Christ Died and Rose According to the Scriptures
MOREOVER brothers, I made known to you the gospel which I proclaimed to you, which you have also received, and wherein you stand;
2 By which you also are saved, if you hold fast to what I proclaimed to you, unless you have believed in vain.
3 ¶ For I delivered to 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 by over five hundred brothers at one time; of whom the greater part remain until this present day, but some have fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen by James; then by all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen by me also, as of one abnormally born.
9 ¶ For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Congregation 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 even more than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
11 Therefore whether I or they, in this way we preach; and in this way you believed.
The Risen Christ is our Hope
12 ¶ Now if Christ is preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen:
14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty.
15 ¶ Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he did not raise up, if then the dead do not rise.
16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not raised:
17 And if Christ is not raised, your faith is empty; you are still in your sins.
18 Then also those which have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
19 If in this life we only have hope in Christ, we of all men are to be pitied!
Christ to Put All Enemies Under His Feet
20 ¶ But now Christ has risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of those that slept.
21 For since through man came death, through man also came the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
23 ¶ But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward those that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 Then the end, when He hands over the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He has put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For He must reign, until he has put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
27 For He has put all things under His feet. But when He says: all things are put under Him, it is evident that He is excepted, whom subjected all things to Him.
28 And when all things are subdued to him, then shall the Son also himself be subject to him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
No Resurrection, No Hope
29 ¶ Else what shall those do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? why then are they baptized for the dead?
30 And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?
31 I die daily, that afterwards I may boast in Christ Jesus our Lord of you.
32 If after the motives of men I have fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it advantage me, if the dead do not rise? Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die!
33 Be not deceived: evil associations corrupt good morals.
34 ¶ Sober up to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
35 But some will say: How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
36 Are you ignorant? That which you sow is not made alive, except it die:
37 And that which you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but only bare grain, perhaps of wheat, or of some other grain:
38 But God gives it a body as it pleases him, and to every seed its own body.
39 ¶ All flesh is not the same flesh: rather there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
40 There are also heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies: but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly 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 differs 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 into a life giving spirit.
46 However the spiritual is not first, rather the natural; and then afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, having been made from the earth: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
48 As is the man made of the earth, so also they that are earthy: and as is the heavenly man, so also they that are heavenly.
49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we also shall bear the image of the heavenly.
We Shall All Be Changed
50 ¶ Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither can corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this, the corruptible must clothe itself in incorruption, and this mortal must clothe itself in immortality.
54 ¶ So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has 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 your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?
56 The sting of death is sin; and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 ¶ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, at all times knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.