1 Corinthians 15:1–28

The Risen Christ, Faith’s Reality

15Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel ^awhich I preached to you, which also you received and ^bin which you stand, ^2cby which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless ^dyou believed in vain.

³For ^eI delivered to you first of all that ^fwhich I also received: that Christ died for our sins ^gaccording to the Scriptures, ⁴and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day ^haccording to the Scriptures, ⁵ⁱand that He was seen by ¹Cephas, then ^jby the twelve. ⁶After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have ²fallen asleep. ⁷After that He was seen by James, then ^kby all the apostles. ^8lThen last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

⁹For I am ^mthe least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because ⁿI persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But ^oby the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, ^pyet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. ¹¹Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Risen Christ, Our Hope

¹²Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, ^qthen Christ is not risen. ¹⁴And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. ¹⁵Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because ^rwe have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. ¹⁶For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. ¹⁷And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; ^syou are still in your sins! ¹⁸Then also those who have ³fallen ^tasleep in Christ have perished. ^19uIf in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

The Last Enemy Destroyed

²⁰But now ^vChrist is risen from the dead, and has become ^wthe firstfruits of those who have ⁴fallen asleep. ²¹For ^xsince by man came death, ^yby Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall ^zbe made alive. ²³But ^aeach one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. ²⁴Then comes the end, when He delivers ^bthe kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵For He must reign ^ctill He has put all enemies under His feet. ^26dThe last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷For ^e“He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ^28fNow when all things are made subject to Him, then ^gthe Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.