The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Corinthians 15
1 Now I declare to you, brothers, the
Good News whichI preached to you, which
also you received, in which you also stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold
firmly the word which I preached to you—
unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that
which I also received: that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 that he was buried, that he was raised
on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to
the twelve.
6 Then he appeared to over five hundred
brothers at once, most of whom remain
until now, but some have also fallen
asleep.
7 Then he appeared to James, then to all
the apostles,
8 and last of all, as to the child born at the
wrong time, he appeared to me also.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who is
not worthy to be called an apostle, because
I persecuted the assembly of God.
10 But by the grace of God I am whatI am.
His grace which was given to me was not
futile, but I worked more than all of them;
yet not I, but the grace of God which was
with me.
11 Whether then it is I or they, so we
preach, and so you believed.
12 Now if Christ is preached, that he has
been raised from the dead, how do some
among you say that there is no resurrection
of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the
dead, neither has Christ been raised.
14 If Christ has not been raised, then our
preaching is in vain and your faith also is
in vain.
15 Yes, we are also found false witnesses
of God, because we testified about God that
he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise
up if it is true that the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead aren’t raised, neither
has Christ been raised.
17 If Christhasnot beenraised, your faith
is vain; you are still in your sins.
18 Then they also who are fallen asleep in
Christ have perished.
19 If we have only hoped in Christ in this
life, we are of all men most pitiable.
20 But now Christ has been raised from
the dead. He became the first fruit of those
who are asleep.
21 For since death came by man, the
resurrection of the dead also came by man.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ
all will be made alive.
23 But each in his own order: Christ the
first fruits, then those who are Christ’s at
his coming.
24 Then the end comes, when he will
deliver up the Kingdom to God the Father,
when he will have abolished all rule and
all authority and power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all
his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that will be abolished
is death.
27 For, “He put all things in subjection
under his feet.”* But when he says, “All
things are put in subjection”, it is evident
thathe is excepted who subjectedallthings
to him.
28 When all things have been subjected
to him, then the Son will also himself be
subjected to him who subjected all things
to him, that God may be all in all.
29 Or else what will they do who are
baptized for the dead? If the dead aren’t
raised at all, why then are they baptized
for the dead?
30 Why do we also stand in jeopardy
every hour?
31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which
I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If I fought with animals at Ephesus for
humanpurposes, what does it profitme? If
the dead are not raised, then “let’s eat and
drink, for tomorrow we die.”*
33 Don’t be deceived! “Evil companionships
corrupt good morals.”
34 Wake up righteously and don’t sin, for
some have no knowledge of God. I say this
to your shame.
35 But someone will say, “How are the
dead raised?” and, “With what kind of
body do they come?”
36 You foolish one, that which you your self
sow is not made alive unless it dies.
37 That which you sow, you don’t sow the
body that will be, but a bare grain, maybe
of wheat, or of some other kind.
38 But God gives it a body even as it
pleased him, and to each seed a body of its
own.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but
there is one flesh of men, another flesh of
animals, another of fish, and another of
birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies and
terrestrialbodies; butthe glory ofthe celestial
differs from that of the terrestrial.
41 There is one glory of the sun, another
glory ofthe moon, and another glory ofthe
stars; for one star differs from another star
in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead.
The body is sown perishable; it is raised
imperishable.
43 It is sown in dishonor; it 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. There is a natural body and
there is also a spiritual body.
45 So also it is written, “The first man
Adam became a living soul.” * The last
Adam became a life-giving spirit.
46 However, that which is spiritual isn’t
first, but that which is natural, then that
which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, made of
dust. The second man is the Lord from
heaven.
48 As is the one made of dust, such are
those who are also made of dust; and as is
the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly.
49 As we have borne the image of those
made of dust, let’s† also bear the image of
the heavenly.
50 Now I say this, brothers,‡ that flesh
and blood can’t inherit God’s Kingdom;
neither does the perishable inherit imperishable.
51 Behold,§ I tell you a mystery. We will
not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound and the dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we will be changed.
53 For this perishable body must become
imperishable, and this mortal must put on
immortality.
54 But when this perishable body will
have become imperishable, and this
mortal will have put on immortality,
then what is written will happen:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”*
55 “Death, where is your sting?
Hades,† where is your victory?”*
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power
of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be
steadfast, immovable, always abounding
in the Lord’s work, because you know that
your labor is not in vain in the Lord.