3 For I passed on to youf as most important what I also received: that Christ diedg for our sins according to the Scriptures,h 4 that he was buried,i that he was raised on the third dayj 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. 7 Then he appeared to James,o then to all the apostles.p 8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time,C,q he also appeared to me.r

9 For I am the least of the apostles,s not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecutedt the church of God. 10 But 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

12 Now 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; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.D 15 Moreover, we are found to be false witnessesx about God, because we have testifiedy wrongly about God that he raised up Christ—whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christz have also perished. 19 If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

CHRIST’S RESURRECTION GUARANTEES OURS

20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruitsaa of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since deathab 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

23 But each in his own order:af Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.