³ I gave you the message that I received. I told you the most important truths: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say; ⁴ that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day, as the Scriptures say; ⁵ and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve apostles. ⁶ After that Christ appeared to more than 500 other believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today, but some have died. ⁷ Then he appeared to James and later to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, he appeared to me. I was different, like a baby born before the normal time.

¹⁴ And if Christ has never been raised, then the message we tell is worth nothing. And your faith is worth nothing.

¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised from death, then your faith is for nothing; you are still guilty of your sins. ¹⁸ And those in Christ who have already died are lost. ¹⁹ If our hope in Christ is only for this life here on earth, then people should feel more sorry for us than for anyone else.