Resurrection as Divine Mystery

The Corinthians questioned the resurrection of the body because they conceived it in terms of the raising of a corpse. For them, death argued against resurrection, but Paul countered that death is actually the necessary precursor to the resurrection of the body; the seed must perish for the plant to come forth. This would seem, then, to introduce a new quandary: If death must precede resurrection, what does this mean for those Christians who are alive at Christ's appearing? Paul addressed this issue as his transition into the closing part of his treatment of resurrection.