1Now I declare to you, brethren, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you accepted,1814 in which you also stand. 2And you are saved by it, that is if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you. Otherwise, you believed in vain. 3For I delivered to you, first of all, what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5and that he appeared to Kephas,1815 then to the Twelve. 6After that, he appeared to over five hundred brethren at once, most of whom remain [alive] until now, but some have also fallen asleep. 7Then he appeared to James,1816 then to all the apostles, 8and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time,1817 he appeared to me also. 9Indeed, I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. 10But by the grace of God, I am what I am. His grace which was bestowed on me was not in vain, but I worked more than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11It does not matter whether it is I or they: this is what we preach, and so you believed.
12Now if Christ is preached and we preach that he has been raised from the dead, how is it that some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised! 14If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is also in vain. 15Yes, we are found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified concerning God that he raised up Christ (but if God did not raise him up, then the dead are not raised). 16Truly, if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised! 17If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain, and you are still in your sins. 18Moreover, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19If it is only in this life that we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pathetic of all human beings!
20But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead! He did become the first fruits of those who are asleep. 21For since death came through [one] man, the resurrection of the dead also came through [one] man. 22As in Adam all die, in Christ all will be made alive. 23But each in the proper order: Christ (the first fruits), then those who are Christ’s at his coming. 24When the end comes, he will deliver the Kingdom to the God and Father—that is, when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.”1818 But when he says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is obvious that this does not include the one who subjected all things to him. 28When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also subject himself to the one who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all.
29Otherwise, what is the point of being baptized to be as dead?1819 If the dead are not raised at all, why are people1820 baptized to be on their side?1821 30Why do we also stand in danger at every hour? 31I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, that I die daily. 32If I fought with animals at Ephesus for human purposes, what gain is there for me? If the dead are not raised, then “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”1822 33Do not be deceived! “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.” 34Wake up to righteousness and do not sin, for some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
How are the dead raised?
35But someone will say, “How are the dead raised?” and, “With what kind of body do they return?” 36You foolish one, even what you sow is not made alive unless it dies first.1823 37What you sow, you do not sow [in] the shape1824 that will be, but a bare grain, maybe of wheat, or of some other kind. 38But God gives it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. 39Not all flesh is alike: there is human [nature]1825, animal flesh, and also [the nature] of fish and birds. 40There are also heavenly1826 bodies, and earthly1827 bodies; but the glory of the heavenly differs from that of the earthly. 41There is the glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. 42This is comparable to the resurrection of the dead: something is sown in corruption but raised in incorruption. 43It is sown in dishonor; it is then raised in glory. It is sown in weakness then raised in power. 44It is sown as a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body just as there is a spiritual body.
45And so, it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.”1828 The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46However, what is spiritual is not first, but what is natural, then comes what is spiritual. 47The first man is from the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. 48As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.1829 49As we have borne the image of those made of dust, we will also bear the image of the heavenly [man]. 50Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption.
51Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53For what is corruptible must put on incorruption, and what is mortal must put on immortality. 54But when the corruptible will have put on incorruption and the mortal immortality, then that which is written will come true: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”1830
55Death, where is your sting?1831
hades, where is your victory?1832
56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always active in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
About the collection and Paul’s plans
- Or “received”
- Peter
- Most probably “James the Just,” the bishop of Jerusalem who was also called “the Lord’s brother” (see Appendix E). It is unclear whether this James was an unbeliever or a disciple/apostle at that time (see John 7:1-3).
- Or “miscarriage”
- Psalm 8:6
- This is a difficult verse in terms of translation and interpretation. Chrysostom argued that Paul was referring here to Christian baptism for their own dying bodies (Homily 40). The other Greek fathers generally espoused a similar interpretation (Evans, 1 Corinthians, 373; Philip Schaff, ed., Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, vol. 12: St. Chrysostom—Homilies on I & II Corinthians, 244, n. 3; 245).
- Greek “they”
- May also be translated, as is common: “Otherwise, what are people up to who have themselves baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, what is the point of being baptized on their behalf?” (NJB). The Greek is u`pe.r tw/n nekrw/n where u`pe.r means “on behalf of/for the sake of/concerning/to be on the side of/to be in favor of”
- Isaias 22:13
- John 12:24
- Greek sw/ma—(“body/substance/reality”)
- Other manuscripts read “human flesh” instead of “human [nature]”
- Or “celestial”
- Or “terrestrial”
- Genesis 2:7
- Can be paraphrased as “The earthly man is the pattern for earthly people, the heavenly man for heavenly ones (NJB)”
- Isaias 25:8
- NT agrees with LXX against MT.
- Hosea 13:14. CT reverses “sting” and “victory”
Text: The Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible, New Testament (EOB). Used with permission.
