The Resurrection Chapter
I Corintians 15
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I
preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye
stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I
preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was
buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the
scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren
at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen
asleep.
7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the
apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one
born out of due time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, that
am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace
which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than
they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with
me.
11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so
ye believed.
12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the
dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the
dead?
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is
Christ not risen:
14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our
preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15 Yea, and we are
found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up
Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise
not.
16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ
raised:
17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye
are yet in your sins.
18 Then they also which are fallen asleep
in Christ are perished.
19 If in this life only we have hope in
Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
20 But now is Christ
risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that
slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the
resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own
order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his
coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up
the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and
all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put
all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his
feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is
excepted, which did put all things under him.
28 And when all
things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in
all.
29 Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead,
if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the
dead?
30 And why stand we in jeopardy every
hour?
31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ
Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If after the manner of men I
have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise
not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
33 Be not
deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
34 Awake to
righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this
to your shame.
35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised
up? and with what body do they come?
36 Thou fool, that which
thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
37 And that which
thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may
chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
38 But God giveth it a
body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own
body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind
of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of
birds.
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies
terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the
terrestrial is another.
41 There is one glory of the sun, and
another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star
differeth from another star in glory.
42 So also is the
resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption:
43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory:
it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
44 It is sown a
natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there
is a spiritual body.
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam
was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening
spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but
that which is natural; and afterward that which is
spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second
man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly.
49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we
shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
50 Now this I say,
brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a
mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So
when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have
put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy
sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
56 The sting of death is
sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to
God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast,
unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that
your labour is not in vain in the Lord.