BSB 1 COR Chapter 15

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now, brothers, I want to remind you [of] the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. 2 By [this gospel] you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas[fn] [and] then to the Twelve. 6 After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 And last of all He appeared to me also, as to [one] of untimely birth.

9 For I am the least of the apostles [and] am unworthy 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 to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that [was] with me. 11 Whether, then, [it was] I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from [the] dead, how {can} some of you say that there is no resurrection of [the] dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of [the] dead, [then] not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching [is] worthless, and [so is] your faith. 15 In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ {from the dead}, [but] He did not raise [Him] if in fact [the] dead are not raised.

16 For if [the] dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also {who} have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If our hope in Christ [is] for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.

The Order of Resurrection

20 But Christ {has} indeed been raised from [the] dead, [the] firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death [came] through a man, [the] resurrection of [the] dead [comes] also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in [his] own turn: Christ [the] firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to [Him].

24 Then the end [will come], when He hands over the kingdom to God [the] Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all [His] enemies under His feet. 26 [The] last enemy to be destroyed [is] death. 27 For “[God] has put everything under His feet.”[fn] Now when it says that everything has been put under Him, this clearly [does] not include the [One who] put everything under Him. 28 And when all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will be made subject to Him who put all things {under} Him, so that God may be all in all.

29 If [these things are] not so, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If [the] dead are not raised at all, why are [people] baptized for them? 30 And why {do} we endanger ourselves every hour? 31 I face death every day, brothers, as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human [motives], what did I gain If [the] dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”[fn]

33 {Do} not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”[fn] 34 Sober up as you ought, and stop sinning; for some [ of you ] are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

35 But someone will ask, “How {are} the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” 36 You fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow [is] not the body that will be, but [just] a seed, perhaps of wheat or something else. 38 But God gives it a body as He has designed, and to each [kind] of seed [He gives] its own body.

39 Not all flesh [is] the same: Men [have] one [kind of] flesh, animals [have] another birds another and fish another. 40 [There are] also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the splendor of the heavenly [bodies] [is of] one [degree], and [the splendor] of the earthly [bodies] [is of] another. 41 [The] sun [has] one [degree of] splendor, [the] moon another and [the] stars another and star differs from star in splendor.

42 So [will it be] with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown [is] perishable; it is raised imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual [body]. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”;[fn] the last Adam a life-giving spirit.

46 The spiritual, however, [was] not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man [was] of the dust of [the] earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As [was] the earthly [man], so also [are] those who are of the earth; and as [is] the heavenly [man], so also [are] those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly [man], so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly [man].

Where, O Death, Is Your Victory?

(Hosea 13:9–14)

50 Now I declare [to you] brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit [the] kingdom of God, nor {does} the perishable inherit the imperishable.

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: {We will} not all sleep, but we will all be changed—52 in an instant, in [the] twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must be clothed[fn] with [the] imperishable, and the mortal [with] immortality.

54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal [with] immortality,[fn] then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[fn]

55 “Where, O Death, [is] your victory? Where, O Death, [is] your sting?”[fn]

56 The sting of death [is] sin, and the power of sin [is] the law. 57 But thanks [be] to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast [and] immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in [the] Lord is not in vain.