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1 Corinthians 15 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Resurrection Essential to the Gospel
(cf. Mar 16:9–20 )
1Co 15:1

Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand

1Co 15:2

and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you ​— ​unless you believed in vain.

1Co 15:3

For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

1Co 15:4

that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

1Co 15:5

and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.

1Co 15:6

Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.

1Co 15:7

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

1Co 15:8

Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time,[fn] he also appeared to me.

1Co 15:9

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

1Co 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

1Co 15:11

Whether, then, it is I or they, so we proclaim and so you have believed.

Resurrection Essential to the Faith
(cf. 1Th 4:13–18 )
1Co 15:12

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?

1Co 15:13

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised;

1Co 15:14

and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation is in vain, and so is your faith.[fn]

1Co 15:15

Moreover, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified wrongly about God that he raised up Christ ​— ​whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead are not raised.

1Co 15:16

For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.

1Co 15:17

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

1Co 15:18

Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished.

1Co 15:19

If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.

Christ’s Resurrection Guarantees Ours
1Co 15:20

But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1Co 15:21

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

1Co 15:22

For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

1Co 15:23

But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.

1Co 15:24

Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power.

1Co 15:25

For he must reign until he puts all his enemies under his feet.

1Co 15:26

The last enemy to be abolished is death.

1Co 15:27

For God has put everything under his feet. Now when it says “everything” is put under him, it is obvious that he who puts everything under him is the exception.

1Co 15:28

When everything is subject to Christ, then the Son himself will also be subject to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all.

Resurrection Supported by Christian Experience
1Co 15:29

Otherwise what will they do who are being baptized for the dead?[fn] If the dead are not raised at all, then why are people baptized for them?[fn]

1Co 15:30

Why are we in danger every hour?

1Co 15:31

I face death every day, as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1Co 15:32

If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus as a mere man, what good did that do me? If the dead are not raised, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.

1Co 15:33

Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

1Co 15:34

Come to your senses[fn] and stop sinning; for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame.

The Nature of the Resurrection Body
1Co 15:35

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come? ”

1Co 15:36

You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

1Co 15:37

And as for what you sow ​— ​you are not sowing the body that will be, but only a seed, perhaps of wheat or another grain.

1Co 15:38

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

1Co 15:39

Not all flesh is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

1Co 15:40

There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones.

1Co 15:41

There is a splendor of the sun, another of the moon, and another of the stars; in fact, one star differs from another star in splendor.

1Co 15:42

So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption;

1Co 15:43

sown in dishonor, raised in glory; sown in weakness, raised in power;

1Co 15:44

sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

1Co 15:45

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

1Co 15:46

However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual.

1Co 15:47

The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is[fn] from heaven.

1Co 15:48

Like the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; like the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven.

1Co 15:49

And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.

Victorious Resurrection
1Co 15:50

What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption.

1Co 15:51

Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,

1Co 15:52

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

1Co 15:53

For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.

1Co 15:54

When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place:

Death has been swallowed up in victory.

1Co 15:55

Where, death, is your victory?

Where, death, is your sting?

1Co 15:56

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

1Co 15:57

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

1Co 15:58

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

CSB Footnotes
Or one whose birth was unusual
Or proclamation is useless, and your faith also is useless, or proclamation is empty, and your faith also is empty
Or baptized on account of the dead
Other mss read for the dead
Lit Sober up
Other mss add the Lord
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1 Corinthians Chapter 15 — Additional Translations: