# 1 Corinthians 15 (New King James Version) The Risen Christ, Faith's Reality ##### Chapter 15 ###### 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, ###### 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. ###### 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ###### 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ###### 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. ###### 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. ###### 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. ###### 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. ###### 9 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 toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God _which was_ with me. ###### 11 Therefore, whether _it was_ I or they, so we preach and so you believed.The Risen Christ, Our Hope ###### 12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ###### 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. ###### 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching _is_ empty and your faith _is_ also empty. ###### 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. ###### 16 For if _the_ dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. ###### 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith _is_ futile; you are still in your sins! ###### 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ###### 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.The Last Enemy Destroyed ###### 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, _and_ has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ###### 21 For since by man _came_ death, by Man also _came_ the resurrection of the dead. ###### 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. ###### 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those _who are_ Christ's at His coming. ###### 24 Then _comes_ the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ###### 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. ###### 26 The last enemy _that_ will be destroyed _is_ death. ###### 27 For "He has put all things under His feet." But when He says "all things are put under _Him,_" _it is_ evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ###### 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.Effects of Denying the Resurrection ###### 29 Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why then are they baptized for the dead? ###### 30 And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour? ###### 31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. ###### 32 If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage _is it_ to me? If _the_ dead do not rise, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!" ###### 33 Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits." ###### 34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak _this_ to your shame.A Glorious Body ###### 35 But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?" ###### 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. ###### 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain--perhaps wheat or some other _grain._ ###### 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. ###### 39 All flesh _is_ not the same flesh, but _there is_ one _kind_ _of_ flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, _and_ another of birds. ###### 40 _There are_ also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial _is_ one, and the _glory_ of the terrestrial _is_ another. ###### 41 _There is_ one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for _one_ star differs from _another_ star in glory. ###### 42 So also _is_ the resurrection of the dead. _The body_ is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. ###### 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ###### 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. ###### 45 And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam _became_ a life-giving spirit. ###### 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. ###### 47 The first man _was_ of the earth, _made_ of dust; the second Man _is_ the Lord from heaven. ###### 48 As _was_ the _man_ of dust, so also _are_ those _who are made_ of dust; and as _is_ the heavenly _Man,_ so also _are_ those _who are_ heavenly. ###### 49 And as we have borne the image of the _man_ of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly _Man._Our Final Victory ###### 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. ###### 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- ###### 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ###### 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal _must_ put on immortality. ###### 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." ###### 55 "O Death, where _is_ your sting? O Hades, where _is_ your victory?" ###### 56 The sting of death _is_ sin, and the strength of sin _is_ the law. ###### 57 But thanks _be_ to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ###### 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.