1 Corinthians 15
15
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, 2 by which you are also saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as a matter of foremost importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve.* 6 Afterwards, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, the greater part of whom remain until the present time, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Thereafter, He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all, as to one untimely born, He was also seen by me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, not deserving of being called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace towards me was not ineffective.* Rather, I laboured more abundantly than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it is I or they, so we preach in this manner, and so you have believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then* neither has Christ been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is ineffective, your faith also is ineffective. 15 And also we are found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified concerning God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise—if in fact the dead are not raised.* 16 For if the dead are not raised, then neither has Christ been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is devoid of benefit; you are still in your sins. 18 Then also, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have utterly perished. 19 If we have placed our hope only for this life, we are of all men* most miserable.
20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits* of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came* through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came* through a man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his* own order: Christ the firstfruits; thereafter, those who are Christ's at His coming, 24 then the end, when He hands over the kingdom to our* God and Father, when He has destroyed all rule and all authority and power. 25 For it is necessary for Him to reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all things in subjection under His feet.” But when it says that “All things are put in subjection”, it is clear that the One who put all things in subjection to Him is excluded. 28 Moreover, when all things are put in subjection to Him, then the Son Himself will be put in subjection to the One who put all things in subjection to Him, so that God may be all in all.
29 Otherwise, what will those who are baptised for the dead do? If the dead are not truly raised, why then are they baptised for them? 30 Why do we also undergo peril every hour? 31 I solemnly affirm, brothers, by my* boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day. 32 If, in human terms,* I fought with wild beasts in Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”* 33 Do not be misled: “Evil associations corrupt good character.”* 34 Be sober in a righteous way and do not sin, for some are ignorant of God*—I speak to your shame.
The Nature of the Believers’ Resurrection Body
35 Now someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 36 You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that it will be, but you sow the bare grain—perhaps of wheat or of some other kind. 38 And God gives it a body in accordance with His design, and to each of the seeds its own body. 39 All flesh is not the same, but there is one flesh of mankind, and another flesh of animals, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. 40 Moreover, there are celestial bodies and earthly bodies; but the glory of the celestial bodies is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly bodies is of another kind. 41 There exists one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and yet another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in a state of decay, it is raised in indestructibility. 43 It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there exists a natural body, there exists also a spiritual body. 45 So also it is written: “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.”* The last Adam was a life-giving spirit. 46 But the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the one who was made of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly one, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.
The Mystery of Resurrection
50 Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood is not able to inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the flash of an eye, at the final trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For it is necessary for this perishable body to put on imperishability, and for this mortal body to put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then will take place the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”*
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”*
56 Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law. 57 But thanks be to God, the One who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, immovable, continually excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.
Notes
5 Some ancient manuscripts read Eleven, possibly to harmonise the text with Matt. 28:16
10 Or in vain . So also v. 14
13 The logical connective then is contextually supplied for clarity. So also v. 16
15 One ancient Greek manuscript omits the conditional clause if in fact the dead are not raised
19 Or people, as the term is understood in a generic sense
20 Greek firstfruit
21 The irregular verb came is contextually supplied for clarity. Used twice in this verse
23 Greek the . In this context, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, thus translating to his
24 Greek the . In this context, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, thus translating to our
31 Greek the . In this context, the Greek definite article functions pronominally, thus translating to my
32 Greek according to man
32 Quoted from Is. 22:13
33 Possibly a quote from the Greek poet called Menander
34 Greek for some have ignorance of God
45 Quoted from Gen. 2:7
54 See Is. 25:8
55 Quoted from Hos. 13:14
Currently Selected:
1 Corinthians 15: AFINTLIT
Highlight
Copy
Compare
Share
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
