1 Corinthians
Chapter 15
1 Friends, I tell you the good news I gave you, which you accepted and still follow.
2 You are saved by this too, if you remember what I told you, unless your belief was for nothing.
3 I first told you what I was also told: Christ died for our sins as the writings said.
4 He was buried and rose again on the third day, just as the scriptures said.
5 He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
6 After that, more than five hundred followers saw him at one time; most of them are still alive today, though some have died.
7 After that, James saw him; then all the apostles did.
8 Lastly, he was seen by me too, like someone born at the wrong time.
9 I am the least of the apostles and not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted God’s church.
10 Because of God’s kindness, I am who I am, and his kindness to me was not wasted; I worked harder than all of them, yet it was not me, but God’s kindness with me.
11 So whether it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
12 If we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why do some of you say that the dead are not raised?
13 If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised.
14 If Christ has not been raised, then our teaching is useless, and so is your faith.
15 Yes, and we are proven liars about God; because we claimed that God brought Christ back to life, which He didn’t do if it’s true that the dead don’t come back to life.
16 If the dead don’t rise, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still guilty of your sins.
18 Then those who have died believing in Christ are also lost.
19 If we only hope in Christ for this life, we are the most unhappy of all people.
20 Now Christ has risen from the dead and is the first to rise from those who have died.
21 Death came through a person, and the raising of the dead also came through a person.
22 Just as everyone dies because of Adam, so everyone will be given life because of Christ.
23 Everyone will be raised to life in their own turn: Christ was the first; then, when he comes, those who belong to him will be raised to life.
24 The end comes when he hands over the kingdom to God, the Father, after he ends all control, authority, and power.
25 He must rule until he has defeated all his enemies.
26 The final enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 God has placed everything under his control, but when it is said that everything is under him, it’s clear that this does not include God who put everything under his control.
28 When everything is under his control, then the Son will also be under the one who gave him power over everything, so that God will be everything to everyone.
29 What will those who are baptized for the dead do if the dead are not raised at all? Why are they baptized for the dead?
30 Why do we risk our lives every hour?
31 I assure you by the happiness I have in Christ Jesus our God, I face death every day.
32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus just as people do, what good is it to me if the dead don’t rise again? Let’s eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.
33 Don’t be fooled: bad company ruins good character.
34 Wake up to what is right, and do not sin; because some do not know God: I say this to make you ashamed.
35 Someone might ask, “How are the dead brought back to life? And what kind of body will they have?”
36 You fool, what you plant won’t come to life unless it dies first.
37 When you plant, you do not plant the full-grown plant, but just a seed, maybe wheat or another kind.
38 God gives it a body as he wants, and to every seed its own body.
39 Not all living beings have the same body: humans have one kind, animals another, fish another, and birds another.
40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies: the beauty of the heavenly is one kind, and the beauty of the earthly is another kind.
41 The sun has one kind of beauty, the moon another, and the stars another; and each star is different in its beauty.
42 The resurrection of the dead is like this: What is buried decays, but what is raised cannot decay.
43 It is planted with shame; it is raised with honor: it is planted weak; it is raised strong.
44 A physical body is planted; a spiritual body is raised. There is a physical body, and there is a spiritual body.
45 The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 The natural life comes first, not the spiritual one; the spiritual life comes after.
47 The first man comes from the earth and is made of earth; the second man comes from heaven and is the Lord.
48 People from the earth are like the earth; those from heaven are like heaven.
49 We have carried the likeness of the earthly, and we will also carry the likeness of the heavenly.
50 I tell you, friends, that our physical bodies cannot enter God’s kingdom; and what is perishable cannot become imperishable.
51 Look, I tell you a secret; not all of us will die, but we will all be changed.
52 In a moment, in a quick blink, when the final trumpet sounds, the trumpet will blow, the dead will rise never to die again, and we will be different.
53 This body that can be destroyed must become one that cannot be destroyed, and this body that can die must become one that cannot die.
54 When what can decay becomes undying, and what can die becomes immortal, then the saying that is written will happen: Death is overcome by triumph.
55 Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory?
56 Death hurts because of sin; and sin is powerful because of the law.
57 Thank God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear friends, remain firm, unshaken, always doing plenty in God’s work, because you know that what you do for God is never useless.