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Love—the Greatest of All

13 I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I do not have love, it will sound like noisy brass. If I have the gift of speaking God’s Word and if I understand all secrets, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I know all things and if I have the gift of faith so I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed poor people and if I give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it will not help me.

Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride. Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone. Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things.

Love never comes to an end. The gift of speaking God’s Word will come to an end. The gift of speaking in special sounds will be stopped. The gift of understanding will come to an end. For we only know a part now, and we speak only a part. 10 When everything is perfect, then we will not need these gifts that are not perfect.

11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child. I understood like a child. Now I am a man. I do not act like a child anymore. 12 Now that which we see is as if we were looking in a broken mirror. But then we will see everything. Now I know only a part. But then I will know everything in a perfect way. That is how God knows me right now. 13 And now we have these three: faith and hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.

Speaking in Special Sounds Is Not the Greatest Gift

14 You should want to have this love. You should want the gifts of the Holy Spirit and most of all to be able to speak God’s Word. The man who speaks in special sounds speaks to God. He is not speaking to men. No one understands. He is speaking secret things through the power of the Holy Spirit. The man who speaks God’s Word speaks to men. It helps them to learn and understand. It gives them comfort. The man who speaks in special sounds receives strength. The man who speaks God’s Word gives strength to the church. I wish all of you spoke in special sounds. But more than that, I wish all of you spoke God’s Word. The one who speaks God’s Word has a more important gift than the one who speaks in special sounds. But if he can tell what he is speaking, the church will be helped. Christian brothers, if I come to you speaking in special sounds, what good is it to you? But if I tell you something God has shown me or something I have learned or what God’s Word says will happen in the future or teach you God’s Word, it will be for your good.

There are things on which people play music. If strange sounds are made on these, how will others know which one is played? If a horn does not make a good sound, how will men know they are to get ready to fight? It is the same if you speak to a person in special sounds. How will he know what you say? Your sounds will be lost in the air. 10 There are many languages in the world. All of them have meaning to the people who understand them. 11 But if I do not understand the language someone uses to speak to me, the man who speaks is a stranger to me. I am a stranger to him. 12 Since you want gifts from the Holy Spirit, ask for those that will build up the whole church. 13 So the man who speaks in special sounds should pray for the gift to be able to tell what they mean.

14 If I pray in special sounds, my spirit is doing the praying. My mind does not understand. 15 What should I do? I will pray with my spirit and I will pray with my mind also. I will sing with my spirit and I will sing with my mind also. 16 If you honor and give thanks to God with your spirit in sounds nobody understands, how can others honor and give thanks also if they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are honoring and giving thanks to God, but it is not helping other people.

18 I thank God that I speak in special sounds more than all of you. 19 But in a meeting of the church, it is better if I say five words that others can understand and be helped by than 10,000 words in special sounds.

20 Christian brothers, do not be like children in your thinking. Be full-grown, but be like children in not knowing how to sin. 21 God says in the Holy Writings, “I will speak to My people. I will speak through men from other lands in other languages. Even then My people will not listen to Me.” (A) 22 So then speaking in special sounds is for those who do not believe. It is not for those who believe. But speaking God’s Word is for those who believe. It is not for those who do not believe.

Church Meetings

23 If some people who are not Christians come to your church meeting while all the people are speaking in special sounds, they will think you are crazy. 24 But if a man who is not a Christian comes to your church meeting while you are all speaking God’s Word, he will understand that he is a sinner by what he hears. He will know he is guilty. 25 The secrets of his heart will be brought into the open. He will get on his knees and worship God. He will say, “For sure, God is here with you!”

26 What am I saying, Christian brothers? When you meet together for worship, some of you have a song to sing. Some of you want to teach and some have special words from God. Some of you speak in special sounds and some of you tell what they mean. Everything should be done to help those who are meeting together to grow strong as Christians. 27 No more than two or three people should speak in special sounds. Only one should speak at a time. Someone must tell the meaning of the special sounds. 28 If no one is there who can tell the meaning of the special sounds, he should not speak in the church. He should speak only to himself and to God. 29 Two or three should speak God’s Word. The other people should listen and decide if they are speaking right. 30 If someone sitting in the meeting gets some special word from God, the one who is speaking should stop. 31 All of you can speak God’s Word, but only one person at a time. In that way, all of you can learn and be helped. 32 Men who speak God’s Word are able to stop when they should. 33 God does not want everyone speaking at the same time in church meetings. He wants peace. All the churches of God’s people worship this way.

34 Women should not be allowed to speak in church meetings. They are to obey this teaching. The Law says this also. 35 If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home. It is a shame for a woman to speak in a church meeting.

36 Did the Word of God come from you Christians in the city of Corinth? Or are you the only people who received it? 37 Some of you may think you have the gift of speaking God’s Word or some other gift from the Holy Spirit. If you do, you should know that what I am writing to you is what God has told us we must obey. 38 If any man does not listen to this, have nothing to do with him.

39 So then, my Christian brothers, you should want to speak God’s Word. Do not stop anyone from speaking in special sounds. 40 All things should be done in the right way, one after the other.

Jesus Christ Was Raised from the Dead

15 Christian brothers, I want to tell the Good News to you again. It is the same as I preached to you before. You received it and your faith has been made strong by it. This is what I preached to you. You are saved from the punishment of sin by the Good News if you keep hold of it, unless your faith was worth nothing.

First of all, I taught you what I had received. It was this: Christ died for our sins as the Holy Writings said He would. (B) Christ was buried. He was raised from the dead three days later as the Holy Writings said He would. (C) Christ was seen by Peter. After that, the twelve followers saw Him. After that, more than 500 of His followers saw Him at one time. Most of them are still here, but some have died. After that, James saw Christ. Then all the missionaries saw Him. Last of all, Christ showed Himself to me as if I had been born too late. For I am the least important of all the missionaries. I should not be called a missionary because I made it so hard for God’s church. 10 I am different now. It is all because of what God did for me by His loving-favor. His loving-favor was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other missionaries. But it was not I who worked. It was God’s loving-favor working through me. 11 It makes no difference how you heard the Good News. It could have been through the other missionaries or through me. The important thing is this: We preached the Good News to you and you believed it.

We Will Be Raised from the Dead Also

12 We preached to you that Christ has been raised from the dead. But some of you say that people are not raised from the dead. Why do you say this? 13 If the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised from the dead. 14 If Christ was not raised from the dead, then what we preach to you is worth nothing. Your faith in Christ is worth nothing. 15 That makes us all liars because we said that God raised Christ from the dead. But God did not raise Christ from the dead if the dead do not come to life again. 16 If the dead are not raised, then not even Christ was raised from the dead. 17 If Christ was not raised from the dead, your faith is worth nothing and you are still living in your sins. 18 Then the Christians who have already died are lost in sin. 19 If we have hope in Christ in this life only, we are more sad than anyone else.

20 But it is true! Christ has been raised from the dead! He was the first One to be raised from the dead and all those who are in graves will follow. 21 Death came because of a man, Adam. Being raised from the dead also came because of a Man, Christ. 22 All men will die as Adam died. But all those who belong to Christ will be raised to new life. 23 This is the way it is: Christ was raised from the dead first. Then all those who belong to Christ will be raised from the dead when He comes again. 24 Next, at the end of the world, Christ will give His holy nation over to God the Father. Christ will have destroyed every nation and power. 25 Christ must be King until He has destroyed all those who hate Him and work against Him. 26 The last thing that will be destroyed is death. 27 The Holy Writings say that God has put all things under Christ’s feet except Himself. 28 When Christ is over all things, He will put Himself under God Who put all things under Christ. And God will be over all things.

29 What good will it do people if they are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised, why are people baptized for them? 30 Why are we also in danger every hour? 31 I say this, Christian brothers, I have joy in what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for you. That is why I face death every day. 32 As men look at it, what good has it done for me in the city of Ephesus to fight with men who act like wild animals? If the dead are not raised, we might as well be like those who say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

33 Do not let anyone fool you. Bad people can make those who want to live good become bad. 34 Keep your minds awake! Stop sinning. Some do not know God at all. I say this to your shame.

The Body That Will Be Raised

35 Someone will say, “How are the dead raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” 36 What a foolish question! When you plant a seed, it must die before it starts new life. 37 When you put it in the earth, you are not planting the body which it will become. You put in only a seed. 38 It is God Who gives it a body just as He wants it to have. Each kind of seed becomes a different kind of body.

39 All flesh is not the same. Men have one kind of flesh. Animals have another kind. Fish have another kind, and birds have another kind. 40 There are bodies in the heavens. There are bodies on earth. Their greatness is not the same. 41 The sun has its greatness. The moon has its greatness. Stars have their greatness. One star is different from another star in greatness.

42 It is the same with people who are raised from the dead. The body will turn back to dust when it is put in a grave. When the body is raised from the grave, it will never die. 43 It has no greatness when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with shining-greatness. It is weak when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with power. 44 It is a human body when it dies, but it is a God-like body when it is raised from the dead. There are human bodies and there are God-like bodies. 45 The Holy Writings say, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” But the last Adam (Christ) is a life-giving Spirit.

46 We have these human bodies first. Then we are given God-like bodies that are ready for heaven. 47 Adam was the first man. He was made from the dust of the earth. Christ was the second man. He came down from heaven. 48 All men of the earth are made like Adam. But those who belong to Christ will have a body like the body of Christ Who came from heaven. 49 Now, our bodies are like Adam’s body. But in heaven, our bodies will be like the body of Christ.

50 Christian brothers, our bodies which are made of flesh and blood will not go into the holy nation of God. That which dies can have no part in that which will never die. 51 For sure, I am telling you a secret. We will not all die, but we will all be changed. 52 In a very short time, no longer than it takes for the eye to close and open, the Christians who have died will be raised. It will happen when the last horn sounds. The dead will be raised never to die again. Then the rest of us who are alive will be changed. 53 Our human bodies made from dust must be changed into a body that cannot be destroyed. Our human bodies that can die must be changed into bodies that will never die. 54 When this that can be destroyed has been changed into that which cannot be destroyed, and when this that does die has been changed into that which cannot die, then it will happen as the Holy Writings said it would happen. They said, “Death has no more power over life.” (D) 55 O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains? 56 The pain in death is sin. Sin has power over those under the Law. 57 But God is the One Who gives us power over sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. We give thanks to Him for this.

58 So then, Christian brothers, because of all this, be strong. Do not allow anyone to change your mind. Always do your work well for the Lord. You know that whatever you do for Him will not be wasted.

Gifts for the Poor

16 I want to tell you what to do about the money you are gathering for the Christians. Do the same as I told the churches in the country of Galatia to do. On the first day of every week each of you should put aside some of your money. Give a certain part of what you have earned. Keep it there because I do not want money gathered when I come. When I get there, I will give letters to the men you want to send. They will take your gift to Jerusalem. If I can go, they can go with me.

Plans for a Visit

I want to visit you after I have gone through the country of Macedonia for I am going through there. I may be staying with you and even spend the winter with you. Then you can send me on my way to the next place. I do not want to stop now. I want to spend some time with you when I can stay longer, if that is what the Lord wants. I will stay in the city of Ephesus until the special day to remember how the Holy Spirit came on the church. A wide door has been opened to me here to preach the Good News. But there are many who work against me.

10 If Timothy comes, receive him and help him so he will not be afraid. He is working for the Lord as I am. 11 Everyone should respect him. Send him on his way to me in peace. I expect to see him and some of the other Christians soon. 12 I wanted brother Apollos to go with the other Christians to visit you. But he is not sure he should go now. He will come when he can.

13 Watch and keep awake! Stand true to the Lord. Keep on acting like men and be strong. 14 Everything you do should be done in love.

15 You know that the families of Stephanas were the first Christians in the country of Greece. They are working for the Lord in helping His people. 16 I ask you to listen to leaders like these and work with them as well as others like them. 17 I am happy that Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus came here. They have helped me and you would have also if you had been here. 18 They have made me happy. They would have made you happy also. Show them you are thankful for their help.

19 The churches in the countries of Asia say hello. Aquila and Priscilla and the Christians who meet in their house say hello with Christian love. 20 All the Christians here greet you. Greet each other with a kiss of holy love. 21 I, Paul, am writing the last part of this letter with my own hand. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be kept from being with Christ. The Lord is coming soon! 23 May you have the loving-favor of our Lord Jesus. 24 I love you all through Christ Jesus. Let it be so.