1 Corinthians 15:3-40

For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised up on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, the majority of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all, as it were to one born at the wrong time, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain, but I labored even more than all of them, and not I, but the grace of God with me. Therefore whether I or those, in this way we preached, and in this way you believed. Now if Christ is preached as raised up from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, Christ has not been raised either. But if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. And also we are found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if after all, then, the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is empty; you are still in your sins. And as a further result, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have put our hope in Christ in this life only, we are of all people most pitiable. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since through a man came death, also through a man came the resurrection of the dead. For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own group: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s at his coming, then the end, when he hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when he has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For it is necessary for him to reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be abolished is death. For “he subjected all things under his feet.” But when it says “all things” are subjected, it is clear that the one who subjected all things to him is not included. But whenever all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him, in order that God may be all in all. Otherwise, why do they do it, those who are being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why indeed are they being baptized on behalf of them? And why are we in danger every hour? I die every day—yes indeed, by my boasting in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord! If according to a human perspective I fought wild beasts at Ephesus, what benefit is it to me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Do not be deceived! “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Sober up correctly and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God—I say this to your shame. But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what sort of body do they come?” Foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which it will become, but you sow the bare seed, whether perhaps of wheat or of some of the rest. But God gives to it a body just as he wishes, and to each one of the seeds its own body. Not all flesh is the same, but there is one flesh of human beings, and another flesh of animals, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish, and heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the glory of the heavenly bodies is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly bodies is of another kind.