1 Corinthians 13-16

New International Reader's Version

13 Suppose I speak in the languages of human beings or of angels. If I don’t have love, I am only a loud gong or a noisy cymbal. ² Suppose I have the gift of prophecy. Suppose I can understand all the secret things of God and know everything about him. And suppose I have enough faith to move mountains. If I don’t have love, I am nothing at all. ³ Suppose I give everything I have to poor people. And suppose I give myself over to a difficult life so I can brag. If I don’t have love, I get nothing at all.

⁴ Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor other people. It does not look out for its own interests. It does not easily become angry. It does not keep track of other people’s wrongs. ⁶ Love is not happy with evil. But it is full of joy when the truth is spoken. ⁷ It always protects. It always trusts. It always hopes. It never gives up.

⁸ Love never fails. But prophecy will pass away. Speaking in languages that had not been known before will end. And knowledge will pass away. ⁹ What we know now is not complete. What we prophesy now is not perfect. ¹⁰ But when what is complete comes, the things that are not complete will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I had the understanding of a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday we will see clearly. We will see face to face. What I know now is not complete. But someday I will know completely, just as God knows me completely.

¹³ The three most important things to have are faith, hope and love. But the greatest of them is love.

Worship in a Way That Helps People Understand

14 Follow the way of love. You should also want the gifts the Holy Spirit gives. Most of all, you should want the gift of prophecy. ² Anyone who speaks in a language they had not known before doesn’t speak to people. They speak only to God. In fact, no one understands them. What they say by the Spirit remains a mystery. ³ But the person who prophesies speaks to people. That person prophesies to make people stronger, to give them hope, and to comfort them. ⁴ Anyone who speaks in other languages builds up only themselves. But the person who prophesies builds up the church. ⁵ I would like all of you to speak in other languages. But I would rather have you prophesy. The person who prophesies is more helpful than those who speak in other languages. But that is not the case if someone explains what was said in the other languages. Then the whole church can be built up.

⁶ Brothers and sisters, suppose I were to come to you and speak in other languages. What good would I be to you? None! I would need to come with new truth or knowledge. Or I would need to come with a prophecy or a teaching. ⁷ Here are some examples. Certain objects make sounds. Take a flute or a harp. No one will know what the tune is unless different notes are played. ⁸ Also, if the trumpet call isn’t clear, who will get ready for battle? ⁹ It’s the same with you. You must speak words that people understand. If you don’t, no one will know what you are saying. You will just be speaking into the air. ¹⁰ It is true that there are all kinds of languages in the world. And they all have meaning. ¹¹ But if I don’t understand what someone is saying, I am a stranger to the person speaking. And that person is a stranger to me. ¹² It’s the same with you. You want the gifts of the Spirit. So try to do your best in using gifts that build up the church.

¹³ So here is what the person who speaks in languages they had not known before should do. They should pray that they can explain what they say. ¹⁴ If I pray in another language, my spirit prays. But my mind does not pray. ¹⁵ So what should I do? I will pray with my spirit. But I will also pray with my understanding. I will sing with my spirit. But I will also sing with my understanding. ¹⁶ Suppose you are praising God in the Spirit. And suppose there are visitors among you who want to know what’s going on. How can they say “Amen” when you give thanks? They don’t know what you are saying. ¹⁷ You are certainly giving thanks. But no one else is being built up.

¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in other languages more than all of you do. ¹⁹ In the church, I wouldn’t want to speak 10,000 words in an unfamiliar language. I’d rather speak five words in a language people could understand. Then I would be teaching others.

²⁰ Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. Be like babies as far as evil is concerned. But be grown up in your thinking. ²¹ In the law it is written,

²² So speaking in other languages is a sign for those who don’t believe. It is not a sign for those who do believe. But prophecy is not for those who don’t believe. It is for those who believe. ²³ Suppose the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in other languages. And suppose visitors or unbelievers come in. Won’t they say you are out of your minds? ²⁴ But suppose unbelievers or visitors come in while everyone is prophesying. Then they will feel guilty about their sin. They will be judged by all. ²⁵ The secrets of their hearts will be brought out into the open. They will fall down and worship God. They will exclaim, “God is really here among you!”

Proper Worship

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, what should we say then? When you come together, each of you brings something. You bring a hymn or a teaching or a message from God. You bring a message in another language or explain what was said in that language. Everything must be done to build up the church. ²⁷ No more than two or three people should speak in another language. And they should speak one at a time. Then someone must explain what was said. ²⁸ If there is no one to explain, the person speaking should keep quiet in the church. They can speak to themselves and to God.

²⁹ Only two or three prophets are supposed to speak. Others should decide if what is being said is true. ³⁰ What if a message from God comes to someone else who is sitting there? Then the one who is speaking should stop. ³¹ Those who prophesy can all take turns. In that way, everyone can be taught and be given hope. ³² Those who prophesy should control their speaking. ³³ God is not a God of disorder. He is a God of peace, just as in all the churches of the Lord’s people.

³⁴ Women should remain silent in church meetings. They are not allowed to speak. They must follow the lead of those who are in authority, as the law says. ³⁵ If they have a question about something, they should ask their own husbands at home. It is shameful for women to speak in church meetings.

³⁶ Or did the word of God begin with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? ³⁷ Suppose anyone thinks they are a prophet. Or suppose they think they have other gifts given by the Holy Spirit. They should agree that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. ³⁸ But anyone who does not recognize this will not be recognized.

³⁹ Brothers and sisters, you should want to prophesy. And don’t stop people from speaking in languages they had not known before. ⁴⁰ But everything should be done in a proper and orderly way.

Christ Rose From the Dead

15 Brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the good news I preached to you. You received it and have put your faith in it. ² Because you believed the good news, you are saved. But you must hold firmly to the message I preached to you. If you don’t, you have believed it for nothing.

³ What I received I passed on to you. And it is the most important of all. Here is what it is. Christ died for our sins, just as Scripture said he would. ⁴ He was buried. He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as Scripture said he would be. ⁵ He appeared to Peter. Then he appeared to the 12 apostles. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than 500 brothers and sisters at the same time. Most of them are still living. But some have died. ⁷ He appeared to James. Then he appeared to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, he also appeared to me. I was like someone who wasn’t born at the right time.

⁹ I am the least important of the apostles. I’m not even fit to be called an apostle. I tried to destroy God’s church. ¹⁰ But because of God’s grace I am what I am. And his grace was not wasted on me. No, I have worked harder than all the other apostles. But I didn’t do the work. God’s grace was with me. ¹¹ So this is what we preach, whether I or the other apostles who preached to you. And that is what you believed.

Believers Will Rise From the Dead

¹² We have preached that Christ has been raised from the dead. So how can some of you say that no one rises from the dead? ¹³ If no one rises from the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, what we preach doesn’t mean anything. Your faith doesn’t mean anything either. ¹⁵ More than that, we would be lying about God. We are witnesses that God raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith doesn’t mean anything. Your sins have not been forgiven. ¹⁸ Those who have died believing in Christ are also lost. ¹⁹ Do we have hope in Christ only for this life? Then people should pity us more than anyone else.

²⁰ But Christ really has been raised from the dead. He is the first of all those who will rise from the dead. ²¹ Death came because of what a man did. Rising from the dead also comes because of what a man did. ²² Because of Adam, all people die. So because of Christ, all will be made alive. ²³ But here is the order of events. Christ is the first of those who rise from the dead. When he comes back, those who belong to him will be raised. ²⁴ Then the end will come after Christ destroys all rule, authority and power. Then he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. ²⁵ Christ must rule until he has put all his enemies under his control. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷ Scripture says that God “has put everything under his control.” (Psalm 8:6) It says that “everything” has been put under him. But it is clear that this does not include God himself. That’s because God put everything under Christ. ²⁸ When he has done that, the Son also will be under God’s rule. God put everything under the Son. In that way, God will be all in all.

²⁹ Suppose no one rises from the dead. Then what will people do who are baptized for the dead? Suppose the dead are not raised at all. Then why are people baptized for them? ³⁰ And why would we put ourselves in danger every hour? ³¹ I face death every day. That’s the truth. And here is something you can be just as sure of. I take pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done for you through my work. ³² Did I fight wild animals in Ephesus with nothing more than human hopes? Then what have I gotten for it? If the dead are not raised,

³³ Don’t let anyone fool you. “Bad companions make a good person bad.” ³⁴ You should come back to your senses and stop sinning. Some of you don’t know anything about God. I say this to make you ashamed.

The Body That Rises From the Dead

³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” ³⁶ How foolish! What you plant doesn’t come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ When you plant something, it isn’t a completely grown plant that you put in the ground. You only plant a seed. Maybe it’s wheat or something else. ³⁸ But God gives the seed a body just as he has planned. And to each kind of seed he gives its own body. ³⁹ Not all earthly creatures are the same. People have one kind of body. Animals have another. Birds have another kind. Fish have still another. ⁴⁰ There are also heavenly bodies as well as earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies have one kind of glory. Earthly bodies have another. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of glory. The moon has another kind. The stars have still another. And one star’s glory is different from that of another star.

⁴² It will be like that with bodies that are raised from the dead. The body that is planted does not last forever. The body that is raised from the dead lasts forever. ⁴³ It is planted without honor. But it is raised in glory. It is planted in weakness. But it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is planted as an earthly body. But it is raised as a spiritual body.

Just as there is an earthly body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ It is written, “The first man Adam became a living person.” (Genesis 2:7) The last Adam became a spirit that gives life. ⁴⁶ What is spiritual did not come first. What is earthly came first. What is spiritual came after that. ⁴⁷ The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. ⁴⁸ Those who belong to the earth are like the one who came from the earth. And those who are spiritual are like the heavenly man. ⁴⁹ We are like the earthly man. And we will be like the heavenly man.

⁵⁰ Brothers and sisters, here is what I’m telling you. Bodies made of flesh and blood can’t share in the kingdom of God. And what dies can’t share in what never dies. ⁵¹ Listen! I am telling you a mystery. We will not all die. But we will all be changed. ⁵² That will happen in a flash, as quickly as you can wink an eye. It will happen at the blast of the last trumpet. Then the dead will be raised to live forever. And we will be changed. ⁵³ Our natural bodies don’t last forever. They must be dressed with what does last forever. What dies must be dressed with what does not die. ⁵⁴ In fact, that is going to happen. What does not last will be dressed with what lasts forever. What dies will be dressed with what does not die. Then what is written will come true. It says, “Death has been swallowed up. It has lost the battle.” (Isaiah 25:8)

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin. And the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But let us give thanks to God! He gives us the victory because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done.

⁵⁸ My dear brothers and sisters, remain strong in the faith. Don’t let anything move you. Always give yourselves completely to the work of the Lord. Because you belong to the Lord, you know that your work is not worthless.

The Offering for the Lord’s People

16 Now I want to deal with the offering of money for the Lord’s people. Do what I told the churches in Galatia to do. ² On the first day of every week, each of you should put some money away. The amount should be in keeping with how much money you make. Save the money so that you won’t have to take up an offering when I come. ³ When I arrive, I will send some people with your gift to Jerusalem. They will be people you consider to be good. And I will give them letters that explain who they are. ⁴ If it seems good for me to go also, they will go with me.

What Paul Asks for Himself

⁵ After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you. I will only be passing through Macedonia. ⁶ But I might stay with you for a while. I might even spend the winter. Then you can help me on my journey everywhere I go. ⁷ I don’t want to see you now while I am just passing through. Instead, I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord allows it. ⁸ But I will stay at Ephesus until the day of Pentecost. ⁹ A door has opened wide for me to do some good work here. There are many people who oppose me.

¹⁰ Timothy will visit you. Make sure he has nothing to worry about while he is with you. He is doing the work of the Lord, just as I am. ¹¹ No one should treat him badly. Send him safely on his way so he can return to me. I’m expecting him to come back along with the others.

¹² I want to say something about our brother Apollos. I tried my best to get him to go to you with the others. But he didn’t want to go right now. He will go when he can.

¹³ Be on your guard. Remain strong in the faith. Be brave. ¹⁴ Be loving in everything you do.

¹⁵ You know that the first believers in Achaia were from the family of Stephanas. They have spent all their time serving the Lord’s people. Brothers and sisters, I am asking you ¹⁶ to follow the lead of people like them. Follow everyone who joins in the task and works hard at it. ¹⁷ I was glad when Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus arrived. They have supplied me with what you couldn’t give me. ¹⁸ They renewed my spirit, and yours also. People like them are worthy of honor.

Final Greetings

¹⁹ The churches in Asia Minor send you greetings.

Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly because of the Lord’s love. So does the church that meets in their house.

²⁰ All the brothers and sisters here send you greetings.

Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹ I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand.

²² If anyone does not love the Lord, let a curse be on that person! Come, Lord!

²³ May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

²⁴ I give my love to all of you who belong to Christ Jesus. Amen.