Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
22. For as in Adam all die ] In the possession of a common nature with Adam all mankind are liable to death.
even so in Christ shall all be made alive ] By possession of a common nature with Christ all shall partake of that Resurrection to which He has already attained. Cf. St Joh 5:21; Joh 6:27; Joh 6:39-58; Joh 11:25.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For as in Adam – ( en to Adam). By Adam; by the act, or by means of Adam; as a consequence of his act. His deed was the procuring cause, or the reason, why all are subjected to temporal death; see Gen 3:19. It does not mean that all people became actually dead when he sinned, for they had not then an existence; but it must mean that the death of all can be traced to him as the procuring cause, and that his act made it certain that all that came into the world would be mortal. The sentence which went forth against him Gen 3:19 went forth against all; affected all; involved all in the certainty of death; as the sentence that was passed on the serpent Gen 3:14 made it certain that all serpents would he cursed above all cattle, and be prone upon the earth; the sentence that was passed upon the woman Gen 3:16 made it certain that all women would be subjected to the same condition of suffering to which Eve was subjected; and the sentence that was passed on man Gen 3:17 that he should cultivate the ground in sorrow all the days of his life, that it should bring forth thistles and thorns to him 1Co 15:18, that he should eat bread in the sweat of his brow 1Co 15:19, made it certain that this would be the condition of all people as well as of Adam. It was a blow at the head of the human family, and they were subjected to the same train of evils as he was himself. In like manner they were subjected to death. It was done in Adam, or by Adam, in the same way as it was in him, or by him, that they were subjected to toil and to the necessity of procuring food by the sweat of the brow; see the notes on Rom 5:12-19; see 1Co 15:47-48.
All die – All mankind are subjected to temporal death; or are mortal. This passage has been often adduced to prove that all mankind became sinful in Adam, or in virtue of a covenant transaction with him; and that they are subjected to spiritual death as a punishment for his sins. But, whatever may he the truth on that subject, it is clear that this passage does not relate to it, and should not he adduced as a proof text. For:
(1) The words die and dieth obviously and usually refer to temporal death; and they should be so understood, unless there is something in the connection which requires us to understand them in a figurative and metaphorical sense. But there is, evidently, no such necessity here.
(2) The context requires us to understand this as relating to temporal death. There is not here, as there is in Rom. 5, any intimation that men became sinners in consequence of the transgression of Adam, nor does the course of the apostles argument require him to make any statement on that subject. His argument has reference to the subject of temporal death, and the resurrection of the dead; and not to the question in what way people became sinners.
(3) The whole of this argument relates to the resurrection of the dead. That is the main, the leading, the exclusive point. He is demonstrating that the dead would rise. He is showing how this would be done. It became, therefore, important for him to show in what way people were subjected to temporal death. His argument, therefore requires him to make a statement on that point, and that only; and to show that the resurrection by Christ was adapted to meet and overcome the evils of the death to which people were subjected by the sin of the first man. In Rom. 5 the design of Paul is to prove that the effects of the work of Christ were more than sufficient to meet all the evils introduced by the sin of Adam. This leads him to an examination there of the question in what way people became sinners. Here the design is to show that the work of Christ is adapted to overcome the evils of the sin of Adam in one specific matter – the matter under discussion, that is, on the point of the resurrection; and his argument therefore requires him to show only that temporal death, or mortality, was introduced by the first man, and that this has been counteracted by the second; and to this specific point the interpretation of this passage should be confined. Nothing is more important in interpreting the Bible than to ascertain the specific point in the argument of a writer to be defended or illustrated, and then to confine the interpretation to that. The argument of the apostle here is ample to prove that all people are subjected to temporal death by the sin of Adam; and that this evil is counteracted fully by the resurrection of Christ, and the resurrection through him. And to this point the passage should be limited.
(4) If this passage means, that in Adam, or by him, all people became sinners, then the correspondent declaration all shall be made alive must mean that all people shall become righteous, or that all shall be saved. This would be the natural and obvious interpretation; since the words be made alive must have reference to the words all die, and must affirm the co-relative and opposite fact. If the phrase all die there means all become sinners, then the phrase all be made alive must mean all shall be made holy, or be recovered from their spiritual death; and thus an obvious argument is furnished for the doctrine of universal salvation, which it is difficult, if not impossible, to meet. It is not a sufficient answer to this to say, that the word all, in the latter part of the sentence, means all the elect, or all the righteous; for its most natural and obvious meaning is, that it is co-extensive with the word all in the former part of the verse.
And although it has been held by many who suppose that the passage refers only to the resurrection of the dead, that it means that all the righteous shall be raised up, or all who are given to Christ, yet that interpretation is not the obvious one, nor is it yet sufficiently clear to make it the basis of an argument, or to meet the strong argument which the advocate of universal salvation will derive from the former interpretation of the passage. It is true literally that all the dead will rise: it is not true literally that all who became mortal, or became sinners by means of Adam, will be saved. And it must be held as a great principle, that this passage is not to be so interpreted as to teach the doctrine of the salvation of all people. At least, this may be adopted as a principle in the argument with those who adduce it to prove that all people became sinners by the transgression of Adam. This passage, therefore, should not be adduced in proof of the doctrine of imputation, or as relating to the question how people became sinners, but should be limited to the subject that was immediately under discussion in the argument of the apostle. That object was, to show that the doctrine of the resurrection by Christ was such as to meet the obvious doctrine that people became mortal by Adam; or that the one was adapted to counteract the other.
Even so – ( houto.) In this manner; referring not merely to the certainty of the event, but to the mode or manner. As the death of all was occasioned by the sin of one, even so, in like manner, the resurrection of all shall be produced by one. His resurrection shall meet and counteract the evils introduced by the other, so far as the subject under discussion is concerned; that is, so far as relates to temporal death.
In Christ – By Christ; in virtue of him; or as the result of his death and resurrection. Many commentators have supposed that the word all here refers only to believers, meaning all who were united to Christ, or all who were his friends; all included in a covenant with him; as the word all in the former member of the sentence means all who were included in the covenant with Adam; that is, all mankind. But to this view there are manifest objections:
(1) It is not the obvious sense; it is not that which will occur to the great mass of people who interpret the Scriptures on the principles of common sense; it is an interpretation which is to be made out by reasoning and by theology – always a suspicious circumstance in interpreting the Bible.
(2) It is not necessary. All the wicked will be raised up from the dead as well as all the righteous, Dan 12:2; Joh 5:28-29.
(3) The form of the passage requires us to understand the word all in the same sense in both members, unless there be some indispensable necessity for limiting the one or the other.
(4) The argument of the apostle requires this. For his object is to show that the effect of the sin of Adam, by introducing temporal death, will be counteracted by Christ in raising up all who die; which would not be shown if the apostle meant to say that only a part of those who had died in consequence of the sin of Adam would he raised up. The argument would then be inconclusive. But now it is complete if it be shown that all shall be raised up, whatever may become of them afterward. The sceptre of death shall be broken, and his dominion destroyed, by the fact that all shall be raised up from the dead.
Be made alive – Be raised from the dead; be made alive, in a sense contradistinguished from that in which he here says they were subjected to death, by Adam. If it should be held that that means that all were made sinners by him, then this means, as has been observed, that all shall be made righteous, and the doctrine of universal salvation has an unanswerable argument; if it means, as it obviously does, that all were subjected to temporal death by him, then it means that all shall be raised from the dead by Christ.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
As in the first Adam all men, that were in him, became subject both to temporal death, and all the afflictions and miseries of this life, which are so many little deaths, Rom 8:36, and forerunners of natural death, or attendants upon it; and also to that eternal death, which is the consequent of the guilt of sin, Rom 6:23; so in Christ, that is, through the merits of his death, and through his resurrection, all that are in him, being chosen in him, given to him, and by faith implanted into him, are not only spiritually made alive, (being passed from death unto life, 1Jo 3:14), but shall be raised from the dead unto eternal life. But though this text doth not prove the general resurrection, (being only intended of believers, that are members of Christ), yet it doth not oppose it. But that the all here mentioned is no more than all believers, appeareth not only from the term in Christ in this verse, but from the whole following discourse; which is only concerning the resurrection of believers to life, not that of the wicked to eternal condemnation.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. in Adam allin union ofnature with Adam, as representative head of mankind in their fall.
in Christ . . . allinunion of nature with Christ, the representative head of mankind intheir recovery. The life brought in by Christ is co-extensive withthe death brought in by Adam.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For as in Adam all die,…. The apostle here shows who he meant in the former verse, by the one man the cause of death, and by the other the author of the resurrection of the dead, and that he intended Adam and Christ; all men were in Adam seminally, as the common parent of human nature, in such sense as Levi was in the loins of Abraham when Melchizedek met him, and in him paid tithes unto him; and they were all in him representatively, he being the federal head of all his posterity, and so a type and figure of Christ that was to come; and being in him, they all sinned in him, and so died in him, the sentence of death passed on them in him; they became subject to a corporeal death, which has ever since reigned over mankind, even over infants, such who have not sinned after the similitude of his transgression; this was the doctrine of the Jewish church; [See comments on Ro 5:12], to which may be added one testimony more; says g one of their writers,
“by the means of the first Adam , “death was inflicted by way of punishment on all”:”
even so in Christ shall all be made alive: not made spiritually alive, for Christ quickens whom he will; not all in this sense, some die in their sins; nor are all entitled to an eternal life; for though Christ has a power to give it, yet only to those whom the Father has given to him; it is true indeed, that all that are in Christ, chosen in him and united to him, are made alive by him, and have the gift of eternal life through him; but the apostle is not speaking of such a life, but of a corporeal one: to be quickened or made alive, is with the Jews, and other eastern nations, a phrase of the same signification with being raised from the dead, and as the context here shows; and not to be understood of the resurrection of all men, for though there will be a resurrection of the just and unjust, yet the one will be the resurrection of life, and the other the resurrection of damnation; now it is of the former the apostle here speaks, and expresses by being made alive: and the sense is, that as all that were in Adam, all that belonged to him, all his natural seed and posterity, all to whom he was a federal head, died in him, became mortal, and subject to death through him; so all that are in Christ, that belong to him, who are his spiritual seed and offspring, to whom he is a covenant head, and representative, shall be raised to an immortal life by him; or as all the elect of God died in Adam, so shall they all be quickened, or raised to life in and by Christ.
g Baal Hatturim in Dent. iii. 26.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Shall be made alive (). First future passive indicative of , late verb (Aristotle) to give life, to restore to life as here. In verse 36 is used in the sense of natural life as in John 5:21; John 6:63 of spiritual life. It is not easy to catch Paul’s thought here. He means resurrection (restoration) by the verb here, but not necessarily eternal life or salvation. So also may not coincide in both clauses. All who die die in Adam, all who will be made alive will be made alive (restored to life) in Christ. The same problem occurs in Ro 5:18 about “all,” and in verse 19 about “the many.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
All – all. What the all means in the one case it means in the other.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For as in Adam all die,” (hosper gar en to adam apothneskousin) The first Adam received life, but lost it through disobedience, Gen 2:7; Rom 5:14-17. The second Adam (Christ) was life, the fountain of it, Joh 1:4; Joh 5:21; Joh 10:10; 1Jn 5:12.
2) “Even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (houtos kai en christo pantes zoopoiethesontai) The first flesh creation, in the first Adam, acquired death. The second creation, in Christ by the Spirit, assures of life from among dead flesh corpses, 1Co 15:45; Joh 3:6; Rom 8:11; Rom 8:23.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
THE THREE RESURRECTIONS IN THEIR ORDER
1Co 15:22-24
THE age in which we live is against doctrinal preaching. Somehow the public has concluded that it needs entertainment rather than instruction, overlooking the most evident truth, namely, that as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Deeds are always and everywhere the result of doctrine. Let one deny the doctrine of the inspiration, and the precepts of Scripture will not command him; let him deny the doctrine of the atonement and he will compromise with sin; let him deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his life will be ordered by the lusts of the flesh and not by the Lord of Glory.
In exact proportion as preachers stand for so-called liberal theology they defend a corresponding looseness in living. Pre-millennarians always favorably impressed me by the fact that so few of them defile their bodies by tobacco smoke, indulge in or defend the social glass, or half approve the trinity of customs commonly called modern amusements. They stand for a separation of the church and the world; and no man can read the New Testament without seeing that their doctrine is the basis of this behavior.
For a long time few men, who wore the Name of Jesus Christ at all, found in their hearts to speak against the glorious doctrine of the resurrection. But what men call a trend of liberal thought commonly takes its subjects past all limits. Dr. Foster the little Mary Baker Eddy of the Chicago Universityonce affirmed, The importance attached to the bodily resurrection is out of all proportion to the evidence therefor. The narratives yield a fluctuating image which eludes all assured valuation. He then inveighed against basing our highest and holiest religious life on so uncertain an occurrence. To all of that the Apostle Paul replies, If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God * *. And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished (1Co 15:14-15; 1Co 15:17-18). As between Paul, the Apostle of the Lord, and this late apostle of another gospel, which is not another, I have no difficulty to make choice.
I therefore call your attention to the great doctrine of the resurrections. Our text refers to three, and presents them in the order of their occurrence.
THE FIRST RESURRECTION
As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits (1Co 15:22-24).
The first resurrection, then, was accomplished by Christ. The critics tell us that a mans inner consciousness is to determine what is Scripture and what is not; what is truth and what is falsehood; what is history and what is fiction. Accepting, for the sake of the argument, that false premise, I affirm that my inner and instructed consciousness tells me that the Gospel record of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is Scripture and not speculation; is truth and not falsehood; is unvarnished history and not painted fiction. I say if Matthew, Mark, Luke and John conceived this story and related it in the language we now find in our New Testament, they proved themselves incomparable masters in the art of lying. When and where did four other men ever conceive so colossal a notion; when and where did four other false witnesses ever tell their stories in such plain, simple, straightforward style; when and where did four other deceivers ever succeed so perfectly in escaping disagreement; when and where did four other impostors ever stand ready to take the risk of life for the privilege of publishing a statement that could bring them no material return? Nay, beloved, as John on the Island of Patmos said of Christ, He is the first begotten of the dead. In other words, the first resurrection to immortality was accomplished by this Man of Nazareth. Back of His resurrection day the Shunammites son had been raised to life, and Lazarus brought out of the grave, but theirs was a resuscitation; they lived to die again; but Christ being raised from the dead, dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him (Rom 6:9).
This resurrection was according to promise. Hosea had written, After two days will He revive us; in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight (Hos 6:2). If one dispute that this is Messianic, and insist that it applies to the Jew only, he will hardly call into question what Jesus meant when He said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up, for John tells us that He spake of the temple of His body. When, therefore, He was risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this unto them (Joh 2:19-22).
It came to pass that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, for had not the Psalmist long before put these words into the mouth of the Coming One, Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption (Psa 16:10)? Paul, quoting this, said, David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But He, whom God raised again, saw no corruption (Act 13:36-37).
F. B. Meyer speaks of visiting Canterbury Cathedral. After he had wandered through the vast edifice, the verger asked him if he would like to visit the crypt. He readily assented. But when he led him through an open door, then through the deep, dark recesses of the vaults and the cold, moldy atmosphere of corruption, and death smote him, he was sorry he had started. But to turn back he was ashamed. The verger calling to him said, Lay hold of this iron railing and follow that along and it will guide you safely. So he descended into the darkness of the tombs. At the bottom he was surrounded on all sides by the vaults, but suddenly he came to where the light shown in, and approaching it he found that the crypt opened into the cloister garden of the old cathedral. There he found blooming flowers and singing birds and a fountain playing. Referring to it afterward, Meyer said, Thus it was with Christ upon the Cross. After descending step by step in His humility, I can imagine that as He reached out His hand in that darkness, it rested upon the will of God; and as He descended into the grave His soul cried out, Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy Presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore? (Psa 16:10-11). Thus through the darkness of the grave Christ came into the bright light of the resurrection morning. God kept to Him His Word; He arose, even as the Scriptures had said.
This resurrection clearly accounts for the church. Dr. O. P. Gifford, with his accustomed logic of thought, simplicity of speech, and vigor of utterance, said, You cannot organize a body of men about an empty tomb, with a corpse for a center. The early church had life; it was not keeping awake, but receiving life. The living Christ was seen, heard, handled by hundreds. Myths that grow in a night, like Jonahs gourd, die in a day. Every effect demands a cause. Study the sermons of the Apostles, the Epistles written by them to the Churches, and then try to believe that such ethics spring from a lie, that such rules of conduct root in a corpse. Total depravity is childs play, as a doctrine, compared to such judgment of human nature. If men who could teach and act as the Apostles did, could do it consciously acting a lie, what do you expect of the ordinary man? Body-snatchers are not ethical teachers and martyrs. Out of this faith grew a claim on a day; one day in seven was set apart for worship. On the first day of the week men met for worship, for prayer, for study of truth. It is easy to build monuments, hard to seize a day to get men to surrender one-seventh of the time. This shows the power of the risen Christ over men. An empty tomb, a full day, a living church. If the resurrection of Christ is not a fact, account for the tomb, the day, the organization.
If Jesus Christ is a Man,And only a Man, I say That of all mankind I will cleave to Him,And to Him I will cleave alway.
Why? Who will cleave to deceiver and impostor?
If Jesus Christ be a God,And the only God, I swear,I will follow Him through heaven and hell,The earth, the sea, and the air.
Afterward, they that are Christs at His coming. It would seem almost impossible to dispute the meaning of this phrase, They that are Christs. The second resurrection referred to in this text is elsewhere in Scripture called the first resurrection, in order to distinguish it from the resurrection of unbelievers at the end of the age; but we have chosen to speak of it as the further resurrection, to distinguish it from the resurrection of Christ three days after His death.
This resurrection includes only the sleeping saints. They that are Christs. There is a very general impression abroad in the land, for which post-millennarianism is responsible, to the effect that the resurrection of the saint and sinner will be accomplished at one and the same time. The Scriptures do not so say. They that are Christs at His Coming.
The Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first (1Th 4:16).
I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years (Rev 20:4).
The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished (Rev 20:5).
This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power (Rev 20:5-6).
In confirmation of this great doctrine, Luk 20:35 lends itself. They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead. Of Peter and John it is reported in Act 4:2, that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Mark, the phrase is not from death, but from the dead. If we call a man from sleep there would be no election in that fact; but if we have called him from sleepers, every hearer will understand that there remain others whose sleep continueth.
Against this view of the saints resurrection not one passage of Scripture sets itself. I am not forgetting either that in Joh 5:28-29, Jesus utters these words,
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice,
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation (Joh 5:28-29).
The word hour there employed is defined in the twenty-fifth verse, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. That hour has already lasted above 1900 years. Who can object, therefore, if we believe that hour as employed in the second instance, shall cover a period of a thousand years, which, after all, is, with God, a brief space of time. In Act 24:15, it is said, There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust, but no indication that they shall occur at one and the same time. In Mat 25:31-33, we read,
When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory:
And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left (Mat 25:31-33).
But mark you, these are not the dead at all. This is the judgment of the living Gentile nationsthe children of the Millennial period. Dan 12:1-2 speaks of the time when At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which stand eth for the children of Thy people: * *. 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. But the original text brings out the contrast, certain ones to everlasting life, that is, they that are Christs at His Coming, and certain other ones to shame and everlasting contempt, that is, they that have rejected Him, at His judgment. The certain other ones are the rest of the dead that lived not again until the thousand years were finished (Rev 20:5), then raised to shame and everlasting contempt.
Did you ever think of the significance of the parable of the Wedding Garment? The resurrection of the saints is of course essential to the great wedding ceremony that shall inaugurate the reign of Christ upon the earth. When the Kingly Bridegroom comes and looks upon the guests of that hour, He will require that each be clothed with the wedding garment. And what is that wedding garment? The corruptible must be clothed upon with incorruption; and the mortal clothed upon with immortality. Wanting that glorious dress no soul may hope to stand at His banquet table; but being unclothed must be cast out into outer darkness.
This resurrection of the saint comes to pass at the Saviours appearance. Afterward they that are Christs at His Coming. It is when The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, that the dead in Christ shall rise. It is when He comes down to lay hold on the dragon, that old serpent, and bind him a thousand years (Rev 20:2), that the faithful souls live again and begin to reign with Him.
For our conversation is in Heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body (Php 3:20).
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is (1Jn 3:2).
When did Christ ever go into the presence of death without conquering there? When He met the bier on which they bore the widows son, behold, the boy lived again! When He entered the house where Jairus daughter lay dead, she was recovered at His word. When He approached the grave in which putrefaction smote the body of Lazarus, the heart started and life coursed again in his veins.
When He left Josephs new tomb, and, passing out of the cemetery, went by the stones behind which saints slept, the bodies of such came forth out of the tombs, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many (Mat 27:53).
Aye, beloved, how can I but anticipate the Return of the Lord with the utmost joy, when I remember that when His feet stand on Mount Olivet, the grave of every godly soul shall open, and the bodies of the saints shall ascend to meet the Lord in the air, the shout of triumph upon their lips, even as the lark at early morning goes singing his way toward the sun?
My flesh shall slumber in the ground,Till the last trumpets joyful sound,Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,And in my Saviours image rise.
It is the resurrection to joy, not to judgment. The context here tells no story of judgment; it refers entirely to the resurrection. For the saints there is no judgment except that of awards. Did not Jesus say, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation (Joh 5:24.)?
I fear that some saints anticipate the appearance of Jesus with dread, lest, when they stand before Him, He shall speak the sentence of death. But, when He comes again it is not as a Judge to determine destiny, but as a King to reign in righteousness; it is not as an executioner to cut off the wicked, but as a Redeemer to claim His purchased ones, and proffer salvation to all others. It is not as an angry God, breathing out slaughter against His enemies, but as a Bridegroom to take to His bosom the Church of His love. The presence of the Holy One must, in the very nature of the case, excite fear in the hearts of the wicked; but it should stimulate the utmost joy in the breast of every believer. Ingraham, in The Prince of the House of David, has painted for us a scene in which the risen Lazarus becomes the center of unspeakable felicities. Who, then, will describe for us that blessed hour when Christ shall wed His Church, the occasion characterized by the presence of every dear one we loved long since and lost awhile?
THE FINAL RESURRECTION
Then cometh the end. What is to characterize the end? Turn with me into the end of the Book and see the consummation of the ages.
And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:11-14).
That is the end, and it is characterized by the last resurrectionthe resurrection of the damned.
That resurrection will come at the close of the Millennium. The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. The only persons involved in this are the wicked dead. The saints have no part in the great White Throne judgment. Those who rise there are wakened unto shame and everlasting contempt. Do you remember in Hawthornes House of Seven Gables, Judge Pyncheon sleeps in his chair and his heart ceases to beat? The blood is curdled in his veins. But the people about the house know not that his spirit has passed on. And the author, after having described him sitting there beside the glass, which the night before he had emptied of its brandy, and the dishes from which he had taken his mutton chop, beefsteak, broiled fowl; and before the fire where he seemed to be toasting his slippers, if possible to get rid of the chilliness of the air of the old house, calls to the dead man, Up, therefore, Judge Pyncheon: Up, you have lost a day, but to-morrow will be here anon. Will you rise to-morrow and make the most of it? To-morrow! To-morrow! To-morrow! We that are alive may rise betimes to-morrow; as for him that has died, to-morrow is his resurrection morn.
Oh, what a morn for those who have rejected the Son of God, and those bodies that sleep the Millennium through, while their disembodied spirits endure the torment of memory! What a morrow!
It will effect the final sentence of sinners. It is the sentence of the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone (Rev 21:8). It is the sentence of the second death.
Charles Spurgeon may have been Puritanical in his opinionsand he wasbut powerfully Scriptural just the same. And it fairly makes one shudder to follow him while he conceives the great assize of this hour. What horrors, he says, shall seize hold upon the wicked at that moment. Men and women shall start from their tombs, robed in their winding-sheets; the long-buried dead stand upon the hillocks that were heaped over their graves; the sea gives up her mariners; the earth is filled with sinners; there is scarce a spot without a foot to tread upon it! What a solemn awe will rest upon every heart at that moment when every eye shall look for His Coming, Who shall judge the world in righteousness! Sinner, I see you there! I hear you call, Hide me, cover me, embrace me. But the righteous shall answer, It is too late. A sudden trembling shakes the ground, the heavens are on fire, the moon becomes a clot of blood, and the Judge there appears. Why that shriek? There is the Christ whom I rejected; there is Jesus who was preached so earnestly to me on earth; there is the Saviour my mother loved; there is the Son of God in whom my father trusted; there is the King Eternal.
He comes, He comes to judge the world!Aloud the archangel cries;And thunders roll from pole to pole,And lightnings cleave the skies.
But I shall not dwell upon this further than to say that every man who has heard me this morning will determine whether joy or fear shall hold his heart in that day; whether he shall see in Him who is upon the throne a Friend, a Brother, a Saviour, or a frowning Judge, whose offense is great, whose judgment is just, and whose sentence is the second death.
That resurrection will terminate the triumphs of sin. Then cometh the end, and that end involves the doom of the devil, and sin shall scar the world no more. For, immediately the Seer says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. That is the new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Beloved, I confess, awful as is the great battle of Armageddon, I am not indisposed to have it come. Terrible as is the day when Satan is loosed out of his prison to gather Gog and Magog together to the war, and compass the camp of the saints about, and the beloved City; I am not averse to letting it come, for that day fire and brimstone will come down from Heaven and devour them, and the devil that deceived them shall be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are (Rev 20:8-10). Then shall the righteous shine forth (Mat 13:43).
One of the men who fought on the field of Gettysburg, writing a letter home, told how it had happened that the terrific cannonading, which lasted for days, when some four hundred cannon were belching forth on Cemetery Ridge, was finally ended; and as the smoke began to clear away, he looked, and lo, the heavens were full of birds that had been driven out of the fruit and shade trees by the fearful uproar and flying missiles. But now that the battle was over they began settling back on gentle wing, into the branches that had been their homes; and shortly, to the delight of the conquering army, they opened their months and began to sing. Right where the battle had raged; right where conquest had been accomplished; right where men had been doomed, the sun shone again, the birds sang again, and nature commenced its recovery.
Beloved, the field of battle, the field that was scarred by the shock of war; the field that once shook to the tread of the awful Enemy, and took on the stain from the feet of the hellish hosts; that same field shall flower and fruit again; that same field shall be clothed in beauty; that same field shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose, for the Lord shall rise with healing in His wings, and the righteous shall go forth to trample under the soles of their feet the ashes of the wicked, in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
(22) As in Adam . . .Better, as in the Adam all die, so in the Christ shall all be made alive. The first Adam and the second Adam here stand as the heads of Humanity. All that is fleshly in our nature is inherited from the Adam; in every true son of God it is dying daily, and will ultimately die altogether. All that is spiritual in our nature we inherit from the Christ; it is immortal, is rising daily, will ultimately be raised with a spiritual and immortal body. We must remember that the relationship of Christ to Humanity is not to be dated only from the Incarnation. Christ stood in the same federal relation to all who went before as He does to all who have come since. (See the same thought in 1Co. 10:4, and in Christs own words, Before Abraham was, I am.) The results of Christs death are co-extensive with the results of Adams fallthey extend to all men; but the individual responsibility rests with each man as to which he will cherishthat which he derives from Christ or that which he derives from Adamthe offence of Adam or the grace of Christ. The best comment on this passage is, perhaps, the prayer in the Baptismal Office: O merciful God, grant that the old Adam in this child may be so buried, that the new man may be raised up in him. There seems to be this moral significance in these words of St. Paul, as well as the obvious argument that, as all men die physically, so all shall be raised from the dead; as we have the evidence of death in the death of a man and of all men, so we have the evidence (and not the mere theoretical promise) of a resurrection in the resurrection of the Man Christ Jesus.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. In Adam in Christ Literally in the Adam, in the Christ. That all the race was done up in Adam and drawn out from him, (just as the successive lengths of a spyglass are done up in and drawn out from the first length,) is not a literal fact. It is an imaginative conception, which, properly guarded, gives a powerful impression of the truth. St. Augustine, by perverting the conception, did almost as much to corrupt Christian theology as he did, in other respects, to defend it. See note on Rom 5:12. The being made alive here, is simply the same as the resurrection in the previous verse, and affirms, merely, a universal bodily resurrection. The being in Christ refers not to the incorporation into Christ’s mystical body of believers by faith, but to their being taken in under his headship of the race, as they were previously in under the headship of Adam by descent.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.’
As a result of being ‘in Adam’ all men are dying. His sin and its taint carries through from generation to generation. All sin, and all are dying and will die. This is the due result of Adam’s first sin, and of our connection with him. But in Christ a transformation has now taken place. Those who are in Christ, that is who have believed in Him, who have responded to Him, and who have come to Him through the cross, will all be made alive. He has received them and they are His. He was fully righteous in His life, and they have become righteous in Him with the righteousness of God (2Co 5:21). Having originally been affected by the sin of Adam believers have now been enveloped in the righteousness of Christ (1Co 1:30). This argument is expanded further in Rom 5:12 onwards. And in being enveloped in His righteousness they are borne along with Him towards the resurrection.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Co 15:22 . More precise explanation confirmatory of 1Co 15:21 , so that the first is defined in concreto by , likewise by . . .
] In Adam it is causally established that all die , inasmuch as, namely, through Adam’s sin death has penetrated to all, Rom 5:12 ; to which statement only Christ Himself, who, as the sinless One, submitted Himself to death in free obedience toward the Father (Phi 2:8 ; Rom 5:19 ), forms a self-evident exceptio.
.] for in Christ lies the ground and cause, why at the final historical completion of His redemptive work the death which has come through Adam upon all shall be removed again, and all shall be made alive through the resurrection of the dead. In this way, therefore, certainly no one shall be made alive except in Christ, [42] but this will happen to all . Since , namely, is not to be restricted to the totality of believers , but to be taken quite generally (see below), there thus results more specially as the idea of the apostle: Christ, when He appears in His glory, is not simply the giver of life for His believing people; He makes them (through the resurrection, and relatively through the transformation, 1Co 15:51 ) alive unto the eternal Messianic (Rom 8:11 ); but His life-giving power extends also to the other side, that is, to the unbelievers who must experience the necessary opposite of the completed redemption; these He awakes to the resurrection of condemnation. Paul thus agrees with Joh 5:28 f.; Mat 10:28 ; and thus his declaration recorded in Act 24:15 finds its confirmation in our text (comp. on Phi 3:11 ).
. ] which is to be understood not of the new principle of life introduced into the consciousness of humanity (Baur, neut. Theol. p. 198), but, according to the context and on account of the future, in the eschatological sense, is by most interpreters (including Flatt, Billroth, Rckert, Osiander, van Hengel, Maier, Ewald, Hofmann, Lechler, apost. Zeit. p. 145; Lutterbeck, II. p. 232 ff.) held to refer only to believers . But , 1Co 15:23 , requires us to think of the resurrection of all (so also Olshausen, de Wette); for otherwise we should have to seek the collectively in the second class , so that and the would cover each other, and there could be no mention at all of an in reference to the . Accordingly we must not restrict . to blessed life, and perhaps explain (so de Wette, comp. also Neander in loc. ; Messner, Lehre der Apost. p. 291 f.; Stroh, Christus d. Erstl. d. Entschlaf. 1866) its universality ( ) from the (not sanctioned by the N. T.) (comp. Weizel in the Stud. u. Krit. 1836, p. 978; Kern in the Tb. Zeitschr. 1840, 3, p. 24). Neither must we so change the literal meaning, as to understand it only of the destination [43] of all to the blessed resurrection (J. Mller in the Stud. u. Krit. 1835, p. 751), or as even to add mentally the condition which holds universally for the partaking in salvation (Hofmann) which alteration of what is said categorically into a hypothetical statement is sheer arbitrariness. On the contrary, . (see also 1Co 15:36 ), confronted with the quite universal assertion of the opponents that a resurrection of the dead is a non ens (1Co 15:12-16 ), is in and by itself indifferent (comp. Rom 4:17 ; 2Ki 5:7 ; Neh 9:6 ; Theod. Isa 26:14 ; Lucian, V. H. i. 22), the abstract opposite of (comp. 1Co 15:36 ), in connection with which the concrete difference as regards the different subjects is left for the reader himself to infer. As early interpreters as Chrysostom, Ambrosiaster, and Theodoret have rightly understood . not simply of the blessed resurrection, but generally of bodily revivification, and without limiting or attaching conditions to the . It denotes all without exception, as is necessary from 1Co 15:23 , and in keeping with the quite universal of the first half of the verse. See, too, on 1Co 15:24 . In opposition to the error regarding the Apokatastasis, see generally Philippi, Glaubenslehre , III. p. 372 ff.; Martensen, Dogmat . 286.
[42] Von Zezschwitz in the Erlang. Zeitschr . 1863, Apr. p. 197. Comp. also Luthardt, v. d. letzten Dingen , p. 125.
[43] Comp. Krauss, p. 107 ff., who finds in the whole chain of thought the .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1992
ADAM A TYPE OF CHRIST
1Co 15:22. As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
THE fall of man in Adam, and his recovery in Christ, comprehend the whole circle of Divine truth: every part of the revealed will of God is so connected with these two doctrines, that all must stand or fall together. Our death implies the former of them; and our resurrection the latter. Hence St. Paul, proving the doctrine of the resurrection, adverts to our fall in Adam as an acknowledged truth, and draws a parallel between that and our recovery in Christ.
We shall,
I.
Establish the points mentioned in the text
Nothing can be more certain than that in Adam all died
[The penalty of eating the forbidden fruit was death, death temporal, spiritual, eternal: and, on the very day that Adam fell, the threatened punishment was inflicted on him, so far, at least, as could consist with Gods purposes towards the world at large: the seeds of death were implanted in his body; a spiritual death seized upon his soul; and everlasting death awaited him, unless divine mercy should interpose to deliver him from it. Nor was this a matter which concerned him alone; it involved both him and all his posterity, insomuch that all the human race fell in him, and became obnoxious to temporal, spiritual, eternal death. The very words of the text prove this; yea, they prove it more strongly than any mere assertion could do; because they state it as an allowed fact; and make it the foundation of a most important comparison. And we see it plainly before our eyes. We see that all in successive generations are swept away by death. And as to spiritual death, who does not see how awfully the whole world is alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, and because of the hardness of their hearts? As to the eternal death, we see it not: but if we believe the word of God, we can have no doubt, but that thousands are descending daily into those dread abodes, where not so much as one ray of hope can ever enter.]
Nor is it less clear that in Christ shall all be made alive
[Christ was sent into the world to repair the ruins of the fall. By his Spirit he quickens the souls that were dead in trespasses and sins; and by his obedience unto death he reconciles them to their offended God. This also is as visible as the former. Look around and see whether some be not endued with a new and heavenly life, whereby they are enabled to live wholly unto God It is true, that the death of the body is still inflicted upon all: but this ceases to be a punishment to Gods people, and must rather be considered as a blessing: To whomsoever it is Christ to live, it is gain to die [Note: Php 1:21.]: and the body which is consigned for a while to its native dust, shall at last be raised again in the likeness of Christs glorious body, to participate the blessedness of its kindred soul. All this, I say, is restored to us in and through Christ, who on this very account calls himself the resurrection and the life [Note: Joh 11:25.].]
But both these points will be yet further confirmed, while we,
II.
Shew the correspondence between them
If it be asked, How did we die in Adam? and, How do we live in Christ? we answer;
1.
By means of a federal relation to them
[Neither Adam nor Christ are to be regarded as private individuals, but as the representatives of all mankind. Adam was the covenant head of the whole world: the covenant was made with him for himself and them: had he fulfilled the conditions imposed upon him, there is reason to believe, that the benefits of his obedience would have descended to his latest posterity. For beyond a doubt they are involved in the punishment of his disobedience, and consequently, we may infer that they would have been comprehended in the recompence of his obedience. The death of infants is a decisive evidence, that the sin of Adam is imputed to them; for death is the punishment of sin; and a righteous God will not inflict punishment, where it is not in some way or other merited; therefore they, who have never committed actual sin, and yet are punished, must have guilt imputed to them in some other way, or, in other words, must be chargeable with Adams guilt. This is the Apostles own statement; and his conclusion is irresistible [Note: Rom 5:12; Rom 5:14.].
Christ in the same manner was the head and representative of the elect world: what he did and suffered, he did and suffered in our place and stead; he, who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we, who had no righteousness, might become the righteousness of God in him [Note: 2Co 5:21.]. St. Paul himself not only asserts this, but draws at considerable length this very parallel between Adam and Christ, in order to evince, that, so far from being injured by this constitution of things, we hare our loss in Adam far overbalanced by the remedy which God has given us in Christ [Note: Rom 5:15-21.].]
2.
By the communication of their nature to us
[Adam was formed after Gods image, pure and holy; but he begat children in his own fallen image, corrupt and sinful [Note: Gen 1:26-27; Gen 5:3.]. Nor could he do otherwise; for who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean [Note: Job 14:4.]? The fountain being polluted, the streams that issued from it could not but participate of its malignant qualities. Hence it is that we are conceived in sin and born in iniquity [Note: Psa 51:5.]; and that all, the Apostles themselves not excepted, are by nature children of wrath [Note: Eph 2:3.].
Thus Christ also imparts his nature to those whom he has chosen to share his benefits. He makes them partakers of a divine nature [Note: 2Pe 1:4.], and transforms them into the Divine image in righteousness and true holiness [Note: Eph 4:24.]: He himself lives in them [Note: Gal 2:20.]; and thus renders them meet for eternal life, even for the inheritance of the saints in light [Note: Col 1:12.].
It is, however, proper to observe, that though all are said to die in Adam, and to be made alive in Christ, the benefits received from Christ do not extend to all that are affected by Adams fall; the word all must, in the latter clause, he taken in a more limited sense, and import that, as they, who were represented by Adam, and are partakers of his nature, die in him; so they, who were represented by Christ, and are partakers of his nature, shall live in him.]
Infer
1.
How much of Christ may be seen even in the character of Adam himself!
[Adam is expressly said to be a figure of him that was to come [Note: Rom 5:14. The Greek.]; and Christ, in reference to him, is called the second Adam [Note: 1Co 15:45-47.]. Both of them were the representatives of their respective seeds; but, blessed be God! not with the same success: the one destroyed, the other saves, the souls committed to him. Let us then renounce, as far as possible, our connexion with him who has brought condemnation upon us, and seek an union with him, through whose obedience we may be made righteous.]
2.
Of what importance is it to understand and receive the Gospel!
[It is only by the Gospel that we can be acquainted with the work of Christ, and obtain an interest in him: if we know him not, we remain under all the disadvantages of the fall. It is this Gospel which gives to the least and meanest of us so great an advantage over all the philosophers of Greece and Rome. They saw in what a fallen state the world was: but how it became so, or how it could be remedied, they had no conception. We however know both the one and the other: we know that in Adam we died, and that in Christ we all may be made alive. True, this does not accord well with the dictates of corrupt reason. But to dispute about this doctrine is to no purpose: we are dead in Adam, whether we will believe it or not; nor can we obtain life, but in and through Christ. Let us then not reject the gracious overtures of Christ, but turn to him in this our time of acceptance, this day of our salvation.]
3.
How thankful should we be for Gods distinguishing mercy to the sinners of mankind!
[When angels fell, there was no Saviour provided for them: they were punished for the first offence, and will remain monuments of Gods indignation to all eternity; but we are spared, yea, are saved by the mediation of Gods co-equal Son [Note: Heb 2:16.]. Let heaven and earth praise him! and let every tongue now, as surely we shall hereafter, adore him for such unmerited, incomprehensible love!]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Ver. 22. Shall all be made alive ] The saints shall be raised by virtue of the union with Christ to glory, the wicked shall be dragged to his tribunal by his Almighty power as a judge, to be tumbled thence into hell’s torment.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22 .] (2) In that He is (and here the fact of His being the Lord of Life and Righteousness, and the second and spiritual Head of our nature, is assumed) to us the bringer-in of LIFE, as Adam was the bringer-in of DEATH.
., ] in community with , as partakers in a common nature with, Adam and Christ : who are respectively the sources, to the whole of that nature ( ), of death , and life , i.e. ( here ) physical death , and rescue from physical death . The practice of Paul to insulate the objects of his present attention from all ulterior considerations, must be carefully here borne in mind. The antithesis is merely between the bringing in of death by Adam, and of life (its opposite) by Christ. No consequence , whether on the side of death or of life, is brought into consideration. That death physical involved death eternal that life eternal (in its only worthy sense) involves bliss eternal, is not so much as thought of, while the two great opposites, Death and Life, are under consideration. This has been missed by many Interpreters, and the reasoning thereby marred. But the ancients, Chrys., Theophyl., Theodoret, cum., and Olsh., De Wette, and Meyer, keep to the universal reference. Theophylact’s note is clear and striking: , , , , , , . , , , , . See on the great antithesis, Rom 5:12 ff., and notes.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Adam. Literally the Adam.
all die. By virtue of their relationship to Adam. See Rom 5:12-19.
even so, &c. = so in Christ also. Christ also has a relationship to the human race. It is that of Lordship (Rom 14:9). This is acknowledged by some now (Joh 13:13; Joh 20:28), and brings salvation (Rom 10:9). It is the work of the Holy Spirit (1Co 12:3). Hence Judas only said, “Master” (Mat 26:25, Mat 26:49). The natural man rebels against such acknowledgment (Exo 5:2. Psa 2:2, Psa 2:3; Psa 12:4. Luk 19:14). But this Lordship shall one day be asserted and acknowledged by all, including the arch-rebel himself (Psa 2:6, Psa 2:7. Php 1:2, Php 1:9-11. Rev 19:16). To this end all must be raised.
made alive. Greek. zoopoiea. See Rom 4:17. Compare Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22.] (2) In that He is (and here the fact of His being the Lord of Life and Righteousness, and the second and spiritual Head of our nature, is assumed) to us the bringer-in of LIFE, as Adam was the bringer-in of DEATH.
., ] in community with, as partakers in a common nature with, Adam and Christ: who are respectively the sources, to the whole of that nature (), of death, and life, i.e. (here) physical death, and rescue from physical death. The practice of Paul to insulate the objects of his present attention from all ulterior considerations, must be carefully here borne in mind. The antithesis is merely between the bringing in of death by Adam, and of life (its opposite) by Christ. No consequence, whether on the side of death or of life, is brought into consideration. That death physical involved death eternal-that life eternal (in its only worthy sense) involves bliss eternal, is not so much as thought of, while the two great opposites, Death and Life, are under consideration. This has been missed by many Interpreters, and the reasoning thereby marred. But the ancients, Chrys., Theophyl., Theodoret, cum., and Olsh., De Wette, and Meyer, keep to the universal reference. Theophylacts note is clear and striking: , , , , , , . , , , , . See on the great antithesis, Rom 5:12 ff., and notes.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 15:22. , all die) he says, die, not in the preterite, as for example, Rom 5:17; Rom 5:21, but in the present, in order that in the antithesis he may the more plainly speak of the resurrection, as even still future. And he says, all. Those who are in the highest degree wicked die in Adam; but Paul is here speaking of the godly, of whom the first fruits, , is Christ, and as these all die in Adam, so also shall they all be made alive in Christ. Scripture everywhere deals with believers, and treats primarily of their resurrection, 1Th 4:13-14 : and only incidentally of the resurrection of the ungodly.- , in Christ) These are the emphatic words in this clause. The resurrection of Christ being once established, the quickening of all is also established.-, they shall be made alive) He had said; they die, not, they are put to death; whereas now, not, they shall revive; but they shall be made alive, i.e. implying that it is not by their own power.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 15:22
1Co 15:22
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.-What man lost through the disobedience of Adam he gained through the obedience of Jesus Christ. He lost the fleshly or physical life in Adam. That life is restored to all men through Christ.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Adam
Adam was a contrasting type of Christ, 1Co 15:45-47; Rom 5:14-19.
(1) “The first man Adam was made a living soul” Gen 2:7, i.e. he derived life from another, that is, God. “The last Adam was a life-giving spirit.” So far from deriving life, He was Himself the fountain of life, and He gave that life to others; Joh 1:4; Joh 5:21; Joh 10:10; Joh 12:24; 1Jn 5:12.
(2) In origin the first man was of the earth, earthy; the Second Man is the Lord from heaven.
(3) Each is the head of a creation, and these also are in contrast: in Adam all die; in Christ all will be made alive; the Adamic creation is “flesh”; the new creation, “spirit.” Joh 3:6.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
in Adam: 1Co 15:45-49, Gen 2:17, Gen 3:6, Gen 3:19, Joh 5:21-29, Rom 5:12-21
Reciprocal: Gen 5:5 – and he died Isa 26:19 – dead men Hos 13:14 – O death Joh 5:28 – for Joh 6:57 – even Act 17:26 – hath made Rom 5:17 – For if Rom 5:18 – all men Rom 8:1 – in 1Co 15:21 – by man came death 1Co 15:48 – such are they also that are earthy
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 15:22. This verse specifices the two men of the preceding verse to be Adam and Christ. The lattter is called a man because he was given a body (Heb 10:5) that was like that of other men, in that It was fleshly and was subject to death. That made it possible for Him to die and be raised again, thereby opening the gates of death to all men to come therefrom.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Co 15:22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Note.It has been the Divine plan from the first, and will be to the last, that mankind shall be dealt with under two headsAdam and Christhence called the first man and the second man; as if there never had been, nor ever will be more than those two men. In the one all die, in the other all are made alive. But this universality is very differently understood by different schools of theology: (1) According to some, the death meant being that of the whole human race, the life intended must be co-extensive with it, and so the ultimate salvation of the whole human race must be that which is here meant. But this being contrary to both the spirit and letter of all Scripture elsewhere, many others believe (2) that though the life meant here is indeed co-extensive with the death spoken of, it does not mean the life actually conferred upon any one, but the life procured and made available for all on condition of their believing. But this fatally destroys the analogy between the death, which certainly was real to all, and the life, which is thus only made available to all, and in the case of many will never become a real, but to them a missed life. One other way of explaining these words remains, which at once preserves the strict analogy between the death and the lifeand so is alone (as we think) exegetically tenableand is at the same time in harmony with all other Scripture: (3) that the death by Adam and the life by Christ, here intended, mean death and life in their whole extent, as actually experienced. It is Humanity as actually lost in Adam and as actually recovered in Christ, that the apostle is here treating ofthe whole ruin expressed by the all-comprehensive word death, and the whole recovery expressed by the equally comprehensive word life. Accordingly the word all, applied to both parties in 1Co 15:22, is carefully explained in 1Co 15:23 as not meaning all numerically. For instead of saying, Christ the first-fruits, then all men at His coming, he warily changes his terms, thus:
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Vv. 22. The fact proves the principle; hence the for.
It is not without intention that Paul in this verse substitutes the preposition , in, for the , by, of the preceding verse. The relation expressed by was more external; it was that of causality. The relation expressed by is more intimate; it is that of moral solidarity, community of life. The latter explains the former: If all died by Adam, it is because all were smitten with death in him, in whom they were embraced; if all are to live again by Christ, it is because there is in Him the power which justifies them and which will make them live again because of their relation to Him.
Must we give to the word , all, the same extension in the two propositions? Some answer in the affirmative, and infer from it universal final salvation; so Origen, Olshausen, de Wette, etc. But this notion does not seem to agree either with the scriptural view in general, or with that of Paul in particular: Mat 12:32; Mat 25:46; Mar 9:48; Mar 14:21; 2Th 1:9; Php 3:19.
Others, like Julius Mller, find expressed in the verse merely the destination of all to resurrection in Christ, a destination which may be annulled by refusal to believe in Him. But the future shall be made alive means more than this. It denotes, especially in contrast to the present, die, a positive and indubitable fact. Most commentators (Augustine, Bengel, Rckert, Hofmann, Holsten, Beet, Edwards, etc.) think that we must understand a self-evident condition, that of faith: As in Adam all men die, so in Christ shall all (believers) be made alive. This limitation of the meaning of the second , all, seems at first sight very arbitrary, in view of the absolute meaning of the first. But we shall get reconciled to this interpretation if we take account of Hofmann’s observation that , to be made alive, is a more limited idea than , to be raised. For this second term applies in general to all who shall live again, even to perish, whereas the first applies to the complete gift of perfect life (Rom 8:11). The limitation of the subject can therefore naturally proceed from the special meaning of the verb itself. The two embrace those only to whom each of the two powers extends (Hofmann). Moreover, it should be remembered that Christ can hardly be regarded as the first-fruits of the damned who are raised again, and 1Co 15:23, which continues the development begun in 1Co 15:20, evidently takes account only of believers. These reasons have great force, and perhaps this interpretation is really that which corresponds best to the apostle’s view. But there is another which, without falling into the thought of universal salvation, preserves the equality of extension which it is so natural to hold between the two . It is more or less the view of Chrysostom, Calvin, Meyer, etc. May it not be said of those who shall rise to condemnation, that they also shall rise in Christ? The judgment to which they shall be subjected in the clear and perfect consciousness of their personality will bear on their sins in general, but especially on their unbelief in the Lord and on their rejection of the amnesty which was offered them in Him. The Saviour having once appeared, it is on their relation to Him that the lot of all depends for weal or woe; it is this relation consequently which determines their return to life, either to glory or to condemnation. And it is with this fact of a moral nature that the other, and more external one, is connected, which was implied in the of 1Co 15:21, and which is expressed in Joh 5:28-29 : the resurrection of all by the power of the Son of man, whether to condemnation or to life. It is true that in this passage John does not use the term , which he had employed in 1Co 15:21, in an exclusively favourable sense. And the New Testament contains no other passage in which the term is not applied to spiritual or physical quickening in a good sense. But we have just seen the word (1Co 15:19) applied to earthly existence in itself, and there is nothing to prevent the word , taken alone, from being used to denote restoration to the fulness of spiritual and bodily existence, with a view either to perdition or salvation. The term is applied to bodily healing and bodily life in the LXX. (2Ki 5:7; Neh 9:6); see Meyer. It has also been proposed to give a purely restrictive sense: None will be raised otherwise than in Him.
This meaning would be admissible if Paul were here treating of the means of resurrection. But the one point about which he is concerned is the certainty of the event, which does not suit this explanation.
In what follows, the apostle assigns to the resurrection its place in the totality of the Divine dispensations which are to close the history of the development of humanity.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
For as in Adam all die [Gen 3:1], so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
22. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. This verse is very comprehensive. While, of course, it has direct allusion to the body, confirmatory of the conclusion that every human body will rise from the dead as Christ did, yet this is not only comprehensive of the body, but of the soul. The Universalists very unfairly construe it in favor of universal salvation. While it does mean that all are made alive in Christ, i. e., all regenerated in Him, it is simply no argument in the final salvation of all, from the fact that Hell was never made for any but backsliders in the beginning, Satan himself being an old backslider, having once been an archangel in Heaven (Isa 14:12), and all the demons having once been angels in Heaven (Jud 1:7). Hence they are all backsliders, the same being true of every human being who ever has made, or ever will make, his bed in the bottomless pit. This conclusion is legitimate from the great Bible truth that all human beings are vitalized in Christ. When God created Adam He created all the human race seminally, Eve being no exception, but an evolution from Adams rib. Hence the whole human race became corrupted in their federal head and were ejected from the Divine presence.
I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me (Psa 51:5), tells the sad story which Charles Wesley sang a hundred and fifty years ago:
Lord, I am vile, conceived in sin, Born unholy and unclean;
Sprung from the man whose guilty Fall Corrupts his race and taints us all.
While the conception is in Adam the first, the physical birth is in Adam the Second. He tasted death for every one (Heb 2:9). The pronoun tis in this passage means every human being from the moment when soul and body, united, constitute personality, which takes place before the physical birth. Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God (Joh 3:5), should read, Except every one be born from above. The adverb again in the E.V. leads to the conclusion that it must always follow the natural birth, which is not true of the original anoothen, which simply means from above. This corroborates the uniform teaching of the Scriptures that every human being must be renewed by grace, and that every infant is actually born in the kingdom of God, and only gets out by sinning out; e. g., the prodigal son (Luke 15) was born in his fathers house, to which he returned when he was converted; his older brother never getting out, so never losing his infantile justification, though he much needed sanctification to take the fret out of him which he evinced when they made so great ado over his returned brother, who, despite the scheming of Satan, had already gotten ahead of his clever older brother, being happily justified when the father gave him the kiss of reconciliation, and gloriously sanctified when they put on him the best robe of holiness. Then, if the infants are all born in the kingdom of grace, justified by the normal efficacy of the atonement without faith, and regenerated by the normal renewing grace of Christ, so they are not the children of Satan, i. e., sinners, but the children of God, i. e., Christians, why do they need conversion if they are brought up so as not to forfeit their infantile justification, of which there is a gracious possibility, and of whose delinquency they ought to be ashamed? Conversion simply means a turning, and does not necessarily include justification nor regeneration, which are only incidental to it in case of actual sins. Hence Gods time to get everybody converted is before they forfeit infantile justification. In that case, you have nothing to do but preach Jesus to the little one, turn him round and introduce him to the Savior. Then, instead of going right away into sin, as all do without conversion, pursuant to inbred depravity, the little one, turned round, introduced to the Savior, his countenance electrified by His glory, leaps for joy and sets out on the way to Heaven. Hence, In Adam all die, and in Christ shall all be made alive, is true spiritually as well as corporeally. The latter is verified in the fact that all do rise from the dead, and the former in the fact that every human being in all ages and nations is born in the kingdom of God, not because of original purity, but because Christ tasted death for every one, i. e., every human being. Hence the very moment soul and body are united, personality obtains, the vicarious atonement avails, the law is satisfied, and the Holy Spirit imparts life to the soul. Hence every sinner in all the world is like Satan, a backslider, having been a Christian in his innocent infancy, but fallen away since he reached responsibility. Hence Bishop Taylor is right in the assumption that heathen infants are Christians till they are made sinners and heathens by human influence. Hence the importance of establishing nurseries throughout heathendom, gathering in the infants, and retaining them in the kingdom; i. e., getting them converted before they are old enough to sin, and then getting them sanctified before they backslide.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 22
In Adam; through Adam.–In Christ; through Christ.–Shall all be made alive; shall be raised from the dead.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be {g} made alive.
(g) Will rise by the power of Christ.