1 Corinthians 15
15
1Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, 2by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain. 3For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; 5and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; 6then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; 7then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; 8and last of all, as to the child untimely born, he appeared to me also. 9For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not found vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11Whether then it be I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
12Now if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised: 14and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. 15Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we witnessed of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised: 17and if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 18Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable.
20But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at his coming. 24Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.
29Else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 30why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour? 31I protest by that glorying in you, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die. 33Be not deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals. 34Awake to soberness righteously, and sin not; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak this to move you to shame.
35But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of body do they come? 36Thou foolish one, that which thou thyself sowest is not quickened except it die: 37and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but a bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other kind; 38but God giveth it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. 39All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fishes. 40There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So also it is written, The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46Howbeit that is not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; then that which is spiritual. 47The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven. 48As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54But when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? 56The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law: 57but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not vain in the Lord.
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1 Corinthians 15
15
The Good News About Christ
1Now, brothers, I want you to remember the Good News I brought to you. You received this Good News, and you continue strong in it. 2And you are saved by this Good News. But you must continue believing what I told you. If you do not, then you believed for nothing.
3I passed on to you what I received. And this was the 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 showed himself to Peter and then to the twelve apostles. 6After that, Jesus showed himself to more than 500 of the believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today. But some have died. 7Then Jesus showed himself to James and later to all the apostles. 8Last of all he showed himself to me—as to a person not born at the normal time. 9All the other apostles are greater than I am. This is because I persecuted the church of God. And this is why I am not even good enough to be called an apostle. 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 I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.) 11So then it is not important if I preached to you or if the other apostles preached to you. We all preach the same thing, and this is what you believed.
We Will Be Raised from Death
12It is preached that Christ was raised from death. So why do some of you say that people will not be raised from death? 13If no one will ever be raised from death, then Christ was not raised from death. 14And if Christ was not raised, then our preaching is worth nothing. And your faith is worth nothing. 15And also, we will be guilty of lying about God. Because we have preached about him by saying that he raised Christ from death. And if people are not raised from death, then God never raised Christ from death. 16If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is for nothing; you are still guilty of your sins. 18And also, 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 death—the first one and proof that those who are asleep in death will also be raised. 21Death comes to everyone because of what one man did. But the rising from death also happens 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. 24Then the end will come. Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities, and powers. And he will give the kingdom to God the Father. 25Christ must rule until God puts all enemies under Christ’s control. 26The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. 27The Scripture says, “God put all things under his control.”# Quotation from Psalm 8:6. When it says that “all things” are put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself. God is the one putting everything under Christ’s control. 28After everything has been put under Christ, then the Son himself will be put under God. God is the One who put all things under Christ. And Christ will be put under God, so that God will be the complete ruler over everything.
29If the dead are never raised, then what will people do who are baptized for those who have died? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?
30And what about us? Why do we put ourselves in danger every hour? 31I die every day. That is true, brothers, just as it is true that I brag about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild animals in Ephesus only for human reasons, I have gained nothing. If the dead are not raised, then, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.”# Quotation from Isaiah 22:13; 56:12.
33Do not be fooled: “Bad friends will ruin good habits.” 34Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning. I say this to shame you—some of you do not know God.
What Kind of Body Will We Have?
35But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” 36Those are stupid questions. When you plant something, it must die in the ground before it can live and grow. 37And when you plant it, what you plant does not have the same “body” that it will have later. What you plant is only a 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 kinds of flesh: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another kind, 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. The beauty of the earthly bodies is another kind. 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 that body 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 has power. 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 became a living person.”# Quotation from Genesis 2:7. But the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. 46The spiritual man did not come first. It was the physical man who came first; then came the spiritual. 47The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. 48People belong to the earth. They are like the first man of earth. But those people who belong to heaven are like the man of heaven. 49We were made like the man of earth. So we will# Some Greek copies read “So let us.” also be made like the man of heaven.
50I tell you this, brothers: Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. A thing that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins. 51But listen, I tell you this secret: We will not all die, but we will all be changed. 52It will only take a second. We will be changed as quickly as an eye blinks. This will happen 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 will ruin must clothe itself with something that will never ruin. And this body that dies must clothe itself with something that will never die. 54So this body that ruins will clothe itself with that which never ruins. And this body that dies will clothe itself with that which never dies. When this happens, then this Scripture will be made true:
55“Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your power to hurt?” Hosea 13:14
56Death’s power to hurt is sin. 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, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.
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