1 Corinthians 15:50

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Now	δέ de	G1161	but · conjunction
this	τοῦτο toûto	G5124	that thing
say	φημι, phēmi	G5346	to show or make known one's thoughts · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
brethren	ἀδελφοί, adelphoi	G80	a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — vocative plural masculine
that	ὅτι hoti	G3754	demonstrative · conjunction
flesh	σὰρξ sarx	G4561	flesh (as stripped of the skin) · noun — nominative singular feminine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
blood	αἷμα haima	G129	blood · noun — nominative singular neuter
cannot	δύναται, dunatai	G1410	to be able or possible · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
inherit	κληρονομῆσαι klēronomēsai	G2816	to be an heir to (literally or figuratively) · verb — aorist active infinitive
kingdom	βασιλείαν basileian	G932	properly · noun — accusative singular feminine
God	θεοῦ theou	G2316	figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
neither	οὐδὲ oude	G3761	not however · conjunction — negative
doth	κληρονομεῖ. klēronomei	G2816	to be an heir to (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
corruption	φθορὰ phthora	G5356	decay · noun — nominative singular feminine
inherit	κληρονομέω klēronoméō	G2816	to be an heir to (literally or figuratively)
incorruption	ἀφθαρσίαν aphtharsian	G861	incorruptibility · noun — accusative singular feminine

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

John 3:3-6 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Matthew 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father wh…
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in…
Ephesians 4:17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
1 Corinthians 6:13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord;…
Galatians 3:17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, canno…
1 Corinthians 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 15:35-50

The apostle comes now to answer a plausible and principal objection against the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, concerning which observe the proposal of the objection: Some man will say, How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come? Co1 15:35. The objection is plainly two-fold. How are they raised up? that is, "By what means? How can they be raised? What power is equal to this effect?" It was an opinion that prevailed much among the heathens, and the Sadducees seem to have been in the same sentiment, that it was not within the compass of divine power, mortales aeternitate donare, aut revocare defunctos - to make mortal men immortal, or revive and restore the dead. Su…

Read the whole note in the console

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 15:50

(See on Co1 15:37; Co1 15:39). "Flesh and blood" of the same animal and corruptible nature as our present (Co1 15:44) animal-souled bodies, cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Therefore the believer acquiesces gladly in the unrepealed sentence of the holy law, which appoints the death of the present body as the necessary preliminary to the resurrection body of glory. Hence he "dies daily" to the flesh and to the world, as the necessary condition to his regeneration here and hereafter (Joh 3:6; Gal 2:20). As the being born of the flesh constitutes a child of Adam, so the being born of the Spirit constitutes a child of God. cannot--Not merely is the change of body possible, but it is necessar…

Read the whole note in the console

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 15:50

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom - This is a Hebrew periphrasis for man, and man in his present state of infirmity and decay. Man, in his present state, cannot inherit the kingdom of God; his nature is not suited to that place; he could not, in his present weak state, endure an exceeding great and eternal weight of glory. Therefore, it is necessary that he should die, or be changed; that he should have a celestial body suited to the celestial state. The apostle is certainly not speaking of flesh and blood in a moral sense, to signify corruption of mind and heart; but in a natural sense; as such, flesh and blood cannot inherit glory, for the reasons already assigned.

The Church Fathers

By "flesh" Paul means disobedience, and by "blood" he means an evil and wicked life. Not only will neither of these things inherit eternal life; both must be put under control in this life.
— Ambrosiaster, COMMENTARY ON PAUL'S EPISTLES

This does not mean that the substance of our flesh was condemned. On the contrary, only the guilt of the flesh is censured, the guilt which was caused by humanity's deliberate and rash rebellion against the claims of divine law.
— Novatian, ON THE TRINITY 10

For what are this next words? "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." He means the works of the flesh and blood, which, in his Epistle to the Galatians, deprive men of the kingdom of God.
— Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V

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.…
Body · Resurrection of — Resurrection of
Corruption · .After — .After
Heaven · Flesh and blood cannot inherit — Flesh and blood cannot inherit
Immortality · 2:11; — 2:11;
Resurrection · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

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 15:50

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 15:35-50

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 15:50

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 15:50

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

1 Corinthians 15:50

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 15:35-50

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Corinthians 15:50

Adam Clarke on 1 Corinthians 15:50

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on 1 Corinthians 15:50

John Calvin on 1 Corinthians 15:35-50

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 1 Corinthians 15:50