I Corinthians 15:35-49
What a delightful passage to read! Paul makes so many comparisons, mostly one-to-one but also men-beasts-birds-fish and sun-moon-stars. But what I really love are his pairings: perishable-imperishable; dishonor-honor; weakness-power; natural-spiritual; soul-spirit; earthly-heavenly. Very well written, St. Paul!!
You fool! (v. 36a) Paul is pretty hard on the Corinthians. I thought they had a reasonable question – what will we be like when we are raised from the dead? I am reminded of Paul’s earlier chastisement of the Galatians: O foolish Galatians…! (Galatians 3:1) But to the current point… I wonder how we will know people that we have known in our lifetime. For example, there are thousands of people that I have met in my lifetime, some of whom I haven’t seen for 30, 40, 50, 60 years. I wouldn’t even recognize them today. But if I see them in Heaven, I believe that I would know them – from when I knew them, back whenever! That is, even though my Army buddies had changed over the 50 years since I knew them when they were young, I believe that I would still see them as they were back then and they would see me as I was back then. At any rate, that’s what I think! Blessings, y’all!
Slava Bohu!
Regarding the question of what one’s resurrected body would be like and “You fool!”, it’s not that the question is itself is a foolish question, it’s that the question is not asked sincerely. It is asked cynically, with a sneer, as a denial of the resurrection itself, just like the Sadducees’ asking Jesus about the seven brothers who all had the same wife. (Mt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40)