Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Beginning of the World

1 God created the sky and the earth. At first, ² the earth was completely empty. There was nothing on the earth. Darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit moved over^[a] the water.

The First Day—Light

³ Then God said, “Let there be light!” And light began to shine.^{[b] 4} He saw the light, and he knew that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God named the light “day,” and he named the darkness “night.”

There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the first day.

The Second Day—Sky

⁶ Then God said, “Let there be a space^[c] to separate the water into two parts!” ⁷ So God made the space and separated the water. Some of the water was above it, and some of the water was below it. ⁸ God named that space “sky.” There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the second day.

The Third Day—Dry Land and Plants

⁹ Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together so that the dry land will appear.” And it happened. ¹⁰ God named the dry land “earth,” and he named the water that was gathered together “seas.” And God saw that this was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the earth grow grass, plants that make grain, and fruit trees. The fruit trees will make fruit with seeds in it. And each plant will make its own kind of seed. Let these plants grow on the earth.” And it happened. ¹² The earth grew grass and plants that made grain. And it grew trees that made fruit with seeds in it. Every plant made its own kind of seeds. And God saw that this was good.

¹³ There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the third day.

The Fourth Day—Sun, Moon, and Stars

¹⁴ Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings^[d] begin and to show the days and years. ¹⁵ They will be in the sky to shine light on the earth.” And it happened.

¹⁶ So God made the two large lights. He made the larger light to rule during the day and the smaller light to rule during the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth. ¹⁸ He put them in the sky to rule over the day and over the night. They separated the light from the darkness. And God saw that this was good.

¹⁹ There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the fourth day.

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 These are stupid questions. When you plant something, it must die in the ground before it can live and grow. ³⁷ And when you plant something, what you plant does not have the same “body” that it will have later. What you plant is only a seed, maybe wheat or something else. ³⁸ But God gives it the body that he has planned for it, and he 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 yet another kind. ⁴⁰ Also there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the beauty of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the beauty of the earthly bodies is another. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of beauty, the moon has another kind, and the stars have another. And each star is different in its beauty.

⁴² It will be the same when those who have died are raised to life. The body that is “planted” in the grave will ruin and decay, but it will be raised to a life that cannot be destroyed. ⁴³ When the body is “planted,” it is without honor. But when it is raised, it will be great and glorious. When the body is “planted,” it is weak. But when it is raised, it will be full of power. ⁴⁴ The body that is “planted” is a physical body. When it is raised, it will be a spiritual body.

There is a physical body. So there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ As the Scriptures say, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.^[a]”^[b] But the last Adam^[c] is a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ The spiritual man did not come first. It was the physical man that came first; then came the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. ⁴⁸ All people belong to the earth. They are like that first man of earth. But those who belong to heaven are like that man of heaven. ⁴⁹ We were made like that man of earth, so we will also be made like that man of heaven.