Paul anticipates a question on the minds of some Corinthians, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" (1 Corinthians 15:35). The Greek word translated "body" here is "soma," not "sarx," which suggests that the question is not simply about individual flesh, but concerns a range of meanings related to the word "body."
"Body: the body both of men or animals, 1. a dead body or corpse, 2. the living body, a. of animals; 2. the bodies of planets and of stars (heavenly bodies); 3. is used of a (large or small) number of men closely united into one society, or family as it were; a social, ethical, mystical body, a. so in the NT of the church; 4. that which casts a shadow as distinguished from the shadow itself" (from The New Testament Greek Lexicon).
Paul then answered the question in 1 Corinthians 15:44, "there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body." He treats the issue of bodily resurrection in the same general way that he treated the issue of the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 10 & 12.
"The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16).
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:12).
"God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body" (1 Corinthians 12:18-20).
"Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it" (1