| 1 Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm. | |
| 2 By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain. | |
| 3 In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received: that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; | |
| 4 that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures; | |
| 5 that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve. | |
| 6 Afterwards he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest. | |
| 7 Then he appeared to James and after that to all the apostles. | |
| 8 And last of all, he appeared to the most despicable of them, this is to me. | |
| 9 For I am the last of the apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. | |
| 10 Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been without fruit. Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather the grace of God in me. | |
| 11 Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and this you have believed. | |
| 12 Well, then, if Christ is preached as risen 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 Christ has not been raised. | |
| 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is empty and our belief comes to nothing. | |
| 15 And we become false witnesses of God, attesting that he raised Christ, whereas he could not raise him if indeed the dead are not raised. | |
| 16 If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. | |
| 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith gives you nothing, and you are still in sin. | |
| 18 Also those who fall asleep in Christ are lost. | |
| 19 If it is only for this life that we hope in Christ, we are the most unfortunate of all people. | |
| 20 But no, Christ has been raised from the dead and he comes before all those who have fallen asleep. | |
| 21 A human being brought death; a human being also brings resurrection of the dead. | |
| 22 All die for being Adam’s, and in Christ all will receive life. | |
| 23 However, each one in his own time: first Christ, then Christ’s people, when he comes. | |
| 24 Then the end will come, when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father, after having destroyed every rule, authority and power. | |
| 25 For he must reign and put all enemies under his feet. | |
| 26 The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. | |
| 27 As Scripture says: God has subjected everything under his feet. When we say that everything is put under his feet, we exclude, of course, the Father who subjects everything to him. | |
| 28 When the Father has subjected everything to him, the Son will place himself under the One who subjected everything to him. From then on, God will be all in all. | |
| 29 Tell me: what are these people doing who are baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead cannot be raised, why do they want to be baptized for the dead? | |
| 30 As for us, why do we constantly risk our life? For death is my daily companion. | |
| 31 I say that, brothers and sisters, before you who are my pride in Christ Jesus our Lord. | |
| 32 Was it for human interest that I fought in Ephesus like a lion tamer? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die! | |
| 33 Do not be deceived; bad theories corrupt good morals. Wake up, and do not sin, | |
| 34 because some of you are outstandingly ignorant about God; I say this to your shame. | |
| 35 Some of you will ask: How will the dead be raised? With what kind of body will they come? | |
| 36 You fools! What you sow cannot sprout unless it dies. | |
| 37 And what you sow is not the body of the future plant but a bare grain of wheat or any other seed, | |
| 38 and God will give the appropriate body, as he gives to each seed its own body. | |
| 39 Now look: not all flesh is the same; one is the flesh of human beings; another the flesh of animals, and still others the flesh of birds and of fish. | |
| 40 There are, likewise, heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the earthly bodies do not shine as do the heavenly ones. | |
| 41 The brightness of the sun differs from the brightness of the moon and the stars, and the stars differ from one another in brightness. | |
| 42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in decomposition; it will be raised never more to die. | |
| 43 It is sown in humiliation, and it will be raised for Glory. It is buried in weakness, but the resurrection shall be with power. When buried it is a natural body, but it will be raised as a spiritual body. | |
| 44 For there shall be a spiritual body as there is at present a living body. | |
| 45 Scripture says that Adam, the first man, became a living being; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. | |
| 46 The spirit does not appear first, but the natural life, and afterwards comes the spirit. | |
| 47 The first man comes from the earth and is earthly, while the second one comes from heaven. | |
| 48 As it was with the earthly one, so is it with the earthly people. As it is with Christ, so with the heavenly. | |
| 49 This is why, after bearing the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one. | |
| 50 This I say, brothers: Flesh and blood cannot share the kingdom of God; nothing of us that is to decay can reach imperishable life. | |
| 51 So I want to teach you this mystery: although not all of us will die, all of us have to be transformed, | |
| 52 in an instant, at the sound of the trumpet. You have heard of the last trumpet; then in the twinkling of an eye, the dead will be raised imperishable, while we shall be transformed. | |
| 53 For it is necessary that our mortal and perishable being put on the life that knows neither death nor decay. | |
| 54 When our perishable being puts on imperishable life, when our mortal being puts on immortality, the word of Scripture will be fulfilled: Death has been swallowed up by victory. | |
| 55 Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? | |
| 56 Sin is the sting of death to kill, and the Law is what gives force to sin. | |
| 57 But give thanks to God who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus, our Lord. | |
| 58 So then, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast and do not be moved. Improve constantly in the work of the Lord, knowing that with him your labor is not without fruit. | |
