Commentary on 1 Cor 15-16 and 2 Corinthians

1. Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

1. Notum autem vobis facio, fratres, evangelium quod evangelizavi vobis, quod et recepistis, in quo etiam stetistis.

2. By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain:

2. Per quod etiam salutem habetis: quo pacto annuntiarim vobis, si tenetis, nisi frustra credidistis.

3. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

3. Tradidi enim vobis imprimis quod et acceperam, quod Christus mortuus fuerit, pro peccatis nostris secundum Scripturas, 4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

4. Et quod sepultus sit, et quod resurrexit tertio die, secundum Scripturas.

5. And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

5. Et quod visus fait Cephae, deinde ipsis duodecim:

6. After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

6. Postea visus fait plus quam qaingentis fratribus simul, ex quibus plures manent [1] adhuc ad hunc usque diem: qaidam autem obdormierunt.

7. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

7. Deinde visus fait Iacobo: post apostolis omnibus:

8. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

8. Postremo vero onmium, velut abortivo, visus fait et mihi.

9. For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

9. Ego enim sum minimus apostolorum, qui non sum idoneus ut dicar apostolus: quandoquidem persequutus sum ecclesiam Dei.

10. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

10. Sed gratia Dei sum id quod sum: et gratia ejus, quae mihi collata est, non fuit inanis, sed copiosius quam illi omnes laboravi: non ego tamen, sed gratia Dei quae mihi aderat.

1. Now I make known to you. He now enters on another subject -- the resurrection -- the belief of which among the Corinthians had been shaken by some wicked persons. It is uncertain, however, whether they doubted merely as to the ultimate resurrection of the body, or as to the immortality of the soul also. It is abundantly well known, that there were a variety of errors as to this point. Some philosophers contended that souls are immortal. As to the resurrection of the body, it never entered into the mind of any one of them. The Sadducees, however, had grosser views; for they thought of nothing but the present life; nay more, they thought that the soul of man was a breath of wind without substance. It is not, therefore, altogether certain (as I have already said) whether the Corinthians had at this time gone to such a height of madness, as to cast off all expectation of a future life, or whether they merely denied the resurrection of the body; for the arguments which Paul makes use of seem to imply, that they were altogether bewitched with the mad dream of the Sadducees.

For example, when he says, Of what advantage is it to be baptized for the dead? (1 Corinthians 15:29.)

Were it not better to eat and to drink? (1 Corinthians 15:32.)

Why are we in peril every hour? (1 Corinthians 15:30,)

and the like, it might very readily be replied, in accordance with the views of the philosophers, "Because after death the soul survives the body." Hence some apply the whole of Paul's reasoning contained in this chapter to the immortality of the soul. For my part, while I leave undetermined what the error of the Corinthians was, yet I cannot bring myself to view Paul's words as referring to anything else than the resurrection of the body. Let it, therefore be regarded as a settled point, that it is of this exclusively that he treats in this chapter. And what if the impiety of Hymeneus and Philetus had extended thus far, [2] who said that the resurrection was already past, (2 Timothy 2:18,) and that there would be nothing more of it? Similar to these, there are at the present day some madmen, or rather devils, [3] who call themselves Libertines. [4] To me, however, the following conjecture appears more probable -- that they were carried away by some delusion, [5] which took away from them the hope of a future resurrection, just as those in the present day, by imagining an allegorical resurrection, [6] take away from us the true resurrection that is promised to us.

However this may be, it is truly a dreadful case, and next to a prodigy, that those who had been instructed by so distinguished a master, should have been capable of falling so quickly [7] into errors of so gross a nature. But what is there that is surprising in this, when in the Israelitish Church the Sadducees had the audacity to declare openly that man differs nothing from a brute, in so far as concerns the essence of the soul, and has no enjoyment but what is common to him with the beasts? Let us observe, however, that blindness of this kind is a just judgment from God, so that those who do not rest satisfied with the truth of God, are tossed hither and thither by the delusions of Satan.

It is asked, however, why it is that he has left off or deferred to the close of the Epistle, what should properly have had the precedence of everything else? Some reply, that this was done for the purpose of impressing it more deeply upon the memory. I am rather of opinion that Paul did not wish to introduce a subject of such importance, until he had asserted his authority, which had been considerably lessened among the Corinthians, and until he had, by repressing their pride, prepared them for listening to him with docility.