1 Corinthians 15:12 (SBL): Εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς κηρύσσεται ὅτι ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐγήγερται, πῶς λέγουσιν ἐν ὑμῖν τινες ὅτι ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν οὐκ ἔστιν;
ESV: "Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?"
One of the most impressive, beautiful and thought-provoking biblical accounts is 1 Corinthians 15:1-58: the account is replete with interesting details, analogies, and observations as well as rhetorical turns (tropes). Paul feels the need to defend one of the Christian a, b, c's when he pens these words, namely, he defends the resurrection from the dead--including the resurrection of Christ.
But I've often wondered what made some anointed Christians in Corinth doubt the resurrection. Paul alludes to problematic association in 1 Corinthians 15:33, and that probably influenced their doubts. However, if we stop and think about it, these Christians had the hope of everlasting life in heaven with God, Christ, the angels, and others with the same hope. So how did these Christians begin to doubt the resurrection of Christ, and by extension, their own hope of resurrection to an immortal and incorruptible plane of existence?
One issue that Paul addresses is, what sort of body will the resurrected ones have? He uses an agricultural analogy to show the reasonableness of believing that God can provide a suitable resurrection body, even though our current bodies decay or decompose. Paul also points to heavenly bodies like the sun, moon and stars in order to demonstrate that just as physical bodies exist, it's not out of the realm of possibility for a spiritual body to exist. He appeals to the resurrection of Christ as the paradigm for others; if God raised Christ, then surely he can raise others from the dead.
Regardless of what ultimately caused the Corinthians to question the resurrection, including their own prospective resurrection, it serves as a warning about how subtle Satan can be, causing even the chosen ones to doubt their well-founded hope that is fulfilled by the God who raises the dead.
Thursday, March 25, 2021
1 Corinthians 15:12 (Considering the Setting)
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There is one scripture that I find puzzling in light of Pauls reasoning, but perhaps I am missing something?
Matthew 26:29
Do spirit bodies eat and drink?
Bearing in mind that it says what Jesus will do, not just his disciples.
I have been scratching my head over this for a while.
Firstly, Jesus' words in Mt 26:29 are likely metaphorical: he is referring to wine in a symbolic/emblematic sense. See Isaiah 25:6; Amos 9:13-14.
From the OT and GNT accounts, we know that materialized spirit bodies have eaten food and drank liquids, and the resurrected Jesus had meals with his disciples although he was a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). But will Jesus, the angels or resurrected anointed ones eat food and drink wine in the kingdom of God? Why would immortal and imperishable beings with spirit bodies do that? Again, I emphasize that Jesus' words are likely metaphorical.
I still have a problem here, if it is metaphorical. Did Jesus eat the bread and drink the wine of the covenant? He says, when he will drink again, not them.
Acts 1:4 does say that he was eating with them, but does Acts 10:41 say that Jesus drank wine?
When we read Matthew 26:26-28 closely, do these verses actually say that Jesus ate the bread or drank the wine? What do you think?
Although Matt 26:29 says Jesus will drink the vine's produce (another metaphor or figure of speech), he added: μεθ’ ὑμῶν καινὸν
His words point to an eschatological banquet that he enjys with his disciples, so they clearly drink along with him, as Matthew's wording implies.
Acts 10:41 includes the words, συνεπίομεν αὐτῷ
No, I don't think he did, but I think he did eat and drink passover, although the scholarship is mixed on this.
μεθ’ ὑμῶν καινὸν
https://biblehub.com/greek/kainon_2537.htm
IMO Isaiah 25:6, Amos 9:13-14 are to generic to tell us anything.
Eating and drinking in those times was always seen as a happy event.
It's reasonable to believe that he observed Passover as a Torah-keeping Jew: this was one way for Jesus to fulfill the Law. But when he states that he will drink anew "with you" (referring to the disciples), that indicates the Lord will drink figurative wine in the kingdom. Also think of it this way: Revelation foretells that the Lamb will enjoy a wedding feast with his "bride." What kind of feast would it be if one party drinks and eats, but not the other?
I cited Isaiah 25:6 and Amos to demonstrate that wine can be spoken of metaphorically. Surely those verses illustrate that Bible writers speak of wine figuratively. Compare Joel 3:17-18.
Do you think Isaiah 25:6; Amos 9:13-14 and Joel 3:17-18 should all be literally construed? They may be generic, but they illustrate figurative usages of speech. Yes, they also illustrate joy.
Don't forget Jeremiah 48:11; Luke 22:29-30.
https://brill.com/previewpdf/journals/rrj/11/2/article-p200_2.xml
This is an example, obviously with its critics.
Looking at Isaiah 24:7 is of interest. Looking through Amos at a number of references to wine. See 5:16,17. See Joel 1:10,11.
So, to be clear, I am not saying what you have said is wrong, but how metaphorical the statements are is still of interest.
"Jewish sources, such as Josephus and Philo, focus on what Jews did in the Temple when the Passover sacrifice was offered, rather than on what they did afterward, when they actually ate the sacrifice."
Metaphoricity is usually determined by context and it's good to remember that we can interpret verses from different hermeneutical levels. See Joel 3:11-12 and Isaiah 28:1-8.
Isaiah 25:6 may have a literal fulfillment in the new earth, but it might have a symbolic fulfillment too. I'm any event, I don't think our heavenly Lord will consume wine or eat food.
This question is also perplexing to me, if there were "Christians" who denied the ressurection ... in what sense were they Christians (sociologically that is), it could be perhaps that they denied a literal ressurection and took an idea that after death one would become consumed by the divine or something like (perhaps similar to the Bhuddish Nirvana).
Or it could be a kind of proto-Docitism ... i.e. no ressurectino of Jesus because he never was incarnate, and thus we don't get ressurected by rather trasncend the corporeal and transcend individuation (Gnosticism).
Other than that I'm not sure how one denies the ressurection and is still considered sociologically Christian.
I appreciate your thoughts: they help jog my memory and assist in my reflection on this part of Paul's correspondence. I've read that the Corinthians possibly thought a "spiritual" resurrection in the here and now was all they would get: a type of realized eschatology. See 2 Timothy 2:17-18.
And since they appeared to doubt Jesus' resurrection, maybe there was some proto-Docetic thinking in Corinth. Paul certainly implies that bad association infected the congregation and his counsel in 1 Cor. 15:32-34 reminds one of ISa. 22:13 and the Epicurean philosophers. Others propose some kind of Stoic influence in light of the focus on bodies.
Fascinating, btw, I hope you have a wonderful memorial :).
Enjoy your memorial. Our most important day. 😀
Is Joel 3:11-12 definitely what you had in mind?
Yes, but I failed to include Joel 3:13. I was trying to show how the Bible speaks about figurative grapes, winepresses and the juice of grapes.
Luke 22:29-30 also came to mind last night as pertinent for this discussion.
See this entry for wine in the Bible: https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Wine-Strong-Drink
Compare Isaiah 55:1-2.
Thanks, Joel 3 becomes clear now. Its about abundance.
See:- Mark 14:25 & not what is not said. Also Luke 22:18.
Song of Solomon 5:1
I have read the entry in the Dictionary of BIBLICAL IMAGERY, but will go through it again.
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