1 Corinthians 15:53

1Co_15:53-57

For this corruptible must put on incorruption.

The great change

The apostle presents this--

I. As a contrast betwixt what man now is and what he will be.

1. Twice over the apostle affirms the change from corruptible to incorruption, and from mortal to immortality; first as a matter of necessity, then as a matter of fact. Four times over, also, he uses the same word, translated put on, which means, to go into, as into a place of covering or shelter; and hence to go into ones clothes, to attire, to array ones self or others in garments, ornaments, or the like (2Co_5:2).

2. Death, then, is a mere unclothing of the man, and if there is any propriety in the analogy the unclothing leaves him in possession of the full integrity of his being: he has simply stripped off his garments, and for a season laid them aside. It is still competent for him to resume them, or to array himself in different attire; and on reinvestment he cannot be other than he was before. Very great may the change be betwixt the clothing before death and that which is put on at the resurrection, but the language of the apostle implies that its use and purpose in both cases are the same.

3. Then, again, the apostle informs us, twice over, that that which in the one state is corruptible and mortal, becomes in the other state incorruptible and immortal. The thing is the same in both states, but placed under different conditions. At present it is organised matter, liable to decay, injury, and dissolution; but that same organised matter will be found in a state of incorruption and immortality.

II. As a victory over death and the grave.

1. The words mean properly unto victory; the idea being that the process of extermination goes on like a battle that is waged until a triumphant victory is secured--that is, aye and until death is totally abolished. Death at the resurrection is destined to be cast, like a stone, into an abyss, so profound that it never will be brought up or appear again.

2. Death is compared to a venomous reptile which has wounded its victims and introduced into their body its deadly poison. Dissolution, it is true, does not immediately follow the implanting of the sting, but there is pain and anguish, and death ensues in due course of time. And then comes the victory of the grave, or Hades. Like a resistless conqueror, it lays hold of those whom death has prostrated, consigns the body to the house appointed for all living, and the soul to the mysterious condition of disembodied consciousness. Well may this be called a victory, for nothing can be conceived of as a more complete overthrow of human hopes and desires; but introduce the idea of resurrection and it is plain the victory passes over to the other side. The conqueror is despoiled of his triumph; and from being a victim, sin-ruined and dying man, restored to that high standard of corporeal life for which he was originally designed, is in his turn a conqueror, all the more distinguished and glorious that his triumph lasts for ever.

III. As a boon for which gratitude ought to be felt and thanks returned. Gratitude is the appropriate sequel of benefits bestowed and appreciated. But to realise to the full the emotion of gratitude of which the apostle here speaks, we must actually close with and appropriate the glorious boon. This is the office of faith. None are excluded from the offers of the gospel: all are invited to partake of its blessed privileges; and however great and precious these privileges may be, so far as the present world is concerned, the actual consummation is the resurrection of the body and a portion in the kingdom of God. When the wilderness journey was over, and the wars of the settlement in Canaan at an end, how gladsome would every household be and every heart in Israel as they sat down each one under his vine and fig-tree, and none to make them afraid! But this was only a type of far more glorious things to come, when the epoch of sorrow and death is over, and the entire company of Gods redeemed enters upon the long-promised inheritance. (J. Cochrane, M.A.)

The celestial body of a Christian after the resurrection

I. The grounds of the belief of a Christian concerning this change of a corruptible and mortal into an incorruptible ann immortal body. I appeal to all sensible men whether that God, who is the Author of motion, by which all alterations in bodies are made, who brought this goodly frame of the world out of an heap of indigested matter, who formed the body of Adam out of the dust, who has so framed nature, that a spring of vegetables should succeed their death in winter; who caused even the dry rod of Aaron to bud, and blossom, and bring forth almonds; who has given skill and power to men, by fire and other natural causes, to open and refine the grossest bodies; whether that God who hath done these great things is not able to put together the parts of an humane body which He made, contrived, and formerly joined, and to advance the frame of it from grossness to purity. To think He is not is next to no thinking at all, and it is to reproach Gods power and knowledge and wisdom. It is more than barely credible, it is certain, that God who can do all this will at last do it because He has said He will.

II. The consequence of this belief is very comfortable; for great and many are the advantages derived to Christians by being clothed with a celestial body. There is scarce a comparison to be admitted betwixt this earthly body and that which shall be at the ascension of Christians. They differ more than the least and dimmest star, and the brightest and greatest luminary in the firmament of heaven. The happiness derived from the change of a natural to a spiritual body consisteth in a deliverance--

1. From the grossness of the former, as it is a body of this flesh and blood.

2. From the disorderly motions of it, as it is a corruptible body.

3. From the perishing nature, decay, and fall of it, as it is both a corruptible and mortal body.

III. What shall we do that we may come at these several great advantages of living at last in an heavenly body? The way to have better bodies is to have more virtuous souls. God hath put us into this body, as into the habit of a pilgrim on earth, as probationers for a more excellent clothing. And, according to our patience, our self-denial, our keeping the body in subjection to the mind, our governing the appetites and passions of it, so shall the resurrection and ascension of it be. (Abp. Tenison.)

This mortal must put on immortality.--

The mortal immortalised

Those who take thought for immortality are divided into two schools, the sensuous and the spiritual. The one picture to themselves a heaven of physical blessedness, a glorified earth--immortality only the state of the well-developed mortal! The other class regard heaven as a state utterly unlike the mortal--where the soul shall exist in the transcendental majesty of a risen spirit rather than as a redeemed and yet veritable man in Christ Jesus. Now both of these notions are alike unphilosophic and unscriptural. The text teaches not transubstantiation, but transfiguration--a change not of an essence, but only of aspects--and gives us twofold data for solving the problem of the after state.

I. The identity of the immortal creature with the mortal. Though at death we are unquestionably to lose whatever belongs only to this rudimental life--as the chrysalis drops the exuviae in developing the wings--yet all faculties and functions essentially human are to be ours for ever.

1. Even in regard of the body is this strictly true. Whatever may be the bliss of the intermediate state yet reason and revelation alike declare it to be unnatural, and so imperfect. Death, self-considered, cannot be a benefit. It is not a step in a progress--it is an interruption, a judicial infliction, Gods curse upon sin. Indeed, how the soul can act when divested of this body we cannot understand. And therefore from the dust, as a trophy of the mediatorship, is to be reconstructed a new body like Christs, to be part of the redeemed and immortal man.

2. This identity is more manifestly true in regard to the mind. Even as a philosophic inquiry there appears no reason why death should work any change in our rational nature. Accepting immortality as a simple matter of faith we should expect that, as the last enemy rocked its dwelling into dust, it would emerge from the ruins with all its peculiar habits of thought, and at precisely its attained point of progress.

3. And so with the affections. There is no stranger mistake than that which regards these as the specialities of the present life. The heart is among the most indestructible elements of our being. Pure intellect, unsoftened by affection, is simply monstrous. Entering heaven with our logic intensified and our love gone, our sympathies would be fiendish. In this respect the mortal does put on immortality. Said our Saviour, standing by the beloved dead with the sisters of Bethany, He shall rise again your brother still. Death annihilates no pure affection wherein a Christian heart rejoices. The water of life is no Lethe of forgetfulness. Death, then, does not destroy nor mutilate the mortal. The immortal creature will be man with a human body, a human intellect, a human heart.

II. The marvellous and all-glorious transfiguration of that nature. The word immortality is a simple negative. There are things for which human language can have no name. While we remain mortal, inspiration can only describe the future in negatives.

1. The body shall be the same with eye to see and tongue to speak, but as the seed is transfigured into the queenly flower, so great shall the change be. With what new senses and organs it may be furnished God hath not told us. In this very chapter Paul seems struggling under the burden of the magnificent description--It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. And what notion can we form of incorruptible matter? It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. The body, a house of leprosy, with all its senses instruments of temptation, is to be reconstructed into a palace of the higher life--fashioned like Christs glorious body! It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. This poor, imperfect instrument of the intellect, requiring constant care lest it be injured by the using, shall be changed into a mighty and imperishable engine wherewith to work out unwearied the grand ministrics of eternity! It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. Its material elements, no longer controlled by material inertia, impenetrability, and attraction, but (like Christs raised body, which could pass closed doors and float up to the firmament) shall be the equipment of the soul when it would explore the mysteries of creation and traverse immensity in adoring contemplation.

2. If the dwelling-place be thus glorified what a transfiguration must await the spirit inhabitant! This intellect, how it sometimes towers and triumphs! What discoveries it hath made! Miltons song! Newtons march through the universe! Yet all this was the mortal; the doings of the cradled child with its playthings. And who shall tell us, then, of the childs manhood?

3. But unto mans heart rather than to his head shall be accorded the loftiest prizes of eternity! To think of that (while unchanged in all its gentle, blessed, earthly affections) putting on immortality, is the highest conception we can form of mans kingship and priesthood in the city of God. (C. Wadsworth.)

Mortality and immortality

I. We are mortal. As a simple statement of truth, this proposition needs neither proof nor illustration. If it did, the one might be found in the churchyard, the other in the sighs of the mourner. But while we all know and acknowledge the fact of our mortality, it is strange how seldom we consider it, how little we are affected by it. Those among us who are the most devoted to pleasure are universally found to be the most regardless of death. This can be accounted for only on the supposition that they think not at all, either of mortality or immortality, that sensual pleasure is an opiate powerful enough to lull every anxiety, to preclude every solemn reflection. And yet it seems incomprehensible how any thinking being should be able to shut his eyes to the fact that he is dying. The world is full of death, from the first and feeblest efforts of life, up to its most perfect examples.

II. We are immortal; and it is from this second fact in our destinies that death derives most of its solemnity, and all its moral force. It is fearful to think that this very spirit, busied now with trifles, must continue to exist, busied with something, for ever and ever. Mere fatigue may lull the most wretched here into the repose of a little slumber; but when this mortal shall put on immortality, there shall be no opiate for ever and ever to soothe the spirits sorest anguish, not even a troubled dream to vary the uniformity of torture. The spirit may prey for ever on itself, but shall never be consumed--it may weep and wail for ever, without wailing itself to rest.

III. The change between the present and future conditions of man will not destroy the identity either of his person or character. There is no alchemy in death to distil charitable and holy dispositions from the gross elements of selfishness and malignity--in it there is no purgatorial fire to change our base metal into refiners gold. As the soul enters the troubled waters of dissolution, so must it pass out of them on the other side, bearing that very transcript of character which time and the world have written on it. Are we striving, then, day by day, incessantly, to lay the restraints of godliness on our naturally rampant corruption? Are we watching and praying to guard our hearts from temptation by all the defences of piety and devotion? (W. Stevenson.)

The mind exchanging the mortal for the immortal

Paul uses this language in relation to the body, but it may be useful to apply it to the mental and moral part of human nature. To--

I. Systems of thought. All errors of judgment are mortal and must perish. And what system of human thought is not intermixed with ideas not true? Look at systems--

1. Of philosophy. Many have already died out because of their errors; and existing systems because they are often contradictory reveal their errability, and consequently must die. The sensational, idealistic, mystic, and eclectic schools are all shifting as the clouds. It will not be always so; the true must take the place of the false in the realm of thought.

2. Of theology. How contradictory are most of them to each other and to some of the most vital things embodied in the life and teachings of Jesus. Many have died; some are dying; and all will sooner or later die. Human souls will one day have the truth as it is in Jesus. Our little systems have their day. They have their day and cease to be.

II. Elements of human character. Analyse the character of unrenewed men, and you will find moral principles that must die out if there be a God of justice and benevolence in the universe--e.g., avarice, envy, pride, malice, ambition, and selfishness. The human mind was never formed to be influenced by these. The fact that they are antagonistic to the moral constitution of the human soul, to the character of God, and to the order and well-being of all, show that they must sooner or later die. Human souls will one day put off this mortal and put on the immortal; Righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost, etc.

III. Institutions of human life.

1. Our political institutions are mortal. Human governments are constantly dying. The unwisdom in their method of management, the unrighteousness of some of their laws, the haughtiness of those in power, and their constant fattening upon the overtaxed millions give mortality to governments. Man will one day put off these and put on the government of common sense, common justice, common benevolence. Men are craving not for the aristocratic or democratic, but for the theocratic, the reign of God, which is the reign of honesty and love.

2. Our ecclesiastical institutions are mortal. Whether they are Papal, Episcopal, Wesleyan, or Congregational, they are more or less mixed with error and must die.

IV. Types of human greatness. Some see the highest greatness in the millionaire, some in the triumphant conqueror, some in a monarch, some in ancestry and high-sounding titles. But such types of greatness agree neither with the reason nor the conscience of humanity. Because they are false they are mortal, and they will have to be exchanged for the immortal. The time will come when men will regard Christ as the only true type of greatness. Conclusion: What a glorious change awaits humanity! St. Paul speaks of the resurrection of the body. But there is a more glorious resurrection--a resurrection of the soul from the false, the unrighteous, the impure, to the true, the right, and the holy. (D. Thomas, D.D.)

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption … Death is swallowed up in victory.--

Death is contemplated

I. As an enemy. Because it--

1. Interferes with human happiness.

2. Divides us from our friends, etc.

3. Separates soul and body.

II. As an enemy that must be fought.

1. All must die.

2. The struggle is often bitter and painful.

3. Must be maintained by faith, etc.

III. As an enemy that shall re utterly destroyed.

1. In the resurrection to eternal life.

2. By Jesus Christ. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

Death swallowed up

1. The death of sin in the life of grace.

2. The death of the body in the hope of life.

3. The corruption of death in incorruption. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

Death swallowed up in victory

The victory is--

I. Glorious.

1. The body rises.

2. Is clothed with immortality.

II. Is complete. There is no more sickness--pain--death.

III. Triumphant.

1. Christ celebrates the triumph of His grace.

2. Saints participate in it. (J. Lyth, D.D.)

Death swallowed up in victory

It is a dreadful sight to see an army routed and flying. But in my text is a worse discomfiture. It seems that a black giant proposed to conquer the earth. He gathered for his host all the aches and pains and maladies of the ages. He threw up barricades of grave-mound. He pitched tent of charnel-house. Some of the troops marched with slow tread, commanded by consumptions: some in double-quick, commanded by pneumonias. Some he took by long besiegement of evil habit, and some by one stroke of the battle-axe of casualty. He won all the victories in all the battle-fields. Forward, march! the conqueror of conquerors; and all the generals, presidents, and kings, drop under the feet of his war charger. But one Christmas night his antagonist was born. As most of the plagues and sicknesses and despotisms came out of the East it was appropriate that the new conqueror should come out of the same quarter. Power is given Him to awaken all the fallen of all the centuries. Fields have already been won, but the last day will see the decisive battle. When Christ shall lead forth His two brigades, the risen dead and the celestial host, the black giant will fall back, and the brigade from the riven sepulchres will take him from beneath, and the brigade of the descending immortals will take him from above, and death shall be swallowed up in victory. (T. De Witt Talmage, D.D.)

Victory over death

Here is--

I. A formidable enemy. Death, the last enemy. Death is here personified and represented as a devouring being, swallowing up all the generations of men. Death reigned from Adam to Moses; witness its ravages! Death is an enemy--certain, solemn, universal, and sometimes sudden. See Rachels weeping for their children.

II. A powerful conqueror. God the Saviour. Death could not be conquered but by death. Oh how costly was that victory! the Lord of life suffered and died, and ascended into heaven leading death captive and triumphing over it as our surety and representative.

III. A complete victory. Death is swallowed up in victory, or for ever swallowed, abolished, destroyed in victory, or into victory. Christ has secured the immortality of the body--delivered from death and the grave; an entire destruction of the empire of death (Rev_20:14; Joh_11:25-26). After you have died you never can have the conflict again. Remember it is the last enemy; the cup of trembling shall no more be put into the hand, for there will be no more death; the inhabitants shall no more say they are sick; all tears shall be wiped away (Isa_25:8; Rev_21:4). There shall exist nothing but eternal life. Because I live ye shall live also. Thus every enemy is put down. (J. Boyd.)

Triumph over death

I. What is it to triumph over death?

1. Negatively.

(1) Not to die as the brutes, without any appreciation of what death is.

(2) Not to die as sceptics who do not believe in a future state.

(3) Nor as the stoics who submit in silence to an unavoidable evil.

2. Positively it implies--

(1) An intelligent apprehension of what it is for a man to die.

(2) A scriptural and well-founded persuasion that the power of death to injure us is destroyed.

(3) A joyful assurance that to die is gain.

II. The way in which the power of death is destroyed.

1. It is only so far as death is a final evil, and as it separates us from God, that it is to be dreaded.

2. Therefore it is only to sinners, and on account of sin, that death is the king of terrors.

3. Sin, however, derives its power from the law, which gives sin its power to condemn.

4. What, therefore, satisfies the law destroys the power of sin, and thus deprives death of its sting.

5. Christ having satisfied the demands of the law gives us the victory over death.

III. How are we to avail ourselves of this provision for our triumph?

1. We must be clothed in the righteousness of Christ.

2. We must know that we are in Him.

3. We must be prepared to give up the treasures and pleasures of this life for heaven.

4. We must therefore live near to God and elevated above the world.

IV. The experience of Gods people.

1. Some die in doubt.

2. Some in praise.

3. Some in triumph.

It matters little, provided we are only in Christ. But it is of great moment that when death comes we shall have nothing to do but die. (C. Hedge, D.D.)

The believers triumph

I. Our bodies, in the present state of existence, are characterised by attributes of degradation. Our bodies bear many circumstances of dignity and grandeur. We are fearfully and wonderfully made; and there is that in every man which may lead us to see that he bears the image of God. But we are--

1. Corruptible.

2. Mortal. We are subject to innumerable diseases and accidents to languor and decline. We wear down by slow degrees, or are snapped asunder in a moment.

3. What is the reason that we are subject to such an allotment? The answer is, sin (Rom_5:1-21.). We cannot look on one grave that was not opened by sin, nor on one body that was not laid low by sin.

II. A period is ordained when our bodies are to be invested with principles of restoration. If we could look on no prospect but the tomb, then we might freely admit that human existence, with all its circumstances of joy, would yet be but misery. But by the gospel life and immortality are brought to light. Notice three things in reference to this change.

1. The agency by which it is to be effected. All those events which concern our acceptance and final salvation are committed to Christ. As He has made peace by the blood of atonement, and as He is the medium of all grace and blessing, so by Him is to be the great adjudication which shall fix our destiny. Divine must be His attributes at whose bidding all the graves shall uncharnel, and all their countless inhabitants stand before Him.

2. The attributes of which it is to consist. By connecting the attributes of incorruption and in, mortality with the resurrection, we may be furnished with two ideas respecting our future change. It is to consist--

(1) Of an entire conformation to the image of Christ (1Co_15:49).

(2) In an introduction to the perpetuity of perfect happiness. Eternal life is only another word for eternal happiness.

3. The certainty with which it is invested. In Christ shall all be made alive. This corruptible must put on incorruption.

III. The arrival of this period shall be known as one of splendid triumph. By a fine poetic figure death is set forth as a powerful foe; and all the pains, etc., which death has inflicted are to be regarded as so many victories achieved by him. But there is a counter foe; and there is a victory achieved over this formidable foe. Glorious will be that victory!

(1) A sufficient payment for all the trials of mortality.

(2) A complete and satisfactory explanation of all the dark passages in the moral government of God upon earth. When all the redeemed shall join in one loud melodious song--Unto Him that loved us, etc.

Conclusion: The subject furnishes--

1. A ground of substantial consolation while we contemplate the departure of our Christian friends.

2. A ground for solemn and serious examination as to our state in reference to the arrival of that solemn hour. (J. Parsons.)

The Christians triumph over death

I. Death may naturally be considered as an enemy.

II. True Christians shall obtain a complete victory over death.

1. The victory is in some measure obtained even in the present life. Death hath now, in effect, changed its nature, it only hurts the body, not the soul it only puts an end to those pursuits, employments, and entertainments which are suited to the body and this present world, but not to those about which holy souls are engaged, and with which they are delighted and improved. Nay, it is become, on many accounts, a benefit; as it puts an end to their temptations and conflicts, doubts and fears. A present victory is obtained by the calmness with which the saints die; and that joy unspeakable and full of glory, with which the Spirit of Christ sometimes replenishes their hearts, when the flesh is sinking into the dust.

2. The victory shall be perfected in the future world.

(1) All the faithful servants of Christ shall be raised again.

(2) Their bodies shall be transformed into the image of Christs body.

(3) They shall be fixed in a state of complete and everlasting happiness.

Reflections:

1. Let us contemplate the power and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, so illustriously displayed in this triumph over death.

2. Let us reflect on the difference between good and bad men with regard to the consequences of death.

3. Lastly, let the servants of Christ be calm and resigned in the view of their own death, and when their pious friends are removed. (J. Orton.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co 15:53-54. For this corruptible — This human nature, which is corruptible; must — In order to its partaking of the above-mentioned glory; put on incorruption — Be endued with such qualities as shall continue in perpetual vigour, not subject to any alteration; and this mortal must put on immortality — So as to be no longer subject to diseases or death. The word ενδυσασθαι, here rendered to put on, literally signifies to go into a place, or metaphorically, to put on, or go into clothes. But the metaphorical meaning must not be insisted on here, as implying that our corruptible body shall have one that is incorruptible put over it for an outward covering. These ideas are incongruous, and therefore the meaning is, the corruptible must be changed into one that is incorruptible, as mentioned 1Co 15:51; the righteous, who are alive at the coming of Christ, instead of dying and rising again immortal, shall, by the power of Christ, have their corruptible, mortal bodies, changed in a moment, into incorruptible, immortal bodies, and by that means be fitted for inheriting the kingdom of God, equally with those who are raised from the dead incorruptible. So, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, &c. — When this glorious and long-expected event shall be accomplished; then shall be brought to pass what is written, (Isa 25:8,) Death is swallowed up in victory — Is totally conquered or abolished for ever, as the original phrase, εις νικος, may be translated, being often used by the LXX. in that sense. This circumstance likewise shows, that in this discourse the apostle had the resurrection of the righteous only in view. For it cannot be said of the wicked, who are to suffer the second death, that death is swallowed up in any sense with respect to them, or that God hath given them the victory over it, (1Co 15:57,) by the resurrection.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co 15:53. Τοῦτο,) this itself our present corruptible state.—ἀφθαρσίαν, incorruptibility) by that transformation.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_15:53. Confirmation of what has last been said, κ. ἡμεῖς ἀλλαγ., by the necessity of this chang.

δεῖ] denotes, in accordance with 1Co_15:50, the absolute necessit.

τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο] pointing to it; Paul looks, as he writes, at his own bod.

ἐνδύσασθαι ἀφθαρσ.] figurative description (2Co_5:4) of the process of change to an incorruptible condition of existence; ἀθανασίας καὶ ἀφθαρσίας ἐπιούσης αὐτῷ, Chrysostom. The infinitives aorist are purposely chosen to denote the instantaneous completion.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 53, 54. “For this corruptible body must put on incorruption, and this mortal body put on immortality. 54. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

The first words of 1Co 15:53 reproduce in a positive form the idea of 1Co 15:50, and constitute the transition to the development following. The striking parallelism of the two propositions marks the ascending movement of the thought as well as the growing exultation of the feeling: it is the poetic rhythm in Hebrew. Perhaps the first proposition applies rather to the resurrection of bodies which have passed through the dissolution of death, and the second to the transformation of bodies constantly threatened with death during their earthly life. In that case, we have here an allusion to the two modes of change indicated in 1Co 15:52.

The twice repeated expression, this body, and the figure of putting on evidently imply the idea of the continuity of the new body and the old; it is one and the same organic principle which appears successively in two different forms. The permanent element, contained at first in a corruptible covering, is suddenly raised by an act of Divine omnipotence to an incorruptible mode of existence.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Co_15:53

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal (must) put on immortality.

This is the reason why we must be changed. We must all be changed, for this corruptible must put on incorruption. It is impossible that corruption should inherit incorruption. This reason applies equally to the quick and to the dead. With regard to both classes it is true that these vile bodies must be fashioned like unto Christs glorious body.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

this--pointing to his own body and that of those whom he addresses.

put on--as a garment (Co2 5:2-3).

immortality--Here only, besides Ti1 6:16, the word "immortality" is found. Nowhere is the immortality of the soul, distinct from the body, taught; a notion which many erroneously have derived from heathen philosophers. Scripture does not contemplate the anomalous state brought about by death, as the consummation to be earnestly looked for (Co2 5:4), but the resurrection.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 53. For this corruptible, c.] Because flesh and blood cannot inherit glory therefore, there must be a refinement by death, or a change without it.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(53) For this corruptible must . . .—Here again is repeated the truth of 1Co_15:50, which shows the absolute necessity for a change in the nature of the resurrection body. There is, however, an additional thought introduced here. Not only must the resurrection body be suited to the condition but also to the duration of the new life. As a spiritual body, it will be adapted to the needs of a spiritual state; and as an immortal and incorruptible body, it will be adapted to a life which is everlasting.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

53. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality] Cf. 2Co_5:4. The Apostle has just said that ‘flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.’ He now explains in what sense these words are to be taken. The mortal body is not destroyed entirely and created again. “Change,” says Tertullian, “must be dissociated from all idea of destruction. For change is one thing, destruction another.” It receives an addition of qualities which it did not possess before. It is ‘clothed upon’ with immortality. That which was corruptible is now freed from that liability (“sanctified and cleared from all impurity.” Irenaeus). That which is mortal is swallowed up, and disappears in the vastness of the life which knows no end. See note on 1Co_15:38.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The sting of death is sin,.... Death has a sting, and which was originally in it, and that is sin; sin is the cause of death, it is what has given rise and being to it; it entered into the world by it, and is supported in its empire through it; it gives it its resistless power, which reaches to all sorts of persons, young and old, rich and poor, high and low, bond and free; it gives it all its bitterness, agonies, and miseries; and it is by that it does all the hurt and mischief it does; and it may fitly be compared to a sting, for its poisonous and venomous nature:

and the strength of sin is the law; not that the law of God is sinful, or encourages sin: it forbids it under the severest penalty; but was there no law there would be no sin, nor imputation of it; sin is a transgression of the law: moreover, the strength of sin, its evil nature, and all the dreadful aggravations of it, and sad consequences upon it, are discovered and made known by the law; and also the strength of it is drawn out by it, through the corruption of human nature; which is irritated and provoked the more to sin, through the law's prohibition of it; and this is not the fault of the law, but is owing to the vitiosity of nature; which the more it is forbidden anything, the more desirous it is of it; to which may be added, that sin is the more exceeding sinful, being committed against a known law, and that of the great lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy; whose legislative power and authority are slighted and trampled upon by it, which makes the transgression the more heinous; it is the law which binds sin upon a man's conscience, accuses him of it, pronounces him guilty, curses, condemns, and adjudges him to death for it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Ver. 53. For this corruptible] Pointing to his body, he speaketh, as Psa 34:6; "This poor man cried, the Lord heard him." So the old believers, when they rehearsed the creed, and came to that article, I believe the resurrection of the flesh, they were wont to add, Etiam huius carnis, even of this self-same flesh. So Job 19:27.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For this corruptible ... - It is necessary that a change should take place, either by dying and then being raised, or by being changed without seeing death; for we cannot enter heaven as we are now.

Must put on - The word used here (ἐνδύνω endunō ) properly means to go in, to envelope, to put on as a garment; and then to put on any thing; as the soul is, as it were, clothed with, or invested with a body; and here it means, must be endued with, or furnished with. It is equivalent to saying that this corruptible become incorruptible, and this mortal must become immortal. We must cease to be corruptible and mortal, and must become incorruptible and immortal. The righteous who remain till the coming of Christ shall be at once changed, and invested, as Enoch and Elijah were, with incorruption and immortality.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

God hath so decreed, that our flesh and blood, in the state wherein now it is, shall not be glorified; it shall be the same body as to the substance, but not as to the qualities; it is now corruptable and mortal, it must be put into a state of

incorruption and immortality, before it can enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

53. This corruptible—The very mortal body that lives at the time of the change.

Put on—Literally, shall clothe on; the Greek being the word signifying to put on a garment. On the very self-same mortal body, immortality shall be taken as an investiture, making the mortal immortal. 2Co_5:2.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This mortal must put on immortality. When we are "clothed upon" by our "house from heaven," and have put off "this tabernacle," in which we groan being burdened, then "mortality will be swallowed up of. 2Co_5:3, 2Co_5:4, where we also find the metaphor of a robe of immortality, mixed up with the metaphor of a building

The mind exchanging the mortal for the immortal

this mortal must put on immortality," etc. Paul uses this language in relation to the body. What he means, I presume, is that the mortal shall be exchanged for the immortal. To lint on "immortality" upon mortality is scarcely conceivable. But the receiving of the immortal instead of the mortal is what we can appreciate, and what we may well desire. When the apostle calls upon us elsewhere to put on the "new man," he means exchange the "old man" for the new the old moral character for the new and Christly character. It may be both lawful, I think, and perhaps useful to use the words in another sense than that in which Paul employs them. We may apply them not to the material part of human nature, but to the mental and moral. And because such an application may prove suggestive of practical thoughts, we shall now view them in this light. There is much in the human mind, in its ideas, principles of action, character, etc., that is essentially mortal, and that must sooner or later be exchanged for the immortal. We observe, then

I That what is mortal in its SYSTEM OF THOUGHT must be exchanged for the immortal. All errors of judgment are mortal; they are perishable, and sooner or later must perish. And what system of human thought is not intermixed with ideas not true to fact?

1. Look at systems of philosophy. Many old systems of philosophy have already died out, because of the errors that were found in them; and existing systems, because they are often contradictory one to another, reveal their errability, and consequently must die. What is changing is mortal. All schools of psychological science, the sensational, the idealistic, the mystic, and the eclectic, are shifting as the clouds. It will not, it must not be always so; the mortal must "put on" the immortal, the true must take the place of the false in the realm of thought.

2. Look at systems of theology. How contradictory one toward another in many things are most of the systems of theology now prevalent! And what is worse, how contradictory are they to some of the most vital things embodied in the life and teachings of Jesus as recorded by the four evangelists! Many of the old systems have died. Some are dying now, and all will sooner or later die; for they axe rotten with error. The mortal must "put on" the immortal. Human souls will one day have the "truth as it is in Jesus.

Our little systems have their day; They have their day, and pass away.

II That what is mortal in the ELEMENTS OF HUMAN CHARACTER must be exchanged for the immortal. Analyze the character of unrenewed men alas! the vast majority, not only of the human race, but even of professing Christians and you will find moral principles that must die out if there be a God of justice and benevolence in the universe. Such principles, for example, as avarice, envy, pride, malice, ambition, and selfishness, which is in truth the root of all evil. The human mind was never formed to be inspired, or indeed to be influenced in any measure by these. The fact that they are antagonistic to the moral constitution of the human soul, to the character of the Maker and Manager of the universe, and to the order and well-being of all, show that they must sooner or later die out of existence. I have the hope that human souls will one day put off this mortal and "put on" the immortal joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost," etc. "Marvel not that I say unto you, Ye must be born again.

III That what is mortal in the INSTITUTIONS OF HUMAN LIFE, must be exchanged for the immortal.

1. Our political institutions are mortal. Human governments are constantly dying. They spring up and flourish for a certain time, and then are swept from the earth. The unwisdom in their method of management, the unrighteousness of some of their laws, the avarice, the tyranny, and haughtiness of those in power, and their constant fattening upon the overtaxed millions, give mortality to governments. Man will one day put off these mortal governments and put on the immortal, the government of common sense, common justice, common benevolence. Men are craving not for the aristocratic or democratic, but for the theocratic, the reign of God, which is the reign of honesty and love. "The kingdoms of this world will one day become the kingdoms of our Lord," etc.

2. Our ecclesiastical institutions are mortal. Whether they are Papal, Episcopal, Wesleyan, or Congregational, they are more or less mixed with error and must die. The great "cloud of witnesses," the Church of the Firstborn, reached their blessed destiny before churches or chapels existed. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Indeed, whatever institutions, political, ecclesiastical, or social, that have in them a mixture of error, unwisdom, and injustice, must be exchanged for the immortal, namely, a "kingdom that cannot be moved.

IV That what is mortal in the types of HUMAN GREATNESS must be exchanged for the immortal. In all men there is, in more or less intensity, a thirst for greatness, but their ideas or types of greatness widely differ. Some see the highest greatness in the millionaire, some in the triumphant conqueror, some in the man with a crown on his head, some in the fools who boast of their ancestry and their high-sounding titles. But such types of greatness as these are utterly false. They agree neither with reason nor the conscience of humanity. Because they are false they are mortal, and they will have to be exchanged for the immortal. The time will come when men will regard Christ as the only true type of greatness. They will give him the "Name above every name." In all things in their dally life and conversation, he will have the preeminence.

CONCLUSION. What a glorious change awaits humanity! St. Paul speaks of the resurrection of the body, an event which is confessedly mysterious: it may be far, far distant, and this we have no power to hasten or impede. But there is a more glorious resurrection a resurrection of the human soul from the false, the unrighteous, the impure, to the true, the right and the holy a resurrection, thank God, taking place every day in the world, and a resurrection which all men may either hasten or impede their duty the former, their crime the latter. "Awake to righteousness and sin not."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, The identical expressions used by the apostle: he doth not say, corruptible must put on incorruption, and mortal must put on immortality, but this corruptible and this mortal, to show the identity and sameness of it. I believe the resurrection of this body, said the primitive Christians. Every man at the resurrection shall receive the same body that now he hath, and be the same person that now he is. Though he be not in every consideration what he was, yet he shall be who he was. If the same body that falls be not raised, it is not a resurrection, but a new creation. Indeed it is both unreasonable and unjust, that a person should sin in one body, and suffer in another; or serve God in one body, and be glorified in another. Job was clear in the belief of this, In my flesh shall I see God, and mine eyes shall behold him.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

53. “For it behooveth this corruption to put on incorruption, and this mortal to put on immortality.” While this must be done we can enter by either of the two gateways, i. e., translation or the resurrection. In case of the former we escape death altogether, which is certainly a glorious privilege. In case of the latter we pass through the portals of death, but achieve a complete victory over it.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality . [Man in his fleshly nature has no place in heaven, for corruption is antagonistic to incorruption, as light is to darkness. It is essential, therefore, that man must put off the corruption of Adam and the natural body of Adam, and assume the incorruptible, spiritual body of Christ, before he can enter upon his celestial inheritance. Those who are alive at Christ's coming shall not escape this necessary change. If the dead are changed by resurrection ( 1Co_15:42-43 ), the living shall also be changed by transfiguration; but both shall be changed, and the change in each shall take place at the same moment; i. e., when the trumpet shall summon all to appear before God-- 1Th_4:16 ]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

53. For this incorruptible. For this corruptible body must give place to the incorruptible body; the mortal frame to an immortal one. One must be “put off,” the other “put on.” See 2 Cor. 5:2.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

53. δεῖ γὰρ τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο. The Apostle has just said that ‘flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.’ He now explains in what sense these words are to be taken. There is a sense in which the mortal body is not destroyed entirely and created again. ‘Change,’ says Tertullian, ‘must be dissociated from all idea of destruction. For change is one thing, destruction another.’ The body receives an addition of qualities which it did not possess before. It is ‘clothed upon’ with immortality. That which was corruptible is now freed from all liability to corruption (‘sanctified and cleared from all impurity.’ Irenaeus). That which is mortal is swallowed up, and disappears in the vastness of the life which knows no end. That is to say, there is a principle not only of personal, but even of physical identity which is retained, even as our Lord’s Body retained the marks of His crucifixion, but the material particles of the body are in no wise necessary to that identity. See Introduction, p. 22, notes on 1Co 15:37-38; 1Co 15:50, and 2Co 5:4.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

53.] Confirmation of καὶ ἡμ. ἀλλαγ., by a re-statement of the necessity of putting on incorruptibility and immortality.

τὸ φθ. τοῦτο … τὸ θν. τοῦτο] this, indicating his own body. ἐνδύσασθαι—see note on the force of the aor. as indicating that which is momentary, on ver. 34. Compare on the figure of putting on, 2Co 5:3 and notes.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

53. δεῖ γὰρ τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι. The δεῖ looks back to the principle stated in v. 50: τὸ φθαρτόν is more comprehensive than τὸ θνητόν, but the two terms are meant to be synonymous and to refer to the living rather than the dead. By τοῦτο the Apostle’s own body is specially indicated (Act 20:34); and ἐνδύσασθαι (aor. of sudden change) is a metaphor which implies that there is a permanent element continuing under the new conditions. In a very real sense it is the same being which is first corruptible and then incorruptible. Compare 2Co 5:4; Cicero (Tusc. Disp. i. 49), supremus ille dies non nostri extinctio nem sed commutationem affert loci; Seneca (Ep. ad Lucil. 102), dies iste, quem tamquam extremum reformidas, aeterni natalis est.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This corruptible. As if pointing to his own body. Compare these hands, Act 20:34; this tabernacle, 2Co 5:1.

Put on [ενδυσασθαι] The metaphor of clothing. Compare 2Co 5:2 - 4. Incorruption and immortality are to invest the spiritually - embodied personality like a garment.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.