²¹ Since a man brought death, a man also brought life back from death. ²² As everyone dies because of Adam, so also everyone will be made alive because of Christ. ²³ This will happen to each person in his own turn. Christ is the first, then at his coming, those who belong to him ⌞will be made alive⌟. ²⁴ Then the end will come. Christ will hand over the kingdom to God the Father as he destroys every ruler, authority, and power.

²⁵ Christ must rule until God has put every enemy under his control. ²⁶ The last enemy he will destroy is death.

³⁰ Why are we constantly putting ourselves in danger? ³¹ Brothers and sisters, I swear to you on my pride in you which Christ Jesus our Lord has given me: I face death every day. ³² If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus, what have I gained according to the way people look at things? If the dead are not brought back to life, “Let’s eat and drink because tomorrow we’re going to die!” ³³ Don’t let anyone deceive you. Associating with bad people will ruin decent people. ³⁴ Come back to the right point of view, and stop sinning. Some people don’t know anything about God. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

We Will Have Bodies That Will Not Decay

³⁵ But someone will ask, “How do the dead come back to life? With what kind of body will they come back?”

³⁶ You fool! The seed you plant doesn’t come to life unless it dies first. ³⁷ What you plant, whether it’s wheat or something else, is only a seed. It doesn’t have the form that the plant will have. ³⁸ God gives the plant the form he wants it to have. Each kind of seed grows into its own form. ³⁹ Not all flesh is the same. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have still another. ⁴⁰ There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies don’t all have the same splendor, neither do earthly bodies. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon has another kind of splendor, and the stars have still another kind of splendor. Even one star differs in splendor from another star.

⁴² That is how it will be when the dead come back to life. When the body is planted, it decays. When it comes back to life, it cannot decay.