1 Corinthians 15:35-58

¶ But someone will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not brought to life, unless it dies first; and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but bare grain: it may be of wheat or of some other grain; but God gives it a body as it has pleased him, and to each seed its own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the heavenly glory is one thing, and the earthly glory is another. One thing is the glory of the sun, and another the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it shall be raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonour, it shall be raised with glory; it is sown in weakness, it shall be raised with power; it is sown a natural body, it shall be raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a life-giving Spirit. Howbeit the spiritual is not first, but the natural; and afterward, that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord of heaven. As is the earthy, such are those also that are earthy; and as is the heavenly, such also are those that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. ¶ Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall all indeed be raised, but we shall not all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised without corruption, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the word that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ¶ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.