A Historic Overview

What is the purpose or focus of I Corinthians 15?  Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul), a second-generation Beyt Hillel Pharisee, wrote four letters to this congregation in Corinth, Greece, but only two of those letters have survived, which we call “I Corinthians” (the second letter he wrote) and “2 Corinthians” (the fourth letter he wrote).  These four letters were written to respond to certain questions they had, issues that had risen up in this assembly, and to reinforce the central message of this new Second-Temple Jewish movement. Of these two surviving letters, I want to examine what we call “I Corinthians.”

A Question

In this particular letter, there are 16 chapters, but the passage that many Christians use to define “the gospel” comes at the beginning of the 15th chapter, located near the end of the letter.  But the question I have is whether-or-not this is actually the proper interpretation of this chapter or if there is a much broader and larger issue that is being discussed, and were the first 8 verses meant to be used as a comprohensive explanation of “the gospel,” or do these 8 verses serve another purpose instead? So are Christians representing this text accurately or are they misconstruing and distorting it?

I Corinthians 15 – “An Analysis”

Let’s go back and take a closer look at the beginning four verses of I Corinthians 15.

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you THE GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; by which also you are saved, if you keep keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you FIRST OF ALL that which I also received, how that Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures;… (I Corinthians 15:1-4)

Notice that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) states here that “among the first things I passed on to you was what I also received.”  He does not say that this was the ONLY THING he received, nor does he say that it is the ONLY THING he passed on to them, and by saying that it is “among the FIRST THINGS,” then it imples that there are other “first things” as well.  Consequently, then, “how the Messiah died for our sins,…he was buried, and he was raised on the third day, in according to the Scriptures,” is only part of the “FIRST THINGS” – NOT the WHOLE MESSAGE.

EYE -WITNESS TESTIMONIES

Therefore, in speaking to the people at Corinth, Greece, he encourages them to keep what he had taught them in memory.  “For if you don’t,” he says, “your trust will have been in vain.”  And what is this message?  At least a portion of it focuses on the “death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah.”  And as this text indicates, this is a portion of the message, but when we look further on into the chapter, we also discover that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) is using this as a foundation for his counter-argument against those in the Corinth congregation who were arguing that there is no resurrection from the dead.

After laying out this basic introduction to his counter-argument, he then gives a listing of those who had witnesses of the Rebbe Yeshua’s resurrection:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 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.  After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.  And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. (I Corinthians 15:5-8, KJV)

The purpose of the list is to provide the eye-witness verification of the Rebbe Yeshua’s resurrection.  At the time of the first century, eye-witness testimony was the highest form of evidence available in any courts of law.  Therefore, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) is encouraging the Corinthians to base their faith in Messiah on the available evidence, rather than on “believing in something when there’s no reason to believe,” as I have heard Christian college students define “faith.”  Obviously, their definition and Rav Sha’ul Paulus’ (Paul’s) are contradictory to one another.

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  But by the grace of God I am what I am: and he grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach and so ye believed. (I Corinthians 15: 9-11, KJV)

Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) states here that he was “the least of the disciples,” yet how many sincere Christians have used his writings to redefine and even replace earlier Scriptures, including “the gospel” taught by the Rebbe Yeshua and his disciples?  Instead, we should have been using the Hebrew Scriptures, to interpret and understand the “New Testament,” including “the gospel” taught by the Rebbe Yeshua and the letters written by Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul).

EYE-WITNESS LIST ANALYSIS

First, he mentions Kefa (Peter), then the Twelve, and then five hundred brothers at one time, the majority of whom were still alive at the time he penned this epistle, and then Ya’acov [Jacob/trans. “James”], who is Rebbe Yeshua’s brother and called HaTzaddik [“the Just/Righteous”], and then by all the emissaries [“apostles”], and finally by Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) himself.

But in looking at this list of eyewitnesses, what I found interesting is who is not on it.  For example,

  • Mir’yam [Mary] from Magdala is not on it.  All four of the Gospels agree that she was one of the first to see the Rebbe Yeshua alive after his resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8; Mark 16:9; Luke 24:10; John 20:1, 10-18), and yet she is not on the list.
  • Another one who is not on the list is his mother, Mir’yam [Mary], who was there with Mir’yam (Mary) from Magdala [Matthew 28:1; Luke 24:10], and also Salome [Mark 16:1] and Joanna [Luke 24:10], yet none of these women were included on the list.
  • Another name that is not on the list is Cleopas, who was named as one of the two disciples who was walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:18).  Obviously, then, this list was not at all comprehensive.

THE SEVENTY – THE OFTEN IGNORED DISCIPLES

Most people have heard of “the Twelve,” but most do not know that there was also another group of the disciples – the Seventy:”

After these things the Lord appointed other SEVENTY also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whereever he himself would come.  (Luke 10:1)

Obviously, the Rebbe Yeshua would not send out SEVENTY (70) other disciples, if he had not spent time teaching and training these SEVENTY men.  Therefore, we must conclude that he did not just travel around Israel with TWELVE (12) disciples – but with at least EIGHTY-TWO (82) disciples.

Also, we need to remember that the Rebbe Yeshua prayed all night before selecting “the Twelve,” but why would he need to do that if there were only Twelve disciples, since he would be selecting everyone who is there.  On the other hand, if there were more than Twelve – but eighty-two disciples – than obviously, he would need to pray to know which ones from the eighty-two he would select to constitute “the Twelve.”

According to Eusebius, an early Church historian, he tells us something interesting about Cephas in his Book of Ecclesiastical History.  According to Clement, an earlier Church historian, whom Eusebius quotes one of the seventy is Cephas:

Clement, in the fifth of his Hypotyposses or Institutions [his book] in which he also mentions CEPHAS of whom Paul also said that he came to Antioch and “that he withstood him to his face” (Gal. 2:11) said that one who had the same name with Peter the apostle was one of the SEVENTY…Moreover, if anyone observes with attention, he will find more disciples of our Savior than the seventy on the testimony of Paul, who that “he appeared after his resurrection, first to CEPHAS, then to the twelve, and after these to five hundred brethren at once.”  Of whom, he said, “some are fallen asleep” (I Cor. 15:5-6), but the great part were living at the time he wrote. (Book 1, Chapter 12, lines 2, 4)

Perhaps, Cephas was the name of the other disciple, who was on the road to Emmaus.  Clement was one of the disciples of the early church.  Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) mentions him by name in Phillipians 4,

And I entreat you also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with CLEMENT also, and with other my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life.  (Phillipans 4:3)

After Shi’mon Kefa (Peter) and Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) were martyred in Rome, according to traditions, Clement becomes the bishop of Rome.  And in his writings and history of the early ekklesia (trans. “church”) pulls this material about CEPHAS.  It was this CEPHAS, who was also called Kefa, that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) lists as the first in his list to see the risen Savior, and that according to Clement, he was the one that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) opposed “face-to-face” in the book of Galatians, rather than the emissary [trans. apostle] Peter, as is often taught by Christians.

PAUL’S COUNTER-ARGUMENT

However, when we read further on in I Corinthians 15, we discover that Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) was not giving a comprehensive description of “the gospel” in the first eight verses of I Corinthians 15, but he was laying the foundation for his counter-argument against those who were arguing against the resurrection of the dead.  After providing his foundation, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) presents the problems with the opposing argument:

Now if the Messiah be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then the Messiah has not been raised; and if the Messiah has not been raised, also  your faith [trust] is in vain.  Yes, and we are found to be false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He has raised up the Messiah, whom he did not raise, if it is true that the dead are not raised. (I Corinthians 15: 12-15, KJV)

Now in this initial presentation, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) draws the following logical conclusions to their argument:

  1.  If there is no resurrection from the dead, then the Messiah has not been raised;
  2.  If the Messiah has not been raised, then what we have proclaimed is in vain (it is meaningless and worthless);
  3.  If our proclamation is in vain, then your trust (faith) is in vain; and
  4.  Therefore, if our proclamation is in vain, then we are shown up as false witnesses before God.

In pointing out the logical conclusions that they would have to draw by accepting this position, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) is demonstrating not only the fallacy of the argument, but he is also demonstrating his own use of critical thinking and logic.

There are many people today who have been erroneously taught that critical thinking is the enemy of biblical faith, but Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) here demonstrates that the direct opposite is, in fact, the case.  Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) here is using critical thinking and logic to support the belief in the resurrection of the dead and to disprove the opposition.  Therefore, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) reasons, if there is no resurrection from the dead, then the whole message about “the death, burial, and ressurection of Messiah” and the Messianic faith is nothing more than an elaborate deception and a scam.

There are many people today who have been erroneously taught that critical thinking is the enemy of biblical faith, but Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) here demonstrates that the direct opposite is, in fact, the case.  Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) here is using critical thinking and logic to support the belief in the resurrection of the dead and to disprove the opposition.  Therefore, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) reasons, if there is no resurrection from the dead, then the whole message about “the death, burial, and ressurection of Messiah” and the Messianic faith is nothing more than an elaborate deception and a scam.

But Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) does not stop there.  He revisits the original claim, and then he takes it even further:

For if the dead rise not, then is not the Messiah raised: And if the Messiah is not raised, your faith [trust] is vain [useless], and you are still in your sins.  Then they also which are fallen asleep in the Messiah are perished. If in this life only we have hope in the Messiah, we are of all men most miserable.  But now is the Messiah risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.  (I Corinthians 15: 16-20, KJV)

In this second use of critical thinking and logic, Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul)

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. (I Corinthians 15:21-23, KJV)

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.  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. (I Corinthians 15:24-26, KJV)

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. 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. (I Corinthians 15:27-28, KJV)

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?  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?  (I Corinthians 15:29-30, KJV)

I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.  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 tomorrow we die. (I Corinthians 15:31-32, KJV)

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.  But some man will say, How are the dead raised up?  and with what body do they come? Thou foot, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 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: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. (I Corinthians 15:33-38)

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.  There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.  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. So also is the resurrection of the dead.  It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. (I Corinthians 15: 39-44, KJV)

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (I Corinthians 15:43-49, KJV)

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 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.  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (I Corinthians 15:50-53, KJV)

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 vistory.  O Death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?”  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 15:54-57, KJV)

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (I Corinthians 15:58, KJV)

outlines for us A PART of the message that he had proclaimed to the people at Corinth, and he encourages them to keep it in memory, “unless,” he says, “you have believed in vain.”  And what is this message?  It focuses on the death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah.  So doesn’t this prove that the traditional gospel that has been taught and preached by Christianity is, in fact, the gospel? But is this what I Corinthians 15 truly all about or is this only a superficial understanding?  If we analyze the whole chapter – not just the first eight verses – we discover that Christians have misrepresented these eight verses by taking them completely out of context.  The purpose of this chapter is not to present a comprehensive view of what constitutes “the gospel,” but in this chapter, I Corinthians 15, Rev Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) is using the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua to lay the groundwork for a counter-argument against a group who has been arguing against the possibility of the resurrection of the dead, which has been a foundational belief of traditional Pharisaic or Rabbinic Judaism.  Therefore, to use I Corinthians 15:1-8 to teach a comprehensive understanding of “the gospel” is to distort, misuse, and misrepresent “the gospel” to people throughout the centuries.

Rather than using the Hebrew Scriptures to understand the teachings of the Rebbe Yeshua and the writings of his disciples, Christians have done the inverse.  They have used their interpretation of Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) to understand the teachings of the Rebbe Yeshua, and they have taught that the Ketuvim HaDerekh (“Writings of the Way”), or what Christians have been taught to call the “New Testament” and Messianics call the B’rit Chadasha, is a distinctly separate revelation from God than the Tanakh, the Hebrew Scriptures, or what Christians have been erroneously taught to call the “Old Testament.”

Mainstream Christianity Views

Mainstream Christianity teaches that “the gospel” that they perceive was taught by Rav Sha’ul Paulus (Paul) has actually replaced “the gospel of the kingdom” that was taught by Yochanan (John) the Immerser and the Rebbe Yeshua and his disciples throughout the land of Israel during the Second-Temple period of the first century, C.E.  Christianity has different views and ideas about what consistuted “the gospel of the kingdom.”  Some see it as referring to the future Messianic kingdom, some see it as referring to Yeshua himself, and some see it as referring to God’s reign and rule over the spiritual realm, including the spiritual lives of human beings.  But regardless of the interpretation, this message was only for the Jewish people and only for a short time period.  It ended with his death on the cross, so now everyone must be saved by “the gospel” of Rav Sha’ul Paulus: the death, burial, and resurrection, as we see here in I Corinthians 15:1-8.

I Corinthians 15 – “An Analysis”?

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you THE GOSPEL which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; by which also you are saved, if you keep keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto first of all that which I also received, how that Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures;… (I Corinthians 15:1-4)

Here we can see that Paul outlines for us the message that he had proclaimed to the people at Corinth, and he encourages them to keep it in memory, “unless,” he says, “you have believed in vain.”  And what is this message?  It focuses on the death, burial, and resurrection of Messiah.  So doesn’t this prove that the traditional gospel that has been taught and preached by Christianity is, in fact, the gospel?  I agree that this has a role to play within the message, but when we look further on into I Corinthians 15, we discover that this statement is part of a larger argument; in fact, Paul is using this to provide the foundation for his counter-argument against those who were arguing that there is no such thing as “the resurrection from the dead.”

After laying out this basic introducation, he then gives a listing of those who had been witnesses of Yeshua’s resurrection:

And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, He was seen of above five fundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are falled asleep.  After that, He was seen of James, then of all the apostles.  And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.  (I Corinthians 15:5-8)

The purpose of the list it to provde the wye-witness verification to the resurrection.  At the time of the first century, eye-witness testimony was the highest form of evidence available.  Therefore, Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to base their faith in Messiah on the available evidence, rather than on simply “believing in something when there’s no reason to believe it,” which is how I have heard Christian college students define “faith.”  Obviously, their definition and Paul’s are completely contradictory on one another.

I Corinthians 15 Analysis

What I found interesting about Paul’s list of eyewitnesses is that Mary Magdalene is not on it.  All four Gospels agree that she was the first to see Yeshua alive after His resurrection, and yet she is not on the list.  Another one who is not on the list is Cleopas, who is named as one of the two disciples who was walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:18).  Cleopas the name of the other disciple.  According to Eusebius, one of the early church historians, he tells us something interesting about Cephas in his book od Ecclesiastical History.  Most people have heard of “the Twelve,’ but most do not know that there was also another group of disciples, “the Seventy” (Luk 10:1):

After these things the Lord appointed other SEVENTY also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come.  (Luke 10:1)

Obviously, Yeshua could not have sent out SEVENTY, if He had not spent time teaching and training these SEVENTY.  Therefore, He did not travel around with just the Twelve, but at least eighty-two disciples.  Also, consider that Yeshua prayed all night before selecting the Twelve, but why would He need to do that it there were were only Twelve disciples; He would be selecting everyone who is there.  However, if there were more than Twelve, like eighty-two disciples, then obviously, He would need to pray to know which ones from the eighty-two He should select to constitute the Twelve.  But according to Clement, whom Eusebius quotes, one of the Seventy was Cephas:

Clement, in the fifth of his Hypotyposes or Institutions in which he also mentions CEPHAS, of whom Paul also said that he came to Antioch and “that he withstood him to his face” (Gal. 2:11) said that one who had the same name with Peter the apostle was one of the seventy…Moreover, of anyone observes with attention, he will find more disciples of our Savior than the seventy on the testimony of Paul, who said that “he appeared after his resurrection, first to CEPHAS, then to the twelve, and after these to five hundred brethren at once.”  Of whom, he said, “some are fallen asleep” (I Corinthians 15:5-6), but the great part was living at the time he wrote.  (Book 1, Chapter 12, lines 2,4) 

Clement was one of the disciples of the early church.  Paul mentions him by name in Phillipians 4,

And I entreat you also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with CLEMENT also, and with other my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life. (Phillipians 4:3)

After Peter and Paul are martyred, Clement becomes the bishop of Rome.  And it is from his writings and history of the early church that Eusebius pulls this material about CEPHAS.  It was this CEPHAS, who was also called Peter, that Paul lists as the first in his list to see the risen Savior, and that according to CLEMENT, he was the CEPHAS that Paul opposed in the book of Galatians, rather than the Apostle Peter, as is often taught by ministers annd Bible teachers.

I Corinthians 15:1-8: Part of the Counter-Argument

However, when we read further on in I Corithians 15, we discover that Paul was not just giving a full description of what constitutes the gospel here in these first eight verses, but he’s using this in order to lay the foundation for a counter-argument against those who were arguing against the resurrection.  After providing the foundation for his position, Paul then presents the problems with the opposing argument:

Now if Messiah be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection from the dead?  But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Messiah not risen: And if Messiah is not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.  Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Messiah: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.

For if the dead rise not up, then is not Messiah raised: and if Messiah be not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins.  Then they also which are fallen asleep in Messiah are perished.  If in this life only we have hope in Messiah, we are of all men most miserable. (I Corinthians 15:12-19)

In this presentation, Paul draws the following logical conclusions to their argument:

  1.  If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Messiah is not risen;
  2. If Messiah is not risen, then our preaching about His resurrection is in vain, and your faith in it is also in vain; and
  3. Therefore, we are all false witnesses.

In pointing out the logical conclusions that they would have to draw by accepting this position, Paul is demonstrating not only the fallacy of their argument, but he’s also demonstrating his own use of critical thinking.  There are many people today who have been erroneously taught that critical thinking is the enemy of biblical faith, but Paul here demonstrates that the direct opposite is, in fact, the case.  Paul here is using critical thinking and logic to support the gospel and to disprove the opposing position.

Therefore, Paul reasons, if there is no resurrection from the dead, then the whole gospel message and the Messianic faith is nothing more than an elaborate deception and scam.  But Paul doesn’t stop there.  He revisits the original claim, and then takes it even further:

  1.  If the dead rise not, then Messiah is not raised;
  2. If Messiah be not raised, your faith is vain, and you are yet in your sins;
  3. Therefore, they which are “fallen asleep” (dead) in Messiah are perished; and
  4. Therefore, if in this life only we have hope in Messiah, we are all men most miserable.

If all they have is “hope in Messiah” in this life, and that’s all there is, then according to Paul, we are the “most miserable” human beings on the planet.  Since if there’s no resurrection from the dead, then we are not forgiven of our sins, and we are still on our way to hell.  And as Paul argues further on, if we are persecuted and tormented for our faith, and “the dead rise not,” then Paul says, we might as well “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die” (I Corinthians 15:32).  And in the case of those who have already died as martyrs, if Messiah has not been raised bodily from the dead, then they have “perished” for no reason at all and are not in heaven.  Clearly, for Paul, the the resurrection of Yeshua was either a true historical event, or if not, then everything Christianity/Messianic Judaism teaches is a waste of time.

But now is Messiah Yeshua risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, even so in Messiah shall all be made alive.  But every man in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits; afterward they that are Messiah’s at his coming. (I Corinthians 15:20-23)

But every man in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits; afterward they that are Messiah’s at his coming.  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 authoity and power. (I Corinthians 15: 24)

For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed in death. 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.  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto himthat put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (I Corinthians 15:25-28)

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?  (I Corinthians 15:29)

And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Messiah Yeshua our Lord, I die daily.  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 tomorrow we die.  (I Corinthians 15:30-32)

Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.  But some man will say, How are the dead raised up?  And with what body do they come?  Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickenedm except it die.  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: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. (I Corinthians 15:33-38)

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.  There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestial is another.  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.  So also is the resurrection of the dead.  It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power;  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.  There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (I Corinthians 15:39-44)

And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.  Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.  The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.  As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.  And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

Now this  I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannt inherit the kingdom of God’ neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed.  In a momentm in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shell sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed. For this corruptibe must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

So when this incorruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saving that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God , which giveth us the victory through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.  Therefore, my belowed brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in voin