1 Corinthians 15:20–49

²⁰But Christ has truly been raised from the dead—the first one and proof that those who sleep in death will also be raised. ²¹Death has come because of what one man did, but the rising from death also comes because of one man. ²²In Adam all of us die. In the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again. ²³But everyone will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was first to be raised. When Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life, ²⁴and then the end will come. At that time Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities, and powers, and he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. ²⁵Christ must rule until he puts all enemies under his control. ²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. ²⁷The Scripture says that God put all things under his control. ⁿ When it says “all things” are under him, it is clear this does not include God himself. God is the One who put everything under his control. ²⁸After everything has been put under the Son, then he will put himself under God, who had put all things under him. Then God will be the complete ruler over everything.

²⁹If the dead are never raised, what will people do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people being baptized for them?

³⁰And what about us? Why do we put ourselves in danger every hour? ³¹I die every day. That is true, brothers and sisters, just as it is true that I brag about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³²If I fought wild animals in Ephesus only with human hopes, I have gained nothing. If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.” ⁿ

³³Do not be fooled: “Bad friends will ruin good habits.” ³⁴Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning. Some of you do not know God—I say this to shame you.

What Kind of Body Will We Have?

³⁵But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” ³⁶Foolish person! When you sow a seed, it must die in the ground before it can live and grow. ³⁷And when you sow it, it does not have the same “body” it will have later. What you sow is only a bare seed, maybe wheat or something else. ³⁸But God gives it a body that he has planned for it, and God gives each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹All things made of flesh are not the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have another. ⁴⁰Also there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the beauty of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the beauty of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹The sun has one kind of beauty, the moon has another beauty, and the stars have another. And each star is different in its beauty.

⁴²It is the same with the dead who are raised to life. The body that is “planted” will ruin and decay, but it is raised to a life that cannot be destroyed. ⁴³When the body is “planted,” it is without honor, but it is raised in glory. When the body is “planted,” it is weak, but when it is raised, it is powerful. ⁴⁴The body that is “planted” is a physical body. When it is raised, it is a spiritual body.

There is a physical body, and there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵It is written in the Scriptures: “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” ⁿ But the last Adam became a spirit that gives life. ⁴⁶The spiritual did not come first, but the physical and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. ⁴⁸People who belong to the earth are like the first man of earth. But those people who belong to heaven are like the man of heaven. ⁴⁹Just as we were made like the man of earth, so we will ⁿ also be made like the man of heaven.