1 Corinthians 15
15
1Now I want to remind you about the good news I announced to you. You accepted it, and you have stood firm for it. 2It is through this good news that you are saved if you hold on to the message that I gave you. Otherwise you trusted for nothing! 3I passed on to you what I myself had also received, a message of vital importance: that Christ died for our sins, according to Scripture; 4he was buried and was raised from the dead on the third day, again in accordance with Scripture. 5He appeared to Peter, then to the Twelve. 6After that he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still alive today, though some have died. 7He appeared to James, then all the apostles. 8Last of all, he also appeared to me, someone born as it were at the wrong time. 9For I'm the least important apostle of all, not even fit to be called an apostle since I persecuted God's church. 10But by God's grace I am what I am, and his grace given to me wasn't wasted. On the contrary I've worked harder than all of them—though not me, but God's grace working through me. 11So whether it's I or they, this is the message we shared with you that brought you to trust in God.
12Now if the message declares that Christ has been raised from the dead, how is it that some of you say there's no resurrection of the dead? 13If there's no resurrection of the dead then Christ hasn't been raised either. 14And if Christ isn't raised, then our message we shared with you is pointless, and your trust in God is pointless too. 15In addition, we would be shown to be false witnesses of God when we testified that God raised Christ from the dead. But God didn't raise Christ from the dead if it's true that there's no resurrection. 16If the dead are not raised, then Christ hasn't been raised either, 17and if Christ hasn't been raised, then your trust in God is useless, and you are still in your sins. 18This also means that those who died in Christ are lost. 19If our hope in Christ is only for this life, we're the most pitiful people of all!
20But Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits#15:20. The word “firstfruits” refers to the first sample of a harvest that was given as an offering to God, also seen as a guarantee of a successful harvest. Christ as the firstfruits therefore means he is both the initial harvest from the dead and the guarantee of their resurrection. of the harvest from those who have died. 21Just as death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead came through a man. 22Just as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in their own turn: Christ the firstfruits, then those who belong to Christ when he comes. 24After this comes the end, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having destroyed#15:24. Destroyed in the sense of ending their power. all rulers, authorities, and powers. 25Christ has to rule until he has put all his enemies under his feet.#15:25. Meaning they have been conquered and humbled. 26The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27As Scripture says, “He put everything under his feet.”#15:27. Quoting Psalms 8:6. (Of course when it says “everything” is put under him it's obvious this doesn't refer to God who placed everything under Christ's authority.) 28When everything has been placed under Christ's authority, then the Son will also place himself under God's authority, so that God who gave the Son authority over everything may be all in all.#15:28. “All in all.” Various explanations have been given for this phrase. It is obviously referring to the completeness of God's rulership in the Universe, and is perhaps best translated literally from the original as “all in all.”
29Otherwise what will those people do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then would people be baptized for them?#15:29. The theological meaning of this verse is much debated. However, the actual words are translated simply enough. 30As for us, why do we place ourselves in danger hour after hour? 31I die every day—let me say it bluntly, my brothers and sisters. This is just as sure as the pride I have for what Christ Jesus has done in you. 32Humanly speaking, what would I gain by fighting with those people in Ephesus who were like wild animals, if the dead are not raised? If the dead are not raised, “let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die”!#15:32. Quoting Isaiah 22:13.
33Don't be fooled: “Bad company ruins good character.” 34Come to your senses as you should, and stop sinning! Some of you don't know God. I tell you this to shame you.
35Of course somebody will ask, “How exactly are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” 36What a foolish question! What you sow doesn't sprout into life unless it dies. 37When you sow, you don't sow the plant it will grow into, just the bare seed, whether wheat or whatever you're planting. 38God makes the plant grow into the form he has chosen, and different seeds produce different plants with different forms. 39What living things are made from is not the same. Human beings have one kind of body tissue, while animals have another, birds another, and fish another. 40There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies have one kind of beauty, earthly bodies another. 41The sun shines in one way, and the moon another, while the stars are different again, with each one shining in a different way.
42It's the same with the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in decay; it is raised to last forever. 43It is sown in shame; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44It is sown as a natural body; it is raised as a spiritual body. Just as there are natural bodies there are spiritual bodies. 45As Scripture says, “The first man, Adam, became a living being”;#15:45. Quoting Genesis 2:7. but the last Adam a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural—the spiritual came after that. 47The first man is from the dust of the earth; the second man is from heaven. 48Earthly people are like the man made from the earth; heavenly people are like the man from heaven. 49Just as we bore the likeness of the earthly man so we shall bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 50However, I tell you this, my brothers and sisters: our present bodies#15:50. Literally, “flesh and blood.” cannot inherit the kingdom of God. These decaying bodies cannot inherit what lasts forever.
51Listen, I'm going to reveal a mystery! Not all of us will die—but we will all be changed, 52in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised never to die again, and we will be changed. 53For this perishable body must be clothed with a body that never perishes. This mortal life must be clothed with immortality. 54When this perishable body has been clothed with a body that never perishes, and this mortal life has been clothed with immortality, then the Scripture will come true that says, “Death has been totally conquered and destroyed. 55Death—where's your victory? Death—where's your sting?”#15:55. Referencing Isaiah 25:8; Hosea 13:14. 56The sting that causes death is sin; and the power of sin is the law; 57but praise God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58So my dear brothers and sisters: be strong, stand firm, doing everything you can for the Lord's work, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord is wasted.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
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