1 Corinthians 15:44

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Paul addresses the Corinthian church while defending the reality of bodily resurrection in his extended discourse on the dead rising.

The words — σπείρεται (speiretai) means "it is sown" and ψυχικόν (psychikon) denotes "natural," contrasting with πνευματικόν (pneumatikon), "spiritual," which describes the resurrected state.

The thread — The text states the shift from a sown natural body to a raised spiritual body, which runs parallel to 1 Corinthians 15:50's declaration that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom, and aligns with post-resurrection accounts where Jesus is recognized yet operates beyond ordinary physical limits (Luke 24:31; John 20:19).

Why it lands — It asks the reader to abandon the expectation that biological continuity guarantees future life and to place hope in a transformed existence sustained by the Spirit rather than natural capacity.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

σπείρεταιspeiretaiIt is sown σῶμαsōmaa body ψυχικόν,psuchikonnatural,ἐγείρεταιegeiretaiit is raised σῶμαsōmaa body πνευματικόν.pneumatikonspiritual.εἰeiIf ἔστινestinthere is σῶμαsōmaa body ψυχικόν,psuchikonnatural,ἔστινestinthere is καὶkaialso σῶμαsōmabody πνευματικόν.pneumatikonspiritual.

King James Version

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Luke 24:31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus—and He disappeared from their sight.
John 20:19 It was the first day of the week, and that very evening, while the disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. “Peace be with you!” He said to them.
John 20:26 Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”