Chapter 15

The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection

1 Now aI make known to you, brethren, the bgospel which I preached to you, which also you received, cin which also you stand,

2 by which also you are saved, aif you hold fast 1the word which I preached to you, bunless you believed in vain.

3 For aI delivered to you 1as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died bfor our sins caccording to the Scriptures,

4 and that He was buried, and that He was araised on the third day baccording to the Scriptures,

5 and that aHe appeared to bCephas, then cto the twelve.

6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some ahave fallen asleep;

7 then He appeared to 1aJames, then to ball the apostles;

8 and last of all, as 1to one untimely born, aHe appeared to me also.

9 For I am athe least of the apostles, 1and not fit to be called an apostle, because I bpersecuted the church of God.

10 But by athe grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I blabored even more than all of them, yet cnot I, but the grace of God with me.

11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

12 Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there ais no resurrection of the dead?

13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised;

14 and aif Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain.

15 Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified 1against God that He araised 2Christ, whom He did not raise, 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; ayou are still in your sins.

18 Then those also who ahave fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are aof all men most to be pitied.

The Order of Resurrection

20 But now Christ ahas been raised from the dead, the bfirst fruits of those who care asleep.

21 For since aby a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead.

22 For aas in Adam all die, so also in 1Christ all will be made alive.

23 But each in his own order: Christ athe first fruits, after that bthose who are Christ’s at cHis coming,

24 then comes the end, when He hands over athe kingdom to the bGod and Father, when He has abolished call rule and all authority and power.

25 For He must reign auntil He has put all His enemies under His feet.

26 The last enemy that will be aabolished is death.

27 For aHe has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “bAll things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.

28 When aall things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that bGod may be all in all.

29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?

30 Why are we also ain danger every hour?

31 I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, aI die daily.

32 If 1from human motives I afought with wild beasts at bEphesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, clet us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

33 aDo not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

34 aBecome sober-minded 1as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have bno knowledge of God. cI speak this to your shame.

35 But asomeone will say, “How are bthe dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?”

36 aYou fool! That which you bsow does not come to life unless it dies;

37 and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of 1something else.

38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and ato each of the seeds a body of its own.

39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.

40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.

41 There 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.

42 aSo also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown 1ba perishable body, it is raised 2can imperishable body;

43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in aglory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

44 it is sown a anatural body, it is raised a bspiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

45 So also it is written, “The first aman, Adam, became a living soul.” The blast Adam became a clife-giving spirit.

46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.

47 The first man is afrom the earth, 1bearthy; the second man is from heaven.

48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, aso also are those who are heavenly.

49 Just as we have aborne the image of the earthy, 1we bwill also bear the image of the heavenly.

The Mystery of Resurrection

50 Now I say this, brethren, that aflesh and blood cannot binherit the kingdom of God; nor does 1the perishable inherit 2cthe imperishable.

51 Behold, I tell you a amystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be bchanged,

52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for athe trumpet will sound, and bthe dead will be raised 1imperishable, and cwe will be changed.

53 For this 1perishable must put on 2athe imperishable, and this bmortal must put on immortality.

54 But when this 1perishable will have put on 2the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “aDeath is swallowed up in victory.

55 “aO death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of adeath is sin, and bthe power of sin is the law;

57 but athanks be to God, who gives us the bvictory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 aTherefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in bthe work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.