So also is the resurrection of the dead So great is the difference between the body which fell and that which rises. It is to be observed, that in this and the following verses, the apostle is giving an account of the righteous only. It is sown A beautiful word; committed as seed to the ground: and the apostle thus expresses the burial of the body, because he had illustrated the possibility of its resurrection, notwithstanding it rots in the grave, or is otherwise destroyed, by the example of grain sown in the earth, which after it rots produces grain of the same kind with itself; a comparison intended to illustrate only the possibility of the resurrection, but not the manner of its being effected. For certainly the body to be raised will not be produced by any virtue in the body buried, as plants are produced by a virtue latent in the seeds that are sown. For we are carefully taught in the Scriptures, that the resurrection of our bodies will be effected merely by the extraordinary and miraculous power of God, and not at all as either plants or animals are produced, in a natural way, from their seeds. In corruption Just ready to putrefy, and by various degrees of corruption and decay, to return to the dust from whence it came. It is raised in incorruption Utterly incapable of either dissolution or decay. It is sown in dishonour Shocking to those who loved it best: human nature in disgrace! It is raised in glory Clothed with robes of light, fit for those whom the King of heaven delights to honour. See on Matthew 13:23; Philippians 3:21. It is sown in weakness Deprived even of that feeble strength which it once enjoyed: it is raised in power Endued with vigour, strength, and activity, such as we cannot now conceive. It is sown in this world a natural body Or rather, an animal body, as σωμα ψυχικον more properly signifies, supported by food, sleep, and air, as the bodies of all animals are: it is raised a spiritual body Of a more refined contexture, needing none of those animal refreshments, and endued with qualities of a spiritual nature like the angels of God. These alterations to be produced in the contexture of the bodies of the righteous are indeed great and wonderful, but far from being impossible. For, as Dr. Macknight justly observes, “to illustrate great things by small, we have an example of a similar, though very inferior transformation, in the bodies of caterpillars, which in their first state are ugly, weak, and easily crushed, but in their second state become beautifully winged animals, full of life and activity. This shows what God can do in greater instances.”
It may not be improper to add here, what is justly observed by the same author, that, notwithstanding this great difference between the bodies raised, and the bodies committed to the ground, those raised will, in a sound sense, be the same with the bodies that were buried; inasmuch as they will consist of members and organs of sensation in form and use similar to the members and organs of the present body: that is, as far as their new state will admit; a limitation this, absolutely necessary to be made, because the Scripture itself mentions two particulars, and reason suggests others, in which the bodies raised will essentially differ from those which died. 1st, We are told (1Co 6:13) that God will destroy both the belly, (including both the stomach and bowels,) or the use of that member, and meats. 2d, Our Lord assures us, that they who shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they are equal to the angels. From these texts it follows, that none of the members necessary to eating, and drinking, and marriage, will make part of the glorified bodies of the saints; and that none of the appetites and passions which are gratified by these members, will have any existence in their minds: consequently, the joys of the heavenly country, though in part they are to arise from bodily senses, will have no affinity with the pleasures of a Mohammedan paradise. 3d, Reason directs us to believe, that to the similarity or sameness of the body which is raised, with the body that was buried, it is by no means necessary that the imperfections in the members of the buried body, should take place in the raised body. On the contrary, the restoration of all the members to their proper form, place, and office in the body, instead of making it a different body, will render it more perfectly the same. 4th, Besides the differences mentioned, there may be other differences likewise in the glorified bodies of the saints, suited to the difference of their state, of which at present we can form no conception. For if the raised body is to be endowed with new powers of action, and new senses, these may require additional members; and notwithstanding the addition, the raised body may, on account of its general similarity to the body that was buried, be still considered as the same. To conclude, the Scripture speaks consistently when, in describing the state of the righteous after the resurrection, it represents them as having their mortal bodies refashioned like to the glorious body of Christ, and informs us, that after their whole persons are thus completed, they shall be carried to a heavenly country, where every object being suited to the nature of their glorified bodies, they shall live unspeakably happy to all eternity.