1 Corinthians 15:14-58

14and 1if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain. 15Moreover we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified 2against God that He 3raised 4Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; 17and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; 5you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who 6have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are 7of all men most to be pitied.

20But now Christ 8has been raised from the dead, the 9first fruits of those who 10are asleep. 21For since 11by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For 12as in Adam all die, so also in 13Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ 14the first fruits, after that 15those who are Christ’s at 16His coming, 24then comes the end, when He hands over 17the kingdom to the 18God and Father, when He has abolished 19all rule and all authority and power. 25For He must reign 20until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy that will be 21abolished is death. 27For 22He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “23All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28When 24all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that 25God may be all in all.

29Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them? 30Why are we also 26in danger every hour? 31I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, 27I die daily. 32If 28from human motives I 29fought with wild beasts at 30Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, 31let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. 3332Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” 3433Become sober-minded 34as you ought, and stop sinning; for some have 35no knowledge of God. 36I speak this to your shame.

35But 37someone will say, “How are 38the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” 3639You fool! That which you 40sow does not come to life unless it dies; 37and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of 41something else. 38But God gives it a body just as He wished, and 42to each of the seeds a body of its own. 39All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. 40There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another. 41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

4243So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown 4445a perishable body, it is raised 4647an imperishable body; 43it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in 48glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44it is sown a 49natural body, it is raised a 50spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45So also it is written, “The first 51man, Adam, became a living soul.” The 52last Adam became a 53life-giving spirit. 46However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. 47The first man is 54from the earth, 5556earthy; the second man is from heaven. 48As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, 57so also are those who are heavenly. 49Just as we have 58borne the image of the earthy, 59we 60will also bear the image of the heavenly.

50Now I say this, brethren, that 61flesh and blood cannot 62inherit the kingdom of God; nor does 63the perishable inherit 6465the imperishable. 51Behold, I tell you a 66mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be 67changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for 68the trumpet will sound, and 69the dead will be raised 70imperishable, and 71we will be changed. 53For this 72perishable must put on 7374the imperishable, and this 75mortal must put on immortality. 54But when this 76perishable will have put on 77the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “78Death is swallowed up in victory. 5579O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56The sting of 80death is sin, and 81the power of sin is the law; 57but 82thanks be to God, who gives us the 83victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

5884Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in 85the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.