The Good News About Christ

15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to ·remember [or be clear about] the ·Good News [Gospel] I brought to you. You received this ·Good News [Gospel] ·and continue strong in it [or and have based your faith on it; ^Lin which you stand]. ² And you are being saved by it if you ·continue believing [^Lhold firm to] ·what I told you [^Lthe Gospel message I proclaimed to you], unless you believed ·for nothing [in vain; or superficially; or in something of no value].

³ [^LFor] I passed on to you what I received, which is ·of greatest importance [or the first thing I told you]: that Christ died for our sins, ·as the Scriptures say [^Laccording to the Scripture; Is. 53:5–6]; ⁴ that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day ·as the Scriptures say [^Laccording to the Scripture; Ps. 16:8–11]; ⁵ and that he was seen by ·Peter [^LCephas; ^CPeter’s name in Aramaic; see 1:12] and then by ·the twelve apostles [^Lthe Twelve; Luke 24:33–36]. ⁶ After that, Jesus was seen by more than five hundred of the ·believers [^Lbrothers (and sisters)] at the same time. Most of them ·are still living today [^Lremain until now], but some have ·died [^Lfallen asleep; ^Ca euphemism for death]. ⁷ Then he was seen by ·James [Jesus’ brother; Mark 6:3; Acts 15:13; Gal. 1:19] and later by all the apostles [Acts 1:6–11]. ⁸ Last of all he was seen by me [Acts 9]—as by a person ·not born at the normal time [prematurely/abnormally born; ^CChrist’s appearance to Paul was unique, occurring after Jesus’ ascension]. ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles. I am not even ·good enough [worthy] to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But God’s grace has made me what I am, and his grace to me was not ·wasted [in vain; without effect]. [^LOn the contrary; Indeed] I worked harder than all ·the other apostles [of them]. (But it was not I really; it was God’s grace that was with me.) ¹¹ So whether I preached to you or ·the other apostles [^Lthey] preached to you, ·we all preach the same thing [this is what we preach; ^Cthe message of Christ’s death and resurrection; vv. 3–8], and this is what you believed.

We Will Be Raised from the Dead

¹² Now ·since we preached that Christ was [^Lif Christ is preached as] raised from the dead, why do some of you say that people will not be raised from the dead [^Csome Corinthians denied the resurrection of the body]? ¹³ If ·no one is ever raised [^Lthere is no resurrection] from the dead, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is ·worth nothing [futile; useless; empty], and your faith is ·worth nothing [futile; useless; empty]. ¹⁵ And also, we are ·guilty of lying [^Lfound to be false witnesses] about God, because we testified ·of him [^Lagainst God] that he raised Christ from the dead. But if people are not raised from the dead, then God never raised Christ. ¹⁶ If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith ·has nothing to it [is futile/useless/empty]; you are still ·guilty of [or a slave to; ^Lin] your sins. ¹⁸ ·And [Consequently; Therefore] those in Christ who have ·already died [^Lfallen asleep; v. 6] ·are lost [have perished]. ¹⁹ If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than ·anyone else in the world [^Lall people].

²⁰ But Christ has truly been raised from the dead—the ·first one and proof that those who sleep in death will also be raised [^Lfirstfruits of those who have fallen asleep; ^Cunlike others who had been raised to mortal life, Christ was the first to be raised to everlasting life]. ²¹ Death has come ·because of what one man did [through a man/human being], but the rising from death also comes ·because of one man [through a man/human being]. ²² In Adam all of us die. In the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again [Rom. 5:12–21]. ²³ But ·everyone [each] will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was ·first to be raised [^Lthe firstfruits]. When Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life, ²⁴ and then the end will come. At that time Christ will ·destroy [abolish] all rulers, authorities, and powers, and he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. ²⁵ [^LFor] Christ must ·rule [reign] until he puts all enemies under his ·control [^Lfeet; Ps. 110:1]. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. ²⁷ ·The Scripture says that God put [^LFor he has subjected] all things under his ·control [^Lfeet; Ps. 8:6]. When it says “all things” are ·under [subjected to] him, it is clear this does not include the One [^CGod the father] who put everything under his control. ²⁸ After everything has been ·put under [subjected to] the Son, then he will ·put himself under [be subjected to] ·God [^Lthe One…], who had put all things under him. ·Then [or …so that] God will be ·the complete ruler over everything [or supreme in every place and in every way; ^Lall in all].

²⁹ If the dead are never raised, what will people do who are being baptized for the dead [^Cit is unclear what this practice was or whether Paul approves or disapproves]? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people being baptized for them?

³⁰ And what about us? Why do we put ourselves in danger every hour? ³¹ I ·die [face death] every day. ·That is true, brothers and sisters, just as it is true that I brag about you [^L(I swear) by my boasting in you, brothers (and sisters), which I have] in Christ Jesus our Lord. ³² If I fought wild animals in Ephesus [^Cprobably a metaphor for human opponents, though possibly beasts in the arena (Acts 19; 2 Cor. 1:8–11; 2 Tim. 4:16–18)] ·only with human hopes [or from a human point of view; ^Laccording to man], I have gained nothing. If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die [Is. 22:13; 56:12].”

³³ Do not be ·fooled [deceived; misled]: “Bad ·friends [company] will ruin good ·habits [or character; morals; ^Ca quote from the Greek poet Menander (c. 342–291 bc)].” ³⁴ ·Come back to your right way of thinking [Come to your senses; or Sober up as you should] and stop sinning. Some of you ·do not know [or are ignorant about] God—I say this to shame you.

What Kind of Body Will We Have?

³⁵ But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” ³⁶ Foolish person! When you sow a seed, it must die in the ground before it can ·live and grow [come to life]. ³⁷ And when you sow it, it does not have the same “body” it will have later. [^LBut; On the contrary] What you sow is only a bare seed, maybe wheat or something else. ³⁸ But God gives it a body that he ·has planned [wants; has chosen] for it, and God gives each kind of seed its own body. ³⁹ All things made of flesh are not the same: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have another. ⁴⁰ Also there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the ·beauty [splendor; glory] of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the ·beauty [splendor; glory] of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of ·beauty [splendor; glory], the moon has another ·beauty [splendor; glory], and the stars have another. And each star is different in its ·beauty [splendor; glory].

⁴² It is the same with the dead who are raised to life. ·The body that is “planted” will ruin and decay [^LIt is sown/buried in corruption], but it is raised ·to a life that cannot be destroyed [imperishable; ^Lin incorruption]. ⁴³ ·When the body is “planted,” it is without honor [^LIt is sown/buried in dishonor], but it is raised in glory. ·When the body is “planted,” it is weak [^LIt is sown/buried in weakness], but ·when it is raised, it is powerful [^Lit is raised in power]. ⁴⁴ ·The body that is “planted” is a physical body [^LIt is sown/buried a natural/physical/soulish body]. ·When it is raised, it is [^LIt is raised] a spiritual body.

There is a ·physical [natural; soulish] body, and there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ [^LSo also] It is written in the Scriptures: “The first man, Adam, became a living ·person [soul; Gen. 2:7].” But the last Adam [^CChrist] became a spirit that gives life. ⁴⁶ [^LBut] The spiritual did not come first, but the ·physical [natural; soulish] and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. ⁴⁸ People who ·belong to the earth [or are of dust] are like the first man of ·earth [dust]. But those people who belong to heaven are like the man of heaven. ⁴⁹ Just as we ·were made like [^Lhave borne the image of] the man of earth, so we will^[a] also ·be made like [bear the image of] the man of heaven.

⁵⁰ I tell you this, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot ·have a part in [inherit] the kingdom of God. ·Something that will ruin cannot […nor can the perishable/corruptible] ·have a part in something that never ruins [inherit the imperishable/incorruptible]. ⁵¹ But look! I tell you ·this secret [a mystery; 2:1]: We will not all ·sleep in death [^Lsleep; ^Ca euphemism for death], but we will all be changed. ⁵² It will ·take only a second [happen in a flash]—as quickly as an eye ·blinks [or twinkles]—when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound, and those who have died will be raised ·to live forever [imperishable; incorruptible], and we will be changed [1 Thess. 4:13–17]. ⁵³ [^LFor] This body that ·can be destroyed [is perishable/corruptible] must clothe itself with ·something that can never be destroyed [the imperishable/incorruptible]. And this ·body that dies [^Lmortal] must clothe itself with ·something that can never die [immortality]. ⁵⁴ So when this body that ·can be destroyed [is perishable/corruptible] will clothe itself with that which ·can never be destroyed [is imperishable/incorruptible], and this ·body that dies [^Lmortal] will clothe itself with ·that which can never die [immortality], then this Scripture will ·be made true [come to pass]:

⁵⁶ Death’s ·power to hurt [^Lsting] is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ So my ·dear [beloved] brothers and sisters, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always ·give yourselves fully to [excel in] the work of the Lord, because you know that your work in the Lord is ·never wasted [not useless/in vain].