1 Corinthians 15:37
And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
What is sown is bare grain, not the body that shall be, so the body laid in the grave is not raised unchanged but like a planted seed gives rise to new life beyond the tomb. The body placed in the grave is sown to decay and is raised incorruptible, sown in dishonor and raised in glory, sown in weakness and raised in power. The matter making up the mortal body does not enter into the immortal being, for identity between the mortal and immortal person lies in organization, not in the same particles of matter or material substance that went into the grave.
God gives the righteous dead a body as it pleases Him, while the spirit, the character of man, returns to God to be preserved, and in His own time He calls forth the dead, giving again the breath of life. The same form comes forth bearing the same individuality of features so that friend will recognize friend, but free from disease and every defect and composed of much finer material, for it is a new creation, a new birth. It is sown a natural body and raised a spiritual body, and there is no law in nature showing that God gives back the same identical particles of matter. This makes the resurrection of the body essential, for the dead sleep in the grave as entire beings and are brought to life again, which explains the great attention given to the body's resurrection.
Even dying flowers teach the resurrection by springing forth into new life, assuring that all who love God will bloom again in the Eden above. The planting and sprouting of seed teaches both the resurrection of the body and the renewing of the heart, for the human agent plants the seed, God waters it and sends sunshine upon it, and the tiny blade springs up, since developments in the earth are given so that spiritual things may be learned from earthly things. Bare grain cast into prepared soil pictures Christ's death, the springing blade pictures the resurrection, and the growth of the plant continues the correspondence between natural and spiritual sowing.
As soil must be prepared for natural seed, so the heart must be prepared for the seed of truth, whether good or bad, and the garden of the heart must be cultivated by diligent, persevering labor, with the soil broken up by repentance and the evil growths that choke the good grain uprooted. As thorn-overgrown soil is reclaimed only by diligent labor, so evil tendencies of the heart are overcome only by earnest effort in the name and strength of Christ, a lesson children and youth learn by themselves preparing the soil and sowing the seed. As a kernel of corn whose germ is gone still has its body but has lost its life and can produce no fruit, there is danger in having outward form without inward power, for a mere theory of faith will not save without vital godliness, the life and power of religion in the soul.