1 Corinthians 15:1-9

1Now brothers and sisters, let me remind you [once again] of the good news [of salvation] which I preached to you, which you welcomed and accepted and on which you stand [by faith].

2By this faith you are saved [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain [just superficially and without complete commitment].

3For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],

4and that He was buried, and that He was [bodily] raised on the third day according to [that which] the Scriptures [foretold],

5and that He appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the Twelve.

6After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, the majority of whom are still alive, but some have fallen asleep [in death].

7Then He was seen by James, then by all the apostles,

8and last of all, as to one untimely (prematurely, traumatically) born, He appeared to me also.

9For I am the least [worthy] of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I [at one time] fiercely oppressed and violently persecuted the church of God.