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1 Corinthians 15

1Brothers, I make known to you the good news I announced to you, which you also received and in which you stand. 2Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the message I announced to you—unless you believed in vain. 3For among the first things I handed on to you was what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he has been 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 brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, though some have fallen asleep. 7After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared also to me. 9For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God's assembly. 10But by God's grace I am what I am, and his grace toward me did not prove empty. Rather, I labored more than all of them—yet not I, but God's grace with me. 11So whether it was I or they, this is what we proclaim, and this is what you believed.

12But if Christ is proclaimed as having been raised from the dead, how can some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our proclamation is empty, and your faith is empty too. 15We are even found to be false witnesses about God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if indeed the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19If it is only in this life that we have hoped in Christ, we are more pitiable than all people.

20But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a human being, resurrection of the dead also comes through a human being. 22For just as all die in Adam, so also all will be made alive in Christ. 23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he brings every rule and every authority and power to an end. 25For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet. 26Death is the last enemy brought to an end. 27For “he subjected everything under his feet.” But when it says that everything has been subjected, clearly this excludes the one who subjected everything to him. 28And when everything has been subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

29Otherwise, what will those who are baptized for the dead do? If the dead are not raised at all, why are they even baptized for them? 30Why are we also in danger every hour? 31I die every day—as surely as I have my boast in you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with merely human aims, what benefit is it to me? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.” 34Sober up as you should, and stop sinning, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to shame you.

35But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36Foolish person! What you yourself sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37And what you sow is not the body that will come to be, but a bare grain, perhaps wheat or something else. 38But God gives it a body just as he wished, and to each of the seeds its own body. 39Not all flesh is the same flesh: there is one kind for human beings, another flesh for livestock, another flesh for birds, and another for fish. 40There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one kind and that of the earthly another. 41The sun has one glory, the moon another, and the stars another; indeed, star differs from star in glory.

42So it is also with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown in decay is raised in imperishability; 43what is sown in dishonor is raised in glory; what is sown in weakness is raised in power. 44A natural body is sown; a spiritual body is raised. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. 45So it is also written, “The first human being, Adam, became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46But the spiritual is not first; the natural is first, and afterward the spiritual. 47The first human being is from the earth, made of dust; the second human being is from heaven. 48As is the one made of dust, so are those made of dust; as is the heavenly one, so are the heavenly. 49And just as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we will also bear the image of the heavenly one.

50This is what I mean, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit God's kingdom, nor does decay inherit imperishability. 51Look, I tell you a mystery: we will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, 52in an instant, in the flick of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53For this perishable must put on imperishability, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54And when this perishable puts on imperishability, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the written saying will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55“Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58So, my beloved brothers, become steadfast and immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work, knowing that your labor is not empty in the Lord.

Translation notes 5

15:1–11 — The received announcement. “Among the first things” can also mean “as of first importance.” The repeated “has been raised” expresses a resulting state. Cephas is Peter; the Twelve is a group designation, not a reconstructed count of everyone present. “Brothers” can include women. “One born abnormally” preserves a harsh birth image that can denote a miscarriage or premature birth; its exact application to Paul's calling is uncertain. Falling asleep means dying.

15:12–28 — Resurrection and rule. The repeated claims and conditions are not compressed. “Firstfruits” is the first portion of a harvest, anticipating more. Both occurrences of “all” in verse 22 are retained, with their relation to Adam and Christ; the passage's precise scope should be argued from the context rather than settled by added words. “God the Father” renders the designation “God and Father.” The Son's final subjection and “God may be all in all” are left as stated, without a supplied later theological explanation.

15:29–34 — Baptism for the dead. The most direct reading is baptism on behalf of dead people, though the practice and its purpose remain uncertain. Paul refers to “those” doing it, then to “we” in danger; he neither commands the practice here nor explicitly condemns it. Alternatives understand baptism because of the dead or in relation to expected resurrection. “Fought wild beasts” may be literal or a metaphor for dangerous opponents. “With merely human aims” renders “according to a human being,” whose exact force is disputed. Verse 32 quotes Isaiah 22:13; verse 33 uses a proverbial line also associated with Menander.

15:35–49 — Bodies and transformation. “Natural” and “spiritual” describe two kinds of body; the second is still called a body, not a disembodied soul. “Living soul” retains the wording of the Genesis 2:7 quotation and means a living being here. The last Adam is identified through the contrast with the first, without inserting his name. “We will bear” follows the base; a well-attested different reading says “let us bear.” The base also lacks “the Lord” before the second human being in verse 47.

15:50–58 — Mortal and imperishable. Flesh and blood describes mortal humanity in this argument; it is not a claim that every physical embodiment is evil. The sleep/change sentence in verse 51 has several ancient variants, including “we will all sleep, but we will not all be changed.” The base's contrast is retained. Clothing imagery remains in “put on.” Verse 55 twice addresses Death; the alternative mentioning Hades is not the base. “Empty” at the close recalls the repeated emptiness language earlier in the chapter.