1Cor 15 | ESV | STEP | Now I would remind you , brothers , of the gospel I preached to you , which you received , in which you stand ,

1 Now I would remind you, brothers, ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters; also verses 6, 31, 50, 58} of the gospel ^bI preached to you, which you received, ^cin which you stand, 2 and by which ^dyou are being saved, if you ^ehold fast to the word I preached to you— ^funless you believed in vain.

3 For ^gI delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died ^hfor our sins ⁱin accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised ^jon the third day ^kin accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that ^lhe appeared to Cephas, then ^mto the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to ⁿJames, then ^oto all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, ^phe appeared also to me. 9 For ^qI am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because ^rI persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, ^sI worked harder than any of them, ^tthough it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, ^uhow can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, ^vthen not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that ^whe raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that 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 futile and ^xyou are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who ^yhave fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope ^{▼▼Or we have hoped} in this life only, ^aawe are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact ^abChrist has been raised from the dead, ^acthe firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as ^adby a man came death, ^aeby a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For ^afas in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then ^agat his coming ^ahthose who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers ^aithe kingdom to God the Father after destroying ^ajevery rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign ^akuntil he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be ^aldestroyed is death. 27 For ^am“God ^{▼▼Greek he} 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. 28 When ^aoall things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that ^apGod may be all in all.

29 Otherwise, 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? 30 Why are we ^aqin danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by ^army pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, ^asI die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, ^atI fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ^au“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 ^avDo not be deceived: ^aw“Bad company ruins good morals.” ^{▼▼Probably from Menander’s comedy Thais} 34 ^ayWake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For ^azsome have no knowledge of God. ^baI say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

35 But someone will ask, ^bb“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! ^bcWhat you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There 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. 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 ^bdSo is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; ^beit is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, ^bf“The first man Adam became a living being”; ^{▼▼Greek a living soul} ^bhthe last Adam became a ^bilife-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 ^bjThe first man was from the earth, ^bka man of dust; ^blthe second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, ^bmso also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just ^bnas we have borne the image of the man of dust, ^bowe shall ^{▼▼Some manuscripts let us} also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Mystery and Victory

50 I tell you this, brothers: ^bqflesh and blood ^brcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. ^bsWe shall not all sleep, ^btbut we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For ^buthe trumpet will sound, and ^bvthe dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and ^bwthis mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

^bx“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 ^by“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

56 The sting of death is sin, and ^bzthe power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, ^cawho gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 ^cbTherefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in ^ccthe work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord ^cdyour labor is not in vain.