a particle denoting an inference more or less decisive… · conjunction
they
οἱhoi
G3588
the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative plural masculine
also
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
asleep
κοιμηθέντεςkoimēthentes
G2837
to put to sleep · verb — aorist passive participle, nominative plural masculine
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
Christ
ΧριστῷChristō
G5547
anointed · noun — dative singular masculine, a title
perished
ἀπώλοντο.apōlonto
G622
to destroy fully (reflexively · verb — second aorist middle indicative, 3rd person plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 For 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 Chr…
1 Corinthians 15:6 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 aslee…
Revelation 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, th…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 15:12-19
Having confirmed the truth of our Saviour's resurrection, the apostle goes on to refute those among the Corinthians who said there would be none: If Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? Co1 15:12. It seems from this passage, and the course of the argument, there were some among the Corinthians who thought the resurrection an impossibility. This was a common sentiment among the heathens. But against this the apostle produces an incontestable fact, namely, the resurrection of Christ; and he goes on to argue against them from the absurdities that must follow from their principle. As,
I. If there be (can be) no resurrect…
fallen asleep in Christ--in communion with Christ as His members. "In Christ's case the term used is death, to assure us of the reality of His suffering; in our case, sleep, to give us consolation: In His case, His resurrection having actually taken place, Paul shrinks not from the term death; in ours, the resurrection being still only a matter of hope, he uses the term falling asleep" [PHOTIUS, QuÃ&brvbrstiones AmphilochiÃ&brvbr, 197].
perished--Their souls are lost; they are in misery in the unseen world.
Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 15:18
They also which are fallen asleep - All those who, either by martyrdom or natural death, have departed in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, are perished; their hope was without foundation, and their faith had not reason and truth for its object. Their bodies are dissolved in the earth, finally decomposed and destroyed, notwithstanding the promise of Christ to such, that he would raise them up at the last day. See Joh 5:25, Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29; Joh 11:25, Joh 11:26, etc.
John Gill on 1 Corinthians 15:18
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ,.... That is, who are dead, and have died in Christ: death is often represented by a sleep, and that more than once in this chapter; and doubtless with a view to the resurrection, which will be an awaking out of it, since it will not be perpetual: some understand this of such only who were fallen asleep, or died martyrs for the sake of Christ and his Gospel; as Stephen, James the brother of John, and others; but rather it designs all such as die in Christ, in union with him, whether in the lively exercise of faith, or not; of whom it must be said, if Christ is not risen, that they
are perished: soul and body; for if there is no reason to beli…
The Church Fathers
Paul has the martyrs in mind above all. They would have lost their lives in vain if there was no other life to look forward to.
Paul says this because the Corinthians will not want to listen to the false prophets once they realize that if they do so their dead, whom they love, will be taken from them.
"Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ have perished." "And why speak I of you," saith he, "when all those also are perished, who have done all and are no longer subject to the uncertainty of the future?" But by the expression, "in Christ," he means either "in the faith," or "they who died for His sake, who endured many perils, many miseries, who walked in the narrow way." Where are those foul-mouthed Manichees who say that by the resurrection here means the liberation from sin? For these compact and continuous syllogisms, holding as they do also conversely, indicate nothing of what they say, but what we affirm. It is true, "rising again" is spoken of one who has fallen: and this is why he keeps on explaining, and saith not only that He was raised, but adds this also, "from the dead." And the Corinthians too doubted not of the forgiveness of sins, but of the resurrection of bodies. But what necessity is there at all, that except mankind be not without sin, neither should Christ Himself be so? Whereas, if He were not to raise men up, it were natural to say, "wherefore came He and took our flesh and rose again?" But on our supposition not so. Yea, and whether men sin or do not sin, there is ever with God an impossibility of sinning, and what happens to us reaches not to Him, nor doth one case answer to the other by way of conversion, as in the matter of the resurrection of the body.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Immortality — Perpetuity of existence. The doctrine of immortality is taught in the Old Testament. It is plainly implied in the writings of Moses (Gen. 5:22, 24; 25:8; 37:35; 47:9; 49:29, comp. Heb. 11:13-16; Ex.…
Death · General references — General references
Death Of Saints, The · A sleep in Christ — A sleep in Christ
Immortality · 2:11; — 2:11;
Resurrection · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Resurrection, The · Certainty of, proved by the resurrection of Christ — Certainty of, proved by the resurrection of Christ
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
1 Corinthians 15:11-19
11. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
11. Sire ego igitur, sive illi, ita praedicamus, et ita credidistis.
12. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
12. Si autem Christus praedicatur excitatus a mortuis, quomodo dicunt quidam, mortuorum resurrectionem non esse?
13. But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
13. Si autem mortuorum resur-rectionon est, neque Christus resurrexit.
14. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
14. Quodsi Christus non resurrexit, inanis igitur est…
Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Corinthians 15:14-18
If Christ has not risen from the dead, then Christian faith is useless. But in reality, Jesus’ resurrection is proof that the sacrifice of Christ fully atoned for human sins (see 15:3). If Christ has not been raised, then human beings remain unforgiven, under the judgment of God—still guilty of their sins (see Rom 3:19; Eph 2:1-3).
