1 Corinthians 15

Easy-to-Read Version

The Good News About Jesus Christ

15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to remember the Good News I told you. You received that Good News message, and you continue to base your life on it. ² That Good News, the message you heard from me, is God’s way to save you. But you must continue believing it. If you don’t, you believed for nothing.

³ I gave you the message that I received. I told you the most important truths: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say; ⁴ that he was buried and was raised to life on the third day, as the Scriptures say; ⁵ and that he appeared to Peter and then to the twelve apostles. ⁶ After that Christ appeared to more than 500 other believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today, but some have died. ⁷ Then he appeared to James and later to all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, he appeared to me. I was different, like a baby born before the normal time.

⁹ All the other apostles are greater than I am. I say this because I persecuted the church of God. That is why I am not even good enough to be called an apostle. ¹⁰ But, because of God’s grace, that is what I am. And his grace that he gave me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.) ¹¹ So then it is not important if I told you God’s message or if it was the other apostles who told you—we all tell people the same message, and this is what you believed.

We Will Be Raised From Death

¹² We tell everyone that Christ was raised from death. So why do some of you say that people will not be raised from death? ¹³ If no one will ever be raised from death, then Christ has never been raised. ¹⁴ And if Christ has never been raised, then the message we tell is worth nothing. And your faith is worth nothing. ¹⁵ And we will also be guilty of lying about God, because we have told people about him, saying that he raised Christ from death. And if no one is raised from death, then God never raised Christ from death. ¹⁶ If those who have died are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised from death, then your faith is for nothing; you are still guilty of your sins. ¹⁸ And those in Christ who have already died are lost. ¹⁹ If our hope in Christ is only for this life here on earth, then people should feel more sorry for us than for anyone else.

²⁰ But Christ really has been raised from death—the first one of all those who will be raised. ²¹ Death comes to people because of what one man did. But now there is resurrection from death because of another man. ²² I mean that in Adam all of us die. And in the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again. ²³ But everyone will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was first to be raised. Then, when Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life. ²⁴ Then the end will come. Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities, and powers. Then he will give the kingdom to God the Father.

²⁵ Christ must rule until God puts all enemies under his control.^{[a] 26} The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. ²⁷ As the Scriptures say, “God put everything under his control.”^[b] When it says that “everything” is put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself. God is the one putting everything under Christ’s control. ²⁸ After everything has been put under Christ, then the Son himself will be put under God. God is the one who put everything under Christ. And Christ will be put under God so that God will be the complete ruler over everything.

²⁹ If no one will ever be raised from death, then what will the people do who are baptized for those who have died? If the dead are never raised, then why are people baptized for them?

³⁰ And what about us? Why do we put ourselves in danger every hour? ³¹ I face death every day. That is true, brothers and sisters, just as it is true that I am proud of what you are because of Christ Jesus our Lord. ³² I fought wild animals in Ephesus. If I did that only for human reasons, then I have gained nothing. If we are not raised from death, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we die.”^[c]

³³ Don’t be fooled: “Bad friends will ruin good habits.” ³⁴ Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning. Some of you don’t know God. I say this to shame you.

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.^[d]”^[e] But the last Adam^[f] 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.

⁵⁰ I tell you this, brothers and sisters: Our bodies of flesh and blood cannot have a part in God’s kingdom. Something that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins. ⁵¹ But listen, I tell you this secret: We will not all die, but we will all be changed. ⁵² It will only take the time of a second. We will be changed as quickly as an eye blinks. This will happen when the last trumpet blows. The trumpet will blow and those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we will all be changed. ⁵³ This body that ruins must clothe itself with something that will never ruin. And this body that dies must clothe itself with something that will never die. ⁵⁴ So this body that ruins will clothe itself with that which never ruins. And this body that dies will clothe itself with that which never dies. When this happens, the Scriptures will be made true:

⁵⁶ Death’s power to hurt is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But we thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

⁵⁸ So, my dear brothers and sisters, stand strong. Don’t let anything change you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.