1 Corinthians 15

Chapter 15

The Resurrection of Christ

1 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters,t of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.

2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.t
3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.5 He was seen by Petert and then by the Twelve.6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followerst at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

11 So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!

19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
21 So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

23 But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.27 For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.”t (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)

28 Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

29 If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?
30 And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour?31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you.32 And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesust—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”t33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

34 Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.

The Resurrection Body

35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?”36 What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.37 And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.38 Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed.

39 Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
40 There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies.

41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.
42 It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.

44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.”t But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.46 What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.47 Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.48 Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man.

49 Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be liket the heavenly man.

50 What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die,t this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.t55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?t”56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.

57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

1 CORINTHIANS 15

Christ Was Raised to Life

1 My friends, I want you to remember the message I preached and that you believed and trusted.

2 You will be saved by this message, if you hold firmly to it. But if you don't, your faith was all for nothing.

3  t I told you the most important part of the message exactly as it was told to me. This part is:
Christ died for our sins,
as the Scriptures say.

4  t He was buried,
and three days later
he was raised to life,
as the Scriptures say.

5  t Christ appeared to Peter, t
then to the twelve.

6 After this, he appeared
to more than five hundred
other followers.
Most of them are still alive,
but some have died.

7 He also appeared to James,
then to all of the apostles.

8  t Finally, he appeared to me, even though I am like someone who was born at the wrong time.t
9  t I am the least important of all the apostles. In fact, I caused so much trouble for God's church that I don't even deserve to be called an apostle. 10 But God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn't wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God's grace at work and not me.

11 But it doesn't matter if I preached or if they preached. All of you believed the message just the same.

God's People //Will Be Raised to Life

15 If the dead won't be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying he raised Christ to life, when he really did not.
16 So if the dead won't be raised to life, Christ wasn't raised to life. 17 Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins. 18 And those people who died after putting their faith in him are completely lost.

19 If our hope in Christ is good only for this life, we are worse off than anyone else.
20 But Christ has been raised to life! And he makes us certain that others will also be raised to life. 21 Just as we will die because of Adam, we will be raised to life because of Christ. 22 Adam brought death to all of us, and Christ will bring life to all of us. 23 But we must each wait our turn. Christ was the first to be raised to life, and his people will be raised to life when he returns.

24 Then after Christ has destroyed all powers and forces, the end will come, and he will give the kingdom to God the Father.
25  t Christ will rule until he puts all his enemies under his power, 26 and the last enemy he destroys will be death. 27 t When the Scriptures say he will put everything under his power, they don't include God. It was God who put everything under the power of Christ.

28 After everything is under the power of God's Son, he will put himself under the power of God, who put everything under his Son's power. Then God will mean everything to everyone.
29  t If the dead are not going to be raised to life, what will people do who are being baptized for them? Why are they being baptized for those dead people? 30 And why do we always risk our lives 31 and face death every day? The pride that I have in you because of Christ Jesus our Lord is what makes me say this.

32 t What do you think I gained by fighting wild animals in Ephesus? If the dead are not raised to life,
“Let's eat and drink.
Tomorrow we die.”
33 Don't fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you.

34 Be sensible and stop sinning. You should be embarrassed that some people still don't know about God.

What Our Bodies Will Be Like

41 The sun isn't like the moon, the moon isn't like the stars, and each star is different.
42 That's how it will be when our bodies are raised to life. These bodies will die, but the bodies that are raised will live forever. 43 These ugly and weak bodies will become beautiful and strong.

44 As surely as there are physical bodies, there are spiritual bodies. And our physical bodies will be changed into spiritual bodies.
45  t The first man was named Adam, and the Scriptures tell us that he was a living person. But Jesus, who may be called the last Adam, is a life-giving spirit. 46 We see that the one with a spiritual body did not come first. He came after the one who had a physical body. 47 The first man was made from the dust of the earth, but the second man came from heaven. 48 Everyone on earth has a body like the body of the one who was made from the dust of the earth. And everyone in heaven has a body like the body of the one who came from heaven.

49 Just as we are like the one who was made out of earth, we will be like the one who came from heaven.
50 My friends, I want you to know that our bodies of flesh and blood will decay. This means they cannot share in God's kingdom, which lasts forever. 51 t I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed. 52 It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so we will never die again. 53 Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won't die or decay.

54 t The bodies we now have are weak and can die. But they will be changed into bodies that are eternal. Then the Scriptures will come true,
“Death has lost the battle!

55  t Where is its victory?
Where is its sting?”
56 Sin is what gives death its sting, and the Law is the power behind sin.

57 But thank God for letting our Lord Jesus Christ give us the victory!
58 My dear friends, stand firm and don't be shaken. Always keep busy working for the Lord. You know that everything you do for him is worthwhile.