Bible / 1 Corinthians
1 Corinthians 15
Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner revision (1749–1752), the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate. If you read a modern Bible, this is the same Scripture in older English; some names are spelled differently (Cesarea for Caesarea, Apocalypse for Revelation). About this translation
1 Now I make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received and wherein you stand.
2 By which also you are saved, if you hold fast after what manner I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures: 1 CCC · Fathers
4 And that he was buried: and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures: Fathers
5 And that he was seen by Cephas, and after that by the eleven. 2
6 Then was he seen by more than five hundred brethren at once: of whom many remain until this present, and some are fallen asleep.
7 After that, he was seen by James: then by all the apostles. CCC
8 And last of all, he was seen also by me, as by one born out of due time. CCC
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. CCC
10 But by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace in me hath not been void: but I have laboured more abundantly than all they. Yet not I, but the grace of God with me: Fathers
11 For whether I or they, so we preach: and so you have believed. Fathers
12 Now if Christ be preached, that he arose again from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? CCC · Fathers
13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen again. CCC · Fathers
14 And if Christ be not risen again, then is our preaching vain: and your faith is also vain. CCC
15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God: because we have given testimony against God, that he hath raised up Christ, whom he hath not raised up, if the dead rise not again.
16 For if the dead rise not again, neither is Christ risen again.
17 And if Christ be not risen again, your faith is vain: for you are yet in your sins.
18 Then they also that 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 Christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of them that sleep:
21 For by a man came death: and by a man the resurrection of the dead.
22 And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. Fathers
23 But every one in his own order: the firstfruits, Christ: then they that are of Christ, who have believed in his coming.
24 Afterwards the end: when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father: when he shall have brought to nought all principality and power and virtue. CCC
25 For he must reign, until he hath put all his enemies under his feet. CCC · Fathers
26 And the enemy, death, shall be destroyed last: For he hath put all things under his feet. And whereas he saith: CCC · Fathers
27 All things are put under him; undoubtedly, he is excepted, who put all things under him. CCC · Fathers
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. CCC · Fathers
29 Otherwise, what shall they do that are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not again at all? Why are they then baptized for them?
30 Why also are we in danger every hour?
31 I die daily, I protest by your glory, brethren, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord.
32 If (according to man) I fought with beasts at Ephesus, what doth it profit me, if the dead rise not again? Let us eat and drink, for to morrow we shall die.
33 Be not seduced: Evil communications corrupt good manners.
34 Awake, ye just, and sin not. For some have not the knowledge of God. I speak it to your shame.
35 But some man will say: How do the dead rise again? Or with what manner of body shall they come? CCC
36 Senseless man, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die first. CCC · Fathers
37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be: but bare grain, as of wheat, or of some of the rest. CCC
38 But God giveth it a body as he will: and to every seed its proper body.
39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but one is the flesh of men, another of beasts, another of birds, another of fishes.
40 And there are bodies celestial and bodies terrestrial: but, one is the glory of the celestial, and another of the terrestrial.
41 One is the glory of the sun, another the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars. For star differeth from star in glory.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption: it shall rise in incorruption. CCC · Fathers
43 It is sown in dishonour: it shall rise in glory. It is sown in weakness: it shall rise in power. CCC · Fathers
44 It is sown a natural body: it shall rise a spiritual body. If there be a natural body, there is also a spiritual body, as it is written: CCC · Fathers
45 The first man Adam was made into a living soul; the last Adam into a quickening spirit. Fathers
46 Yet that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural: afterwards that which is spiritual. Fathers
47 The first man was of the earth, earthly: the second man, from heaven, heavenly.
48 Such as is the earthly, such also are the earthly: and such as is the heavenly, such also are they that are heavenly. Fathers
49 Therefore, as we have borne the image of the earthly, let us bear also the image of the heavenly. Fathers
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God: neither shall corruption possess incorruption. Fathers
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall all indeed rise again: but we shall not all be changed.
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall rise again incorruptible. And we shall be changed. CCC · Fathers
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption: and this mortal must put on immortality. CCC · Fathers
54 And when this mortal hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. Fathers
55 O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? Fathers
56 Now the sting of death is sin: and the power of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast and unmoveable: always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Where our lessons quote this chapter
This chapter in the Catechism and the early Church
Where the Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these verses (from its footnotes on vatican.va), and where the earliest Church Fathers quote them (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, public domain). Short quotes only; follow the links for the full text.
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- CCC 601 “The Scriptures had foretold this divine plan of salvation through the putting to death of "the righteous one, my Servant" as a…”
“… who shall know him?" He was likewise preached by Paul: "For I delivered," he says, "unto you first of all, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XVIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“… who shall know him?" He was likewise preached by Paul: "For I delivered," he says, "unto you first of all, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XVIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 857 “The Church is apostolic because she is founded on the apostles, in three ways: - she was and remains built on "the…”
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- CCC 752 “In Christian usage, the word "church" designates the liturgical assembly, but also the local community 142 or the whole universal community of…”
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“Wherefore also Paul, since he was the apostle of the Gentiles, says, "I laboured more than they all.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book IV, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXIV. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“And again, in the Epistle to the Corinthians, when he had recounted all those who had seen God after the resurrection, he says in continuation, "But whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed,”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 991 “Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian faith from its beginnings. "The confidence of…”
“For after remarking, "But if Christ be preached, that He rose from the dead,”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XVIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 991 “Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian faith from its beginnings. "The confidence of…”
“But now Christ has risen from the dead, the first-fruits of those that sleep; for as by man [came] death, by man also [came] the resurrection of the dead.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 991 “Belief in the resurrection of the dead has been an essential element of the Christian faith from its beginnings. "The confidence of…”
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“… of the rest, and by speaking vanity, he might acquire for himself hearers void of faith, affecting to be esteemed a teacher, and endeavouring from time to time to employ sayings of this kind often [made use of] by Paul: "In Adam we all die;”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“… Spirit of God, having become united with the ancient substance of Adam's formation, rendered man living and perfect, receptive of the perfect Father, in order that as in the natural [Adam] we all were dead, so in the spiritual we may all be made alive.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter I. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 2855 “The final doxology, "For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever," takes up again, by inclusion, the…”
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 954 “The three states of the Church. "When the Lord comes in glory, and all his angels with him, death will be no…”
- CCC 1008 “Death is a consequence of sin. the Church's Magisterium, as authentic interpreter of the affirmations of Scripture and Tradition, teaches that death…”
- CCC 2855 “The final doxology, "For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever," takes up again, by inclusion, the…”
“Now Adam had been conquered, all life having been taken away from him: wherefore, when the foe was conquered in his turn, Adam received new life; and the last enemy, death, is destroyed,”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 668 “Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." Christ's Ascension into heaven…”
- CCC 954 “The three states of the Church. "When the Lord comes in glory, and all his angels with him, death will be no…”
- CCC 2855 “The final doxology, "For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever," takes up again, by inclusion, the…”
“And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 668 “Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living." Christ's Ascension into heaven…”
- CCC 1130 “The Church celebrates the mystery of her Lord "until he comes," when God will be "everything to everyone." Since the apostolic age…”
- CCC 1326 “Finally, by the Eucharistic celebration we already unite ourselves with the heavenly liturgy and anticipate eternal life, when God will be all…”
- CCC 2550 “On this way of perfection, the Spirit and the Bride call whoever hears them 344 to perfect communion with God: There will…”
- CCC 2804 “The first series of petitions carries us toward him, for his own sake: thy name, thy kingdom, thy will! It is characteristic…”
- CCC 2855 “The final doxology, "For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever," takes up again, by inclusion, the…”
“And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXXVI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 999 “How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"; but he did…”
“… therefore in reference to it he says, in the first [Epistle] to the Corinthians: "So also is the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it rises in incorruption." For he declares, "That which thou sowest cannot be quickened, unless first it die.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 999 “How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"; but he did…”
Read the Catechism and Fathers
- CCC 999 “How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"; but he did…”
- CCC 1683 “The Church who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey's…”
“… this of which he also says, "He shall also quicken your mortal bodies." And therefore in reference to it he says, in the first [Epistle] to the Corinthians: "So also is the resurrection of the dead: it is sown in corruption, it rises in incorruption.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 1683 “The Church who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey's…”
“And for this reason he said, "It is sown in dishonour, it rises in glory.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power:”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 1683 “The Church who, as Mother, has borne the Christian sacramentally in her womb during his earthly pilgrimage, accompanies him at his journey's…”
“It is sown an animal body, it rises a spiritual body.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter VII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“Wherefore also "the first Adam was made" by the Lord "a living soul, the second Adam a quickening spirit.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“But that is not first which is spiritual," says the apostle, speaking this as if with reference to us human beings; "but that is first which is animal, afterwards that which is spiritual,”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“And therefore he says, "As is the earthy, such are they that are earthy.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter IX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“And on this account he (the apostle) declares, "As we have borne the image of him who is of the earth, we shall also bear the image of Him who is from heaven.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter IX. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“For this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XI. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“… cast out the Spirit, and remain in their former condition, desirous of being of the flesh rather than of the Spirit, then it is very justly said with regard to men of this stamp, "That flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God;”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter X. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 999 “How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"; but he did…”
“… and shows that it is He who is Himself able to extend both healing and life to His handiwork, that His words concerning its [future] resurrection may also be believed; so also at the end, when the Lord utters His voice "by the last trumpet,”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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- CCC 999 “How? Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"; but he did…”
“… nourished by it, and deposited in the earth, and suffering decomposition there, shall rise at their appointed time, the Word of God granting them resurrection to the glory of God, even the Father, who freely gives to this mortal immortality, and to this corruptible incorruption,”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter II. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“And for this reason, he says, "This mortal must put on immortality, and this corruptible must put on incorruption.”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter X. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
“O death, where is thy victory?”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book V, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“O death, where is thy sting?”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
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“O death, where is thy sting?”
Quoted in Against Heresies, Book III, St. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. AD 180), Chapter XXIII. Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1
A modern English Catholic translation will be added once its publisher grants permission.