Christ Raised From the Dead
15 1 Now I want to remind you, brothers and sisters, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.
3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what 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 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 And last of all he appeared to me also, like one born at the wrong time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of our Father. 10 But by the grace of our Father I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of our Father that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
If Christ Was Not Raised
12 Now if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about our Father, because we testified about our Father that he raised Christ from the dead — but he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are more to be pitied than anyone alive.
20 But Christ has indeed 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 comes through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. 24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to our Father, after he has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. a a v24 When everything is complete, the Son places the whole kingdom back into the hands of our Father — the goal of all things is the Father himself. 25 For he must 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 everything under his feet. Now when it says that everything has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include our Father himself, who put everything under the Son. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to the one who put everything under him, so that our Father may be all in all. b b v28 When everything is finally restored, the Son gladly takes his place under our Father, so that our Father is everything to everyone — the destination the whole story has been moving toward.
29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? c c v29 The exact practice Paul refers to here is unknown; he uses it as evidence that even those doing it believed in resurrection. 30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day — yes, as surely as I boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus only from human motives, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good character." 34 Come back to your right senses and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of our Father — I say this to your shame.
The Body the Father Gives
35 But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" 36 How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not sow the body that will be, but just a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But our Father gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 Not all flesh is the same: people have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
42 So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. d d v45 Jesus is the "last Adam": where the first Adam brought death to everyone, Jesus gives life to all who belong to him. 46 But it was not the spiritual that came first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so we will also bear the image of the heavenly man.
50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of our Father, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed 52 —in a moment, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal must clothe itself with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to our Father! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.