1 Corinthians 15:21

15:21 For since death came through a man, ¹  the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. ² 

1 Corinthians 15:12-13

No Resurrection?

15:12 Now if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead, ³  how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 15:13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.

1 Corinthians 15:20

15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

1 Corinthians 15:42

15:42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. ⁴ 

1 Corinthians 15:29

15:29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? ⁵  If the dead are not raised at all, then why are they baptized for them?

[15:21]  ¹ tn Or “through a human being” (a reference to Adam).

[15:21]  ² tn Or “through a human being” (a reference to Jesus Christ).

[15:12]  ³ tn Grk “that he has been raised from the dead.”

[15:42]  ⁵ tn Grk “it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.” The “it” refers to the body, as v. 44 shows.

[15:29]  ⁷ sn Many suggestions have been offered for the puzzling expression baptized for the dead. There are up to 200 different explanations for the passage; a summary is given by K. C. Thompson, “I Corinthians 15,29 and Baptism for the Dead,” Studia Evangelica 2.1 (TU 87), 647-59. The most likely interpretation is that some Corinthians had undergone baptism to bear witness to the faith of fellow believers who had died without experiencing that rite themselves. Paul’s reference to the practice here is neither a recommendation nor a condemnation. He simply uses it as evidence from the lives of the Corinthians themselves to bolster his larger argument, begun in 15:12, that resurrection from the dead is a present reality in Christ and a future reality for them. Whatever they may have proclaimed, the Corinthians’ actions demonstrated that they had hope for a bodily resurrection.