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Tag: Matthew

2 Peter 2: Pernicious Preachers of a False Gospel
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you..

2 Peter 2:1a – King James Version

Accepting Apostolic Testimony OR Following False Prophets

After presenting his Apostolic testimony to wavering preachers, elders, and marginal followers of “The Way,” Simon Peter now alerts the church to dangerous heresies taught by some seeking to undermine the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Trustworthy Prophetic Word, reads the heading in this section of 2 Peter 1 of the Christian Standard Bible, also citing testimony from all the synoptic Gospels [Matthew, Mark & Luke].

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; where unto ye do well that ye take heed..

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

2 Peter 1:17-21 excerpt KJV

The Apostle now warns of pernicious perils of false prophets and false teaching of those who deny Apostolic testimony.

2 Peter 2:

There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.
2 Peter 2:1a – Christian Standard Bible

Peter, Apostle of Jesus, provides familiar examples from the Jewish Bible (Old Testament):
- and if he didn’t spare the ancient world, but protected Noah v.5a
- and if he reduced the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes v.6a
- and if he rescued righteous Lot, v.7a
Compare yourself to Noah. Or compare yourself to Lot, Paul suggests, a righteous man living in Sodom surrounded by every wickedness conceived by evil men in charge of his community.

Are Sodom and Gomorrah not the cities of our home churches to whom Simon Peter writes once again?

And doesn’t our world reminiscingly resemble that near to destruction in the time of Noah?

Take heed that we have survived thus far only be saved from the final judgment of fire by Christ’s righteousness!

How do the Apostle’s examples from Genesis apply to us?

The believers to whom Peter writes live in Asian and Roman and new worldly cities not unlike Sodom — as do we in our towns and churches susceptible to every evil tolerated and encouraged by leaders of every gathering in our home community.

Destructive Doctrines
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HEADING from the New King James Version 
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WATCH OUT! warns the Apostle in his second epistle.

.. even as there will be false teachers among you, – v.1b – NKJV

You know these preachers and elders who CLAIM JESUS.

Some saints succumb to their subtle sweet tolerance. For their deceptive doctrine suggests Christ while discounting His lordship over our saved SELF’s still flourishing in the flesh of this life.

Pernicious Preachers of Their Own Doctrines

ψευδοδιδάσκαλος – pseudodidáskalos, psyoo-dod-id-as’-kal-os; from G5571 and G1320; a spurious teacher, i.e. propagator of erroneous Christian doctrine:—false teacher.

Lexicon :: Strong’s G5572 – pseudodidaskalos
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No, it isn't only the preacher in the pulpit who purveys false doctrine, though some succumb at times as the Apostle fears. 
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They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves.

– 2:1c CSB

.. who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them.

2 Peter 2:1c King James Version

And many shall follow their pernicious ways
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Time to define a key word Paul uses FIVE TIMES in his Second Epistle (translated in 2 Peter 2:2 KJV as "pernicious ways").  
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ἀπώλεια – apōleia –

The KJV translates Strong ‘s G684 in the following manner: perdition (8x), destruction (5x), waste (2x), damnable (1x), to die (with G1519) (1x), perish (with G1498) (with G1519) (1x), pernicious (1x).

The Apostle Peter chooses STRONG language to describe these sins against the Lord.

And in fact, Jesus had spoken the same to describe Judas Iscariot!

While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition;^G684 that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Gospel of John 17:12 KJV – the words of Jesus
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What must Peter — one of the Twelve — have thought when Judas took the cup the Lord shared at their last Passover meal? 
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The Lure of their Depravity

Common Era preachers may draw in the multitudes to gatherings of those seeking an advantage in the life of proclaiming Jesus.

(Judas, who minded their money, was like that.)

Peter continues in his second epistle warning the faithful:

And in their greed they will exploit you with false words, their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

2 Peter 2:3 LSB

The Apostle describes how to spot false teachers scemingly opposed to all Truth:
- Bold, arrogant people!
- They are not afraid to slander the glorious ones [2:10b LSB]
- go after the flesh in its corrupt lust
- and despise authority.
  - (even that of the Lord’s Apostles, Peter implies)
- Daring,
- self-willed,
- they do not tremble when they blaspheme [angels] glorious ones 2:10 LSB
  - (We’ll continue Peter’s mention of angels momentarily.)
They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting.

With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception.

2 Peter 2:18 LSB

The APOSTLE’S WARNING!

These people are springs without water, mists driven by a storm. The gloom of darkness has been reserved for them.

For by uttering boastful, empty words, they seduce, with fleshly desires and debauchery, people who are actually escaping from those who live in error.

2 Peter 17-18 CSB

Peter has already presented his powerful case of his authority as an Apostle of Jesus Christ — who IS the only Son of GOD the Father and One with the Holy Spirit.

Won’t you obey an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ?

“For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,with whom I am well pleased,”

2 Peter 1:17 ESV

OR

Will you subtly slide back into the vomit of your former overindulgence in every sin of this world?

What the true proverb says has happened to them:

“The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

2 Peter 2:22 ESV

Like a dog that returns to his vomit
is a fool who repeats his folly.

Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 26:11,12 ESV

GOD, Angels, Men, Apostles, creatures & authority
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FOLLOW PETER'S LOGIC: 
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- In the beginning, God [ĕlōhîm] created the heavens and the earth. – Genesis 1:1
- The apostle of Jesus Christ.. stands [in] the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: – 2 Peter 1:1
- Jesus is associated with righteousness, highlighting His sinless nature and the moral perfection that He imparts to believers.
  - sou r ce:
- 2 Peter 2:1 The term “Master” is used in the context of false teachers denying “the Master who bought them.” It underscores Jesus’ ownership and authority over believers, as well as the cost of redemption.
  - ibid.
  - Peter introduces himself as a servant [doulos] of Jesus
    
    2 Peter 1:1
  - and in his first epistle the Apostle instructs those chosen in Christ:
Servants [oiketēs, a domestic], be subject to your masters [despotēs – also translated as Lord or used for husband] with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust.

1 Peter 2:18 ESV

The Apostle Peter, as servant of the Lord and witness to God in the flesh embraces great responsibility for the faith of those chosen as elect saints in Jesus Christ.

Creation, its creatures and Angels

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

… The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

2 Peter 2:4,9 KJV

The Apostle connects evil men affecting the righteous like Noah and Lot within a lengthy tirade citing angels that sinned. Though we know little of the unseen messengers (evil or good), Peter reminds us of a comparison of Jesus to Adam, who was tempted into our fall by a most-powerful angel.
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Once again: 
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FOLLOW PETER’S LOGIC:
- God did not spare angels when they sinned – v.4
  - .. and his angels he charged with folly: – Job 4:18b KJV
- .. but cast them into hell..
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“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer,[lit. Day Star] son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations! 

For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
.. 
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit. 
```
Isaiah 14:12-13a,14 NKJV
- and committed them to pits of darkness, held for judgment…
- [2 Peter 2:4b NASB]
These cunning false teachers speaking against Apostolic Authority — granted through the same Holy Spirit of God by which the Prophets spoke — do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties [Doxa] – ‘they blaspheme the glorious ones’ – v.10

FALSE TEACHERS, who are no better than evil men who refused to listen to GOD’s Prophets speaking by the Holy Spirit and less powerful than angels, will also suffer the judgment of angels who turned against the Creator.

.. whereas angels, though greater in might and power,

do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.

2 Peter 11 ESV

Balaam, False Prophets and Pernicious Popes!

YES, we are still addressing the warning of the Apostle Peter in his second epistle to the 1st century church.
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If you have noted in 2 Peter 2 that I quoted Scripture including men the Apostle lists as negative examples, but I missed a false prophet mentioned only once, you would be right. 
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Peter’s full list (chronologically) includes:
- Angels – vs.4 & 11
- mankind, except Noah – v.5
- community of mankind in Sodom and Gomorrah, except Lot – v.6
- the Prophet Balaam – vs. 15-16
ALL these are WARNING SIGNS from the LAW of Moses — cited by the Apostle Peter, servant of God and JESUS Christ, sent by true direction of the Holy Spirit — to BELIEVERS in the first century churches AND those including a Lot from Common Era elect yet to be born into the body of Christ before the Day of Judgment.

I have nearly bogged down in the mire of Moses’ serious warning in the book of Numbers concerning Balaam.

Moses, Prophet and Lawgiver of Israel, sheds light enough on such men and women who cunningly lead communities of the faithful away from the Lord our God — from then nearer the Beginning until the Day of Jesus Christ.

What Popes, you may ask?

Which false prophets since Jesus, you may wonder?

AND what do these have to do with the Apostle’s example of Balaam in 2 Peter 2?

NEXT – We will examine the timeless application of Balaam to Peter’s prophesies of false teachers and HERESIES already evident to the Common Era church.

Talk of JESUS . com

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
November 25, 2025
First Corinthians Synopsis- Do everything in love
Love — exceeds wisdom, but does not exclude it.

Would you say that this pretty much sums up Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church?

You desire wisdom (and some of you have it), but seek the love of God available to us through our Lord Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 16:
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I recommend that you read 1 Cor 16 here [in the link above], since I will not detail much of this closing chapter (into which of course Paul's letters were not divided) in this brief synopsis. 
```
Paul closes his epistle to the Corinthian saints first by asking for their charity to help the struggling and persecuted church in Jerusalem. (Their regimen should be like what the Apostle set in place for the Galatian churches.

Part of the collection of gifts and delivery of other epistles (letters) always depends upon who may be available at the time.

Paul is not in person, which is why he writes, and neither is Apollos.

The Apostle closes his letter with several detailed instructions, explanations of where and why they travel with the Gospel, and specific mention of several individuals (to whom we will get after looking back at Paul’s entire epistle to the Corinthians).

Basically, this is his personal closing like any of us would end a personal letter to loved ones.

Corrective Behavior – Guided by Love

Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love [agapē] — but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13 Christian Standard Bible
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We addressed this central theme of agape love in 1 Corinthians 13. 
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To have and to hold Christian Love

John MacArthur introduces Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:

Although the major thrust of this epistle is corrective of behavior rather than of doctrine, Paul gives seminal teaching on many doctrines that directly relate to the matters of sin and righteousness.

In one way or another, wrong living always stems from wrong belief.

John MacArthur :: Bible Introductions – 1 Corinthians

Another introduction to Paul’s first epistle put’s it this way:

Summary: 1 Corinthians addresses issues within the Corinthian church, emphasizing unity, moral integrity, and spiritual gifts.

Paul advises on matters like divisions, immorality, and worship practices, highlighting love as the greatest virtue.

He confirms the resurrection of Christ and its implications for believers.

1 Corinthians Overview – Theme: Christian Living
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We might note Paul's caution in the verses preceding our opening verse here. 

Many of you know this and understand that it has little to do with age and more to application of Christ's love in your mortal life. 
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When I was a child,

I spoke like a child,

I thought like a child,

I reasoned like a child.

When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

1 Corinthians 13:11 CSB

The Apostle’s entire letter to worshipping saints of the church in Corinth sought to correct childish morals with the firm and gentle love of God.

megas agapē – the Greatest Love

In addition to Paul, advice on LOVE also proceeds from the words of Jesus.

“Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.

Gospel of Matthew 24:12 CSB

Christ is prophesying signs of the end of the age.

Let the Common Era reader understand.

Like the Apostles Paul, John and others, Jesus also addresses His followers (any disciples) as “little children.”

“Little children, I am with you a little while longer…

.. you are also to love one another.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Gospel of John 13:33a,34c-35 CSB

Paul’s great dilemma in ‘fathering’ the Corinthians was to correct some of these disobedient children in the faith with the love Christ commands for each of us who claim Jesus as Lord.

The Wisdom of Mature Love in Christ

What do you want? Should I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?

1 Corinthians 4:21 CSB

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up...

But if anyone loves God, he is known by him.

1 Corinthians 8:1,3 CSB

Speaking of human wisdom, Paul compares it by saying that ‘knowledge makes arrogant’ [KJV] gnōsis physioō;

while agapē Love edifies [KJV].

Idols – Stumbling in Christian Liberty – 1 Corinthians 8
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Grow-up from the wisdom of an arrogant child, beloved believer, into the love and faith in Christ Jesus who loved us so much as to have died for us. 
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And we all know and many can quote some translation of Paul’s famous ‘love chapter’ 13 highlighted above.

If I speak human or angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal…

13-1 CSB
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How many clanging christians in our Common Evangelicalism claim Jesus without love? 
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Love – ἀγάπη -agapē

suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up…

13:4 NKJV

Synopsis of 1 Corinthians

The opening and closing of Paul’s epistle both appeal to the individual love [agapē] of the Corinthians the Apostle knew and loved so well.

He contrasted the morals and behaviors of those who challenged their faith in Christ Jesus to the childish ways of the wisdom of the world worshipping SELF — even with the crowds in Corinth’s temples of worship of myths and wisdom of the logic of mythological man-created gods and goddesses.

Wisdom of the Cross *a few points
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* from ROAD MAPS for the PAULINE EPISTLES - Kress Biblical Resources
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- The church must deal with unrepentant sin. (5)
- The church must deal with disputes among its members. (6)
- Stay focuses on serving Christ whether married or single. (7)
- The right practice and purpose of the Lord’s Supper (11)
- Spiritual gifts should unify and build up the church (12)
- Spiritual gifts should prioritize the proclamation of the truth to others in an orderly manner — not pacification of self. (14)
Our Imperishable Resurrection Body Raised in Glory and Power
- The RESURRECTION is certain
- The RESURRECTION is supernatural
- The RESURRECTION is our sure hope and motivation
HOW IS YOUR CHURCH DOING WITH THESE?

Paul loved the Corinthian saints as Christ has loved us.

The Apostle closes his epistle with these important points:
- Plans and communication are important for and effective gospel ministry.
- Personal relationships and communication are important for and effective gospel ministry.
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In closing, let's look at what the Apostle writes to the leaders and saints of Corinth — and to the pastors and Sunday sheep of our Common Era christian flocks. 

After all, when you write to someone you love, don't you want to leave them with a final thought about you and what you write to them? 
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Final Exhortation

16:13

γρηγορέω – Be alert

“Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.[in which the Son of Man is coming.]

Gospel of Matthew 25:13

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, [NASB]

στήκω – stand firm in πίστις – the faith

Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith? ”

And they were terrified[filled with awe] and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him! ”

Gospel of Mark 4:40-41 CSB

ἀνδρίζομαι – act like a man [be courageous]

andrizomai – Middle voice from ἀνήρ (G435) – man, husband, sir, fellow (not a boy or woman)

κραταιόω – be strong.

The boy grew up and became strong, filled with wisdom, and God’s grace was on him.

Gospel of Luke 2:40 CSB

6:14

Let all that you do be done in love.
1 CORINTHIANS 16:14 ESV – Paul’s closing appeal to the CHURCH

Paul’s talking AGAPE here.

Other translations read:
- Let all your things be done with charity. – KJV
- And do everything with love. – NLT
- All that you do must be done in love. – NASB20
One FINAL WARNING

Whoever does not love our Lord Yeshua The Messiah,

let him be damned. our Lord has come.

1 Corinthians 16:22 – Aramaic Bible in Plain English

Quite a CONVICTING affirmation!

Other translations use simply Lord, or ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ but the Person of their intent is the same Lord and God NONE dare oppose!

1 Corinthians 16:22 Translations
- let him be Anathema
  - accursed
- that person is cursed
- let that person be cursed!
  - tis & eimi (here) are not specific to males
- a curse be on him.
- Let anyone who has no love for the Lord be accursed.
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Don't get to hung up on the specific words — or English parts of speech. 
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The seriousness of the Apostle’s line-in-the-sand for Christians cannot be missed.

The term “curse” translates from the Greek “anathema,” meaning something devoted to destruction.

In the Jewish context, it referred to things set apart for God, often through destruction, as seen in Joshua 6:17 with the fall of Jericho.

Paul uses strong language to stress the seriousness of rejecting Christ,

aligning with Galatians 1:8-9, where he condemns any gospel contrary to the one he preached. This reflects the early church’s struggle against false teachings and the necessity of maintaining doctrinal purity.

Biblehub.com Study Bible – 1 Corinthians 16:22

a FINAL word

Unfamiliar to MOST Common Era christians, Paul uses the words: μαράνα θά — marana tha – [English: “Maranatha“]

Most English translations substitute its meaning — an invitation worthy of our most serious consideration.

Of Aramaic origin (meaning our Lord has come).

The Apostle concludes his epistle to the Corinthian church:

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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And thus do I conclude our study of Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians, joining the Apostle in His love for all of you. 
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Talk of JESUS . com

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
May 31, 2025
Our Imperishable Resurrection Body Raised in Glory and Power
1 Corinthians 15: CSB

Paul , in a first letter to the Corinthians, addresses the logic (Promethean though it be to some skeptics of the Gospel), and presents a body of evidence about the resurrection body.

Resurrection is Certain

The Apostle begins with Christ’s resurrection. Then Paul argues (logically to these wisdom-seeking Achaeans) to the nature of death and resurrection of the dead in general. The Apostle’s closing arguments of this logic-based epistle calls the question of the nature of our resurrection body.
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OUTLINE
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- The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection
  - 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
- Resurrection Essential to the Gospel (CSB)
- The Risen Christ, Faith’s Reality (NKJV)
And Now the News – Just the Facts
- The Resurrection of the Dead
  - 1 Corinthians 15:12-34 KJV
And Now the News – Resurrection of the Dead
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Our Look at the Resurrection Body on TalkofJESUS.com will also separate these topics more fully. 
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- Resurrection Essential to the Faith (CSB)
  - 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
  - Christ’s Resurrection Guarantees Ours
  - 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
- The Risen Christ, Our Hope (NKJV)
  - 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
  - The Last Enemy Destroyed
  - 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
Death Put Under the Authority of God —Resurrection — in Order

..that God may be all in all.

A LOGICAL ARGUMENT — a COURT CASE — a testimony, a closing argument. Call the Apostle’s defense of the Gospel GOOD NEWS of the resurrection of the body what you will.

Paul concludes his letter with an authoritative approach to separating the heretical hopes of life and death (as our end) from the foundational NEW Testament of the glory of the resurrection and ascension of Christ Jesus as the first-fruits of our GOOD NEWS!

The last enemy to be abolished is death.

1 Corinthians 15:26 CSB

IF the Resurrection Body Perishes
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Remember, Paul writes to defend Christ, who he has seen! 

And now the Apostle takes the stand opposing the prosecutorial case of the Promethean philosophers accusing the saints of Corinth of worshiping a 'dead Jesus.' 
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Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead?

If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?

1 Corinthians 15:29 ESV

Great question, right?

Rhetorical, certainly; but Paul may have been responding to an actual case and question presented to him by the leadership of the Corinthian church.

WHY REPENT, for Christ’s sake— if our Savior is now dead?

(Baptism, of course, is a public witness that you have permanently changed your lifestyle – fruit of your beliefs — having given up your former sins in order to follow the living Lord, Christ Jesus of the Cross.)

Paul then testifies(as I included previously) that he had been willing to die in Ephesus (which, of course, most the the Corinthians would have already heard the Apostle proclaim in person).

His prosecution of those who doubt the resurrection is direct:

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

1 Corinthians 15:33 CSB

ARE SOME in Corinth deceiving the saints who have heard and proclaimed Paul’s Gospel?

No doubt.

And the Apostle gently reminds the faithful of how they remain ignorant concerning the gospel, after which he will answer some questions of their ignorance.

Come to your senses [lit. sober up] and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God.

I say this to your shame.

1 Corinthians 15:34

The Nature of the Resurrection Body

The example of Christ
- Christ died.
- After three days Christ rises from the grave.
- He appears for forty days to many, (as Paul has already witnessed) with a resurrection body
  - DIFFERENT from His incarnate body;
  - DIFFERENT than simply a spirit;
  - and actually different in appearance to several witnesses — JESUS had a resurrection body
  - and THEN ASCENDS into the clouds of HEAVEN!
Will OUR resurrection body be like HIS?

Paul assures those in Corinth who receive such questions

(as if WE must explain HOW God does such things).

But someone will ask,

“How are the dead raised?

What kind of body will they have when they come? ”

1 Corinthians 15:35 CSB
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'Would you rather be dead?' I might quickly reply to the Promethean prosecutor with the cunning to take CHRIST out of my personal witness.
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Paul responds:

You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

And as for what you sow — you are not sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain. But God gives it a body as he wants, and to each of the seeds its own body.

1 Corinthians 15:37-38 CSB

A Perishable Body and our Resurrection Body

For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans,

another for animals,

another for birds,

and another for fish.

There are heavenly bodies

and earthly bodies,

but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind,

and the glory of the earthly is of another.

1 Corinthians 15:(39),40 ESV

Paul points to the sun and moon and stars all being different in nature, as well as distinct from each other.

What is sown is perishable

THEN the Apostle compares DEATH to the seed planted —
- It is sown in dishonor;
- It is sown in weakness;
- It is sown a natural body;
ζῳοποιέω – zōopoieō
- it is raised in glory.
- it is raised in power.
- it is raised a spiritual body.
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Then Paul proceeds logically from mortal death to the spiritual body, with a comparison of ADAM (the first man) to CHRIST (the first fruits from death).
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- If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
So it is written,
The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:45 CSB

The Apostle refers to JESUS as ‘the last adam,’ in Greek: eschatos — a superlative for the last or extreme [adam] — Ἀδάμ.

THEN the Spirit adds through Paul:

πνεῦμα ζῳοποιοῦν –

[became] a life-giving spirit.

CHRIST [the quintessential adam in the image of GOD — born, buried and risen in a resurrection body — ζῳοποιέω – zōopoieō [quicken (9x), give life (2x), make alive (1x)] pneuma [spirit].

Christ + the LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT

Paul THEN compares the adam from the dust of the earth to the second adam from heaven — HE IS the very perfect incarnate IMAGE of God the Father — Creator and Authority over all creation and creatures.

And as we have borne the image of the earthy, let us also bear the image of the heavenly.

1 Corinthians 15:49

ἰδού – Behold..
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ἰδού, a demonstrative particle (in Greek writings from Sophocles down) 
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Beloved saint of Christ, you have heard this before — hundreds of times in the preaching of the Gospel. And the apostle to the gentiles uses it here — ‘idou‘ or in English, behold.

Behold, G2400 a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Gospel of Matthew 1:23 KJV

And, behold, G2400 one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Gospel of Matthew 19:16 KJV

And, behold, G2400 there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

Gospel of Matthew 28:2 KJV

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, G2400 Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

Gospel of Matthew 28:9 –

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

(‘lo’ and ‘behold’ are the same Greek word drawing forth our attention)
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(Beloved saint, you know the rest — and Paul reminds of our hope in the Gospel and of our commission by Christ.)
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mystērion

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. Listen, I am telling you a mystery:

We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

1 Corinthians 15:50b-52a

Don’t we want that? CHANGED immediately? SLEEPERS AWAKE!

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.

For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.

When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
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Paul quotes the Prophet Isaiah 
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He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 25:8 KJV

O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory?
1 Corinthians 15:55 KJV

a Closing Call for Repentance
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Surely Paul's letter will be received by all the saints of Corinth with thanksgiving and a renewed faith in the resurrection body because of Christ. 
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The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

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

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 KJV
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And the Apostle's plea to all saints in every time and each temporal place: 
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So then, dear brothers and sisters,

be firm.

Do not be moved!

Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58 New English Translation

P.S.

As is his custom, Paul will close his epistle with some personal greetings and instructions [Chapter 16]

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel

God-willing, perhaps you and I should add our own personal applications of the Apostle’s great instructions to the church concerning issues of the resurrection body, death, resurrection, ascension and time of the last judgment and eternal life.

Talk of JESUS . com
May 29, 2025