English Standard Version
1 Corinthians 15:46
46But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.
1 Corinthians 15:46 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
- New International Version (NIV)The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.
- New King James Version (NKJV)However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
- New Living Translation (NLT)What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.
Context of 1 Corinthians 15:46
44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45Thus it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven.
Read all of 1 Corinthians 151 Corinthians 15:46 word by word
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ πρῶτον τὸ πνευματικὸν ἀλλὰ τὸ ψυχικόν, ἔπειτα τὸ πνευματικόν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for 1 Corinthians 15:46
- Romans 6:6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
- Ephesians 4:22to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
- Colossians 3:9Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 15:46
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 46That was not first which is spiritual - The natural or animal body, described 1 Corinthians 15:44, was the first; it was the body with which Adam was created. The spiritual body is the last, and is that with which the soul is to be clothed in the resurrection.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 46Howbeit - There is a due order observed, 1 Corinthians 15:23. The decaying, the dying, the weak, the corruptible, in the proper order of events, was first. This order was necessary, and this is observed everywhere. It is seen in the grain that dies in the ground, and in the resurrection of man. The imperfect is succeeded by the perfect; the impure by the pure; the vile and degraded by the precious and the glorious. The idea is, that there is a tendency…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 35-50Verses 35-50 1. How are the dead raised up? that is, by what means? How can they be raised? 2. As to the bodies which shall rise. Will it be with the like shape, and form, and stature, and members, and qualities? The former objection is that of those who opposed the doctrine, the latter of curious doubters. To the first the answer is, This was to be brought about by Divine power; that power which all may see does somewhat like it, year after year, in the…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 45-46Just as Christ's life-giving Spirit goes beyond natural life, the spiritual body will replace the physical body.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4646. afterward--Adam had a soul not necessarily mortal, as it afterwards became by sin, but "a living soul," and destined to live for ever, if he had eaten of the tree of life (Ge 3:22); still his body was but an animal-souled body, not a spiritual body, such as believers shall have; much less was he a "life-giving spirit," as Christ. His soul had the germ of the Spirit, rather than the fulness of it, such as man shall have when restored "body, soul, and…Read the comment
Topics related to 1 Corinthians 15:46
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 1 Corinthians 15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries