1 Corinthians 15
15
The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection
1Now brothers and sisters, let me remind you [once again] of the good news [of salvation] which I preached to you, which you welcomed and accepted and on which you stand [by faith]. 2By this faith you are saved [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain [just superficially and without complete commitment].
3For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold], 4and that He was buried, and that He was [bodily] raised on the third day according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold], 5and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the #A title referring to the original disciples chosen by Jesus (including Judas). A few hours after betraying Jesus, Judas committed suicide (Matt 27:5) leaving only the eleven (Matt 28:16; Mark 16:14; Luke 24:9, 33).Twelve. 6After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep [in death]. 7Then He was seen by James, then by all the apostles, 8and last of all, as to one #Paul’s life-changing encounter with the resurrected Christ occurred on the road to Damascus (Acts 9).untimely (prematurely, traumatically) born, He appeared to me also. 9For I am the least [worthy] of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I [at one time] fiercely oppressed and violently persecuted the church of God. 10But by the [remarkable] grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not without effect. In fact, I worked harder than all of the apostles, though it was not I, but the grace of God [His unmerited favor and blessing which was] with me. 11So whether it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed and trusted in and relied on with confidence.
12Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how is it that #Perhaps these were converted Sadducees, who as a sect denied the possibility of a resurrection (Acts 23:8).some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain [useless, amounting to nothing], and your faith is also vain [imaginary, unfounded, devoid of value and benefit—not based on truth]. 15We are even discovered to be false witnesses [misrepresenting] God, because we testified concerning Him that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised, either; 17and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and powerless [mere delusion]; you are still in your sins [and under the control and penalty of sin]. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hoped only in this life [and this is all there is], then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.
The Order of Resurrection
20But now [as things really are] Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, [and He became] the first fruits [that is, the first to be resurrected with an incorruptible, immortal body, foreshadowing the resurrection] of those who have fallen asleep [in death]. 21For since [it was] by a man that death came [into the world], it is also by a Man that the resurrection of the dead has come. 22For just as #Because of our physical nature as descendants of Adam.in Adam all die, so also #Because of our spiritual nature as born-again believers in Christ.in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s [own will be resurrected with incorruptible, immortal bodies] at His coming. 24After that comes the end (completion), when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after He has made inoperative and abolished every ruler and every authority and power. 25For Christ must reign [as King] until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy to be abolished and put to an end is death. 27For He (the Father) has put all things in subjection under His (Christ’s) feet. But when He says, “All things have been put in subjection [under Christ],” it is clear that He (the Father) who put all things in subjection to Him (Christ) is excepted [since the Father is not in subjection to His own Son]. 28However, when all things are subjected to Him (Christ), then the Son Himself will also be subjected to the One (the Father) who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all [manifesting His glory without any opposition, the supreme indwelling and controlling factor of life].
29Otherwise, what will those do who are being #This has nothing to do with Christian baptism or salvation. Paul may be referring to the practices of a pagan religion that required a ritual washing to enter an afterlife.baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people even baptized for them? 30[For that matter] why are we [running such risks and putting ourselves] #Paul’s life was continuously threatened because of his public commitment to Christ.in danger [nearly] every hour [if there is no resurrection]? 31I assure you, believers, by the pride which I have in you in [your union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily [I face death and die to self]. 32What good has it done me if, [merely] from a human point of view, I #This may refer figuratively to the furious crowd that rose up against Paul in Ephesus, rather than to literal animals (Acts 19:23-41).fought with wild animals at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised [at all], let us eat and drink [enjoying ourselves now], for tomorrow we die. 33Do not be deceived: #Paul quotes this one verse maxim from the writings of the Greek dramatist Menander (342-291 b.c.). “Bad company” in this case undoubtedly refers to the teachers who were denying the truth of the resurrection.“Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34Be sober-minded [be sensible, wake up from your spiritual stupor] as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [of you] have no knowledge of God [you are disgracefully ignorant of Him, and ignore His truths]. I say this to your shame.
35But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body will they come?” 36You fool! Every time you plant seed you sow something that does not come to life [germinating, springing up and growing] unless it first dies. 37The seed you sow is not the body (the plant) which it is going to become, but it is a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. 38But God gives it a body just as He planned, and to each kind of seed a body of its own [is given]. 39All flesh is not the same. There is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40There are also heavenly bodies [sun, moon and stars] and earthly bodies [humans, animals, and plants], but the glory and beauty of the heavenly is one kind, and the glory of the earthly is another. 41There is a glory and beauty of the sun, another glory of the moon, and yet another [distinctive] glory of the stars; and one star differs from another in glory and brilliance.
42So it is with the resurrection of the dead. The [human] body that is sown is perishable and mortal, it is raised imperishable and immortal. 43It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in strength; 44it is sown a natural body [mortal, suited to earth], it is raised a spiritual body [immortal, suited to heaven]. As surely as there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written [in Scripture], “The first man, Adam, became a living soul (an individual);” the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving spirit [restoring the dead to life]. 46However, the spiritual [the immortal life] is not first, but the physical [the mortal life]; then the spiritual. 47The first man [Adam] is from the earth, earthy [made of dust]; the second Man [Christ, the Lord] is from heaven. 48As is the earthly man [the man of dust], so are those who are of earth; and as is the heavenly [Man], so are those who are of heaven. 49Just as we have borne the image of the earthly [the man of dust], #Two early mss read “let us also.”we will also bear the image of the heavenly [the Man of heaven].
The Mystery of Resurrection
50Now I say this, believers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit nor be part of the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable (mortal) inherit the imperishable (immortal). 51Listen very carefully, I tell you a mystery [a secret truth decreed by God and previously hidden, but now revealed]; we will not all sleep [in death], but we will all be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed], 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at [the sound of] the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead [who believed in Christ] will be raised imperishable, and we will be [completely] changed [wondrously transformed]. 53For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us that is capable of dying] must put on immortality [which is freedom from death]. 54And when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the Scripture will be fulfilled that says, “Death is swallowed up in victory (vanquished forever). 55O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin [by which it brings death] is the law; 57but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory [as conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].
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1 Corinthians 15
15
The Resurrection of Christ
1Now I would remind you, brothers,#15:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 6, 31, 50, 58 of the gospel #[2 Tim. 2:8]; See ch. 3:6 I preached to you, which you received, #Rom. 5:2; [2 Cor. 1:24; 1 Pet. 5:12]in which you stand, 2and by which #ch. 1:18 you are being saved, if you #ch. 11:2; [Heb. 3:6, 14] hold fast to the word I preached to you—#Gal. 3:4unless you believed in vain.
3For #ch. 11:23; Gal. 1:12 I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died #John 1:29; Gal. 1:4; Heb. 5:1, 3; 1 Pet. 2:24 for our sins #Isa. 53; Dan. 9:26; Zech. 13:7; [1 Pet. 1:11]in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised #[Hos. 6:2; Matt. 12:40; John 2:22] on the third day #Ps. 16:10; Isa. 53:10; [Acts 2:25-32; 13:33-35; 26:22, 23]in accordance with the Scriptures, 5and that #Luke 24:34 he appeared to Cephas, then #Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36; John 20:19, 26; Acts 10:41to the twelve. 6Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to #See Acts 12:17 James, then #Luke 24:50; Acts 1:3, 4to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one untimely born, #See ch. 9:1he appeared also to me. 9For #2 Cor. 12:11; Eph. 3:7, 8; 1 Tim. 1:13-16 I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because #See Acts 8:3I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, #2 Cor. 11:23; 12:11; Col. 1:29 I worked harder than any of them, #[ch. 3:6; 2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 2:13]; See Matt. 10:20though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, #[Acts 23:8; 2 Tim. 2:18]how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, #1 Thess. 4:14then not even Christ has been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that #See Acts 2:24he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and #See Rom. 4:25you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who #1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 14:13have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If in Christ we have hope#15:19 Or we have hoped in this life only, #[ch. 4:9; 2 Tim. 3:12]we are of all people most to be pitied.
20But in fact #2 Tim. 2:8; 1 Pet. 1:3 Christ has been raised from the dead, #ver. 23; See Acts 26:23the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For as #See Rom. 5:12 by a man came death, #John 11:25; Rom. 6:23by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22For #[Rom. 5:14-18]as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then #See 1 Thess. 2:19 at his coming #ver. 52; 1 Thess. 4:16; See Luke 14:14those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end, when he delivers #[Dan. 7:14, 27] the kingdom to God the Father after destroying #Eph. 1:21every rule and every authority and power. 25For he must reign #See Ps. 110:1until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be #2 Tim. 1:10; [Rev. 20:14; 21:4]destroyed is death. 27For #Eph. 1:22; Cited from Ps. 8:6; See Matt. 11:27; 28:18“God#15:27 Greek he has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28When #Phil. 3:21 all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that #[ch. 3:23; 11:3]God may be all in all.
29Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30Why are we #2 Cor. 11:26in danger every hour? 31I protest, brothers, by #1 Thess. 2:19 my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, #Luke 9:23; See Rom. 8:36I die every day! 32What do I gain if, humanly speaking, #[2 Cor. 1:8] I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, #Cited from Isa. 22:13; [Isa. 56:12; Luke 12:19]“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33#James 1:16 Do not be deceived: #[ch. 5:6]“Bad company ruins good morals.”#15:33 Probably from Menander’s comedy Thais 34#See Rom. 13:11 Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For #1 Thess. 4:5 some have no knowledge of God. #ch. 6:5; [ch. 4:14]I say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
35But someone will ask, #[Ezek. 37:3]“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36You foolish person! #John 12:24What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 #
Dan. 12:3; [Matt. 13:43] So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43It is sown in dishonor; #Phil. 3:21; Col. 3:4it 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. 45Thus it is written, #Cited from Gen. 2:7 “The first man Adam became a living being”;#15:45 Greek a living soul #Rom. 5:14 the last Adam became a #John 5:21; [John 6:33, 39, 40, 54, 57; Rom. 8:2, 10]life-giving spirit. 46But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47#John 3:31 The first man was from the earth, #[Gen. 2:7; 3:19] a man of dust; #John 3:13, 31the second man is from heaven. 48As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, #[Phil. 3:20]so also are those who are of heaven. 49Just #Gen. 5:3 as we have borne the image of the man of dust, #See Rom. 8:29we shall#15:49 Some manuscripts let us also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Mystery and Victory
50I tell you this, brothers: #See Matt. 16:17 flesh and blood #[John 3:3, 5]cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Behold! I tell you a mystery. #1 Thess. 4:15, 17 We shall not all sleep, #Phil. 3:21but we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For #Matt. 24:31; 1 Thess. 4:16; [Isa. 27:13; Zech. 9:14] the trumpet will sound, and #John 5:25, 28; [Luke 20:36]the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and #[2 Cor. 5:2-4]this mortal body must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
# Cited from Isa. 25:8; [Heb. 2:14, 15; Rev. 20:14; 21:4] “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 #
Hos. 13:14
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56The sting of death is sin, and #Rom. 4:15; 5:13; 7:5, 8, 13the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, #[Rom. 8:37; 1 John 5:4]who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 #
2 Pet. 3:14 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in #ch. 16:10; Jer. 48:10; John 6:28 the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord #[Gal. 6:9]; See ch. 3:8your labor is not in vain.
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