1 Corinthians 15

1Now I would remind you, brethren, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, 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, then to the twelve. 6After that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8And last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared to me also. 9For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit 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 toward me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

12Now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; 14if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 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 have perished. 19If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.

20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since by a man came death, by a man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then, at his coming, those who belong to him. 24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all rule and all 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. 27"For God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "All things are put in subjection under him," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him. 28When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to the one who put all things under him, that God may be all in all. 29Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are people baptized for them? 30Why are we also in danger every hour? 31I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." 33Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." 34Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

35But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" 36You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37And that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, 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. 39For not all flesh is the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of birds, and another of fish. 40There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is 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. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised imperishable; 43it is sown in dishonor, 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 became a life-giving spirit. 46However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; and then the spiritual. 47The first man was from the earth, of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50Now I tell you this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

51Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 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 will be changed. 53For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then will come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 55"O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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