Yes—the dead are raised through the death-and-life seed principle, and they come with a new, eternal body on the order of Jesus' own resurrection body.
Scripture answers Paul's question with the farming illustration: a grain must die before it can be quickened, and God gives it a body as He pleases (1 Corinthians 15:36-38). Les Feldick adds that the resurrected believer will not be an invisible spirit or angel but will eternally exist in a body—on the same order as the Lord Jesus in His 40 days after resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:35-38 — Paul directly poses the question and answers it using the buried seed that dies and receives a new body from God.
1 Corinthians 15:42-44 — Paul further explains that the body is sown a natural body and raised a spiritual body, in power and glory.
Paul raises the objection in 1 Corinthians 15:35 by quoting the very question: "How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?" He then answers with the ordinary seed illustration: "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body." The buried grain does not produce the same bare form; God gives it a new body. Paul extends the thought in verses 42-44: "So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." Thus Scripture plainly shows both a death and a change: the body that goes into the ground is not the body that comes up.
Les Feldick picks up the question in I Corinthians 15:35 and shows that Paul uses a common farming illustration to make the point unmistakable. A farmer sows wheat, rye, corn, or another crop, and what is planted is not the body that will appear later; he puts bare grain into the ground. That grain must die before it can be quickened, or made alive. Les says there has to be that experience of death before you can have new life. Then Les answers the second part: "with what body do they come?" He addresses the speculation that believers might exist as invisible spirit beings or like angels. "No," he says, "we are going to be eternally existing in a body." It will not be the same flesh and blood body as now, but it will be on the same order. His best illustration is the Lord Jesus in His 40 days after His resurrection. Les also teaches that for the believer, the soul and spirit are already in glory while the body, placed in the earth in death, is waiting for the resurrection day. He points to I Corinthians 15:20, where Christ risen is the firstfruits of them that slept.
Les explains that a kernel of wheat left in a granary will never reproduce. It must be planted—literally buried—and in the earth it dies. Out of that death comes a new green shoot, a stem, and eventually much fruit. Jesus used the same illustration of His own death, burial, and resurrection, and Paul applies the analogy to believers: unless we have been planted in the likeness of Christ's death, we cannot have new life.
Les notes that even Paul had to deal with the question of how the resurrected would exist. He says the answer is no—believers will not be invisible spirit beings or angelic-type existences. Instead, the resurrected believer will eternally exist in a body. It will not be the same flesh and blood body, but it will be on the same order, and the best illustration is the Lord Jesus in His 40 days after His resurrection.
When a farmer sows wheat, he does not sow the body that shall be; he sows bare grain which must die. Then God gives it a body as it pleases Him. Les makes the same point: the body placed in the earth in death is waiting for the resurrection day, and out of that death will come resurrection life. The resurrection body is not the same old form but a new body God provides.
Les teaches that for the believer who has already died, the body is raised in resurrection power, but that raised body is still void of the soul and spirit because they were separated at physical death. The soul and spirit of that believer are already in glory. This shows that the resurrection day is when God brings the new body and the believer's spirit together.
Why a Seed Must Die Before It Can Live — 1 Corinthians 15:36 Explained
Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick.
The Planting Analogy in Romans 6
Les shows that just as a buried kernel of wheat brings out new life, believers must be planted in the likeness of Christ's death to have new life.
The Tomb and Resurrection Life
The body placed in death is waiting for the resurrection day, and out of death comes resurrection life.
The New Body and the New Divine Nature
The new divine nature within the believer will be ushered into God's presence and will one day receive the new body.
The Nature of the Resurrected Body
Les directly answers the question: resurrected believers will not be invisible spirits or angels; they will have an eternal body like the Lord Jesus after His resurrection.
Christ the Firstfruits
Les points to I Corinthians 15:20, where Christ risen is the firstfruits of those who have died.
The Buried Grain That Brings Fruit
Les explains the agricultural illustration: a kernel of wheat must be buried and die before it springs up as a new plant bearing much fruit.
Soul, Spirit, and the Resurrection Body
Les teaches that the body raised in resurrection power is still void of the soul and spirit, since they were separated at death and are already in glory.
1 Corinthians 15:35: But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
This is the exact question being asked, and Paul answers it in the following verses.
1 Corinthians 15:36-38: Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
Paul uses the buried seed to show that the body God raises is a new body He provides.
1 Corinthians 15:20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
Christ's resurrection is the guarantee that those who have died in Him will also be raised.
Romans 6:5: For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Paul connects the burial of the seed with our union with Christ in death and resurrection.
John 12:24: Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Jesus used the same seed illustration to explain the necessity of His own death before resurrection life.
No, it will not be the same flesh and blood body. Les Feldick teaches that the resurrection body will be on the same order as the Lord Jesus in His 40 days after His resurrection, but it will not be the identical flesh and blood body that now dies.
A kernel of wheat left in a granary will never reproduce. It must be planted and buried in the earth, where it dies, and out of that death comes a new green shoot that eventually produces much fruit. Les uses this as Paul's illustration of resurrection.
Les teaches that the soul and spirit of a believer who has died are already in glory. The body that is raised in resurrection power is void of the soul and spirit because they were separated at physical death.
Watch the Teaching: Why a Seed Must Die Before It Can Live — 1 Corinthians 15:36 Explained