1 Corinthians 15
15
The Good News About Christ
1Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to remember the Good News I brought to you. You received this Good News and continue strong in it. 2And you are being saved by it if you continue believing what I told you. If you do not, then you believed for nothing.
3I passed on to you what I received, of which this was most important: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say; 4that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day as the Scriptures say; 5and that he was seen by Peter and then by the twelve apostles. 6After that, Jesus was seen by more than five hundred of the believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today, but some have died. 7Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8Last of all he was seen by me—as by a person not born at the normal time. 9All the other apostles are greater than I am. I am not even good enough to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But God’s grace has made me what I am, and his grace to me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But it was not I really; it was God’s grace that was with me.) 11So if I preached to you or the other apostles preached to you, we all preach the same thing, and this is what you believed.
We Will Be Raised from the Dead
12Now since we preached that Christ was raised from the dead, why do some of you say that people will not be raised from the dead? 13If no one is ever raised from the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is worth nothing, and your faith is worth nothing. 15And also, we are guilty of lying about God, because we testified of him that he raised Christ from the dead. But if people are not raised from the dead, then God never raised Christ. 16If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith has nothing to it; you are still guilty of your sins. 18And those in Christ who have already died are lost. 19If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world.
20But Christ has truly been raised from the dead—the first one and proof that those who sleep in death will also be raised. 21Death has come because of what one man did, but the rising from death also comes because of one man. 22In Adam all of us die. In the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again. 23But everyone will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was first to be raised. When Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life, 24and then the end will come. At that time Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities, and powers, and he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. 25Christ must rule until he puts all enemies under his control. 26The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. 27The Scripture says that God put all things under his control. When it says “all things” are under him, it is clear this does not include God himself. God is the One who put everything under his control. 28After everything has been put under the Son, then he will put himself under God, who had put all things under him. Then God will be the complete ruler over everything.
29If the dead are never raised, what will people do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people being baptized for them?
30And what about us? Why do we put ourselves in danger every hour? 31I die every day. That is true, brothers and sisters, just as it is true that I brag about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild animals in Ephesus only with human hopes, I have gained nothing. If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.”
33Do not be fooled: “Bad friends will ruin good habits.” 34Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning. Some of you do not know God—I say this to shame you.
What Kind of Body Will We Have?
35But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” 36Foolish person! When you sow a seed, it must die in the ground before it can live and grow. 37And when you sow it, it does not have the same “body” it will have later. What you sow is only a bare seed, maybe wheat or something else. 38But God gives it a body that he has planned for it, and God gives each kind of seed its own body. 39All things made of flesh are not the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have another. 40Also there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the beauty of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the beauty of the earthly bodies is another. 41The sun has one kind of beauty, the moon has another beauty, and the stars have another. And each star is different in its beauty.
42It is the same with the dead who are raised to life. The body that is “planted” will ruin and decay, but it is raised to a life that cannot be destroyed. 43When the body is “planted,” it is without honor, but it is raised in glory. When the body is “planted,” it is weak, but when it is raised, it is powerful. 44The body that is “planted” is a physical body. When it is raised, it is a spiritual body.
There is a physical body, and there is also a spiritual body. 45It is written in the Scriptures: “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the physical and then the spiritual. 47The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. 48People who belong to the earth are like the first man of earth. But those people who belong to heaven are like the man of heaven. 49Just as we were made like the man of earth, so we will also be made like the man of heaven.
50I tell you this, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. Something that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins. 51But look! I tell you this secret: We will not all sleep in death, but we will all be changed. 52It will take only a second—as quickly as an eye blinks—when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound, and those who have died will be raised to live forever, and we will all be changed. 53This body that can be destroyed must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed. And this body that dies must clothe itself with something that can never die. 54So this body that can be destroyed will clothe itself with that which can never be destroyed, and this body that dies will clothe itself with that which can never die. When this happens, this Scripture will be made true:
“Death is destroyed forever in victory.”#Isaiah 25:8
55“Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your pain?”#Hosea 13:14
56Death’s power to hurt is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58So my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
1 Corinthians 15
15
Christ Rose From the Dead
1Brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the good news I preached to you. You received it and have put your faith in it. 2Because you believed the good news, you are saved. But you must hold firmly to the message I preached to you. If you don’t, you have believed it for nothing.
3What I received I passed on to you. And it is the most important of all. Here is what it is. Christ died for our sins, just as Scripture said he would. 4He was buried. He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as Scripture said he would be. 5He appeared to Peter. Then he appeared to the 12 apostles. 6After that, he appeared to more than 500 brothers and sisters at the same time. Most of them are still living. But some have died. 7He appeared to James. Then he appeared to all the apostles. 8Last of all, he also appeared to me. I was like someone who wasn’t born at the right time.
9I am the least important of the apostles. I’m not even fit to be called an apostle. I tried to destroy God’s church. 10But because of God’s grace I am what I am. And his grace was not wasted on me. No, I have worked harder than all the other apostles. But I didn’t do the work. God’s grace was with me. 11So this is what we preach, whether I or the other apostles who preached to you. And that is what you believed.
Believers Will Rise From the Dead
12We have preached that Christ has been raised from the dead. So how can some of you say that no one rises from the dead? 13If no one rises from the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, what we preach doesn’t mean anything. Your faith doesn’t mean anything either. 15More than that, we would be lying about God. We are witnesses that God raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if the dead are not raised. 16If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith doesn’t mean anything. Your sins have not been forgiven. 18Those who have died believing in Christ are also lost. 19Do we have hope in Christ only for this life? Then people should pity us more than anyone else.
20But Christ really has been raised from the dead. He is the first of all those who will rise from the dead. 21Death came because of what a man did. Rising from the dead also comes because of what a man did. 22Because of Adam, all people die. So because of Christ, all will be made alive. 23But here is the order of events. Christ is the first of those who rise from the dead. When he comes back, those who belong to him will be raised. 24Then the end will come after Christ destroys all rule, authority and power. Then he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. 25Christ must rule until he has put all his enemies under his control. 26The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27Scripture says that God “has put everything under his control.” (Psalm 8:6) It says that “everything” has been put under him. But it is clear that this does not include God himself. That’s because God put everything under Christ. 28When he has done that, the Son also will be under God’s rule. God put everything under the Son. In that way, God will be all in all.
29Suppose no one rises from the dead. Then what will people do who are baptized for the dead? Suppose the dead are not raised at all. Then why are people baptized for them? 30And why would we put ourselves in danger every hour? 31I face death every day. That’s the truth. And here is something you can be just as sure of. I take pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done for you through my work. 32Did I fight wild animals in Ephesus with nothing more than human hopes? Then what have I gotten for it? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
because tomorrow we will die.” (Isaiah 22:13)
33Don’t let anyone fool you. “Bad companions make a good person bad.” 34You should come back to your senses and stop sinning. Some of you don’t know anything about God. I say this to make you ashamed.
The Body That Rises From the Dead
35But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” 36How foolish! What you plant doesn’t come to life unless it dies. 37When you plant something, it isn’t a completely grown plant that you put in the ground. You only plant a seed. Maybe it’s wheat or something else. 38But God gives the seed a body just as he has planned. And to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39Not all earthly creatures are the same. People have one kind of body. Animals have another. Birds have another kind. Fish have still another. 40There are also heavenly bodies as well as earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies have one kind of glory. Earthly bodies have another. 41The sun has one kind of glory. The moon has another kind. The stars have still another. And one star’s glory is different from that of another star.
42It will be like that with bodies that are raised from the dead. The body that is planted does not last forever. The body that is raised from the dead lasts forever. 43It is planted without honor. But it is raised in glory. It is planted in weakness. But it is raised in power. 44It is planted as an earthly body. But it is raised as a spiritual body.
Just as there is an earthly body, there is also a spiritual body. 45It is written, “The first man Adam became a living person.” (Genesis 2:7) The last Adam became a spirit that gives life. 46What is spiritual did not come first. What is earthly came first. What is spiritual came after that. 47The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. 48Those who belong to the earth are like the one who came from the earth. And those who are spiritual are like the heavenly man. 49We are like the earthly man. And we will be like the heavenly man.
50Brothers and sisters, here is what I’m telling you. Bodies made of flesh and blood can’t share in the kingdom of God. And what dies can’t share in what never dies. 51Listen! I am telling you a mystery. We will not all die. But we will all be changed. 52That will happen in a flash, as quickly as you can wink an eye. It will happen at the blast of the last trumpet. Then the dead will be raised to live forever. And we will be changed. 53Our natural bodies don’t last forever. They must be dressed with what does last forever. What dies must be dressed with what does not die. 54In fact, that is going to happen. What does not last will be dressed with what lasts forever. What dies will be dressed with what does not die. Then what is written will come true. It says, “Death has been swallowed up. It has lost the battle.” (Isaiah 25:8)
55“Death, where is the victory you thought you had?
Death, where is your sting?” (Hosea 13:14)
56The sting of death is sin. And the power of sin is the law. 57But let us give thanks to God! He gives us the victory because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done.
58My dear brothers and sisters, remain strong in the faith. Don’t let anything move you. Always give yourselves completely to the work of the Lord. Because you belong to the Lord, you know that your work is not worthless.
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