1 Corinthians 15:20–49

²⁰But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised. ²¹For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising from death comes by means of a man. ²²For just as all people die because of their union with Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union with Christ. ²³But each one will be raised in the right order: Christ, first of all; then, at the time of his coming, those who belong to him. ²⁴Then the end will come; Christ will overcome all spiritual rulers, authorities, and powers, and will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father. ^25*For Christ must rule until God defeats all enemies and puts them under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be defeated will be death. ^27*For the scripture says, “God put all things under his feet.” It is clear, of course, that the words “all things” do not include God himself, who puts all things under Christ. ²⁸But when all things have been placed under Christ’s rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him; and God will rule completely over all.

²⁹Now, what about those people who are baptized for the dead? What do they hope to accomplish? If it is true, as some claim, that the dead are not raised to life, why are those people being baptized for the dead? ³⁰And as for us—why would we run the risk of danger every hour? ³¹My brothers and sisters, I face death every day! The pride I have in you, in our life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord, makes me declare this. ^32*If I have, as it were, fought “wild beasts” here in Ephesus simply from human motives, what have I gained? But if the dead are not raised to life, then, as the saying goes, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die.”

³³Do not be fooled. “Bad companions ruin good character.” ³⁴Come back to your right senses and stop your sinful ways. I declare to your shame that some of you do not know God.

The Resurrection Body

³⁵Someone will ask, “How can the dead be raised to life? What kind of body will they have?” ³⁶You fool! When you sow a seed in the ground, it does not sprout to life unless it dies. ³⁷And what you sow is a bare seed, perhaps a grain of wheat or some other grain, not the full-bodied plant that will later grow up. ³⁸God provides that seed with the body he wishes; he gives each seed its own proper body.

³⁹And the flesh of living beings is not all the same kind of flesh; human beings have one kind of flesh, animals another, birds another, and fish another.

⁴⁰And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; the beauty that belongs to heavenly bodies is different from the beauty that belongs to earthly bodies. ⁴¹The sun has its own beauty, the moon another beauty, and the stars a different beauty; and even among stars there are different kinds of beauty.

⁴²This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life. When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised, it will be immortal. ⁴³When buried, it is ugly and weak; when raised, it will be beautiful and strong. ⁴⁴When buried, it is a physical body; when raised, it will be a spiritual body. There is, of course, a physical body, so there has to be a spiritual body. ^45*For the scripture says, “The first man, Adam, was created a living being”; but the last Adam is the life-giving Spirit. ⁴⁶It is not the spiritual that comes first, but the physical, and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first Adam, made of earth, came from the earth; the second Adam came from heaven. ⁴⁸Those who belong to the earth are like the one who was made of earth; those who are of heaven are like the one who came from heaven. ⁴⁹Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth, so we will wear^r the likeness of the Man from heaven.