Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

1 Corinthians 15:53

ESV For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
NIV For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
NASB For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
CSB For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.
NLT For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
KJV For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

What does 1 Corinthians 15:53 mean?

Death does not exist in heaven. When God calls humanity to live with Him, there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:1–5). The natural-born bodies we occupy, though, are stained with sin and destined to exist only temporarily. They are built for living on earth and not in heaven (Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:42–44).

Another suggestion about the misunderstanding in Corinth was that some thought Christians had to gradually become more and more holy in their natural bodies on this side of heaven. Paul rejects any such notion. Our bodies will not improve; they will die. The work of translating the body from natural to "spiritual" is not ours to accomplish—it's God's. If some of us are still alive when Christ returns, the transformation from old body to glorified body will be instant.

This must be so, Paul writes. These temporary, dying bodies must put on what is imperishable or deathless. These earth-bound, sin-corrupted, mortal bodies must put on immortality in order to exist in eternity with God. Therefore, God can and will transform them.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: