1Cor.15.41

sun, moon, stars--all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds"--who can imagine what the resurrection "plants" will be like!

1Cor.15.41

The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

1Cor.15.41

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.

1Cor.15.41

The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their beauty and brightness.

1Cor.15.42

This image of planting a dead seed and raising a live plant is a mere sketch at best, but perhaps it will help in approaching the mystery of the resurrection body--but only if you keep in mind that when we're raised, we're raised for good, alive forever!

1Cor.15.42

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;

1Cor.15.42

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

1Cor.15.42

It is the same way for the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies, which die and decay, will be different when they are resurrected, for they will never die.

1Cor.15.43

The corpse that's planted is no beauty, but when it's raised, it's glorious. Put in the ground weak, it comes up powerful.

1Cor.15.43

it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

1Cor.15.43

It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.

1Cor.15.43

Our bodies now disappoint us, but when they are raised, they will be full of glory. They are weak now, but when they are raised, they will be full of power.

1Cor.15.44

The seed sown is natural; the seed grown is supernatural--same seed, same body, but what a difference from when it goes down in physical mortality to when it is raised up in spiritual immortality!

1Cor.15.44

it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1Cor.15.44

It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

1Cor.15.44

They are natural human bodies now, but when they are raised, they will be spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, so also there are spiritual bodies.

1Cor.15.45

We follow this sequence in Scripture: The First Adam received life, the Last Adam is a life-giving Spirit.

1Cor.15.45

So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a lifegiving spirit.

1Cor.15.45

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

1Cor.15.45

The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person." But the last Adam--that is, Christ--is a life-giving Spirit.

1Cor.15.46

Physical life comes first, then spiritual--

1Cor.15.46

The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.

1Cor.15.46

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

1Cor.15.46

What came first was the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.

1Cor.15.47

a firm base shaped from the earth, a final completion coming out of heaven.

1Cor.15.47

The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.

1Cor.15.47

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

1Cor.15.47

Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.

1Cor.15.48

The First Man was made out of earth, and people since then are earthy; the Second Man was made out of heaven, and people now can be heavenly.

1Cor.15.48

As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.

1Cor.15.48

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.

1Cor.15.48

Every human being has an earthly body just like Adam's, but our heavenly bodies will be just like Christ's.

1Cor.15.49

In the same way that we've worked from our earthy origins, let's embrace our heavenly ends.

1Cor.15.49

And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

1Cor.15.49

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

1Cor.15.49

Just as we are now like Adam, the man of the earth, so we will someday be like Christ, the man from heaven.