New Testament · Letters

1 Corinthians chapter 15

Now let me remind you, , of the I shared with you — the message you received, the one you’ve taken your stand on,and through which you are being — if you hold on to the message exactly as I shared it with you. Otherwise, your was for nothing.Because the most important thing I passed on to you was what I also received: that died for our , exactly as the said he would,that he was buried, and that he was on the third day, exactly as the Scriptures said,and that he to Peter, and then to .After that, he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at once — most of them are still alive today, though some have .Then he appeared to , then to all the .And last of all, as if to someone , he appeared to me too.Because I’m the least of the apostles — I don’t even deserve to be called an apostle, since I .But by God’s , I am what I am — and his undeserved kindness toward me wasn’t wasted. I actually worked harder than all of them, though it wasn’t really me — it was God’s undeserved kindness working through me.So whether it was me or them, this is what we all , and this is what you trusted.Now if the message we proclaimed is that the One has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say there’s no such thing as from the dead?If there’s no resurrection from the dead, then not even the One has been raised.And if the One hasn’t been raised, then everything we’ve proclaimed is — and so is your trust.What’s more, we’d be exposed as liars about God, because we about God that he raised the One — which he didn’t do, if in fact the dead aren’t raised.Because if the dead aren’t raised, then the One hasn’t been raised either.And if the One hasn’t been raised, your trust is pointless — you’re still .And then even those who trusting in the One are simply .If our hope in the One is only for this life, we are the most people on earth.But the truth is, the One has been raised from the dead — the of all who have died.Because since death came through a , the resurrection of the dead also comes through a human being.Just as everyone dies because of their connection to , everyone will be because of their connection to the One.But each in their : the One as the first of the harvest, and then those who belong to him when he .Then the end will come, when he hands over the to God the Father after he has every ruler, every , and every power.Because he must reign until he has put all his enemies .The last enemy to be dismantled is itself.Because God “put everything under his feet.” Now when it says “everything” has been put under him, obviously this doesn’t include God himself, who put everything under the One.And when everything has been made subject to him, then the Son himself will also be made subject to the one who put everything under him, so that God may be .Otherwise, what will the people who are being accomplish? If the dead aren’t raised at all, why are people being submerged for them?And why do we put ourselves in danger every hour?I face death every single day — I swear it by the pride I have in you through the One Jesus, our .If I fought in just for human reasons, what did I gain? If the dead aren’t raised, then “let’s eat and drink, because tomorrow we die.”Don’t be fooled: “.” and start thinking straight. Stop . Some of you are completely ignorant of God — I say this to your shame.But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body do they come back with?”What a question! When you plant a seed, it doesn’t come to life unless it first dies.And what you plant isn’t the body that will eventually grow — it’s just a bare seed, maybe wheat or something else.But God gives it the body he wants it to have, and to each kind of seed its own body.Not all is the same: humans have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another.There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the of the heavenly is one thing, and the brilliance of the earthly is another.The sun has one kind of brilliance, the moon another, and the stars another — and even star differs from star in brilliance.That’s what the resurrection of the dead is like. What’s planted in the ground — what’s raised .What’s planted is — what’s raised is . What’s planted is weak — what’s raised is powerful.What’s planted is a — what’s raised is a . If there’s a natural body, there’s also a spiritual body.That’s why Scripture says, “The first man, Adam, became a ” — but the last Adam became a .The spiritual didn’t come first — the natural came first, and then the spiritual.The first man was made from the . The second man is from heaven.People made from dust are like the man of dust, and people from heaven are like the man from heaven.And just as we’ve carried the of the man made from dust, we will also carry the image of the man from heaven.Here’s what I’m telling you, brothers and sisters: can’t God’s kingdom, and what decays can’t inherit what never decays.Listen — I’m telling you a : not all of us will die, but all of us will be ,in an instant, in the , at the last . Because the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised beyond the reach of decay, and we will be transformed.Because what decays must what can never decay, and what dies must put on .And when what decays has been clothed with what can never decay, and what dies has been clothed with what can never die, then the Scripture will come true: “Death has been in .”“Where is your victory now, death? Where is your , death?”Death’s sting is our , and what gives failure its power is the .But — he gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus the One!So then, my dear brothers and sisters, . Don’t let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to , because you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever .