1 Corinthians 15
15
Resurrection Essential to the Gospel
1Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand#Pr 24:16 2and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.#Gl 4:11; Heb 6:8 3For I passed on to you#Jd 3 as most important what I also received: that Christ died#1Co 8:11 for our sins according to the Scriptures,#Mt 26:54; 1Pt 1:20 4that he was buried,#Mt 27:59–60; Mk 15:46; Lk 23:53; Jn 19:41–42 that he was raised on the third day#1Th 4:14 according to the Scriptures,#Ps 16:10; Is 53:10; Hs 6:2; Mt 12:40; Jn 2:22; Ac 2:25–32; 13:33–35; 26:22–23 5and that he appeared to Cephas,#Lk 24:34 then to the Twelve.#Mk 16:14; Lk 24:36; Jn 20:19,26; Ac 10:41 6Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time;#Mt 28:10–20 most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James,#Jms 1:1 then to all the apostles.#Ac 1:3–11 8Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time,#15:8 Or one whose birth was unusual#1Tm 1:13–16 he also appeared to me.#Ac 9:1–8
9For I am the least of the apostles,#Eph 3:8; 1Tm 1:16–17 not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted#Php 3:6 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, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.#2Co 3:5; Php 2:13; Col 1:29 11Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.
Resurrection Essential to the Faith
12Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,#Mt 17:9 how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?#Mt 22:23; Mk 12:18; Lk 20:27; Ac 23:8; 2Tm 2:18 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.#15:14 Or proclamation is useless, and your faith also is useless, or proclamation is empty, and your faith also is empty 15Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses#Mt 26:60 about God, because we have testified#Jn 15:26 wrongly about God that he raised up Christ — whom he did not raise up, if in fact 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 worthless; you are still in your sins. 18Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ#1Th 4:16; 1Pt 5:14 have also perished. 19If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.
Christ’s Resurrection Guarantees Ours
20But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits#Ex 23:19; Lv 2:12; Rm 8:23; Col 1:18 of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death#Mt 10:21; Jn 8:51; Php 3:10 came through a man,#Gn 3:1–7; Rm 5:12–14 the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.#Mt 28:5–6; Mk 16:6; Lk 24:5–8,34; Jn 11:25; 20:9,15–18 22For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.#Rm 14:9
23But each in his own order:#1Th 4:17 Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end,#Mt 24:6; Mk 13:7 when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father,#Mt 5:16; 11:27; Lk 11:13; Jn 8:42; Eph 5:20 when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power.#Ac 8:10; Eph 1:21; 1Pt 3:22 25For he must reign#Lk 1:33; Rv 11:15 until he puts all his enemies under his feet.#Ps 110:1; Mt 22:44; Eph 1:22 26The last enemy to be abolished is death.#2Co 5:4 27For God has put everything under his feet.#15:27Ps 8:6; 110:1#Ps 8:6; 110:1 Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. 28When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son#Jn 5:19; Heb 1:2 himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.#Ps 104:24; Eph 1:23
Resurrection Supported by Christian Experience
29Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead?#15:29 Or baptized on account of the dead If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them?#15:29 Other mss read for the dead 30Why are we in danger every hour? 31I face death every day,#Rm 8:36 as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus#Eph 1:1 as a mere man, what good did that do me?#1Th 2:19 If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.#15:32Is 22:13#Is 22:13 33Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 34Come to your senses#15:34 Lit Sober up#Ti 2:12 and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.#1Co 4:14
The Nature of the Resurrection Body
35But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come?” 36You fool! What you sow does not come to life#Jn 12:24 unless it dies. 37And as for what you sow — you are not sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain. 38But God gives it a body as he wants,#Ps 143:10; Pr 16:9; Jn 5:30; Gl 1:4; Eph 1:9; 1Jn 2:17 and to each of the seeds its own body. 39Not all flesh#Php 3:3 is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor#Lk 9:31–32; Ac 22:11 of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones. 41There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star in splendor. 42So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption;#Rm 2:7; Eph 6:24; 2Tm 1:10 43sown in dishonor,#2Co 6:8 raised in glory;#1Pt 5:4 sown in weakness, raised in power;#Mk 5:30; Lk 1:35; 6:19; Ac 19:11; 2Co 13:4; Rv 11:17 44sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being;#15:45Gn 2:7#Gn 2:7 the last Adam#Rm 8:2 became a life-giving spirit. 46However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.
47The first man was from the earth, a man of dust;#Gn 2:7; 3:19; Ps 90:3 the second man is#15:47 Other mss add the Lord from heaven. 48Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.#Php 3:20–21 49And just as we have borne the image#Gn 1:27 of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.#1Jn 3:2
Victorious Resurrection
50What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh#Php 3:3 and blood#Mt 16:17 cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption. 51Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.#Mt 24:31; 1Pt 1:5 For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53For this corruptible body must be clothed#Pr 31:25 with incorruptibility,#1Pt 1:18 and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality. 54When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:
Death has been swallowed up #
Mt 23:24
in victory.#15:54Is 25:8#Is 25:8
55 Where, death, is your victory?
Where, death, is your sting? # 15:55 Hs 13:14 #
Hs 13:14
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin#Rm 4:15 is the law.#Gl 5:4 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory#1Jn 5:5 through our Lord Jesus Christ!
58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work,#Mk 14:6; Gl 3:10; Jms 2:14–26 because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
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1 Corinthians 15: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
1 Corinthians 15
15
Christ's victory over death
Christ was raised to life
1My friends, I want you to remember the message that I preached and that you believed and trusted. 2You will be saved by this message, if you hold firmly to it. But if you don't, your faith was all for nothing.
3I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. That part is:#Is 53.5-12.
Christ died for our sins,
as the Scriptures say.
4He was buried,#Ps 16.8-10; Mt 12.40; Ac 2.24-32.
and three days later
he was raised to life,
as the Scriptures say.
5Christ appeared to Peter,#15.5 Peter: See the note at 1.12.#Lk 24.34; Mt 28.16,17; Mk 16.14; Lk 24.36; Jn 20.19.
then to the twelve.
6After this, he appeared
to more than five hundred
other followers.
Most of them are still alive,
but some have died.
7He also appeared to James,
and then to all
the apostles.
8Finally, he appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time.#15.8 who was born at the wrong time: The meaning of these words in Greek is not clear.#Ac 9.3-6.
9I am the least important of all the apostles. In fact, I caused so much trouble for God's church that I don't even deserve to be called an apostle.#Ac 8.3. 10But God was kind! He made me what I am, and his wonderful kindness wasn't wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God's kindness at work and not me. 11But it doesn't matter if I preached or if they preached. All of you believed the message just the same.
God's people will be raised to life
12If we preach that Christ was raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life? 13If they won't be raised to life, Christ himself wasn't raised to life. 14And if Christ wasn't raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. 15If the dead won't be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life, when he really did not.
16So if the dead won't be raised to life, Christ wasn't raised to life. 17Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. 18And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost. 19If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.
20But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. 21Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. 22Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. 23But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns. 24Then after Christ has destroyed all powers and forces, the end will come, and he will give the kingdom to God the Father.
25Christ will rule until he puts all his enemies under his power,#Ps 110.1. 26and the last enemy he destroys will be death. 27When the Scriptures say that he will put everything under his power, they don't include God. It was God who put everything under the power of Christ.#Ps 8.6. 28After everything is under the power of God's Son, he will put himself under the power of God, who put everything under his Son's power. Then God will mean everything to everyone.
29If the dead are not going to be raised to life, what will people do who are being baptized for them? Why are they being baptized for those dead people? 30And why do we always risk our lives 31and face death every day? The pride that I have in you because of Christ Jesus our Lord is what makes me say this. 32What do you think I gained by fighting wild animals in Ephesus? If the dead are not raised to life,#Is 22.13.
“Let's eat and drink.
Tomorrow we die.”
33Don't fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you. 34Be sensible and stop sinning. You should be embarrassed that some people still don't know about God.
What our bodies will be like
35Some of you have asked, “How will the dead be raised to life? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36Don't be foolish. A seed must die before it can sprout from the ground. 37Wheat seeds and all other seeds look different from the sprouts that come up. 38This is because God gives everything the kind of body he wants it to have. 39People, animals, birds, and fish are each made of flesh, but none of them are alike. 40Everything in the heavens has a body, and so does everything on earth. But each one is very different from all the others. 41The sun isn't like the moon, the moon isn't like the stars, and each star is different.
42That's how it will be when our bodies are raised to life. These bodies will die, but the bodies that are raised will live for ever. 43These ugly and weak bodies will become beautiful and strong. 44As there are physical bodies, there are spiritual bodies. And our physical bodies will be changed into spiritual bodies.
45The first man was named Adam, and the Scriptures tell us that he was a living person. But Jesus, who may be called the last Adam, is a life-giving spirit.#Gn 2.7. 46We see that the one with a spiritual body did not come first. He came after the one who had a physical body. 47The first man was made from the dust of the earth, but the second man came from heaven. 48Everyone on earth has a body like the body of the one who was made from the dust of the earth. And everyone in heaven has a body like the body of the one who came from heaven. 49Just as we are like the one who was made out of earth, we will be like the one who came from heaven.
50My friends, I want you to know that our bodies of flesh and blood will decay. This means that they cannot share in God's kingdom, which lasts for ever. 51I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed.#1 Th 4.15-17. 52It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so that we will never die again. 53Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won't die or decay. 54The bodies we now have are weak and can die. But they will be changed into bodies that are eternal. Then the Scriptures will come true,#Is 25.8.
“Death has lost the battle!
55Where is its victory?#Ho 13.14 (LXX).
Where is its sting?”
56Sin is what gives death its sting, and the Law is the power behind sin. 57But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!
58My dear friends, stand firm and don't be shaken. Always keep busy working for the Lord. You know that everything you do for him is worthwhile.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012