Time after Pentecost · Proper 29 (Last Sunday of the Church Year / Christ the King) · Year A
1 Corinthians 15:20-28
The Resurrection of the Dead
November 22, 2026
Overview & Insights
“Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:20)
After solidly grounding the resurrection in the soil of history, Paul moves on to establish its theological significance. His theological argument moves through three stages. He begins with a theological restatement of his Scripture and eyewitness argument (15:12–18). From here he draws a direct connection between the resurrection of Christ and the resurrection of his followers (15:19–28), before concluding that this has significant ethical implications (15:29–34). Those rejecting the resurrection do not simply oppose Paul; they deny the cornerstone of the Christian message.
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Commentary
1 Corinthians 15 - The Resurrection of the Dead Enduring Word · David Guzik
A verse-by-verse evangelical study of Christ the firstfruits and his reign until death is destroyed.
1 Corinthians 15:20 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic commentaries gathered verse by verse on Christ raised and the kingdom handed to the Father.
1 Corinthians 15:20 Verse-by-Verse Commentary StudyLight
A large library of expositors stacked verse by verse for a further voice on the passage.
1 Corinthians 15 Commentary Precept Austin
An inductive study page collecting word studies and cross references on the resurrection chapter.
Background & Word Study
1 Corinthians 15 (Matthew Henry Complete) Bible Study Tools
Matthew Henry's full exposition of the chapter for a classic devotional reading of the resurrection hope.
1 Corinthians 15:20 Interlinear BibleHub
The Greek of the passage word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers, including the word for firstfruits.
Enter the Bible: 1 Corinthians Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary's book introduction to 1 Corinthians for the setting of Paul's resurrection argument.
Book of 1 Corinthians Overview BibleProject
An animated overview of 1 Corinthians that frames Paul's teaching on the risen and reigning Christ.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
What does Paul say about Christ’s reign?
Christ, risen as the firstfruits, must reign until every enemy, last of all death, is destroyed; then he hands the kingdom to the Father, “that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:20–28). It crowns the feast of Christ the King.
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