ESV Reformation Study Bible – 1 Cor 15:36
Resources chevron-right ESV Reformation Study Bible chevron-right 1 Corinthians chevron-right 1 Cor 15:36
1 Cor 15:36

15:36 unless it dies. Because God is the creator of the world, the processes of nature reflect in various ways how He works. Nature provides useful metaphors and analogies of the divine work of salvation (Is. 55:10, 11). Jesus uses a seed (“if it dies, it bears much fruit”) as an illustration of spiritual truth (John 12:24). Here Paul uses the same picture, but to illustrate the striking difference between what is planted and what eventually grows from the seed (v. 37). The same sort of analogy can be found in Plato’s dialogue Symposium.