15
1 Now
I declare to
you, brothers, the
Good News which
I preached to
you, which also
you received, in
which you also
stand,
2 by
which also you
are saved, if
you hold firmly
the word which
I preached to
you—unless you
believed in vain.
3 For
I delivered to
you first of
all that which
I also received:
that Christ died
for our sins
according to the
Scriptures,
4 that
he was buried,
that he was
raised on the
third day
according to the
Scriptures,
5 and
that he appeared
to Cephas, then
to the twelve.
6 Then
he appeared to
over five
hundred brothers at
once, most of
whom remain until
now, but some
have also fallen
asleep.
7 Then
he appeared to
James, then to
all the apostles,
8 and
last of all,
as to the child
born at the wrong
time, he appeared
to me also.
9 For
I am the
least of
the apostles, who
is not worthy
to be called
an apostle, because
I persecuted the
assembly of God.
10 But
by the grace
of God I
am what I
am. His grace
which was given to
me was not
futile, but I
worked more than
all of them;
yet not I,
but the grace
of God which
was with me.
11 Whether
then it is
I or they,
so we preach,
and so you
believed.
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, neither
has Christ been
raised.
14 If
Christ has not
been raised, then
our preaching is
in vain and
your faith also
is in vain.
15 Yes,
we are also
found false
witnesses of God,
because we
testified about
God that he
raised up Christ,
whom he didn’t
raise up if
it is true
that the dead
are not raised.
16 For
if the dead aren’t
raised, neither
has Christ been
raised.
17 If
Christ has not
been raised, your
faith is vain;
you are still
in your sins.
18 Then
they also who
are fallen asleep
in Christ
have perished.
19 If
we have only
hoped in Christ
in this life,
we are of
all men
most pitiable.
20 But
now Christ has
been raised from
the dead. He
became the
first fruit of
those who are
asleep.
21 For
since death came
by man,
the resurrection of
the dead also
came by man.
22 For
as in Adam all die,
so also in
Christ all will
be made alive.
23 But
each in his
own order: Christ
the first fruits,
then those who
are Christ’s at
his coming.
24 Then
the end comes,
when he will
deliver up
the Kingdom to God
the Father, when
he will have
abolished all rule
and all authority
and power.
25 For
he must reign until
he has put
all his enemies
under his feet.
26 The
last enemy that
will be abolished
is death.
27 For, “He
put all things
in subjection
under his
feet.”
But when he
says, “All things
are put in
subjection”, it is
evident that he
is excepted who
subjected all
things to him.
28 When
all things have
been subjected to
him, then the
Son will
also himself be
subjected to him
who subjected all
things to him,
that God may
be all in
all.
29 Or
else what will
they do who
are baptized for
the dead? If
the dead aren’t
raised at all,
why then are
they baptized for
the dead?
30 Why
do we also
stand in jeopardy
every hour?
31 I
affirm, by the
boasting in you
which I have
in Christ Jesus
our Lord, I die
daily.
32 If
I fought
with animals at
Ephesus for human purposes,
what does it
profit me? If
the dead are
not raised,
then “let’s eat
and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
33 Don’t be
deceived! “Evil companionships
corrupt good
morals.”
34 Wake up
righteously and don’t sin,
for some have
no knowledge of
God. I say
this to your
shame.
35 But
someone will say,
“How are the
dead raised?” and,
“With what kind
of body do
they come?”
36 You foolish
one, that which
you yourself sow
is not made
alive unless
it dies.
37 That
which you sow,
you don’t sow
the body that
will be, but
a bare grain, maybe
of wheat, or
of some other
kind.
38 But
God gives it
a body even
as it pleased him,
and to each
seed a body
of its own.
39 All
flesh is not
the same flesh,
but there is
one flesh of
men, another flesh
of animals, another
of fish, and
another of birds.
40 There
are also celestial
bodies and
terrestrial bodies;
but the glory
of the
celestial differs from
that of the
terrestrial.
41 There
is one glory
of the sun,
another glory of
the moon, and
another glory of
the stars; for
one star differs
from another star
in glory.
42 So
also is
the resurrection of
the dead. The body
is sown perishable;
it is
raised imperishable.
43 It
is sown
in dishonor; 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.
There is a
natural body and
there is also
a spiritual body.
45 So
also it is
written, “The
first man Adam
became a living
soul.”
The last Adam
became a
life-giving spirit.
46 However,
that which is
spiritual isn’t
first, but that
which is natural,
then that which
is spiritual.
47 The
first man is
of the earth,
made of dust. The
second man is
the Lord from
heaven.
48 As
is the one made
of dust, such are
those who are
also made of dust;
and as is
the heavenly, such
are they also
that are heavenly.
49 As
we have borne
the image of
those made of dust,
let’s
also bear the
image of the
heavenly.
50 Now
I say this,
brothers,
that flesh
and blood can’t
inherit God’s Kingdom;
neither does the
perishable inherit 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
twinkling of an
eye, at the
last trumpet. For
the trumpet will
sound and the
dead will be
raised incorruptible, and
we will be changed.
53 For
this perishable body
must become imperishable, and
this mortal must
put on immortality.
54 But
when this
perishable body
will have
become imperishable, and
this mortal will
have put
on immortality, then
what is written
will happen: “Death
is swallowed up
in victory.”
55 “Death,
where is your
sting?
Hades,
where is your
victory?”
56 The
sting of death
is sin, and the
power of sin is
the law.
57 But
thanks be to
God, who gives
us the victory
through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore,
my beloved brothers, be
steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the
Lord’s work,
because you know
that your labor
is not in
vain in the
Lord.