The “Spiritual Body” as Oxymoron in 1 Corinthians 15:44

Abstract

In the entire undisputed Pauline corpus, the term body is used with respect to resurrection in only two verses: 1 Corinthians 15:44 and Philippians 3:20–21. In neither case does it mean resuscitated flesh, as some theologians would have it. In Corinthians, Paul uses the rhetorical device of oxymoron in modifying the term body by “spiritual.” The oxymoron expresses the ineffability of Paul's experience of the Risen Christ, which for him is something beyond precise description.