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Chapter 15 |
| 1 | Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also
ye have received, and wherein ye stand; |
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2 | By which also ye are saved,
if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in
vain. |
| 3 |
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
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| 4 | And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according
to the scriptures: |
| 5 | And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve: |
| 6 |
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at
once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen
asleep. |
| 7 |
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the
apostles. |
| 8
| And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born
out of due time. |
|
9 | For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet
to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. |
| 10 |
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon
me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I,
but the grace of God which was with me. |
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11 | Therefore whether it were
I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. |
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12 | Now if Christ be
preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no
resurrection of the dead? |
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13 | But if there be no resurrection of the
dead, then is Christ not risen: |
| 14 | And if Christ be not risen,
then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. |
| 15 | Yea, and
we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he
raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
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| 16 | For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: |
| 17 | And if
Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. |
| 18 |
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. |
| 19 | If
in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable. |
| 20
| But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the
firstfruits of them that slept. |
| 21 | For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead. |
| 22 | For as in
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. |
| 23 | But
every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are
Christ's at his coming. |
| 24 | Then cometh the end, when he shall have
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down
all rule and all authority and power. |
| 25 | For he must reign, till he
hath put all enemies under his feet. |
| 26 | The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death. |
| 27 | For he hath put all things under his feet.
But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is
excepted, which did put all things under him. |
| 28 | And when all
things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. |
| 29 |
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not
at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? |
| 30 | And why
stand we in jeopardy every hour? |
| 31 | I protest by your rejoicing
which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. |
| 32 | If after the
manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if
the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. |
| 33 | Be
not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. |
| 34 | Awake to
righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak
this to your shame. |
| 35 | But some man will say, How are the dead
raised up? and with what body do they come? |
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36 | Thou fool, that which
thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: |
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37 | And that which thou
sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance
of wheat, or of some other grain: |
| 38 | But God giveth it a body as
it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. |
| 39 | All flesh is
not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of
beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. |
| 40 | There are
also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial
is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. |
| 41 | There is one
glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the
stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. |
| 42 | So also
is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in
incorruption: |
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43 | It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it
is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: |
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44 | It is sown a natural
body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a
spiritual body. |
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45 | And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a
living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. |
| 46 | Howbeit
that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward
that which is spiritual. |
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47 | The first man is of the earth, earthy;
the second man is the Lord from heaven. |
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48 | As is the earthy, such are
they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly. |
| 49
| And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall
also bear the image of the heavenly. |
| 50 | Now this I say, brethren,
that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption
inherit incorruption. |
| 51 | Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed, |
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52 | In a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. |
| 53 | For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. |
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54 | So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory. |
| 55
| O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy
victory? |
| 56
| The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the
law. |
| 57 |
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ. |
| 58 | Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye
stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye
know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. |
