1 Corinthians 15
15
Chapter 15
Christ became alive again after he died
1My Christian friends, I want you to remember the good news that I taught to you. You received it from me and you continue to believe it as a true message. 2Because of the message that I spoke to you, God will save you. He will save you if you continue to trust that same good news. If you do not, you have believed it for nothing.
3I received the good news from Christ, and I told that message to you. I told you the most important things:
Christ died as a sacrifice for our sins. The Bible already said how that would happen. 4People buried his dead body. On the third day after that God raised him up to live again. The Bible already spoke about that too.
5After that, Christ appeared to Peter. Later, he appeared to his 12 disciples. 6And after that, he appeared to more than 500 believers at the same time. Most of those 500 people are still alive, but some of them have died. 7Then Christ appeared to James. Later he appeared to all the apostles.
8After all these people had seen him, Christ also appeared to me. I was like someone who was born at the wrong time. 9Among all the apostles, I am the least important. I caused so much trouble for God's church that people should not really call me an apostle. 10But God was very kind to me. He helped me to become a different person. And because God has been so kind to me, the result has been great. I have worked more than all the other apostles. But it was not really I myself who could do that work. No, I could do it because God was so kind to me. 11So then, all of us apostles teach the same good news about Christ. That is the message that you have believed. It does not matter which of us told it to you, whether it was me or someone else.
People do live again after death
12We all speak this message: God raised Christ up after his death. But some of you say that dead people do not live again. 13Anyone who says that is wrong. If dead people do not live again, then Christ did not rise up after his death. He would still be dead. 14And if God did not raise Christ up, it does no good for us to tell God's good news to people. There would be nothing for you to believe. 15We would have been telling lies about God, because we told you that God raised Christ up after his death. But if dead people do not live again, that would not be true.
16So, if dead people never rise to a new life, then Christ himself did not rise after his death. 17And if Christ did not rise, then you have believed a false message. God would still say that you are guilty, because of your sins.
18Also, think about those people who believed in Christ but they have already died. If dead people do not rise to a new life, those people would have no life with God. 19As believers, we trust Christ to lead us into a new life after death. But if we only trust him to help us in this life, we should be very sad. Everybody should be very sorry for us, more than for anyone else.
20But it is really true that God raised Christ up after his death. He rose up to go to God in heaven. He was the first, so we know that believers who die will also rise up.
21All people die because of what one man did. That was Adam. #15:21 Adam was the first person that God made in the beginning. See Genesis 1:26-27. And it is because of another man that people can rise up after death to a new life. That is Christ. 22As people, all of us belong to Adam's family. So all of us must die. But all people who belong to Christ will live again after death. 23It is like this: First of all, Christ died and then he became alive again. Then, when Christ returns, his people will live again too. 24After that, the end of everything will happen. Christ will win against every ruler and power and authority. He will give the kingdom to God, the Father. God will rule over everything.
25Christ himself must rule as king until he has won against all his enemies. 26The last enemy that he must destroy is death. 27It says in the Bible, ‘God has put all things under his authority.’ #15:27 See Psalms 8:6.
But it is clear that the words ‘all things’ do not include God himself. No, because it is God who put all things under Christ's authority. 28When God has put all things under Christ's authority, then God's Son, Jesus Christ, will put himself under his Father's authority. Then God will have complete authority over all things, everywhere.
29Think about this. Some of you have let people baptize you on behalf of believers who have already died. But if dead people do not rise up to a new life, there is no reason to baptize anyone on their behalf. #15:29 It seems that some people in the church at Corinth did this. If a believer died before anyone baptized him, they might baptize another believer on behalf of the dead person. Paul does not say that this was a good thing to do. But it shows that they expected dead believers to rise to a new life.
30Also, think about us! All the time we are in great danger. 31Yes, every day I come near to death! Why do I tell you this? It is because I am proud of you. I am proud because we all belong to Christ Jesus our Lord. 32At Ephesus city, people attacked me like wild animals and I fought against them. #15:32 Ephesus was a city in the country that we call Turkey now. But that would be worth nothing to me if dead people do not rise to a new life. If dead people do not live again, then we could say:
‘Tomorrow we will probably die.
So we should just eat and drink as much as we like.’ #15:32 See Isaiah 22:13; 56:12.
33Do not let anyone deceive you. Remember this:
‘If you become a friend of bad people, you also will live in a bad way.’
34So start thinking properly! Stop doing wrong things! Some of you do not really know God. I am saying this to make you feel ashamed.
New bodies
35One of you may ask, ‘How does God raise dead people, to make them alive again? What kind of body will they have?’ 36Do not think like a fool! When you plant a seed in the ground, it has to die first. Then it can become alive again and grow into a new plant. 37You put just a seed into the ground. It might be wheat or it might be another kind of seed. You do not put into the ground the whole plant that the seed will become. 38But God makes that seed become a plant. Each plant has its own special body that God has chosen for it.
39Also, things that are alive do not have the same kind of body. People have one kind of body. Animals have a different kind of body. Birds and fish also have a different kind of body. 40Also, there are things up in the sky that are different from the things here on the earth. They have different bodies. Also, the things in the sky are beautiful in a different way from the things on the earth. 41The sun is beautiful in a special way. The moon is also beautiful in a special way, but it is different from the sun. The stars are beautiful too, and each star is beautiful in its own special way.
42It is like that when God raises a dead person to a new life. We bury the dead person's body in the ground and it becomes spoiled. But when God raises it up, it will live for ever. 43When we bury the body, it is not beautiful. But when God raises it up, it is very beautiful. When we bury the body, it is weak. But when God raises it, it is strong. 44What we bury in the ground is a human body. But the body that God raises up is a spiritual body. There is a human body that belongs to this earth. So there also has to be a spiritual body that belongs to heaven.
45It says in the Bible, ‘The first man, Adam, became a person who received life.’ #15:45 See Genesis 2:7. But Christ is like the last Adam. He is a spirit who gives life to people.
46The spiritual body does not come first. No, what is human comes first. Then, after that, what is spiritual comes. 47God used soil from the ground to make the first man, Adam. But the second man came from heaven. 48People who live on the earth have bodies like the first man. That is the man that God made from the soil of the earth. People in heaven have bodies like the man who came from heaven. 49Now God has given us bodies that look like the first man. One day we will have bodies that look like the man who belongs in heaven.
50I tell you this, my Christian friends. Our weak human bodies cannot go to heaven, to join God in his kingdom there. Our human bodies will die. They cannot share in something that will continue for ever.
51Listen to me. I will explain a great secret to you. Not all of us will die, but God will change all of us. 52It will happen in a short moment, when the last trumpet makes a sound. When that trumpet makes its sound, God will raise up the believers who have died. He will give them bodies that can never die. In that way, he will change all of us.
53That has to happen. Our bodies that are becoming spoiled must change. They must change into bodies that never become spoiled. Our bodies that are dying must change into bodies that will never die. 54God will give us new bodies like that. When that happens, what is written in the Bible will become true. It says:
‘God has won against death. He has destroyed it completely!’ #15:54 See Isaiah 25:8.
55‘Death, you can no longer win!
Death, you no longer have any power to hurt us!’ #15:55 See Hosea 13:14.
56Death only has power to hurt us because of our sins. And it is the authority of God's Law that gives power to sins. 57But now we thank God! Because of our Lord Jesus Christ, we win against death and its power.
58So you must continue to be strong in your spirits, my Christian friends that I love. Do not let anything move you away from your faith. Continue to work hard as you serve the Lord. You know that whatever you do for him will not be useless.
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1 Corinthians 15
15
Jesus Came Back to Life
1Brothers and sisters, I’m making known to you the Good News which I already told you, which you received, and on which your faith is based. 2In addition, you are saved by this Good News if you hold on to the doctrine I taught you, unless you believed it without thinking it over. 3I passed on to you the most important points of doctrine that I had received:
Christ died to take away our sins as the Scriptures predicted.
4He was placed in a tomb.
He was brought back to life on the third day as the Scriptures predicted.
5He appeared to Cephas.#15:5 Cephas is the Aramaic name for the Apostle Peter. Next he appeared to the twelve apostles. 6Then he appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. (Most of these people are still living, but some have died.) 7Next he appeared to James. Then he appeared to all the apostles. 8Last of all, he also appeared to me.
I’m like an aborted child ⌞who was given life⌟. 9I’m the least of the apostles. I’m not even fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted God’s church. 10But God’s kindness #15:10 Or “grace.” made me what I am, and that kindness was not wasted on me. Instead, I worked harder than all the others. It was not I who did it, but God’s kindness was with me. 11So, whether it was I or someone else, this is the message we brought you, and this is what you believed.
We Will Come Back to Life
12If we have told you that Christ has been brought back to life, how can some of you say that coming back from the dead is impossible? 13If the dead can’t be brought back to life, then Christ hasn’t come back to life. 14If Christ hasn’t come back to life, our message has no meaning and your faith also has no meaning. 15In addition, we are obviously witnesses who lied about God because we testified that he brought Christ back to life. But if it’s true that the dead don’t come back to life, then God didn’t bring Christ back to life. 16Certainly, if the dead don’t come back to life, then Christ hasn’t come back to life either. 17If Christ hasn’t come back to life, your faith is worthless and sin still has you in its power. 18Then those who have died as believers in Christ no longer exist. 19If Christ is our hope in this life only, we deserve more pity than any other people.
20But now Christ has come back from the dead. He is the very first person of those who have died to come back to life. 21Since a man brought death, a man also brought life back from death. 22As everyone dies because of Adam, so also everyone will be made alive because of Christ. 23This will happen to each person in his own turn. Christ is the first, then at his coming, those who belong to him ⌞will be made alive⌟. 24Then the end will come. Christ will hand over the kingdom to God the Father as he destroys every ruler, authority, and power.
25Christ must rule until God has put every enemy under his control. 26The last enemy he will destroy is death. 27Clearly, God has put everything under Christ’s authority. When God says that everything has been put under Christ’s authority, this clearly excludes God, since God has put everything under Christ’s authority. 28But when God puts everything under Christ’s authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, since God had put everything under the Son’s authority. Then God will be in control of everything.
29However, people are baptized because the dead ⌞will come back to life⌟. What will they do? If the dead can’t come back to life, why do people get baptized as if they can ⌞come back to life⌟?
30Why are we constantly putting ourselves in danger? 31Brothers and sisters, I swear to you on my pride in you which Christ Jesus our Lord has given me: I face death every day. 32If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus, what have I gained according to the way people look at things? If the dead are not brought back to life, “Let’s eat and drink because tomorrow we’re going to die!” 33Don’t let anyone deceive you. Associating with bad people will ruin decent people. 34Come back to the right point of view, and stop sinning. Some people don’t know anything about God. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
We Will Have Bodies That Will Not Decay
35But someone will ask, “How do the dead come back to life? With what kind of body will they come back?”
36You fool! The seed you plant doesn’t come to life unless it dies first. 37What you plant, whether it’s wheat or something else, is only a seed. It doesn’t have the form that the plant will have. 38God gives the plant the form he wants it to have. Each kind of seed grows into its own form. 39Not all flesh is the same. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have still another. 40There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies don’t all have the same splendor, neither do earthly bodies. 41The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon has another kind of splendor, and the stars have still another kind of splendor. Even one star differs in splendor from another star.
42That is how it will be when the dead come back to life. When the body is planted, it decays. When it comes back to life, it cannot decay. 43When the body is planted, it doesn’t have any splendor and is weak. When it comes back to life, it has splendor and is strong. 44It is planted as a physical body. It comes back to life as a spiritual body. As there is a physical body, so there is also a spiritual body.
45This is what Scripture says: “The first man, Adam, became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46The spiritual does not come first, but the physical and then the spiritual. 47The first man was made from the dust of the earth. He came from the earth. The second man came from heaven. 48The people on earth are like the man who was made from the dust of the earth. The people in heaven are like the man who came from heaven. 49As we have worn the likeness of the man who was made from the dust of the earth, we will also wear the likeness of the man who came from heaven. 50Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: Flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom. What decays cannot inherit what doesn’t decay.
51I’m telling you a mystery. Not all of us will die, but we will all be changed. 52It will happen in an instant, in a split second at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will come back to life. They will be changed so that they can live forever. 53This body that decays must be changed into a body that cannot decay. This mortal body must be changed into a body that will live forever. 54When this body that decays is changed into a body that cannot decay, and this mortal body is changed into a body that will live forever, then the teaching of Scripture will come true:
“Death is turned into victory!
55Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your sting?”
56Sin gives death its sting, and God’s standards give sin its power. 57Thank God that he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58So, then, brothers and sisters, don’t let anyone move you off the foundation ⌞of your faith⌟. Always excel in the work you do for the Lord. You know that the hard work you do for the Lord is not pointless.
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