1 Corinthians 15:35-58 : Easy-to-Read Version
What Kind of Body Will We Have?
35But some person may ask, "How are dead people raised? What kind of body will they have?" 36Those are stupid questions. When you plant something, it must die [in the ground] before it can live and grow. 37And when you plant something, the thing you plant does not have the same "body" that it will have later. The thing you plant is only a seed, maybe wheat or something else. 38But God gives it a body that he has planned for it. And God gives each kind of seed its own body. 39All things made of flesh (bodies) are not the same kind of flesh: People have one kind of flesh (body), animals have another kind, birds have another kind, and fish have another kind. 40Also there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the beauty of the heavenly bodies is one kind. The beauty of the earthly bodies is another kind. 41The sun has one kind of beauty, the moon has another kind of beauty, and the stars have another. And each star is different in its beauty. 42It is the same with the dead people who are raised to life. The body that is "planted" will ruin and decay. But that body is raised to a life that cannot be destroyed. 43When the body is "planted," it is without honor. But it is raised in glory. When the body is "planted," it is weak. But when it is raised, it has power. 44The body that is "planted" is a physical body. When it is raised, it is a spiritual body. There is a physical body. So there is also a spiritual body. 45It is written [in the Scriptures*], "The first man (Adam) became a living thing.*"* But the last Adam (Christ) became a spirit that gives life. 46The spiritual [man] did not come first. It was the physical [man] that came first; then came the spiritual. 47The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man (Christ) came from heaven. 48People belong to the earth. They are like that first man of earth. But those people who belong to heaven are like that man of heaven. 49We were made like that man of earth. So we will also be made like that man of heaven. 50I tell you this, brothers [and sisters]: Flesh and blood (a physical body) cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. A thing that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins. 51But listen, I tell you this secret: We will not all die, but we will all be changed. 52It will only take the time of a second. We will be changed as quickly as an eye blinks. This will happen when the last trumpet blows. The trumpet will blow and those [believers] who have died will be raised to live forever. And we [also] will all be changed. 53This [body] that will ruin must clothe itself with something that will never ruin. And this [body] that dies must clothe itself with something that will never die. 54So this [body] that ruins will clothe itself with that which never ruins. And this body that dies will clothe itself with that which never dies. When this happens, then this Scripture* will be made true: "Death is swallowed (defeated) in victory." Isaiah 25:8
55"Death, where is your victory? Grave, where is your power to hurt?" Hosea 13:14
56Death's power to hurt is sin. And the power of sin is the law. 57But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58So, my dear brothers [and sisters], stand strong. Don't let anything change you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.
Scriptures Holy Writings--the Old Testament. thing Literally, "soul." "The first man ... thing" Quote from Gen. 2:7. Scriptures Holy Writings--the Old Testament.