1 Corinthians 15:1–28

RESURRECTION ESSENTIAL TO THE GOSPEL

15Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand^{d 2}and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.^{e 3}For I passed on to you^f as most important what I also received: that Christ died^g for our sins according to the Scriptures,^{h 4}that he was buried,ⁱ that he was raised on the third day^j according to the Scriptures,^{k 5}and that he appeared to Cephas,^l then to the Twelve.^{m 6}Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time;ⁿ most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to James,^o then to all the apostles.^{p 8}Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time,^Bq he also appeared to me.^r

⁹For I am the least of the apostles,^s not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted^t the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.^{u 11}Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.

RESURRECTION ESSENTIAL TO THE FAITH

¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,^v how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?^{w 13}If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁴and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.^{C 15}Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses^x about God, because we have testified^y wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ^z have also perished. ¹⁹If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

CHRIST’S RESURRECTION GUARANTEES OURS

²⁰But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits^aa of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since death^ab came through a man,^ac the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.^{ad 22}For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.^ae

²³But each in his own order:^af Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end,^ag when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father,^ah when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power.^{ai 25}For he must reign^aj until he puts all his enemies under his feet.^{ak 26}The last enemy to be abolished is death.^{al 27}For God has put everything under his feet.^Aam Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception. ²⁸When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son^an himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.^ao