1 Corinthians 15 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

The Resurrection of Christ

(cf. Mar 16:9–20 )

1Co 15:1Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters,[fn] of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.

1Co 15:2

1Co 15:2It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.[fn]

1Co 15:3

1Co 15:3I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

1Co 15:4

1Co 15:4He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

1Co 15:5

1Co 15:5He was seen by Peter[fn] and then by the Twelve.

1Co 15:6

1Co 15:6After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers[fn] at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

1Co 15:7

1Co 15:7Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.

1Co 15:8

1Co 15:8Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

1Co 15:9

1Co 15:9For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

1Co 15:10

1Co 15:10But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

1Co 15:11

1Co 15:11So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

(cf. 1Th 4:13–18 )

1Co 15:12

1Co 15:12But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?

1Co 15:13

1Co 15:13For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.

1Co 15:14

1Co 15:14And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.

1Co 15:15

1Co 15:15And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.

1Co 15:16

1Co 15:16And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.

1Co 15:17

1Co 15:17And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.

1Co 15:18

1Co 15:18In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!

1Co 15:19

1Co 15:19And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

1Co 15:20

1Co 15:20But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

1Co 15:21

1Co 15:21So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.

1Co 15:22

1Co 15:22Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

1Co 15:23

1Co 15:23But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

1Co 15:24

1Co 15:24After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.

1Co 15:25

1Co 15:25For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.

1Co 15:26

1Co 15:26And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

1Co 15:27

1Co 15:27For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.”[fn] (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)

1Co 15:28

1Co 15:28Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

1Co 15:29

1Co 15:29If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?

1Co 15:30

1Co 15:30And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour?

1Co 15:31

1Co 15:31For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you.

1Co 15:32

1Co 15:32And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus[fn]—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[fn]

1Co 15:33

1Co 15:33Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

1Co 15:34

1Co 15:34Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.

The Resurrection Body

1Co 15:35

1Co 15:35But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?”

1Co 15:36

1Co 15:36What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.

1Co 15:37

1Co 15:37And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.

1Co 15:38

1Co 15:38Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed.

1Co 15:39

1Co 15:39Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

1Co 15:40

1Co 15:40There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies.

1Co 15:41

1Co 15:41The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.

1Co 15:42

1Co 15:42It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.

1Co 15:43

1Co 15:43Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.

1Co 15:44

1Co 15:44They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

1Co 15:45

1Co 15:45The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.”[fn] But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.

1Co 15:46

1Co 15:46What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.

1Co 15:47

1Co 15:47Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.

1Co 15:48

1Co 15:48Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man.

1Co 15:49

1Co 15:49Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like[fn] the heavenly man.

1Co 15:50

1Co 15:50What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

1Co 15:51

1Co 15:51But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!

1Co 15:52

1Co 15:52It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

1Co 15:53

1Co 15:53For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

1Co 15:54

1Co 15:54Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die,[fn] this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.[fn]

1Co 15:55

1Co 15:55O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?[fn]”

1Co 15:56

1Co 15:56For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.

1Co 15:57

1Co 15:57But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Co 15:58

1Co 15:58So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.