On the Spiritual Body in 1 Corinthians 15 (2025)

Cook, John Granger. The Enspirited Body in 1 Corinthians 15. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament (WUNT I) 530. Mohr Siebeck, 2025. xii, 477 pp.

“Summary

The precise nature of the σῶμα πνευματικόν (the enspirited body) remains a mystery. It is possible that Paul derived the expression from a lost source in Alexandrian Judaism - perhaps based on a transformation of the exegesis of the Genesis creation tradition - but it seems most probable that the origin of the concept was his self-described experience of the Risen Lord. σῶμα πνευματικόν does not appear in any text datable prior to 1 Corinthians. However, John Granger Cook shows that 1 Cor 15:35-58 and 2 Cor 5:1-10 do provide some guidelines for understanding Paul's concept of the enspirited body and enable the reader to make useful conclusions about what a σῶμα πνευματικόν is and what it is not. The context of »enspirited body« indicates the following result: the claim occasionally seen in modern scholarship that the enspirited body in Paul is entirely non-physical is unwarranted.

Table of contents:

Introduction
Chapter One: Biological and Astronomical Bodies in 1 Cor 15
Chapter Two: The ψυχικόν (ensouled) and the πνευματικόν (enspirited)
Chapter Three: The Two Adams
Chapter Four: Transformed Bodies
Chapter Five: The Resurrection in 2 Cor 5:1-10
Conclusions: The σῶμα πνευματικόν

Authors/Editors

John Granger Cook Born 1955; 1976 BA in Philosophy, Davidson College; 1979 MDiv Union Theological Seminary (VA); 1985 PhD at Emory University; 1985-91 Pastor of Reems Creek Presbyterian Parish, Weaverville, NC; 1991-94 post-doctoral Research at Emory University; Professor of Religion and Philosophy at LaGrange College.

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4874-6368”

Description from the publisher’s website.