1 Corinthians 15–16

The Resurrection of Christ

15Now I would remind you, brothers,¹ of the gospel ^gI preached to you, which you received, ^hin which you stand, ²and by which ⁱyou are being saved, if you ^jhold fast to the word I preached to you—^kunless you believed in vain.

³For ^lI delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died ^mfor our sins ⁿin accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised ^oon the third day ^pin accordance with the Scriptures, ⁵and that ^qhe appeared to Cephas, then ^rto the twelve. ⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to ^sJames, then ^tto all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, as to one untimely born, ^uhe appeared also to me. ⁹For ^vI am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because ^wI persecuted 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, ^xI worked harder than any of them, ^ythough it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. ¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

¹²Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, ^zhow can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, ^athen not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that ^bhe raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that 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 futile and ^cyou are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who ^dhave fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If in Christ we have hope² in this life only, ^ewe are of all people most to be pitied.

²⁰But in fact ^fChrist has been raised from the dead, ^gthe firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For as ^hby a man came death, ⁱby a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For ^jas in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then ^kat his coming ^lthose who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end, when he delivers ^mthe kingdom to God the Father after destroying ⁿevery rule and every authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign ^ountil he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be ^pdestroyed is death. ²⁷For ^q“God³ has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. ²⁸When ^rall things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that ^sGod may be all in all.

²⁹Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? ³⁰Why are we ^tin danger every hour? ³¹I protest, brothers, by ^umy pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, ^vI die every day! ³²What do I gain if, humanly speaking, ^wI fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ^x“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” ^33yDo not be deceived: ^z“Bad company ruins good morals.”^{4 34a}Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For ^bsome have no knowledge of God. ^cI say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

³⁵But someone will ask, ^d“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” ³⁶You foolish person! ^eWhat you sow does not come to life unless it dies. ³⁷And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. ³⁸But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. ⁴⁰There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. ⁴¹There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

^42fSo is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. ⁴³It is sown in dishonor; ^git is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. ⁴⁴It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵Thus it is written, ^h“The first man Adam became a living being”;^{5 i}the last Adam became a ^jlife-giving spirit. ⁴⁶But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. ^47kThe first man was from the earth, ^la man of dust; ^mthe second man is from heaven. ⁴⁸As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, ⁿso also are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹Just ^oas we have borne the image of the man of dust, ^pwe shall⁶ also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

⁵⁰I tell you this, brothers: ^qflesh and blood ^rcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. ⁵¹Behold! I tell you a mystery. ^sWe shall not all sleep, ^tbut we shall all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For ^uthe trumpet will sound, and ^vthe dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. ⁵³For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and ^wthis mortal body must put on immortality. ⁵⁴When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

^x“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

^55y“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and ^zthe power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God, ^awho gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

^58bTherefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in ^cthe work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord ^dyour labor is not in vain.

The Collection for the Saints

16Now concerning^{1 e}the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. ²On ^fthe first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, ^gas he may prosper, ^hso that there will be no collecting when I come. ³And when I arrive, I will send ⁱthose whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

Plans for Travel

^5jI will visit you after passing through ^kMacedonia, for ^lI intend to pass through Macedonia, ⁶and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may ^mhelp me on my journey, wherever I go. ⁷For I do not want to see you now ⁿjust in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, ^oif the Lord permits. ⁸But I will stay in Ephesus until ^pPentecost, ⁹for ^qa wide door for effective work has opened to me, and ^rthere are many adversaries.

^10sWhen Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for ^the is doing ^uthe work of the Lord, as I am. ¹¹So ^vlet no one despise him. ^wHelp him on his way ^xin peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.

Final Instructions

¹²Now concerning ^your brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will² to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.

^13zBe watchful, ^astand firm in the faith, ^bact like men, ^cbe strong. ^14dLet all that you do be done in love.

¹⁵Now I urge you, brothers³—you know that ^ethe household⁴ of Stephanas were ^fthe first converts⁵ in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves ^gto the service of the saints— ^16hbe subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. ¹⁷I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for ⁱyour absence, ¹⁸for they ^jrefreshed my spirit as well as yours. ^kGive recognition to such people.

Greetings

¹⁹The churches of Asia send you greetings. ^lAquila and Prisca, together with ^mthe church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. ²⁰All the brothers send you greetings. ⁿGreet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹I, Paul, write ^othis greeting with my own hand. ²²If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be ^paccursed. Our Lord, come!^{6 23q}The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. ²⁴My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.