1Now I'm making known to you, brothers, the gospel that I proclaimed to you, which you accepted, on which you have taken your stand, 2and by which you are also being saved if you hold firmly to the message I proclaimed to you—unless, of course, your faith was worthless. 3For I passed on to you the most important points of what I received: Christ died for our sins in keeping with the Scriptures, 4he was buried, he was raised on the third day in keeping with the Scriptures—and is still alive!— 5and he was seen by Cephas, and then by the twelve. 6After that, he was seen by more than 500 brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7Next he was seen by James, then by all the apostles, 8and finally he was seen by me, as though I were born abnormally late. 9For I am the least of the apostles and not even fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted God's church. 10But by God's grace I am what I am, and his grace shown to me was not wasted. Instead, I worked harder than all the others—not I, of course, but God's grace that was with me. 11So, whether it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 12Now if we preach that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you keep claiming there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, 14and if Christ has not been raised, then our message means nothing and your faith means nothing. 15In addition, we are found to be false witnesses about God because we testified on God's behalf that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if in fact it is true that the dead are not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised, 17and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins. 18Yes, even those who have died in Christ are lost. 19If we have set our hopes on Christ in this life only, we deserve more pity than any other people. 20But at this moment Christ stands risen from the dead, the first one offered in the harvest of those who have died. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ will all be made alive. 23However, this will happen to each person in the proper order: first Christ, then those who belong to Christ when he comes. 24Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has done away with every ruler and every authority and power. 25For he must rule until God puts all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be done away with is death, 27for “God has put everything under his feet.” Now when he says, “Everything has been put under him,” this clearly excludes the one who put everything under him. 28But when everything has been put under him, then the Son himself will also become subject to the one who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. 29Otherwise, what will those people do who are being baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are they being baptized for them? 30And why in fact are we being endangered every hour? 31I face death every day! That is as certain, brothers, as it is that I am proud of you in Christ Jesus our Lord. 32If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus from merely human motives, what do I get out of it? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33Stop being deceived: “Wicked friends lead to evil ends.” 34Come back to your senses as you should, and stop sinning! For some of you—I say this to your shame—are without a true knowledge of God. 35But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have when they come back?” 36You fool! The seed you plant does not come to life unless it dies, 37and what you plant is not the form that it will be, but a bare kernel, whether it is wheat or something else. 38But God gives the plant the form he wants it to have, and to each kind of seed its own form. 39Not all flesh is the same. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals in general have another, birds have another, and fish have still another. 40There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the splendor of those in heaven is of one kind, and that of those on earth is of another. 41One kind of splendor belongs to the sun, another to the moon, and still another to the stars. In fact, one star differs from another star in splendor. 42This is how it will be at the resurrection of the dead. What is planted is decaying, what is raised cannot decay. 43The body is planted in dishonor but raised in splendor. It is planted in weakness but raised in power. 44It is planted a physical body but raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45This, indeed, is what is written: “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 came from the dust of the earth; the second man came from heaven. 48Those who are made of the dust are like the man from the dust, those who are heavenly are like the man who is from heaven. 49Just as we have borne the likeness of the man who was made from dust, we will also bear the likeness of the man from heaven. 50Brothers, this is what I mean: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and what decays cannot inherit what does not decay. 51Let me tell you a secret. Not all of us will die, but all of us will be changed— 52in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will be raised never to decay, and we will be changed. 53For what is decaying must put on what cannot decay, and what is dying must put on what cannot die. 54Now, when what is decaying puts on what cannot decay, and what is dying puts on what cannot die, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory!” 55“Where, O death, is your victory?Where, O death, is your sting?” 56Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! 58Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that your work isn't wasted in the Lord.