1 Corinthians 15
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm.
Now I am going to make clear to you, my brothers, what the good news was which I gave to you, and which you took, and on which your faith is based,
2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
By which you have salvation; that is to say, the form in which it was given to you, if it is fixed in your minds, and if your faith in it is not without effect.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
For I gave to you first of all what was handed down to me, how Christ underwent death for our sins, as it says in the Writings;
4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
And he was put in the place of the dead; and on the third day he came back from the dead, as it says in the Writings;
5 and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.
And he was seen by Cephas; then by the twelve;
6 After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
Then by more than five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, but some are sleeping;
7 Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
Then he was seen by James; then by all the Apostles.
8 And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth.
And last of all, as by one whose birth was out of the right time, he was seen by me.
9 For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
For I am the least of the Apostles, having no right to be named an Apostle, because of my cruel attacks on the church of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace which was given to me has not been for nothing; for I did more work than all of them; though not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
If then it is I who am the preacher, or they, this is our word, and to this you have given your faith.
12 But 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?
Now if the good news says that Christ came back from the dead, how do some of you say that there is no coming back from the dead?
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
But if there is no coming back from the dead, then Christ has not come back from the dead:
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.
And if Christ did not come again from the dead, then our good news and your faith in it are of no effect.
15 In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised.
Yes, and we are seen to be false witnesses of God; because we gave witness of God that by his power Christ came again from the dead: which is not true if there is no coming back from the dead.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised.
For if it is not possible for the dead to come to life again, then Christ has not come to life again:
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
And if that is so, your faith is of no effect; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
And, in addition, the dead in Christ have gone to destruction.
19 If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most unhappy.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
But now Christ has truly come back from the dead, the first-fruits of those who are sleeping.
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
For as by man came death, so by man there is a coming back from the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
For as in Adam death comes to all, so in Christ will all come back to life.
23 But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.
But every man in his right order: Christ the first-fruits; then those who are Christ's at his coming.
24 Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power.
Then comes the end, when he will give up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have put an end to all rule and to all authority and power.
25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
For his rule will go on till he has put all those who are against him under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
The last power to come to an end is death.
27 For “God has put everything under His feet.” Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly does not include the One who put everything under Him.
For, as it says, He has put all things under his feet. But when he says, All things are put under him, it is clear that it is not said about him who put all things under him.
28 And when all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all.
And when all things have been put under him, then will the Son himself be under him who put all things under him, so that God may be all in all.
29 If these things are not so, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?
Again, what will they do who are given baptism for the dead? if the dead do not come back at all, why are people given baptism for them?
30 And why do we endanger ourselves every hour?
And why are we in danger every hour?
31 I face death every day, brothers, as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Yes, truly, by your pride in me, my brothers in Christ Jesus our Lord, my life is one long death.
32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human motives, what did I gain? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”
If, after the way of men, I was fighting with beasts at Ephesus, what profit is it to me? If the dead do not come to life again, let us take our pleasure in feasting, for tomorrow we come to an end.
33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
Do not be tricked by false words: evil company does damage to good behaviour.
34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some of you are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.
Be awake to righteousness and keep yourselves from sin; for some have no knowledge of God: I say this to put you to shame.
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?”
But someone will say, How do the dead come back? and with what sort of body do they come?
36 You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
Foolish man, it is necessary for the seed which you put into the earth to undergo death in order that it may come to life again:
37 And what you sow is not the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else.
And when you put it into the earth, you do not put in the body which it will be, but only the seed, of grain or some other sort of plant;
38 But God gives it a body as He has designed, and to each kind of seed He gives its own body.
But God gives it a body, as it is pleasing to him, and to every seed its special body.
39 Not all flesh is the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another.
All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one flesh of men, another of beasts, another of birds, and another of fishes.
40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the splendor of the heavenly bodies is of one degree, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is of another.
And there are bodies of heaven and bodies of earth, but the glory of the one is different from that of the other.
41 The sun has one degree of splendor, the moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for the glory of one star is different from that of another.
42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable.
So is it with the coming back from the dead. It is planted in death; it comes again in life:
43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
It is planted in shame; it comes again in glory: feeble when it is planted, it comes again 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.
It is planted a natural body; it comes again as a body of the spirit. If there is a natural body, there is equally a body of the spirit.
45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
And so it is said, The first man Adam was a living soul. The last Adam is a life-giving spirit.
46 The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.
But that which is natural comes before that which is of the spirit.
47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
The first man is from the earth, and of the earth: the second man is from heaven.
48 As was the earthly man, so also are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.
Those who are of the earth are like the man who was from the earth: and those who are of heaven are like the one from heaven.
49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man.
And in the same way as we have taken on us the image of the man from the earth, so we will take on us the image of the one from heaven.
50 Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Now I say this, my brothers, that it is not possible for flesh and blood to have a part in the kingdom of God; and death may not have a part in life.
51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
See, I am giving you the revelation of a secret: we will not all come to the sleep of death, but we will all be changed.
52 in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
In a second, in the shutting of an eye, at the sound of the last horn: for at that sound the dead will come again, free for ever from the power of death, and we will be changed.
53 For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.
For this body which comes to destruction will be made free from the power of death, and the man who is under the power of death will put on eternal life.
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
But when this has taken place, then that which was said in the Writings will come true, Death is overcome by life.
O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains? (Hadēs g86)
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
The pain 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!
But praise be to God who gives us strength to overcome through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
For this cause, my dear brothers, be strong in purpose and unmoved, ever giving yourselves to the work of the Lord, because you are certain that your work is not without effect in the Lord.
