The Resurrection Body (1 Corinthians 15:31–58)

The Resurrection Body
Easter Sunday, April 5th, 2026
Christ Covenant Church – Centralia, WA
1 Corinthians 15:31–58

Prayer

O Father, we thank you for the loving labors of Your Son, through which we may enjoy victory over death. Make us in this life to be more steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in good works for You, for we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Introduction

How do you know if you are a born-again Christian? How do you know if the risen Lord Jesus is alive within you? The Bible says that one of the surest signs that a person is born again, is that their life is characterized by a living hope, and specifically a hope in the resurrection of the dead.

• The Apostle Peter says in 1 Peter 1:3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
  • We are born again by an act of divine mercy, and the resurrection of Jesus is God’s instrument to make us alive.
• Paul puts it this way in Romans 8:22-25,For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
  • So when a person is born again as Jesus says, by water and the Spirit and enters the church, his life then becomes a life of groaning, of yearning, of waiting in hope for the resurrection of the dead. Paul says, it is in this hope that we are saved.
• So do you have this resurrection hope alive within you? Does this hope occupy and animate your thoughts and prayers and desires? Do you ever pray to God, “Lord, grant me a holy death.Lord, give me a death that will honor You and magnify Christ. Lord, prepare me now to persevere in the faith, to hope in You, to trust in Your mercy, so that when death visits me I am not found unprepared. Lord, give me a name that is great with You, grant that I may be numbered amongst those in Hebrews 11 of whom this world was not worthy.”
  • That is the prayer, the desire, of a mature born-again Christian, whose whole life has become a kind of hope-filled preparation for death. It is hope-filled because we know that death is the beginning of a perfect forever. Death is the door to joy inexpressible, life everlasting, and the beholding of our Creator face to face. Hope is what makes that glorious future present to our minds. Hope is what brings that future good into the present, so that our heart is flooded with divine love.
    • Paul describes this experience in Romans 5:2-5, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
• And so I ask again, do you have this Spirit-filled hope alive within you? Because whether you do, or whether you don’t, God offers it to you today, even now, as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The good news of the empty tomb is the grounds of Christian hope. And indeed, that is what our text here in 1 Corinthians 15 is all about: Telling you the truth about Jesus, who died and rose again, and that because Jesus is risen, you too shall one day rise. The righteous shall rise to the reward of eternal glory, and the evil shall rise to eternal damnation and punishment.
  • And so in order that you may rise to glory, I want you to hear from the Word of God, three effects of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Three blessed realities that Christ causes us in those who believe and confess that “He is risen.”
  • And so with that as my hope, let me give you the outline of our text.

Outline of the Text

• In verses 31-34 we see that Christ’s resurrection Removes Our Fear of Death.
• In verses 35-56, we see that Christ’s resurrection Reveals What We Shall Become.
• In verses 57-58, we see that Christ’s resurrection Gives Purpose to Our Lives Here and Now.
  • Three effects of Christ’s resurrection: the removal of fear, the revelation of what we will become, and purpose now, as we live in the present.

Verses 31-34 – How Does Christ Remove Our Fear of Death?

³¹I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

³²If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is there to me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

³³Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

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

• Here, Paul is in the middle of arguing with someone who denies the resurrection, and he is giving his own life as evidence, that because Jesus rose from the dead, Paul is now willing to put his own life in jeopardy every hour (vs. 30) so much so that he can say, I die daily. Paul is willing to risk his life, to suffer dangers, to endure stonings, and shipwrecks, plots and imprisonment, all because Jesus has the power over when and how Paul dies.
  • One example he gives is of fighting with beasts at Ephesus. And this most likely refers to the riots that would erupt as result of his preaching. You can see an example of this in Acts 19. And because the crowds in Ephesus were so deranged and irrational like wild animals, it was as fighting with beasts for Paul to preach the gospel to them. But he did it nonetheless.
  • And so the point is, who would choose to live this way, unless Jesus really rose from the dead, otherwise, eat and drink and get pleasures while you can.
  • Paul would not choose to live like he does, to suffer as he does, to preach as he does, unless Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Unless he believed what the risen Lord Jesus says in Revelation 1:17-18,Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore…and I have the keys of hell and of death.
• Paul knows that Jesus has the keys. And because Jesus has the keys to death, he is willing to die every single day, for the sake of the one who died for Him. This is what the resurrection does for Paul, and it is what the resurrection should do for you. It should make us know that we are invincible until God is done with us. That the Father will not let one hair of our head perish apart from His will. Jesus has the keys. Jesus holds your life in his hand. And if Jesus laid down his life for you, how can you not lay down your life for him?
  • From Paul’s perspective, it is an honor to die daily, to risk his life for the gospel of Jesus, Nay it is a debt he owes to Christ, because formerly he was the one persecuting Christ (he was like a beast towards God consenting to the murder of Stephen), and yet Christ saved him in act of divine mercy.
    • Paul says earlier in 1 Corinthians 9:16, For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
    • In Romans 1:14-16 he says, I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
  • Paul knows in the depths of his being how great God’s mercy has been towards him. He says in 1 Timothy 1:15, This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
    • So listen dear sinner, listen dear Christian, would you like the courage to overcome the fear of death? And not merely the dying part or the possible pain that you may feel, but the fearful judgment that follows death for all your sins, when you will have to give an account for every careless word. Do you want judgment day to go well for you? Well if so, you must say Yes to the mercy of God.
    • Listen to how Paul preaches this news of mercy and judgment in Athens in Acts 17, he says, Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others said, “We will hear you again on this matter.” [And] some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them (Acts 17:30-34).
• So how will you respond to this news of both a future judgment and a future resurrection? Will you mock these things to the damnation of your soul? Will you ask to hear more and stick around? Or will today be the day you choose to believe and surrender your whole life to Christ?
  • Well for those who believe, and for those who want to hear more, Paul has more to tell. And in verses 35-56, this long section in the middle, is all about answering the question, What is the resurrection going to be like?
  • And he answers this question in two parts.
    • In verses 35-41 he gives some illustrations from the natural world.
    • And then in verses 42-56 he describes five qualities of the resurrection bodies of the righteous.

Verses 35-38 – How will the dead be raised?

³⁵But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?

³⁶Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

³⁷And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:

³⁸But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.

• First Paul thinks this is kind of a foolish question, because the answer is all around us. And he starts by pointing our noses to the dirt and saying, have you ever gardened before? Have you ever planted anything? And have you ever noticed how what you put in the ground does not look the same as what comes out of the ground later?
• And so just as a tiny seed can become a great tree, or a beautiful flower, or a delicious fruit, so also with the resurrection of the dead.
  • Jesus says in John 12:24-25, 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. [And then he explains that parable saying] He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
  • In other words, you are a seed that must be planted. And just like oranges do not grow from apple seeds, and figs do not grow from olive seeds, so also with us. If you die in Jesus, you will rise in Jesus. But if you die apart from Jesus, you will also rise to be eternally apart from Jesus. As you are planted, so you shall rise.
  • If you are planted in grace, you will rise in glory. But if you are planted and die apart from grace, there is only rising unto judgment.
  • So what kind of seed are you? Because God says, there is a real continuity between this life and the next, how you live and how you die, determines how you shall rise again.
• Paul then goes on to give two more examples. One from the diversity of animals, and one from the diversity of elemental bodies.

Verses 39-41 – Celestial Bodies and Terrestrial Bodies

³⁹All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.

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

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

• Here Paul starts to illustrate how among the saints who die in grace, the kind of glory we shall have will be different.
  • All the saints shall be glorious, all the saints shall be happy in God, but that resurrection glory will differ kind of like stars differ in the sky.
  • The Prophet Daniel describes this diversity in Daniel 12:2-3, And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
  • And Jesus says in Matthew 13:41-43, The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
• So star differs from star in glory, and all who love Jesus, shall reflect the light of Jesus. If Jesus is the sun, we will reflect the sun, because we are his body and bride.
• And then after giving us these illustrations from the natural world, Paul gives some specifics what about what exactly our bodies will be like in the resurrection.
  • So our glory will differ although all be glorious if they are planted in grace, but what qualities will our bodies possess if we are raised like Jesus was raised?
  • In verses 42-56, we have give qualities of the resurrection body.

Verse 42 – The First Quality is that we will be Incorruptible

⁴²So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

• Whereas in this body we get hungry, thirsty, cold, tired, and sick. In the resurrection we shall not need food or drink or sleep to restore us. Our bodies will be perfectly healthy and unable to get sick or weary.
  • It says in Revelation 7:16, They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
  • Now lest you who are foodies are disappointed, we learn from the gospels that although we will not need food, we can still eat food in our resurrected bodies, if indeed we want to.
    • It says of Jesus in Luke 24:42-43, And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. And in John 21, Jesus cooks up some fish for the disciples on the beach.
    • And so whether we will want to eat physical food and drink in the resurrection, I don’t know, but at least we won’t need to to sustain our bodies, because they will no longer be corruptible. We won’t nutrition to counteract our corruption.
    • So that’s the first quality, our bodies shall be raised incorruptible.

Verse 43 – The Second Quality of our resurrection bodies is that they will be Glorious

⁴³It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory…

• Here, glory is contrasted with shame/dishonor, which all of us experience to some degree, because of original sin (like Adam and Eve felt naked after disobeying), and sometimes also because of our own personal sins. Sins that we have done against our body, or sins we that have suffered because of how others have treated us, abused us, used us against our will.
  • Sexual sins especially can bring a deep sense of shame and dirtiness, and unworthiness, feelings that can linger for years and years. There are scars we feel, physical and emotional, that seem impossible to remove.
• Well, the hope of the resurrection, is that although we are sown in dishonor, we are raised in glory. Paul puts it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:2-4 saying, For in this [body] we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
  • So the Bible describes our resurrection glory, not as a return to nakedness in the garden, but as being further clothed in glorious garments living in a garde-city. What exactly the kind of clothes we shall wear, we know not. But the image we are given is of white robes, pure, spotless, washed in the blood of the Lamb.
• So if you feel dishonorable, if you feel ashamed. Hope in God. He is the One who gives beauty for ashes, and glory for shame. This is the great hope of the resurrection. We may die in the stench and filth of our own refuse, but Jesus raises us up in glory.
  • The first quality is incorruption, the second is glory…

Verse 43 – The Third quality is Power

It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

• In this body we can get hurt. In this body our bones can break, our joints wear out, our muscles atrophy, our minds become feeble and forgetful, we feel our frailty.
• But in the resurrection, our bodies become powerful, agile, strong with an eternal youth. Imagine the most vigor and strength you’ve ever felt, when you were at your peak, lifting your max. That is nothing compared to the power you shall one day possess, man and woman alike.
  • In the resurrection the woman is no longer the weaker vessel. She is made strong by the power of God.
    • By way of an aside, Jesus says, there is no giving in marriage in the resurrection. Instead, we are distinguished according to merit, according to what we did for God in this valley of tears. Whether this means we are all equally strong or not, we do not know, but we do know that our reward differ according to our actions.
    • This is what Jesus teaches in the parable of the minas/pounds. He says in Luke 19:15-19, And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’
    • So what you do with whatever talents God has given, God shall reward accordingly. So are you being faithful in the little, that you may be made ruler over much? For it says in Revelation 14:13, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
    • Now is the time for work, and your good works God shall reward.
• So our bodies shall be raised incorruptible, glorious, and strong.

Verse 44 – The Fourth Quality is that our spirit will govern our body

⁴⁴It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.

• Here spiritual body does not mean that your body becomes immaterial, or airy, or ghostly like the wind, but rather that our glorified spirit will so rule our body, that whatever our spirit tells the body to do, it will do with perfect harmony.
• This is hard for us to imagine because in this life, our body so often rebels against our spirit. Our mind tells us we should get out of bed, but our body says, I want to sleep more. Our mind tells us, stop eating after the first donut, but our body says, give me all the donuts.
• This is what it means to have a natural body, we are subject to bodily desires. The body says one thing, our spirit another, and too often the body wins. Elsewhere Paud describes this reality in the Christian as a war between the spirit and the flesh.
  • He says in Galatians 5:16-18, I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust/desires of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. He says something similar in Romans 7.
• Well in the resurrection that war between flesh and spirit, body and mind, goes away. This is because your spirit will see God, your mind will know God and want nothing else but God, because there is nothing greater than God that a person could desire. And because your mind and spirit will be so perfectly satisfied, you will enjoy perfect rest, you will never ever sin again because you will never want to. That is what it means to have a spiritual body. For your spirit to see God, and for your body to do exactly what your spirit tells it to, which is to glorify God in your body.

Verses 47-49, 53 – The Fifth quality is that our resurrection bodies will be heavenly or immortal.

⁴⁷The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

⁴⁸As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

⁴⁹And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

⁵³and this mortal must put on immortality.

• Here Paul contrasts the first man Adam, with the second man, Christ. And whereas from Adam we received these bodies made of dust (and to dust we shall return), from Jesus we receive a new body like the Lord from heaven, that is, an immortal body, a body that cannot die.
• When Paul calls Jesus, the Lord from heaven, he is referring to how although Jesus was born of a woman, and assumed our earthy human flesh, it was always united to Jesus’ divinity. And because Jesus is heavenly and divine, when he lays down his voluntarily life for us, he also has the power to take it up again at will.
  • And so now we who love and believe in Jesus, discover that God has destined us for immortality from the foundation of the earth. As Paul says in Romans 8:29-30, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
  • The resurrection of the dead is our glorification, and that is when we shall receive immortal bodies, even as Jesus is immortal and divine. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
• Finally, in verses 57-58, Paul extols the purpose that this future hope instills.

Verses 57-58 – The Purpose of Our Lives Here and Now

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

⁵⁸Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

• Three ways the resurrection gives us purpose:
  • 1. When you believe in the resurrection, you cannot help but give thanks to God. And where there is thanksgiving, there also is joy. And where there is a future victory guaranteed, there is firm ground for living hope.
    • And so the life of the born-again Christian is well described in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
    • If you are lacking purpose, if you are unsure of God’s will for your life, start here. This is God’s will for all Christians. Constant joy, constant prayer, constant thanksgiving. That is pleasing to God.
  • 2. Because there is a future resurrection, we must be stedfast, unmoveable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord.
    • This means, whatever you set your hands to do, you should be doing it for the glory of God. Whatever your work is, you should be offering that work to the Lord.
    • Moreover, we should be abounding in the work of the Lord. There are millions of people who do not know Jesus, who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and we have the honor of making that truth known in whatever sphere of influence the Lord has given.
  • 3. Third and finally, the resurrection assures us that our labors are not in vain.
    • So often we tell people about Jesus, we invite them to church, we give them biblical advice, we pray for their conversion, but it seems to bear no fruit.
    • Well, here we have God’s promise, that if our labors are in the Lord (done from faith formed by love), our labors are not in vain. It is true we may not ever see or know in this life, what impact our work has had, but in the resurrection, Jesus assures us, that there is reward for all our good works.

Conclusion

And so I close where we began: How do you know if you are a born-again Christian? Do you have this living hope within you? Because Paul says in Romans 10:9, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. And so may you believe that He is risen, He is risen indeed, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.