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
and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.
For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep.
For I am the least of the apostles, 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 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.
Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say, “There is no resurrection of the dead”?
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.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.
If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.
But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man.
But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; afterward, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.
Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he abolishes all rule and all authority and power.
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.
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.
I face death every day, as surely as I may boast about you, brothers and sisters, in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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.
But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come? ”
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.
Not all flesh is the same flesh; there is one flesh for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is different from that of the earthly ones.
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.
So it is with the resurrection of the dead: Sown in corruption, raised in incorruption;
sown a natural body, raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
So it is written, The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
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.
And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven.
What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor can corruption inherit incorruption.
Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,
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.
For this corruptible body must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body must be clothed with immortality.
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.
Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017, 2020 by Holman Bible Publishers.
Additional information is provided here.
For more information on this translation, see the CSB Preface.