1 Corinthians 15:21
in 1 Corinthians 15For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
KJV
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
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This verse in 1 Corinthians 15
Commentary
16 notes on this verseFor by the sacrifice of his own body he both put an end to the law which was against us and made a new beginning of life for us, by the hope of resurrection which he has given us. For since from man it was that death prevailed over men, for this cause conversely, by the Word of God being made man has come about the destruction of death and the resurrection of life.
This site's exposition
For since death came through
on 1 Corinthians 15:21-22
Death came through a man, and the resurrection comes through a man, each man's act fixing the fate of his race. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive, the structure Romans 5 develops.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Now that falls down which returns to the ground; and that rises again which falls down. "Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection." Here in the word man, who consists of bodily sub stance, as we have often shown already, is presented to me the body of Christ.
A commentator
Basil of CaesareaLETTER 261, TO THE CITIZENS OF SOZOPOLIS · Written before 379.
proposed
If the sojourn of the Lord in the flesh did not take place, the Redeemer did not pay to death the price for us. He did not by his own power destroy the dominion of death. If that which is subject to death were one thing and that which was assumed by the Lord another, then death would not have ceased performing its own works, nor would the sufferings of the God-bearing flesh have been our gain. He would not have destroyed sin in the flesh. We who had died in Adam would not have been made alive in Christ.
For just as he ordained to introduce death on account of the sin of the first man, so also, through the obedience of the Lord Christ according to the flesh, he ordained the resurrection and the renovation and the gathering together of the whole creation. …
He tasted death on behalf of every man in his flesh, which was able to suffer without him ceasing to be life. Accordingly, even though it is stated that he suffered in his flesh, he did not receive the suffering in the nature of his divinity but in his flesh which was receptive to suffering.
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead." But if by a man, doubtless by one having a body. And observe his thoughtfulness, how on another ground also he makes his argument inevitable. As thus: "he that is defeated," saith he, "must in his own person also renew the conflict, the nature which was cast down must itself also gain the victory. For so the reproach was wiped away." But let us see what kind of death he is speaking of.
9 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
Man arose because man died. Man was raised up again, but it was God who raised him. Then he was man according to the flesh. Now God is all in all. Now we no longer know Christ according to the flesh, but we have the grace of his flesh. We know him as the first fruits of those who rest, the firstborn of the dead. Unquestionably the first fruits are of the same species and nature as the rest of the fruits.… Therefore, as the first fruits of death were in Adam, so also the first fruits of the resurrection are in Christ.
The Medieval Church2 voices
930. – For as by a man came death, by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead. Here he proves the relationship posited, namely, that Christ is the first fruits of them that sleep. First, he proves this in general; secondly, in …
He adds the reason by which what was said is confirmed. It was necessary, he says, that the very nature which was defeated should itself be victorious, and that the very one who was cast down should himself overcome. For just as "in Adam," that …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And so, as in Adam all die, in Christ shall all be made alive; as through the sin of the first Adam all men became mortal, because all derived from him the same sinful nature, so through the merit and resurrection of Christ shall all who are made to partake of the Spirit, and the spiritual nature, revive, and become immortal.
For since by man came death,....
He answers an objection against this truth, and takes occasion thence to show what a vast change will be made in the bodies of believers at the resurrection,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For since by man came death - By Adam, or by means of his transgression; see 1Co 15:22. The sense is, evidently, that in consequence of the sin of Adam all people die, or are subjected to temporal death. Or, in other words, man would not have died had it not been for the crime of the first man; see the note on Rom 5:
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
by man . . . by man--The first-fruits are of the same nature as the rest of the harvest; so Christ, the bringer of life, is of the same nature as the race of men to whom He brings it; just as Adam, the bringer of death, was of the same nature as the men on whom he brought it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
For since by man came death - Mortality came by Adam, immortality by Christ; so sure as all have been subjected to natural death by Adam, so sure shall all be raised again by Christ Jesus. Mortality and immortality, on a general ground, are the subject of the apostle’s reasoning here; and for the explanation of the transgression of Adam, and the redemption by Christ, see the notes on Rom 5:10, etc.
How the passage was read
On 1 Corinthians 15:20-23On 1 Corinthians 15:20-23
The sheaf behind “firstfruits”
“Firstfruits” is not a loose metaphor; it is a feast. During Passover week the first sheaf (the omer) of the barley harvest was brought to the priest and waved before the LORD “on the day after the Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:10–11): one sheaf, offered ahead of the whole harvest as its pledge and its guarantee. Paul writes that Christ was raised as “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep”: the one, risen at that very season, standing for the many to follow. The feast's logic is the argument: where the first sheaf goes, the harvest follows.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Leviticus 23:10–11 (the waved sheaf) · Mishnah Menachot 10:3 (the omer's cutting, as practiced)
The words behind it
10 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ἐπειδὴ | epeide | Since | G1894 → | 10 times |
| γὰρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| δι᾽ | di᾽ | through | G1223 → | 664 times |
| ἀνθρώπου | anthropou | a man [came] | G444 → | 549 times |
| θάνατος | thanatos | death | G2288 → | 120 times |
| καὶ | kai | also | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| δι᾽ | di᾽ | through | G1223 → | 664 times |
| ἀνθρώπου | anthropou | a man | G444 → | 549 times |
| ἀνάστασις | anastasis | resurrection | G386 → | 42 times |
| νεκρῶν. | nekron | of [the] dead. | G3498 → | 128 times |
ἘπειδὴSince
epeideG1894 →10 times
γὰρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
δι᾽through
di᾽G1223 →664 times
ἀνθρώπουa man [came]
anthropouG444 →549 times
θάνατοςdeath
thanatosG2288 →120 times
καὶalso
kaiG2532 →9120 times
δι᾽through
di᾽G1223 →664 times
ἀνθρώπουa man
anthropouG444 →549 times
ἀνάστασιςresurrection
anastasisG386 →42 times
νεκρῶν.of [the] dead.
nekronG3498 →128 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
it leads to
- John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Romans 5:12
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
- James 1:15
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
- John 6:40
For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
- John 3:36
Through
John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
- 1 John 5:11–12
And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
- John 1:4
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
- Romans 8:10–11
But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies27
On this verse
About 1 Corinthians
This page draws on 16 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Death of Satyrus 2.91; Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word 10; Basil of Caesarea, LETTER 261, TO THE CITIZENS OF SOZOPOLIS; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians; Cosmas Indicopleustes, The Christian Topography, Book 5; Cyril of Alexandria, LETTER 55.34; Frederic Godet, Commentary on First Corinthians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 39; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Tertullian, Against Marcion Book V; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.