1Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[1]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,5and that he appeared to Cephas,[2] and then to the Twelve.6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,8and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.11Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
The resurrection of the dead
12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.15More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.23But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.27For he ‘has put everything under his feet’. Now when it says that ‘everything’ has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. (Ps 8:6)28When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.29Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptised for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptised for them?30And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?31I face death every day – yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ (Isa 22:13)33Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’[3]34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God – I say this to your shame.
The resurrection body
35But someone will ask, ‘How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?’36How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.37When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else.38But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.39Not all flesh is the same: people have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another.40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly bodies is another.41The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendour.42So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;43it is sown in dishonour, it 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.45So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. (Ge 2:7)46The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.47The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven.48As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.49And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we[4] bear the image of the heavenly man.50I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.51Listen, I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed –52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.53For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ (Isa 25:8)55‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ (Ho 13:14)56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.58Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15
English Standard Version
The Resurrection of Christ
1Now I would remind you, brothers,[1] of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, (Ro 5:2; 1Co 3:6; 2Co 1:24; 2Ti 2:8; 1Pe 5:12)2and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. (1Co 1:18; 1Co 11:2; Ga 3:4; Heb 3:6; Heb 3:14)3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, (Da 9:26; Zec 13:7; Joh 1:29; 1Co 11:23; Ga 1:4; Ga 1:12; Heb 5:1; Heb 5:3; 1Pe 1:11; 1Pe 2:24)4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (Ps 16:10; Isa 53:10; Ho 6:2; Mt 12:40; Joh 2:22; Ac 2:25; Ac 13:33; Ac 26:22)5and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. (Mr 16:14; Lu 24:34; Lu 24:36; Joh 20:19; Joh 20:26; Ac 10:41)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 James, then to all the apostles. (Lu 24:50; Ac 1:3; Ac 12:17)8Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (1Co 9:1)9For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. (Ac 8:3; 2Co 12:11; Eph 3:7; 1Ti 1:13)10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (Mt 10:20; 1Co 3:6; 2Co 3:5; 2Co 11:23; 2Co 12:11; Php 2:13; Col 1:29)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, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? (Ac 23:8; 2Ti 2:18)13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. (1Th 4:14)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 he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. (Ac 2:24)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 you are still in your sins. (Ro 4:25)18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. (1Th 4:16; Re 14:13)19If in Christ we have hope[2] in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1Co 4:9; 2Ti 3:12)20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (Ac 26:23; 1Co 15:23; 2Ti 2:8; 1Pe 1:3)21For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. (Joh 11:25; Ro 5:12; Ro 6:23)22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (Ro 5:14)23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (Lu 14:14; 1Co 15:52; 1Th 2:19; 1Th 4:16)24Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. (Da 7:14; Da 7:27; Eph 1:21)25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. (Ps 110:1)26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. (2Ti 1:10; Re 20:14; Re 21:4)27For “God[3] 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. (Ps 8:6; Mt 11:27; Mt 28:18; Eph 1:22)28When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. (1Co 3:23; 1Co 11:3; Php 3:21)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 in danger every hour? (2Co 11:26)31I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! (Lu 9:23; Ro 8:36; 1Th 2:19)32What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” (Isa 22:13; Isa 56:12; Lu 12:19; 2Co 1:8)33Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”[4] (1Co 5:6; Jas 1:16)34Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. (Ro 13:11; 1Co 4:14; 1Co 6:5; 1Th 4:5)
The Resurrection Body
35But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” (Eze 37:3)36You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. (Joh 12:24)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.42So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. (Da 12:3; Mt 13:43)43It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. (Php 3:21; Col 3:4)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, “The first man Adam became a living being”;[5] the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (Ge 2:7; Joh 5:21; Joh 6:33; Joh 6:39; Joh 6:54; Joh 6:57; Ro 5:14; Ro 8:2; Ro 8:10)46But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual.47The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. (Ge 2:7; Ge 3:19; Joh 3:13; Joh 3:31)48As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. (Php 3:20)49Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall[6] also bear the image of the man of heaven. (Ge 5:3; Ro 8:29)
Mystery and Victory
50I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. (Mt 16:17; Joh 3:3; Joh 3:5)51Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, (Php 3:21; 1Th 4:15; 1Th 4:17)52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (Isa 27:13; Zec 9:14; Mt 24:31; Lu 20:36; Joh 5:25; Joh 5:28; 1Th 4:16)53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (2Co 5:2)54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (Isa 25:8; Heb 2:14; Re 20:14; Re 21:4)55“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (Ho 13:14)56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (Ro 4:15; Ro 5:13; Ro 7:5; Ro 7:8; Ro 7:13)57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ro 8:37; 1Jo 5:4)58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (Jer 48:10; Joh 6:28; 1Co 3:8; 1Co 16:10; Ga 6:9; 2Pe 3:14)