1 Corinthians 15:50 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

NIV: I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

NASB: Now I say this, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

CSB: What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption.

NLT: What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

KJV: Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

NKJV: Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.

This extensive section—all of chapter 15—was written to correct the thinking of some in Corinth about the resurrection of Christians from the dead. Some in that church claimed it would never happen. They either believed life simply ended at death, or that the spirit alone continued into the afterlife without any more need for a body.

One possible reason for skepticism towards resurrection was because a then-popular idea that human bodies are not fit for life "in the heavens." This view was not entirely wrong, though it falsely imagined heaven as a non-material place in the sky somewhere. The idea was also moral. Many philosophers of the first century held that physical bodies contain all that is evil in a person. They are morally corrupt and deeply imperfect. Such things, those philosophers argued, could never exist in a perfect afterlife.

Paul recognizes at least some truth in this idea, as he states clearly here. "Flesh and blood" can't inherit the kingdom of God. By flesh and blood, Paul means our corrupt, temporary bodies that are of the earth. That which is dying, "perishable," cannot exist in the deathless realm of eternity with God.

The solution, Paul will reveal, isn't that human spirits will exist without physical form in some vague afterlife. The answer is transformation; the old body will be gone and a new, glorified body will take its place.

First Corinthians 15:50–58 powerfully concludes Paul's teaching on the resurrection of Christians: when the last trumpet blasts and Christ returns for those who belong to Him. In that moment, all believers in Jesus, living and dead, will be transformed into the glorified, eternal bodies God has promised us. Death will be defeated forever, never to hurt anyone again. Sin brings death, and the law is the power of sin, but God has given us the victory over death by forgiving our sin through faith in Jesus and by His grace.

Paul provides thorough teaching about the resurrection of Christians from the dead. This is a direct counter to some group of Corinthians who did not believe in such a resurrection. He shows that natural death is not the end of life for Christians; it is the last step before receiving a glorified, resurrected body like that of the risen Christ. That ''spiritual'' body will be as different from our current bodies as a star is from a fish. In that moment, for all who have believed in Christ, living and dead, death will be defeated for good.

In chapters 12, 13, and 14, Scripture focused on the concept of spiritual gifts and how best to use them. This follows several other ideas where Paul corrected errors in the Corinthians' thinking. Chapter 15 contains extensive teaching on one last issue about which some Corinthians were confused or misled. Apparently, they harbored some doubts about the physical resurrection of Christians from the dead. After clearing up these confusions, Paul will address various other items, of a less doctrinal nature, and close out his letter.

First Corinthians is one of the more practical books of the New Testament. Paul writes to a church immersed in a city associated with trade, but also with corruption and immorality. These believers are struggling to properly apply spiritual gifts and to resist the ungodly practices of the surrounding culture. Paul's letter gives instructions for real-life concerns such as marriage and spirituality. He also deals with the importance of unity and gives one of the Bible's more well-known descriptions of love in chapter 13.