Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [1 Corinthians: Chapter 15].
Corinthians. {What doth it profit me?} (\ti moi to ophelos?\).
What the profit to me? {Let us eat and drink} (\phag•men kai
pi•men\). Volitive second aorist subjunctives of \esthi•\ and
\pin•\. Cited from Isa 22:13. It is the outcry of the people of
Jerusalem during the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians. At
Anchiale near Tarsus is a statue of Sardanapalus with the
inscription: "Eat, drink, enjoy thyself. The rest is nothing."
This was the motto of the Epicureans. Paul is not giving his own
view, but that of people who deny the resurrection.
15:33 {Be not deceived} (\m• plan•sthe\). Do not be led astray
(\plana•\) by such a false philosophy of life. {Evil company}
(\homiliai kakai\). Evil companionships. Old word, \homilia\,
from \homilos\ (a crowd, gang, bunch). Only here in N.T. Good
manners (\•th•\). Old word (kin to \ethos\) custom, usage,
morals. Good morals here. This line of poetry (iambic) occurs in
Menander. It may be a current proverb. Paul could have gotten it
from either source.
15:34 {Awake up righteously} (\ekn•psate dikai•s\). Wake up as if
from drunkenness. \Ekn•ph•\, only here in N.T. sin not (\m•
hamartanete\). Stop sinning. {No knowledge of God} (\agn•sian
theou\). Old word for ignorance, in N.T. only here and 1Pe
2:15. Ignorance of God, agnosticism. Some today (agnostics) even
take pride in it instead of shame (\entrop•n\, turning in on
oneself). See on ¯6:5 for \entrop•\.
15:35 {But some one will say} (\alla erei tis\). Paul knows what
the sceptics were saying. He is a master at putting the
standpoint of the imaginary adversary. {How} (\p•s\). This is
still the great objection to the resurrection of our bodies.
Granted that Jesus rose from the dead, for the sake of argument,
these sceptics refuse to believe in the possibility of our
resurrection. It is the attitude of Matthew Arnold who said,
"Miracles do not happen." Scientifically we know the "how" of few
things. Paul has an astounding answer to this objection. Death
itself is the way of resurrection as in the death of the seed for
the new plant (verses 36f.). {With what manner of body} (\poi•i
s•mati\). This is the second question which makes plainer the
difficulty of the first. The first body perishes. Will that body
be raised? Paul treats this problem more at length (verses
38-54) and by analogy of nature (Cf. Butler's famous
_Analogy_). It is a spiritual, not a natural, body that is
raised. \S•ma\ here is an organism. {Flesh} (\sarx\) is the
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