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And so I make known to you, brothers, the Gospel that I preached to you, which you also received, and on which you stand.
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By the Gospel, too, you are being saved, if you hold to the understanding that I preached to you, lest you believe in vain.
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For I handed on to you, first of all, what I also received: that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures;
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and that he was buried; and that he rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures;
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and that he was seen by Cephas, and after that by the eleven.
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Next he was seen by more than five hundred brothers at one time, many of whom remain, even to the present time, although some have fallen asleep.
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Next, he was seen by James, then by all the Apostles.
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And last of all, he was seen also by me, as if I were someone born at the wrong time.
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For I am the least of the Apostles. I am not worthy to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.
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But, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace in me has not been empty, since I have labored more abundantly than all of them. Yet it is not I, but the grace of God within me.
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For whether it is I or they: so we preach, and so you have believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
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Now if Christ is preached, that he rose again from the dead, how is it that some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
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For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen.
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And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is useless, and your faith is also useless.
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Then, too, we would be found to be false witnesses of God, because we would have given testimony against God, saying that he had raised up Christ, when he had not raised him up, if, indeed, the dead do not rise again.
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For if the dead do not rise again, then neither has Christ risen again.
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But if Christ has not risen, then your faith is vain; for you would still be in your sins.
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Then, too, those who have fallen asleep in Christ would have perished.
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If we have hope in Christ for this life only, then we are more miserable than all men.
The Order of Resurrection
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But now Christ has risen again from the dead, as the first-fruits of those who sleep.
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For certainly, death came through a man. And so, the resurrection of the dead came through a man
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And just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be brought to life,
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but each one in his proper order: Christ, as the first-fruits, and next, those who are of Christ, who have believed in his advent.
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Afterwards is the end, when he will have handed over the kingdom to God the Father, when he will have emptied all principality, and authority, and power.
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For it is necessary for him to reign, until he has set all his enemies under his feet.
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Lastly, the enemy called death shall be destroyed. For he has subjected all things under his feet. And although he says,
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“All things have been subjected to him,” without doubt he does not include the One who has subjected all things to him.
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And when all things will have been subjected to him, then even the Son himself will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to him, so that God may be all in all.(a)
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Otherwise, what will those who are being baptized for the dead do, if the dead do not rise again at all? Why then are they being baptized for them?(b)
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Why also do we endure trials every hour?
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Daily I die, by means of your boasting, brothers: you whom I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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If, according to man, I fought with the beasts at Ephesus, how would that benefit me, if the dead do not rise again? “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die.”(c)
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Do not be led astray. Evil communication corrupts good morals.
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Be vigilant, you just ones, and do not be willing to sin. For certain persons have an ignorance of God. I say this to you with respect.
The Resurrection Body
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But someone may say, “How do the dead rise again?” or, “What type of body do they return with?”
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How foolish! What you sow cannot be brought back to life, unless it first dies.
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And what you sow is not the body that will be in the future, but a bare grain, such as of wheat, or of some other grain.
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For God gives it a body according to his will, and according to each seed’s proper body.
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Not all flesh is the same flesh. But one is indeed of men, another truly is of beasts, another is of birds, and another is of fish.
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Also, there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But while the one, certainly, has the glory of heaven, the other has the glory of earth.
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One has the brightness of the sun, another the brightness of the moon, and another the brightness of the stars. For even star differs from star in brightness.
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So it is also with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown in corruption shall rise to incorruption.
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What is sown in dishonor shall rise to glory. What is sown in weakness shall rise to power.
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What is sown with an animal body shall rise with a spiritual body. If there is an animal body, there is also a spiritual one.
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Just as it was written that the first man, Adam, was made with a living soul, so shall the last Adam be made with a spirit brought back to life.
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So what is, at first, not spiritual, but animal, next becomes spiritual.
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The first man, being earthly, was of the earth; the second man, being heavenly, will be of heaven.
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Such things as are like the earth are earthly; and such things as are like the heavens are heavenly.
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And so, just as we have carried the image of what is earthly, let us also carry the image of what is heavenly.
Where, O Death, Is Your Victory?
(Hosea 13:9–14)
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Now I say this, brothers, because flesh and blood is not able to possess the kingdom of God; neither will what is corrupt possess what is incorrupt.
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Behold, I tell you a mystery. Certainly, we shall all rise again, but we shall not all be transformed:(d)
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in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise up, incorruptible. And we shall be transformed.
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Thus, it is necessary for this corruptibility to be clothed with incorruptibility, and for this mortality to be clothed with immortality.
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And when this mortality has been clothed with immortality, then the word that was written shall occur: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
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“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
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Now the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
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But thanks be to God, who has given us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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And so, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and unmovable, abounding always in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not useless in the Lord.
Footnotes