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1 Corinthians 15:38

New Testament Epistle (Pauline) ASV (1901)

What does 1 Corinthians 15:38 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own.
1 Corinthians 15:38 — American Standard Version

Context — 1 Corinthians 15

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
35But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come?
36Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die:
37and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind;
38but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own.
39All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one [flesh] of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes.
40There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the [glory] of the terrestrial is another.
41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory.
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“But God giveth it a body, as it hath pleased him, etc.] It is not the husbandman, nor the sun, nor the rain, that give the grain of wheat, or any other, its verdure and beauty, the form in which it springs up, its stalk, blade, and ear, but God by his own power, and of his sovereign will and pleasure; and he does not create this new form, but gives it; and does not barely give it, but gives the body to it: to the selfsame grain, and not another: so the resurrection of the dead is God’s work; it is an instance of his power, and of his sovereign will; and is to his people a branch of that eternal life, which is his pure gift through Jesus Christ; all that glory in which the body will arise…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“as it hath pleased him--at creation, when He gave to each of the (kinds of) seeds (so the Greek is for "to every seed") a body of its own (Gen 1:11, "after its kind," suited to its species). So God can and will give to the blessed at the resurrection their own appropriate body, such as it pleases Him, and such as is suitable to their glorified state: a body peculiar to the individual, substantially the same as the body sown.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“But God giveth it a body ... - God gives to the seed sown its own proper body, formation, and growth. The word body here, as applied to grain, seems to mean the whole system, or arrangement of roots, stalks, leaves, flowers, and kernels that start out of the seed that is sown The meaning is, that such a form is produced from the seed sown as God pleases. Paul here traces the result to God, to show that there is no chance, and that it did not depend on the nature of things, but was dependent on the wise arrangement of God. There was nothing in the decaying kernel itself that would produce this result; but God chose that it should be so. There is nothing in the decaying body of the dead which…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“But God - Not thou, O man, not the grain itself, giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, from the time he distinguished the various Species of beings; and to each of the seeds, not only of the fruits, but animals also, (to which the Apostle rises in the following verse,) its own body; not only peculiar to that species, but proper to that individual, and arising out of the substance of that very grain. 1 Corinthians 15:39”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“Co1 3:7; Gen 1:11, Gen 1:12; Psa 104:14; Isa 61:11; Mar 4:26-29 1 Corinthians 15:39”
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Related study paths

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Sources and verification