Chapter 15

Now I recall to your minds, brethren, the gospel that I preached to you, which also you received, wherein also you stand,

through which also you are being saved, if you hold it fast, as I preached it to you---unless you have believed to no purpose.

For I delivered, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures,

and that he appeared to Cephas, and after that to the Eleven.

Then he was seen by more than five hundred brethren at one time, many of whom are with us still, but some have fallen asleep.

After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

And last of all, as by one born out of due time, he was seen also by me.

For I am the least of the apostles, and am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace in me has not been fruitless---in fact I have labored more than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you have believed. The False Doctrine

Now if Christ is preached as risen from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ risen;

and if Christ has not risen, vain then is our preaching, vain too is your faith.

Yes, and we are found false witnesses as to God, in that we have borne witness against God that he raised Christ---whom he did not raise, if the dead do not rise.

For if the dead do not rise, neither has Christ risen;

and if Christ has not risen, vain is your faith, for you are still in your sins.

Hence they also who have fallen asleep in Christ, have perished.

If with this life only in view we have had hope in Christ, we are of all men the most to be pitied. Christ the First-fruits

But as it is, Christ has risen from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

For since by a man came death, by a man also comes resurrection of the dead.

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

But each in his own turn, Christ as first-fruits, then they who are Christ's, who have believed, at his coming.

Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when he does away with all sovereignty, authority and power.

For he must reign, until "he has put all his enemies under his feet."

And the last enemy to be destroyed will be death, for "he has put all things under his feet." But when he says

all things are subject to him, undoubtedly he is excepted who has subjected all things to him.

And when all things are made subject to him, then the Son himself will also be made subject to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all. Practical Faith

Else what shall they do who receive Baptism for the dead? If the dead do not rise at all, why then do people receive Baptism for them?

And we, why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?

I die daily, I affirm it, by the very pride that I take in you, brethren, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If, as men do, I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead do not rise, "let us eat and drink for tomorrow we shall die."

Do not be led astray, "evil companionships corrupt good morals."

Awake as you should, and do not sin; for some have no knowledge of God. To your shame I say so. The Mode of the Resurrection

But someone will say, "How do the dead rise? Or with what kind of body do they come?

Senseless man, what thou thyself sowest is not brought to life, unless it dies.

And when thou sowest, thou dost not sow the body that shall be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or something else.

But God gives it a body even as he has willed, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.

All flesh is not the same flesh, but here is one flesh of man, another of beasts, another of birds, another of fishes.

There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but of one kind is the glory of the heavenly, of another kind the glory of the earthly.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.

So also with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown in corruption rises in incorruption;

What is sown in dishonor rises in glory; what is sown in weakness rise in power;

what is sown a natural body rises a spiritual body. The Natural and the Spiritual Body If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

But it is not the spiritual that comes first, but the physical, and then the spiritual.

The first man was of the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven, heavenly.

As was the earthy man, such also are the earthy; and as is the heavenly man, such also are the heavenly.

Therefore, even as we have borne the likeness of the earthy, let us bear also the likeness of the heavenly. Final Glory of the Body

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood can obtain no part in the kingdom of God, neither shall corruption have any part in incorruption.

Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall all indeed rise, but we shall not all be changed---

in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise incorruptible and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible body must put on incorruption, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

But when this mortal body puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the word that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory!

O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? "

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

But thanks be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

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