Outline
IV. Instruction on Marriage (ch. 7)
VII. Instruction on the Resurrection (ch. 15)
1 Corinthians 15 NLT
1 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and
sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you
still stand firm in it.
2It is this Good News that saves you if you
continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed
something that was never true in the first place.
3 I passed on to you what was most
important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins,
just as the Scriptures said.
4 He was buried, and he was raised from
the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
5 He was seen by Peter and then by the
Twelve.
6After that, he was seen by more than
500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though
some have died.
7 Then he was seen by James and later by
all the apostles.
8 Last of all, as though I had been born
at the wrong time, I also saw him.
9 For I am the least of all the apostles.
In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted
God’s church.
10 But whatever I am now, it is all because
God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have
worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was
working through me by his grace.
11 So it makes no difference whether I
preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already
believed.
12But tell me this—since we preach that Christ
rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of
the dead?
13 For if there is no resurrection of the
dead, then Christ has not been raised either.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, then
all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.
15 And we apostles would all be lying about
God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be
true if there is no resurrection of the dead.
16 And if there is no resurrection of the
dead, then Christ has not been raised.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, then
your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.
18 In that case, all who have died
believing in Christ are lost!
19 And if our hope in Christ is only for
this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from
the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
21 So you see, just as death came into the
world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through
another man.
22Just as everyone dies because we all belong to
Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.
23 But there is an order to this
resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong
to Christ will be raised when he comes back.
24 After that the end will come, when he
will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and
authority and power.
25 For Christ must reign until he humbles
all his enemies beneath his feet.
26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is
death.
27 For the Scriptures say, “God has put all
things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his
authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)
28 Then, when all things are under his
authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who
gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything
everywhere.
29 If the dead will not be raised, what
point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it
unless the dead will someday rise again?
30 And why should we ourselves risk our
lives hour by hour?
31 For I swear, dear brothers and sisters,
that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus
our Lord has done in you.
32And what value was there in fighting wild
beasts—those people of Ephesus —if there will be no resurrection from the dead?
And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we
die!”
33 Don’t be fooled by those who say such
things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”
34 Think carefully about what is right, and
stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at
all.
35 But someone may ask, “How will the dead
be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?”
36 What a foolish question! When you put a
seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.
37 And what you put in the ground is not
the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are
planting.
38 Then God gives it the new body he wants
it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed.
39 Similarly there are different kinds of
flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another
for fish.
40There are also bodies in the heavens and
bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the
glory of the earthly bodies.
41 The sun has one kind of glory, while the
moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each
other in their glory.
42 It is the same way with the resurrection
of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they
will be raised to live forever.
43 Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but
they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be
raised in strength.
44 They are buried as natural human bodies,
but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural
bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.
45 The Scriptures tell us, “The first man,
Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a
life-giving Spirit.
46 What comes first is the natural body,
then the spiritual body comes later.
47 Adam, the first man, was made from the
dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.
48 Earthly people are like the earthly man,
and heavenly people are like the heavenly man.
49Just as we are now like the earthly man, we
will someday be like the heavenly man.
50 What I am saying, dear brothers and
sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These
dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful
secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!
52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink
of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those
who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also
be transformed.
53 For our dying bodies must be transformed
into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into
immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been
transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting? ”
56 For sin is the sting that results in
death, and the law gives sin its power.
57 But thank God! He gives us victory over
sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be
strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know
that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
1 Corinthians 16 NLT
1 Now regarding your question about the
money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same
procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia.
2 On the first day of each week, you
should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until
I get there and then try to collect it all at once.
3 When I come, I will write letters of
recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to
Jerusalem.
4 And if it seems appropriate for me to go
along, they can travel with me.
5 I am coming to visit you after I have been
to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia.
6 Perhaps I will stay awhile with you,
possibly all winter, and then you can send me on my way to my next
destination.
7 This time I don’t want to make just a
short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord
will let me.
8 In the meantime, I will be staying here
at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost.
9There is a wide-open door for a great work
here, although many oppose me.
10 When Timothy comes, don’t intimidate
him. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am.
11 Don’t let anyone treat him with
contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I
expect him to come with the other believers.
12 Now about our brother Apollos—I urged him
to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now.
He will see you later when he has the opportunity.
13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be
courageous. Be strong.
14 And do everything with love.
15 You know that Stephanas and his
household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are
spending their lives in service to God’s people. I urge you, dear brothers and
sisters,
16 to submit to them and others like them
who serve with such devotion.
17 I am very glad that Stephanas,
Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here. They have been providing the help you
weren’t here to give me.
18 They have been a wonderful encouragement
to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve
so well.
19 The churches here in the province of
Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others
who gather in their home for church meetings.
20 All the brothers and sisters here send
greetings to you. Greet each other with a sacred kiss.
21 HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN
HANDWRITING—PAUL .
22 If anyone does not love the Lord, that
person is cursed. Our Lord, come!
23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with
you.
24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.
