1 Coríntios 15

ARC · Chapter 15/16

1Tambem vos notifico, irmãos, o evangelho que já vos tenho annunciado; o qual tambem recebestes, e no qual tambem permaneceis.

2Pelo qual tambem sois salvos se o retiverdes tal como vol-o tenho annunciado; se não é que crêstes em vão.

3Porque primeiramente vos entreguei o que tambem recebi: que Christo morreu por nossos peccados, segundo as Escripturas,

4E que foi sepultado, e que resuscitou ao terceiro dia, segundo as Escripturas,

5E que foi visto por Cephas, e depois pelos doze.

6Depois foi visto, uma vez, por mais de quinhentos irmãos, dos quaes vive ainda a maior parte, e alguns dormem já tambem.

7Depois foi visto por Thiago, depois por todos os apostolos.

8E por derradeiro de todos foi visto tambem por mim, como por um abortivo.

9Porque eu sou o menor dos apostolos, que não sou digno de ser chamado apostolo, porque persegui a egreja de Deus.

10Mas pela graça de Deus sou o que sou; e a sua graça para comigo não foi vã, antes trabalhei muito mais do que todos elles; todavia não eu, mas a graça de Deus, que está comigo

11Assim que seja eu ou sejam elles, assim prégamos e assim haveis crido.

12Ora, se se préga que Christo resuscitou dos mortos, como dizem alguns d'entre vós que não ha resurreição de mortos?

13E, se não ha resurreição de mortos, tambem Christo não resuscitou.

14E, se Christo não resuscitou, logo é vã a nossa prégação, e tambem é vã a vossa fé.

15E assim somos tambem achados falsas testemunhas de Deus, pois testificamos de Deus, que resuscitou a Christo, ao qual, porém, não resuscitou, se, na verdade, os mortos não resuscitam.

16Porque, se os mortos não resuscitam, tambem Christo não resuscitou.

17E, se Christo não resuscitou, é vã a vossa fé, e ainda permaneceis nos vossos peccados.

18E tambem os que dormiram em Christo estão perdidos.

19Se esperamos em Christo só n'esta vida, somos os mais miseraveis de todos os homens.

20Mas agora Christo resuscitou dos mortos, e foi feito as primicias dos que dormem.

21Porque, assim como a morte veiu por um homem, tambem a resurreição dos mortos veiu por um homem.

22Porque, assim como todos morrem em Adão, assim tambem todos serão vivificados em Christo.

23Mas cada um por sua ordem: Christo as primicias, depois os que são de Christo, na sua vinda.

24Depois virá o fim, quando tiver entregado o reino a Deus, ao Pae, e quando houver aniquilado todo o imperio, e toda a potestade e força.

25Porque convem que reine até que haja posto a todos os inimigos debaixo de seus pés.

26Ora o ultimo inimigo que será aniquilado é a morte.

27Porque todas as coisas sujeitou debaixo de seus pés. Porém, quando diz que todas as coisas lhe estão sujeitas, claro está que exceptua aquelle que lhe sujeitou todas as coisas.

28E, quando todas as coisas lhe estiverem sujeitas, então tambem o mesmo Filho se sujeitará áquelle que todas as coisas lhe sujeitou, para que Deus seja tudo em todos.

29D'outra maneira, que farão os que se baptizam pelos mortos, se absolutamente os mortos não resuscitam? Pois porque se baptizam pelos mortos?

30Porque estamos nós tambem a toda a hora em perigo?

31Cada dia morro pela vossa gloria, a qual tenho em Christo Jesus nosso Senhor.

32Se, como homem, combati em Epheso contra as bestas, que me aproveita, se os mortos não resuscitam? Comamos e bebamos, que ámanhã morreremos.

33Não vos enganeis: as más conversações corrompem os bons costumes.

34Vigiae justamente e não pequeis; porque alguns ainda não teem o conhecimento de Deus: digo-o para vergonha vossa.

35Mas alguem dirá: Como resuscitarão os mortos? E com que corpo virão?

36Insensato! o que tu semeias não vivificará, se primeiro não morrer.

37E, quando semeias, não semeias o corpo que ha de nascer, mas o simples grão, como de trigo, ou d'outra qualquer semente.

38Mas Deus dá-lhe o corpo como quer, e a cada semente o seu proprio corpo.

39Nem toda a carne é uma mesma carne, mas uma é a carne dos homens, e outra a carne dos animaes, e outra a dos peixes e outra a das aves.

40E ha corpos celestes e corpos terrestres, mas uma é a gloria dos celestes e outra a dos terrestres.

41Uma é a gloria do sol, e outra a gloria da lua, e outra a gloria das estrellas; porque uma estrella differe em gloria d'outra estrella.

42Assim tambem a resurreição dos mortos. Semeia-se o corpo em corrupção; resuscitará em incorrupção.

43Semeia-se em ignominia, resuscitará em gloria. Semeia-se em fraqueza, resuscitará com vigor.

44Semeia-se corpo animal, resuscitará corpo espiritual. Ha corpo animal, e ha corpo espiritual.

45Assim está tambem escripto: O primeiro homem, Adão, foi feito em alma vivente: o ultimo Adão em espirito vivificante.

46Mas não é primeiro o espiritual, senão o animal; depois o espiritual.

47O primeiro homem, da terra, é terreno; o segundo homem, o Senhor, é do céu.

48Qual o terreno, taes são tambem os terrenos; e, qual o celestial, taes tambem os celestiaes.

49E, assim como trouxemos a imagem do terreno, assim traremos tambem a imagem do celestial.

50Porém digo isto, irmãos: que a carne e o sangue não podem herdar o reino de Deus, nem a corrupção herda a incorrupção.

51Eis aqui vos digo um mysterio: Na verdade, nem todos dormiremos, mas todos seremos transformados,

52N'um momento, n'um abrir e fechar d'olhos, ao som da ultima trombeta; porque a trombeta soará, e os mortos resuscitarão incorruptiveis, e nós seremos transformados.

53Porque convem que este corpo corruptivel se revista da incorruptibilidade, e que este corpo mortal se revista da immortalidade.

54E, quando este corpo corruptivel se revestir da incorruptibilidade, e este corpo mortal se revestir da immortalidade, então cumprir-se-ha a palavra que está escripta: Tragada foi a morte na victoria.

55Onde está, ó morte, o teu aguilhão? Onde está, ó inferno, a tua victoria?

56Ora o aguilhão da morte é o peccado, e a força do peccado é a lei

57Mas graças a Deus que nos dá a victoria por nosso Senhor Jesus Christo.

58Portanto, meus amados irmãos, sêde firmes e constantes, sempre abundantes na obra do Senhor, sabendo que o vosso trabalho não é vão no Senhor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul presents the core of the gospel: Christ died, was buried, and rose again on the third day, appearing to a number of witnesses. He firmly defends the reality of believers' future resurrection, explaining what the resurrected body will be like.

Explanation

Some in Corinth doubted the resurrection of the dead, possibly influenced by Greek philosophy, which prized the soul and viewed the body as something inferior or disposable. Paul argues that without resurrection, the whole of the Christian faith loses its meaning: if Christ has not risen, preaching is in vain and Christians would still be in their sins. He then describes the resurrection using the analogy of a seed that dies in the ground and sprouts as a new plant — the resurrected body will be real, but transformed, 'spiritual,' and imperishable. The final victory over death is celebrated with triumphant language, quoting Hosea and Isaiah. For today's reader, this chapter upholds the central hope of the Christian faith: death is not the end, and a glorious transformation is reserved for those who are in Christ.

Fun facts

  • The list of witnesses to the resurrection, including 'above five hundred brethren at once' (v. 6), many still alive when Paul wrote, served as an implicit invitation for the Corinthians to check the accounts with real eyewitnesses.
  • The expression 'O death, where is thy sting?' (v. 55) quotes Hosea 13:14, joining Old Testament prophecy with the victory of Christ proclaimed in the New Testament.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Coríntios 15:1Paul opens the letter’s key chapter by reminding them of the basic gospel already preached — the foundation of their faith, which needs to be revisited because some Corinthians doubted the resurrection (v. 12).
  2. 1 Coríntios 15:2Salvation depends on standing firm in this gospel just as it was preached — Paul already warns that if they abandon the idea of the resurrection, they will have believed “in vain.”
  3. 1 Coríntios 15:3“According to the scriptures” shows that Paul is passing on a formula of faith he himself received from others before him: the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ were already being taught as a fixed summary of the Christian message very early on.
  4. 1 Coríntios 15:4Continues Christianity’s oldest creed, quoted by Paul: after dying, Christ was buried and rose again on the third day, all “according to the scriptures” — fulfilling prophecies, not an isolated event.
  5. 1 Coríntios 15:5Lists the first appearances of the risen Jesus: first to Peter (Cephas), then to the twelve apostles — named witnesses that any skeptical Corinthian could, in theory, go check.
  6. 1 Coríntios 15:6Cites a mass appearance, to more than 500 people at once, most of them still alive when Paul writes — an implicit invitation for any doubter to go ask these witnesses.
  7. 1 Coríntios 15:7The list continues: James, Jesus’s brother, who wasn’t a disciple before the resurrection, and then all the apostles — reinforcing that the testimony didn’t come from just one person.
  8. 1 Coríntios 15:8“One born out of due time” is a strong phrase Paul uses to describe himself, someone born at the wrong moment. He saw himself as the last and least prepared of the apostles, since he only met Jesus after the resurrection, and in an abrupt way.
  9. 1 Coríntios 15:9Paul includes himself in the list of witnesses (v. 8) with humility: he considers himself the least of the apostles, not even worthy of that title, for having persecuted the church before believing.
  10. 1 Coríntios 15:10But he credits everything he is to God’s grace, not to his own merit — even having worked harder than the other apostles, he attributes that effort to grace working in him.
  11. 1 Coríntios 15:11It doesn’t matter who preaches, Paul or the other apostles: the message is the same, and it was this message, resurrection included, that the Corinthians believed from the beginning.
  12. 1 Coríntios 15:12Gets to the chapter’s real problem: some in the Corinthian church denied that there was any such thing as resurrection of the dead, even while accepting that Christ had risen — a contradiction Paul takes apart.
  13. 1 Coríntios 15:13The first logical consequence: if there’s no such thing as resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ could have risen, because He too was among the dead.
  14. 1 Coríntios 15:14A second, even more serious consequence: if Christ hasn’t risen, then all of Paul’s preaching and all of the Corinthians’ faith are worthless — they’re empty.
  15. 1 Coríntios 15:15A third consequence: the apostles themselves, including Paul, would have lied about God, claiming something that never happened — a serious accusation against their testimony.
  16. 1 Coríntios 15:16Repeats the argument in reverse order to reinforce it: denying the resurrection of the dead in general necessarily means denying Christ’s specific resurrection too.
  17. 1 Coríntios 15:17A fourth consequence: without the resurrection, faith has no power at all, and the Corinthians would still be stuck in their own sins, with no real solution.
  18. 1 Coríntios 15:18A fifth, very personal consequence: all the Christians who have already died (“fallen asleep in Christ”) would simply be lost, with no hope beyond death.
  19. 1 Coríntios 15:19Sums it up with a harsh line: if the Christian hope were good only for this life, with nothing after it, Christians would be the most pitiable people in the world.
  20. 1 Coríntios 15:20After the chain of “if there were no resurrection,” Paul turns the argument around: but Christ has in fact risen, and He is the “firstfruits” — the first fruit that guarantees the harvest of those who will come after.
  21. 1 Coríntios 15:21Explains with a comparison: just as death entered the world through one man (Adam), the resurrection also comes through one man (Christ) — an answer to the problem created by the fall.
  22. 1 Coríntios 15:22Paul compares Adam and Christ as two representative heads of humanity: just as death entered through everyone’s connection to Adam, new life comes through connection to Christ.
  23. 1 Coríntios 15:23Describes the order of events: first Christ rose; then, at His coming, those who belong to Him will also rise — it doesn’t all happen at once, there’s a sequence.
  24. 1 Coríntios 15:24After that comes the end, when Christ hands over the kingdom to God the Father, having defeated every power and force that opposed Him — the final climax of the plan.
  25. 1 Coríntios 15:25Explains why Christ must reign until that moment: His mission includes putting all enemies under His feet, fulfilling a promise the Psalms had already spoken of.
  26. 1 Coríntios 15:26Identifies which of these enemies is the last one to be defeated: death itself — the central subject that drove the whole discussion of the chapter.
  27. 1 Coríntios 15:27Quotes a psalm to confirm that everything has been placed under Christ’s authority, with an obvious exception: God Himself, who gave that authority, isn’t included among the things subject to Him.
  28. 1 Coríntios 15:28In the end, the Son Himself submits to the authority of God the Father, so that God may be recognized as all in all — the final goal of the whole story.
  29. 1 Coríntios 15:29“Baptized for the dead” is one of the most obscure verses in the New Testament — it seems to describe a custom among some Corinthians of being baptized on behalf of relatives who died without baptism. Paul only mentions the practice in passing, without explaining or approving it, so no one can be fully certain what it was.
  30. 1 Coríntios 15:30After discussing the eternal plan, Paul returns to the present: why would he and the other apostles keep risking their lives constantly if there were no hope of resurrection after death?
  31. 1 Coríntios 15:31Reinforces it with a strong personal statement: he faces mortal danger every day because of the apostolic work among the Corinthians — it wouldn’t make sense without the certainty of the resurrection.
  32. 1 Coríntios 15:32“I have fought with beasts at Ephesus” is probably an image for the violent opponents Paul faced there, not a literal fight in the arena. The next line, “let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die,” is a quotation of a Greek saying that sums up a life with no hope of resurrection.
  33. 1 Coríntios 15:33Quotes a popular Greek proverb as a warning: bad company, probably those in the church who denied the resurrection, corrupts the good character of those who spend time with them.
  34. 1 Coríntios 15:34Calls on them to come back to their senses and stop sinning, because some people in the church simply didn’t know God well — a direct rebuke, meant on purpose to cause shame.
  35. 1 Coríntios 15:35Anticipates the practical objection of doubters: how exactly do the dead rise, and with what kind of body would they come back?
  36. 1 Coríntios 15:36A direct, slightly sharp answer: he calls the question “foolish” and uses farming as his answer — a seed only produces new life after it “dies” (is planted and decomposes).
  37. 1 Coríntios 15:37Continues the image: what is planted isn’t the final plant, just a plain seed, like a grain of wheat — the resurrected body will be different from the current one, just as the plant is different from the seed.
  38. 1 Coríntios 15:38God decides the shape of each body, just as He decides the shape of each seed — an argument against the idea that the resurrected body would need to be identical to the current one.
  39. 1 Coríntios 15:39Not all “flesh” is the same: humans, animals, fish, and birds have different kinds of bodies — showing that existing in varied bodily forms is already a normal part of God’s creation.
  40. 1 Coríntios 15:40Besides earthly bodies, there are also heavenly bodies (the sun, moon, and stars, in the thinking of that time), each with its own kind of “glory,” or brightness.
  41. 1 Coríntios 15:41Continues the example: the sun, moon, and stars shine differently from one another — an analogy to say that the resurrected body will also have its own glory, different from the current one.
  42. 1 Coríntios 15:42Applies the whole analogy directly to the resurrection: the body is sown (buried) in corruption, subject to decay, but it rises in incorruption, no longer subject to decay.
  43. 1 Coríntios 15:43Continues the contrasts: sown in dishonor (the decay of death), it rises in glory; sown in weakness, it rises full of strength.
  44. 1 Coríntios 15:44A final contrast: sown as a natural body, subject to physical limitations, it rises as a spiritual body — different, but still a real body, not just a formless soul.
  45. 1 Coríntios 15:45Quotes Genesis to compare Adam and Christ: the first Adam became an ordinary living soul; the “last Adam” (Christ) became a life-giving spirit.
  46. 1 Coríntios 15:46Explains the order: first comes the natural body, ordinary physical life, and only afterward comes the spiritual, the resurrected body — the sequence matters to Paul’s argument.
  47. 1 Coríntios 15:47Contrasts the origin of the two: the first man (Adam) came from the earth, earthy; the second man (Christ) came from heaven.
  48. 1 Coríntios 15:48Just as ordinary people share Adam’s earthly nature, those who belong to Christ will share His heavenly nature.
  49. 1 Coríntios 15:49Just as we carry the “image” of the earthly man (Adam) in this life, one day we will carry the image of the heavenly man (Christ) at the resurrection.
  50. 1 Coríntios 15:50Explains why transformation has to happen: the current physical body, subject to decay, can’t simply enter God’s eternal kingdom without change — a new kind of existence is needed.
  51. 1 Coríntios 15:51Reveals something new (a “mystery”): not all believers will die before the end, but everyone, living or dead, will be transformed at that final moment.
  52. 1 Coríntios 15:52“Mystery” here is something only God could reveal: that not everyone will die, but everyone will be transformed in an instant, “at the last trump,” language of final victory over death.
  53. 1 Coríntios 15:53Explains the need for this transformation: the mortal body, subject to decay, must “put on” something immortal and incorruptible in order to last forever.
  54. 1 Coríntios 15:54When this transformation finally happens, Isaiah’s prophecy will be fulfilled: death will be decisively “swallowed up” in victory — the climax of the chapter’s argument.
  55. 1 Coríntios 15:55A triumphant quotation from the prophet Hosea, almost a shout of mockery at death: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
  56. 1 Coríntios 15:56Explains why death had that “sting”: it comes from sin, and sin gains its power precisely through the law, which exposes disobedience without giving anyone the power to overcome it alone.
  57. 1 Coríntios 15:57A response of gratitude to the whole problem of the chapter: it’s through Jesus Christ that God gives the victory over death and sin, resolving what the law alone couldn’t.
  58. 1 Coríntios 15:58The chapter’s practical conclusion: since the resurrection is certain, the Corinthians should stand firm and keep working for the Lord, knowing that this effort is never wasted.

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