In this verse Paul begins to define the new body.

It is sown and it is raised: see the comments on verse 43.

Physical … spiritual: see comments on “spiritual … natural” in 2.13.

Spiritual body is a literal translation of the Greek. It does not mean a ghostly entity; on the contrary, Paul means that the source of life in the new body is the Holy Spirit. Bible en français courant translates “a body animated by the Spirit”; or one may say “a body to which the Holy Spirit gives life.”

The last sentence of this verse can be understood as an aside or as a footnote to verse 44a. Verse 45 follows on smoothly from verse 44a. This can be shown in translation by the use of parentheses around the last sentence in verse 44.

If there is a physical body: this is not really a conditional clause but rather a statement of fact. Therefore Good News Bible‘s translation “There is, of course, a spiritual body” is a clearer rendering. One may also express this clause as “Just as there is a physical body, so also there is a spiritual body” or “Since there is a physical body, there is also….”

Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .