1 C hristian brothers, I want to tell the Good News to you again. It is the same as I preached to you before. You received it and your faith has been made strong by it.

And now let me remind you, brethren, of the Gospel (the glad tidings of salvation) which I proclaimed to you, which you welcomed and accepted and upon which your faith rests,

2 T his is what I preached to you. You are saved from the punishment of sin by the Good News if you keep hold of it, unless your faith was worth nothing.

And by which you are saved, if you hold fast and keep firmly what I preached to you, unless you believed at first without effect and all for nothing.

3 F irst of all, I taught you what I had received. It was this: Christ died for our sins as the Holy Writings said He would.

For I passed on to you first of all what I also had received, that Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,

4 C hrist was buried. He was raised from the dead three days later as the Holy Writings said He would.

That He was buried, that He arose on the third day as the Scriptures foretold,

5 C hrist was seen by Peter. After that, the twelve followers saw Him.

And that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the Twelve.

6 A fter that, more than 500 of His followers saw Him at one time. Most of them are still here, but some have died.

Then later He showed Himself to more than five hundred brethren at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.

7 A fter that, James saw Christ. Then all the missionaries saw Him.

Afterward He was seen by James, then by all the apostles (the special messengers),

8 L ast of all, Christ showed Himself to me as if I had been born too late.

And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one prematurely and born dead '> no better than an unperfected fetus among living men].

9 F or I am the least important of all the missionaries. I should not be called a missionary because I made it so hard for God’s church.

For I am the least of the apostles, who am not fit or deserving to be called an apostle, because I once wronged and pursued and molested the church of God.

10 I am different now. It is all because of what God did for me by His loving-favor. His loving-favor was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other missionaries. But it was not I who worked. It was God’s loving-favor working through me.

But by the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not for nothing (fruitless and without effect). In fact, I worked harder than all of them, though it was not really I, but the grace (the unmerited favor and blessing) of God which was with me.

11 I t makes no difference how you heard the Good News. It could have been through the other missionaries or through me. The important thing is this: We preached the Good News to you and you believed it. We Will Be Raised from the Dead Also

So, whether then it was I or they, this is what we preach and this is what you believed.

12 W e preached to you that Christ has been raised from the dead. But some of you say that people are not raised from the dead. Why do you say this?

But now if Christ (the Messiah) is preached as raised from the dead, how is it that some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13 I f the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised from the dead.

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen;

14 I f Christ was not raised from the dead, then what we preach to you is worth nothing. Your faith in Christ is worth nothing.

And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is devoid of truth and is fruitless (without effect, empty, imaginary, and unfounded).

15 T hat makes us all liars because we said that God raised Christ from the dead. But God did not raise Christ from the dead if the dead do not come to life again.

We are even discovered to be misrepresenting God, for we testified of Him that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise in case it is true that the dead are not raised.

16 I f the dead are not raised, then not even Christ was raised from the dead.

For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised;

17 I f Christ was not raised from the dead, your faith is worth nothing and you are still living in your sins.

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is mere delusion, and you are still in your sins;

18 T hen the Christians who have already died are lost in sin.

And further, those who have died in '> spiritual fellowship and union with] Christ have perished (are lost)!

19 I f we have hope in Christ in this life only, we are more sad than anyone else.

If we who are in Christ have hope only in this life and that is all, then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied.

20 B ut it is true! Christ has been raised from the dead! He was the first One to be raised from the dead and all those who are in graves will follow.

But the fact is that Christ (the Messiah) has been raised from the dead, and He became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

21 D eath came because of a man, Adam. Being raised from the dead also came because of a Man, Christ.

For since through a man that death also through a Man that the resurrection of the dead.

22 A ll men will die as Adam died. But all those who belong to Christ will be raised to new life.

For just as '> union of nature] in Adam all people die, so also '> union of nature] shall all in Christ be made alive.

23 T his is the way it is: Christ was raised from the dead first. Then all those who belong to Christ will be raised from the dead when He comes again.

But each in his own rank and turn: Christ (the Messiah) the firstfruits, then those who are Christ’s at His coming.

24 N ext, at the end of the world, Christ will give His holy nation over to God the Father. Christ will have destroyed every nation and power.

After that comes the end (the completion), when He delivers over the kingdom to God the Father after rendering inoperative and abolishing every rule and every authority and power.

25 C hrist must be King until He has destroyed all those who hate Him and work against Him.

For must be King and reign until He has put all enemies under His feet.

26 T he last thing that will be destroyed is death.

The last enemy to be subdued and abolished is death.

27 T he Holy Writings say that God has put all things under Christ’s feet except Himself.

For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when it says, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that He is excepted Who does the subjecting of all things to Him.

28 W hen Christ is over all things, He will put Himself under God Who put all things under Christ. And God will be over all things.

However, when everything is subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also subject Himself to Who put all things under Him, so that God may be all in all.

29 W hat good will it do people if they are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised, why are people baptized for them?

Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized in behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?

30 W hy are we also in danger every hour?

why do I live in peril every hour?

31 I say this, Christian brothers, I have joy in what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for you. That is why I face death every day.

by the pride which I have in you in '> fellowship and union with] Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily.

32 A s men look at it, what good has it done for me in the city of Ephesus to fight with men who act like wild animals? If the dead are not raised, we might as well be like those who say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

What do I gain if, merely from the human point of view, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will be dead.

33 D o not let anyone fool you. Bad people can make those who want to live good become bad.

Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals and character.

34 K eep your minds awake! Stop sinning. Some do not know God at all. I say this to your shame. The Body That Will Be Raised

Awake '> from your drunken stupor and return] to sober sense and your right minds, and sin no more. For some of you have not the knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

35 S omeone will say, “How are the dead raised? What kind of bodies will they have?”

But someone will say, How can the dead be raised? With what body will they come forth?

36 W hat a foolish question! When you plant a seed, it must die before it starts new life.

You foolish man! Every time you plant seed, you sow something that does not come to life unless it dies first.

37 W hen you put it in the earth, you are not planting the body which it will become. You put in only a seed.

Nor is the seed you sow then the body which it is going to have, but it is a naked kernel, perhaps of wheat or some of the rest of the grains.

38 I t is God Who gives it a body just as He wants it to have. Each kind of seed becomes a different kind of body.

But God gives to it the body that He plans and sees fit, and to each kind of seed a body of its own.

39 A ll flesh is not the same. Men have one kind of flesh. Animals have another kind. Fish have another kind, and birds have another kind.

For all flesh is not the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for beasts, another for birds, and another for fish.

40 T here are bodies in the heavens. There are bodies on earth. Their greatness is not the same.

There are heavenly bodies (sun, moon, and stars) and there are earthly bodies (men, animals, and plants), but the beauty and glory of the heavenly bodies is of one kind, while the beauty and glory of earthly bodies is a different kind.

41 T he sun has its greatness. The moon has its greatness. Stars have their greatness. One star is different from another star in greatness.

The sun is glorious in one way, the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance.

42 I t is the same with people who are raised from the dead. The body will turn back to dust when it is put in a grave. When the body is raised from the grave, it will never die.

So it is with the resurrection of the dead. that is sown is perishable and decays, but that is resurrected is imperishable (immune to decay, immortal).

43 I t has no greatness when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with shining-greatness. It is weak when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with power.

It is sown in dishonor and humiliation; it is raised in honor and glory. It is sown in infirmity and weakness; it is resurrected in strength and endued with power.

44 I t is a human body when it dies, but it is a God-like body when it is raised from the dead. There are human bodies and there are God-like bodies.

It is sown a natural (physical) body; it is raised a supernatural (a spiritual) body. there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.

45 T he Holy Writings say, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” But the last Adam (Christ) is a life-giving Spirit.

Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being (an individual personality); the last Adam (Christ) became a life-giving Spirit.

46 W e have these human bodies first. Then we are given God-like bodies that are ready for heaven.

But it is not the spiritual life which came first, but the physical and then the spiritual.

47 A dam was the first man. He was made from the dust of the earth. Christ was the second man. He came down from heaven.

The first man from out of earth, made of dust (earthly-minded); the second Man the Lord from out of heaven.

48 A ll men of the earth are made like Adam. But those who belong to Christ will have a body like the body of Christ Who came from heaven.

Now those who are made of the dust are like him who was first made of the dust (earthly-minded); and as is from heaven, so also who are of heaven (heavenly-minded).

49 N ow, our bodies are like Adam’s body. But in heaven, our bodies will be like the body of Christ.

And just as we have borne the image of dust, so shall we and so let us also bear the image of heaven.

50 C hristian brothers, our bodies which are made of flesh and blood will not go into the holy nation of God. That which dies can have no part in that which will never die.

But I tell you this, brethren, flesh and blood cannot inherit or share in the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable (that which is decaying) inherit or share in the imperishable (the immortal).

51 F or sure, I am telling you a secret. We will not all die, but we will all be changed.

Take notice! I tell you a mystery (a secret truth, an event decreed by the hidden purpose or counsel of God). We shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed (transformed)

52 I n a very short time, no longer than it takes for the eye to close and open, the Christians who have died will be raised. It will happen when the last horn sounds. The dead will be raised never to die again. Then the rest of us who are alive will be changed.

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet call. For a trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable (free and immune from decay), and we shall be changed (transformed).

53 O ur human bodies made from dust must be changed into a body that cannot be destroyed. Our human bodies that can die must be changed into bodies that will never die.

For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality (freedom from death).

54 W hen this that can be destroyed has been changed into that which cannot be destroyed, and when this that does die has been changed into that which cannot die, then it will happen as the Holy Writings said it would happen. They said, “Death has no more power over life.”

And when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished forever) in and unto victory.

55 O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains?

O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

56 T he pain in death is sin. Sin has power over those under the Law.

Now sin is the sting of death, and sin exercises its power through the Law.

57 B ut God is the One Who gives us power over sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. We give thanks to Him for this.

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

58 S o then, Christian brothers, because of all this, be strong. Do not allow anyone to change your mind. Always do your work well for the Lord. You know that whatever you do for Him will not be wasted.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile.