Commentators explain that Paul's command to "awake" uses a Greek word that means to sober up from a drunken stupor. He saw the Corinthians as intoxicated by the false teaching that there is no resurrection. This doctrinal error was leading them into a spiritual haze and careless living. The call is to "awake righteously"—to shake off this intoxicating error and regain clear, sober thinking focused on God's truth.