Resurrection Essential to the Gospel

1Now •brothers, I want to clarifya for you the gospel I proclaimed to you; you received it and have taken your standb on it. 2You are also saved by it, if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you — unless you believed for no purpose.c, d 3For I passed on to youe as most important what I also received:

that Christ diedf for our sins

according to the Scriptures,g

4that He was buried,h

that He was raised on the third dayi

according to the Scriptures,j

5and that He appeared to •Cephas,k

then to the Twelve.l

6Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time;m

most of them are still alive,

but some have fallen •asleep.

7Then He appeared to James,n

then to all the apostles.o

8Last of all, as to one abnormally born,p, q

He also appeared to me.r

9For I am the least of the apostles,s unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecutedt the church of God. 10But by God’s grace I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not ineffective. However, I worked more than any of them, yet not I, but God’s grace that was with me.u 11Therefore, whether it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.

Resurrection Essential to the Faith

12Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead,v how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?w 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is without foundation, and so is your faith.x 15In addition, we are found to be false witnessesy about God, because we have testifiedz about God that He raised up Christ — whom He did not raise up if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18Therefore, those who have fallen asleep in Christaa have also perished. 19If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

Christ’s Resurrection Guarantees Ours

20But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the •firstfruitsab of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since deathac came through a man,ad the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.ae 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.af 23But each in his own order:ag Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at His coming, those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end,ah when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father,ai when He abolishes all rule and all authority and power.aj 25For He must reignak until He puts all His enemies under His feet.al 26The last enemy to be abolished is death.am 27For God has put everything under His feet.an, ao But when it says “everything” is put under Him, it is obvious that He who puts everything under Him is the exception. 28And when everything is subject to Christ, then the Sonap Himself will also be subject to the One who subjected everything to Him, so that God may be all in all.aq

Resurrection Supported by Christian Experience

29Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them?ar 30Why are we in danger every hour? 31I affirm by the pride in you that I have in Christ Jesus our Lord: I die every day!as 32If I fought wild animals in Ephesusat with only human hope,au what good did that do me?av, aw If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.ax, ay 33Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”az 34Come to your sensesba, bb and stop sinning, for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.bc

The Nature of the Resurrection Body

35But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come? ” 36Foolish one! What you sow does not come to lifebd unless it dies. 37And as for what you sow — you are not sowing the future body, but only a seed,be perhaps of wheat or another grain. 38But God gives it a body as He wants,bf and to each of the seeds its own body. 39Not all fleshbg is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendorbh of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones. 41There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; for one star differs from another star in splendor. 42So it is with the resurrection of the dead:

Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption;bi

43sown in dishonor,bj raised in glory;bk

sown in weakness, raised in power;bl

44sown a natural body, 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;bm, bn the last Adambo became a life-giving Spirit. 46However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.

47The first man was from the earth

and made of dust;bp

the second man isbq from heaven.

48Like the man made of dust,

so are those who are made of dust;

like the heavenly man,

so are those who are heavenly.br

49And just as we have borne

the imagebs of the man made of dust,

we will also bear

the image of the heavenly man.bt

Victorious Resurrection

50Brothers, I tell you this: Fleshbu and bloodbv cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption cannot inherit incorruption. 51Listen! I am telling you a •mystery:

We will not all fall asleep,

but we will all be changed,

52in a moment, in the blink of an eye,

at the last trumpet.bw

For the trumpet will sound,

and the dead will be raised incorruptible,

and we will be changed.

53For this corruptible must be clothedbx

with incorruptibility,by

and this mortal must be clothed

with immortality.

54When this corruptible is clothed

with incorruptibility,

and this mortal is clothed

with immortality,

then the saying that is written will take place:

Death has been swallowed upbz in victory.ca, cb

55Death, where is your victory?

Death, where is your sting?cc, cd

56Now the sting of death is sin,

and the power of since is the law.cf

57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victorycg

through our Lord Jesus Christ!

58Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work,ch knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.