Gary DeMar's Word-Concept Fallacy

Gary DeMar’s claim that 1 Corinthians 15 does not teach a “self-same body” resurrection because the precise phrase is absent from the text is a classic case of the word-concept fallacy. This fallacy occurs when one assumes that unless a particular word or phrase appears in the biblical text, the concept that word or phrase represents must be absent as well. This is a fundamental hermeneutical error and one that has been committed by heretics throughout church history.

The fact that the exact phrase “self-same body” does not appear in 1 Corinthians 15 is irrelevant to the question of whether Paul teaches the resurrection of the same body that died. In theology, it is quite common for doctrines to be taught without the later theological terminology used to describe them. The most well-known example of this is the doctrine of the Trinity: the term itself never appears in Scripture, but the concept—one God in three persons—is taught throughout the canon. Similarly, while Paul does not use the phrase “self-same body,” his argument in 1 Corinthians 15 clearly affirms the identity and continuity of the resurrection body with the body that died.

In verses 42–44, Paul writes:

“So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”

The repeated use of the third-person singular verb σπείρεται (speretai, “it is sown”) and ἐγείρεται (egeiretai, “it is raised”) clearly links the dying body with the resurrected body. The subject of both verbs is the same—the body. The body that dies is the same one that is raised, though transformed. Paul does not suggest the annihilation or replacement of the body, but its glorification.

Further, in verse 53 he adds:

“For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”

τοῦτο (“this”) twice modifies φθαρτόν (perishable) and θνητόν (mortal), pointing emphatically to this very body—not another, not a spiritual substitute, but the actual body that is now subject to death and decay. That body, this mortal body, will “put on” (ἐνδύσασθαι) immortality, not be discarded.

This is why DeMar’s objection is not just a linguistic quibble—it is doctrinally disastrous. The Church has always understood the resurrection to involve both identity and continuity of the body, firmly grounded in apostolic teaching and in the bodily resurrection of Christ Himself. That is why the Westminster Confession declares that “all the dead shall be raised up with the self-same bodies, and none other, although with different qualities” (WCF 32.2).

To argue otherwise is not merely to misread Paul; it is to dismantle the entire biblical doctrine of bodily resurrection. It severs the connection between Christ’s resurrection as the firstfruits (1 Cor. 15:20) and the believer’s future resurrection in union with Him. The Church, in every generation, has stood united in its confession that the very body that dies is the body that will be raised—glorified, yes, but not replaced.

What’s even more staggering is that DeMar admits he has no idea what Paul is saying in 1 Corinthians 15, but he’s still certain Paul isn’t teaching the “self-same bodies” resurrection affirmed in the Westminster Confession. He says if Paul is, then the "debate is over.” Well—he’s right about that part. There never really was a debate, and he would’ve known that had he actually taken the time, in his 30+ years of supposed eschatological “expertise,” to seriously dissect 1 Corinthians 15.

In the end, the absence of the phrase “self-same body” is irrelevant. The doctrine is not only present—it is unavoidable. DeMar’s claim is a basic error in hermeneutics and theology, one that has been made before and consistently condemned throughout the Church’s history.