1 Corinthians

Resurrection of the Dead

Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you— a message you received and on which you stand firm.

By that gospel, you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached. Otherwise, your faith has been in vain.

In the first place, I passed on to you what I myself received: that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says;

that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures;

that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.

Afterward, he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at once; most of them are still alive, although some have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles.

And last of all, he appeared to me,

the least of the apostles, who am not even worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church of God.

But by God’s grace, I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

Now, whether it was they or I, this we preach and this you have believed.

We Too Are Resurrected

Well then, if Christ is preached as having risen from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and our faith is worthless.

We are false witnesses of God, testifying that he raised Christ, when in fact he could not have raised him if the dead are not raised.

If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins.

Also, those who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.

If our hope in Christ is only for this life, then we are the most pitiful people of all.

But no, Christ has been raised from the dead, and he is victorious over all who have fallen asleep.

A human being brought death; a human being also brings the resurrection of the dead.

For, as in Adam all die, so in Christ, all will be made alive.

However, each one in his own time: first Christ, then Christ’s people when he comes.

Then, the end will come when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after having destroyed every rule, authority, and power.

For he must reign and put all enemies under his feet.

The last enemy to be destroyed will be death.

As Scripture says: God has subjected everything under his feet. When we say that everything is put under his feet, we exclude, of course, the Father who subjects everything to him.

When the Father has subjected everything to him, the Son will place himself under the One who subjected everything to him. From then on, God will be all in all.

Tell me: what are these people doing who are baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead cannot be raised, why do they want to be baptized for the dead?

As for us, why do we constantly risk our lives? For death is my daily companion.

I say this, brothers and sisters, because you are my pride in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Was it for human interest that I fought in Ephesus like a lion tamer? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!

Do not be deceived; bad theories corrupt good morals. Wake up and do not sin,

because some of you are extremely ignorant about God; I say this to your shame.

How Are the Dead Raised?

Some of you might ask: How will the dead be raised? With what kind of body will they come?

You fools! What you sow cannot sprout unless it dies.

And what you sow is not the body of the future plant, but a bare grain of wheat or another seed,

and God will give it the appropriate body, just as he gives to each seed its own body.

Now, look: not all flesh is the same; some is the flesh of humans, others the flesh of animals, and still others the flesh of birds and fish.

Likewise, there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but earthly bodies do not shine like heavenly ones.

The brightness of the sun differs from that of the moon and stars, and stars vary in brightness from each other.

The same principle applies to the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in decay; it will be raised never to die again.

It is sown in dishonor, and it will be raised in glory. It is buried in weakness, but the resurrection will be in power.

When buried, it is a natural body, but it will be raised as a spiritual body. For there will be a spiritual body, just as there is a living body now.

Scripture states that Adam, the first man, became a living being, but the last Adam has turned into a life-giving spirit.

The spirit does not appear first; instead, natural life does, and then the spirit follows.

The first man is from the earth and is earthly, but the second man comes from heaven.

Just as the earthly one is, so are the earthly people; just as the heavenly one is, so are the heavenly people.

This is why, after bearing the image of the earthly one, we will also bear the image of the heavenly one.

This I say, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and anything perishable in us cannot attain to the imperishable life.

So I want to reveal this mystery: not everyone will die, but all of us must be transformed,

in a flash, at the sound of the last trumpet. You’ve heard the trumpet heralds the end; then, in the blink of an eye, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be transformed.

For it is necessary that our mortal and perishable bodies put on the life that knows neither death nor decay.

When our perishable bodies put on imperishable life, and our mortal bodies put on immortality, the words of Scripture will be fulfilled: Death

has been swallowed up by victory.

Death, where is your victory?

Death, where is your sting?

Sin is the sting of death, which kills, and the law is what gives power to sin.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

So then, my dear brothers and sisters, stay steadfast and do not waver. Continue to grow in the work of the Lord, knowing that with him, your efforts are never in vain.