고린도전서 15:45의 이해와 해석에 대한 제안 — “살아 있는 육신”인 아담과 “살려 주는 영”인 그리스도 —

Abstract

As K. E. Bailey rightly observes, 1 Corinthians 15:45 lies in the heart of the chiastic structure of verses 35-50, but its meaning is difficult to understand. Especially understanding the meaning of ψυχὴν ζῶσαν and πνεπῦμα ζῳοποιοῦν in verse 45 was not easy, and it gave the previous Korean translations problems to translate the phrase. On this account, this article examines Paul’s use of Genesis 2:7 in 1 Corinthians 15:45, and how Paul contrasts the first Adam and the last Adam.BR Paul contrasts the first Adam with the last Adam in a dualistic way. First, Paul makes an ontological contrast which sets an antithesis of Adam who is living but only as a natural being, placed in death and belonging to dust, and Christ who is the spirit, raised from death and belonging to heaven. Paul already explains this contrast in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 where he makes a sharp distinction between a natural/fleshly person (ψυχικὸς ἄνθρωπος) and a spiritual person (ὁ πνευματικός). Moreover, in 1 Corinthians 3:1, Paul argues that he could not address the Corinthians as spiritual people (πνευματικοῖς) but as people of the flesh (σαρκίνοις). This shows that Paul uses the spiritual as an antithesis to natural or fleshly. Thus Paul’s contrast continues in 15:45 where he makes an ontological contrast between the first Adam who is still a natural being and the last Adam who is now a spiritual being.BR Second, Paul makes a functional contrast which sets an antithesis of Adam who received life from God and Christ who gives life (like God). The verb to give life (ζῳοποιέω) is explicitly and exclusively used with regard to God’s ministry in verse 22 and 36 in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. The first Adam was a being that received life from God, but the last Adam is a being that gives life. Through this dualistic contrast, Paul claims that the life-giving ministry that belonged to God in Genesis is now entrusted to the resurrected Christ, which leads to Paul’s exhortation for the Corinthians to belong to Christ and to abound in the work of the Lord. Thus this article aims to suggest an interpretation of 1 Corinthians 15:45 based on the dualistic contrast between Adam and Christ.