²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,^(A) the firstfruits^(B) of those who have fallen asleep.^(C)

²³ But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits;^(A) then, when he comes,^(B) those who belong to him.^(C)

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,^(A) the firstborn from the dead,^(B) and the ruler of the kings of the earth.^(C)

To him who loves us^(D) and has freed us from our sins by his blood,^(E)

²³ that the Messiah would suffer^(A) and, as the first to rise from the dead,^(B) would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”^(C)

¹⁸ And he is the head^(A) of the body, the church;^(B) he is the beginning and the firstborn^(C) from among the dead,^(D) so that in everything he might have the supremacy.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!^(A) In his great mercy^(B) he has given us new birth^(C) into a living hope^(D) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,^(E)

¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead^(A) is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies^(B) because of^[a] his Spirit who lives in you.

⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.^(A)