1 Corinthians 15:35-58 – Jesus: life-giving Spirit

Introduction

How much have you thought about life after death? How much thought have you put into what you will become, and what kind of body you will have? Does this impact your day-to-day life?

Has your view of the new heaven and earth been impacted by ancient or modern thought? Do you believe that material things, including bodies, are evil, while immaterial things, such as souls, are good? Or to put it another way, do you believe that human spirits are better off without bodies? Or that the new heaven and earth is a disembodied realm?

Our inability to appreciate the physical nature of the resurrection not only robs us of our excitement for the world to come but robs us of motivation to live for Jesus in the present. Today we are going to see that we can work hard in the Lord’s work because of our hope of a future bodily resurrection.

Background

By way of context, we could say that this letter is Paul’s correction and instruction to the church at Corinth based upon various questions they had and struggles they were having.

In the section we are looking at, verses 35-58, Paul is answering two questions that the Corinthians have about how we are raised from the dead and the kind of body we will have. Apparently, there were people in Corinth who were asking these questions of Paul with ridicule. They were probably denying that the resurrection was both future and bodily. Thus, for some, the resurrection of the body was not a future hope. And because of this thinking, some Christians could be led into immorality and not working for the Lord in the present.

Content

Let’s look at this passage under four headings: 1) those in Christ will be resurrected by God’s power; 2) those in Christ will be resurrected with a Spiritual body; 3) those in Christ will be resurrected at the return of Christ; 4) those in Christ can work for him in this life in victory.

First, how we are raised from the dead…those in Christ will be resurrected by God’s power (vv. 35-41).

The idea of verses 35-41 is that we are raised from the dead by God’s power and shouldn’t be surprised that it will be a Spiritual body that is different from our current body.

Paul argues that everyone knows that transformation happens in nature, so it shouldn’t surprise us when it happens at the resurrection of the dead. Farmers don’t plant plants, they plant seeds of plants that become those plants…transformation.

In fact, in the world there are many kinds of bodies and God decides what each will be and each is unique. The same that God did and does in creation he can easily do in the resurrection of the dead. We must not be confined to our naturalistic thinking. All flesh isn't and doesn’t have to be the same. There can be a difference between the kind of body we have now and the kind of body we will have after the resurrection because God has this kind of power. Therefore, we should not doubt that God will clothe us with transformed and glorified bodies that are fitting for an eternity with him in the new heaven and earth.

Second, the kind of body we will have…those in Christ will be resurrected with a Spiritual body (vv. 42-49).

In verses 42-44a, Paul contrasts the resurrection and pre-resurrection body of believers. He contrasts the body that is under the curse of sin with the body that is resurrected.

Paul teaches that we will not have a body like we have now, decaying, dishonorable, and weak that is conceived under the rule of sin. No, we will have a Spiritual body that is recreated by the work of Jesus at the resurrection (Phil. 3:20-21). Our “natural” body is going to be “sown” because it is perishable, dishonorable, and weak, and when it, not another body, but the “sown” one, is raised it will be transformed so thoroughly by Jesus who gives his Spirit, that we will be completely indwelt and renovated that the only way to describe it is “Spiritual” with a capital “S”, in and by Jesus, the life-giving Spirit.

A Spiritual body doesn’t mean some sort of body made up of a “spiritual” substance, whatever that is, but a body with its physicality that has been so thoroughly transformed or (re)created by Jesus through the Spirit that it will be suitable to the new heaven and earth where only perfection and peace reign with God.

Next, Paul, in verses 44b-45, goes on to explain the how and  why of us getting a Spiritual body. The idea here is that the first man, Adam, became a living life (living thing), but the last Adam, Christ, (became) Spirit that gives life.

In quoting Genesis 2:7 Paul makes a contrast between the first Adam and the last Adam, Christ. Just as the last 3 verses were comparing a corrupted, dishonorable, weak, natural body to an incorruptible, honorable, powerful, Spiritual body, so is Adam being compared with Christ. Adam became a living life based upon God's breath, but couldn’t impart life, whereas Jesus (at his resurrection) became the One who gives or imparts life. In other words, Adam was simply made a man, but at Christ's resurrection, he became the one who is the real life-giver.

Interestingly enough in John 6:63, Jesus says of the Spirit that he is "life-giving". And Paul in 1 Cor. 15:45 says that Jesus is "life-giving". It is the exact same word in the Greek! Thus, If the Spirit is said to be the one "who gives life" and Jesus is said to be the one "who gives life", then this means that Jesus is now (at his resurrection and beyond) attributed with that which the Spirit does. Meaning that Jesus very clearly is doing that which the Spirit does…giving life. This is why I believe Paul says that Jesus became life-giving Spirit.

This should make us ask three important questions: 1) When did he become life-giving Spirit? 2) What does it mean that he became life-giving Spirit? 3) How does this affect the Trinity?

First, when did he become life-giving Spirit? Jesus very clearly was conceived by the Holy Spirit, which is why he did not have a sinful nature. Yet, he was conceived of the substance of the virgin Mary, and so the Bible says he was born in the likeness of sinful flesh. In other words, he had a body that was under the curse of the law, able to die. When he was born his body wasn’t Spiritual, it was earthly. If we go further in his life, at his baptism, we see that he received the Holy Spirit for the empowerment of his ministry, yet he still had an Adamic, “natural” body that was subject to decay and death.

Yes, he did receive the Holy Spirit to equip and empower him to do the work of his ministry, but not yet in his humanity was he life-giving. So, the answer to the question then of when did Jesus become life-giving Spirit is not in his incarnation or earthly life, but in the overall context and discussion of 1 Cor. 15… the resurrection. It was at Jesus’ resurrection that he “became” life-giving Spirit.

Second, what does it mean that he “became” life-giving Spirit? Notice how verse 45 speaks of the first and second Adam. This “becoming” is strictly speaking of his humanity. The context of 1 Cor. 15:45 is not speaking of Christ’s divinity in any way.

The resurrection that God the Father did upon Jesus’ humanity by the Holy Spirit on the third day after his burial shows that the Father wouldn’t let him see corruption (Psalm 16). You see, when God raised Jesus from the dead by the Holy Spirit, he was raised in his humanity, in his Adamic identity. In other words, when God raised Jesus from the dead, because of his perfect work as Christ the mediator, perfectly and completely fulfilling the will of God for our salvation, he was given a Spiritual body.

This is why verse 20 spoke of him as the firstfruits of those who have died. In other words, Jesus is the first one to be resurrected by God through the Spirit, he was the first one to receive a Spiritual body. This resurrected body of Christ now has no vestiges of the “natural” it is completely “Spiritual”, controlled, governed, and Spirit-empowered and enlivened. Now, at his resurrection, all corruption that is found in sinful flesh, in his body, is gone. The very nature of Jesus’ humanity is completely animated by the Spirit such that the physical has no death in it. His body is now Spiritual! Remember Jesus’ post-resurrection body. He could eat food, and disappear instantly at mealtime. He could walk through walls and eat some fish. This is the kind of body we will have!

But what of “became”? He, the last Adam, now “became” life-giving Spirit. He “became” this by coming into such complete possession of the Holy Spirit in his humanity that he is said to be life-giving Spirit. How did he come into possession of the Spirit like this in his humanity? The Father at the resurrection gave Jesus in his humanity the Holy Spirit in full measure (Acts 2:33). This possession of the Spirit and the transformation of his humanity at the resurrection was so complete and permanent that it can now be said that Christ and the Spirit are one, but this oneness of the Spirit is specific, it is oneness in the activity of giving life. It is a functional oneness in Jesus’ and the Spirit’s unified saving and life-giving activity. After Christ’s resurrection, it is not that the Spirit alone resurrects us, but that Christ, the last Adam, as the life-giving Spirit does. In other words, Jesus in his humanity makes alive through the Spirit whomever the Father gifts to him (Titus 3:6). So, he is called life-giving Spirit.

Third, what does this mean for the Trinity? We might ask, how can this be without compromising the personal distinctions between the Son and the Holy Spirit? The short answer is that it doesn’t affect the identity and persons of the Trinity at all. They are simply one in their specific work, that is, giving life, not their ontology or being. In 2 Corinthians 3 and many other places, we can see both the economic union (functional union) and the ontological separation (distinct personhoods) maintained.

Jesus’ human nature was not changed or somehow fused into the Holy Spirit, but instead, he came into complete possession of the Holy Spirit, so that he is the first fruits of all the resurrected, the true Spiritual man. But as the God-man, because of his work on the cross and his promised offspring, he is the one who gives life. He is the one who gives the Holy Spirit to all those who put their trust in him because the Father gave him the Spirit at his resurrection (Acts 2:33). Jesus resurrects the souls and bodies of all those who trust in him. And those he gives the Spirit to are those whom the Father has given to him.

This is why Jesus could meet with the disciples after his resurrection and breath on them and say “receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). Again, he, in his humanity, is in such possession of the Holy Spirit, as the second Adam, the life-giving Spirit, that he grants the Holy Spirit to his people. Thus, the reason that we will have a Spiritual body is that Jesus Christ will give it to us by right of his completing the work of our redemption. The Father grants Jesus in his humanity full possession of the Spirit such that when he works it is the Spirit who works as well.

Paul continues on in verse 46 by ensuring that the Corinthians understand that the natural or unspiritual body must come first before the Spiritual body comes. In other words, the ideal or perfect should not be found at the beginning of history or somehow outside of history, but at the end of history, at the resurrection when Christ returns.

Then in verses 47-49 Paul further contrasts the first Adam who is earthly. Those who are found in him are and will be earthly. But those who are found in Christ are and will be heavenly. Christ as life-giving Spirit is the resurrected and ascended Christ. He is glorified and exalted. He is the heavenly one and those who are united to him in his ascension are heavenly.

You see, every person who is born in Adam is in his image, made of the dust of the ground, prone to corruption. But those who are born again in Christ, into his image, are made into his likeness. And so, those who believe in Christ, are united to him, and at their future resurrection will have a Spiritual body like his. They will experience a complete transformation of their bodily existence which will be controlled and governed by the Spirit. One of the differences, of course, between us and Christ is that we do not become life-giving Spirit, we simply receive a Spiritual body, a body that is united with, governed by, and empowered by the Holy Spirit that will and can never decay.

Fourth, the ramifications for us, those in Christ can work for him in this life in victory (vv. 50-58).

Paul now moves on to the practical implications of the reality of an upcoming receiving of a Spiritual body. He wants us to see the connection between what we do in the present and our future state. Thus, in verse 50 he brings out the reality that nobody who lives according to the flesh can be a part of the new heaven and earth. The temporary and corrupt cannot enter the permanent and perfect.

But in case some begin to think that this day of transformation of those in Christ into the permanent will never happen, Paul explains in verses 51-53 that something incredible will happen at the end of time and history. Not every person will die. Some will be alive when Jesus returns at the final trumpet blast. They will go from having corruptible bodies to having Spiritual bodies in the blink of an eye.

When Jesus returns at the sound of the trumpet blast, the dead in Christ will be given their Spiritual bodies that will no longer be able to decay and will be controlled and animated by the Spirit and those alive will be given theirs as well. Everyone will be changed at once.

Anyone who will be in the new heaven and the new earth will have an incorruptible and immortal Spiritual body. All must be like Christ, living in the Spirit not just in their soul, but in their bodies too. Then, and only then can they be with God forever.

And this is why verses 54-57 quote Isaiah 25. On that day when the trumpet sounds, when Christ returns, Jesus will destroy death forever. Jesus will wipe every tear from our eyes. He will remove all our disgraces. We will no longer have a remnant of sin and corruption in us. We will no longer carry the shame of sin of half-heartedly loving God. No, on that day, we will rejoice in his salvation.

Death will be completely defeated because those who have rebelled against God will be everlastingly punished and those who are in Christ will be everlastingly rewarded. No longer will a body be in a state of decaying or dying, for all outside of Christ will be forever in their corrupted bodies, and those in Christ will forever be in their perfected and Spiritual bodies. Jesus will then have been completely victorious over death. Death will no longer reign in our mortal bodies.

Death cannot beat us and bring us pain. Adam’s sin introduced death into the world, which is now the fate of every human. Sin’s presence requires the law to be in effect which ultimately pronounces the death sentence. And so, because of sin, death must reign as the just payment.

At the return of Christ, death will have no power over us because we will be made fully alive as Spiritual people. Thus, we should be giving thanks to God because he defeated death through the work of Jesus Christ, the second Adam, on the cross and the vindication of that work in the resurrection.

Application

We conclude with our application in verse 58. We are living in victory. We are currently resurrected people, in our soul, though not yet in our bodies, that is coming. But this reality is coming. We will not always be in these corruptible and dying bodies. No, even today the trumpet could sound, and we will immediately receive our Spiritual bodies. So, we should not live as corrupt people but live as the incorruptible people that we will soon become. We should be working diligently for the Lord. When we do, we can be confident that our labor isn't just for this temporary world, but for eternity where it will bear fruit.

And so, because of the hope of our bodily Spiritual resurrection, we can live differently in our day-to-day lives. There are three things we can do or ways we can be because of the hope of our bodily Spiritual resurrection that is coming soon.

First, because of the hope of our bodily Spiritual resurrection, we must be steadfast. We should be firmly or solidly rooted in the reality of who we are and who we will be. We have been raised with Christ in our souls and have never been more alive than we are today. We must not live as the corruptible people live, in the works of the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. Rather, we should live as people who are walking in step with the Spirit, as those who will soon be Spiritual people, living in the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We should be firmly rooted in this fruit in our day-to-day lives.

Second, because of the hope of our bodily Spiritual resurrection, we must be immovable. We must not be open to shifting or changing. We must always be living as if we are incorruptible people. People who are controlled and guided by the Spirit. We should be people who do not shift from one day, Sunday, living like Spiritual people, and then another day, Wednesday, living like corruptible people. We are to live consistently with who we are. We are to walk with the Spirit, following where he is leading, and in the Spirit, living as if he is the controlling principle in our lives. We must be immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. In other words, we live as people who are to be resurrected soon. Living for what God wants for us.

Third, because of the hope of our bodily Spiritual resurrection, we must abound in the work of the Lord so that our labor is not in vain. If we live as “natural” people, living for temporary things then what we do will be empty and have no carry-over value for eternity. Now, I am not saying that brushing your teeth, going to work, or experiencing entertainment are not things that we should do. All these things can be used to glorify God and make us fit for eternity. What I am saying is that we must not be living for these things. We must be people who work and do all we do for the glory of God. Whether we eat, or drink, or whatever we do, it must be done for God’s glory and honor. We must live as resurrection people, soon-to-be Spiritual people. We must make our future hope be lived in present reality. All we do should be investments into our Spiritual future. We should gauge whether all that we do is sowing into the future, our Spiritual bodily life with God.