The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection

15 Now (A)I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the (B)gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, (C)in which you also stand, by which you also are saved, (D)if you hold firmly to [a]the word which I preached to you, (E)unless you believed in vain.

For (F)I handed down to you [b]as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died (G)for our sins (H)according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was (I)raised on the third day (J)according to the Scriptures, and that (K)He appeared to [c](L)Cephas, then (M)to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some (N)have fallen asleep; then He appeared to [d](O)James, then to (P)all the apostles; and last of all, as [e]to one untimely born, (Q)He appeared to me also. For I am (R)the least of the apostles, [f]and not fit to be called an apostle, because I (S)persecuted the church of God. 10 But by (T)the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I (U)labored even more than all of them, yet (V)not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 15:2 Lit to what word I
  2. 1 Corinthians 15:3 Lit among the first
  3. 1 Corinthians 15:5 Peter’s Aramaic name
  4. 1 Corinthians 15:7 Or Jacob
  5. 1 Corinthians 15:8 Lit to an untimely birth
  6. 1 Corinthians 15:9 Lit who am

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now I want you to understand, brothers and sisters, the good news[a] that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,(A) through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.(B)

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures(C) and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures(D) and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.(E) Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.[b] Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.(F) Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.(G) For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.(H) 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me.(I) 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you believed.

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Footnotes

  1. 15.1 Or gospel
  2. 15.6 Gk fallen asleep

15 Now I make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand;

By which also you are saved, if you hold fast after what manner I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen by Cephas; and after that by the eleven.

Then he was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once: of whom many remain until this present, and some are fallen asleep.

After that, he was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

And last of all, he was seen also by me, as by one born out of due time.

For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

10 But by the grace of God, I am what I am; and his grace in me hath not been void, but I have laboured more abundantly than all they: yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

11 For whether I, or they, so we preach, and so you have believed.

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Resurrection

15 1-2 Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time—this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I’m assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy, that you’re in this for good and holding fast.)

3-9 The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don’t deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God’s church right out of existence.

10-11 But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven’t I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn’t amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it’s all the same: We spoke God’s truth and you entrusted your lives.

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