1 Corinthians 15

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Paul then takes time to remind the Church at Corinth that their faith is based on the fact that Jesus came back to life. He says the most important doctrines of the church are 1) that Christ dies on the cross to cleanse us of our sins as scripture says, 2) He was put in a tomb, which is important to show that He really was dead because you don't put living people into tombs, 3) He was brought back to life on the third day in accordance to scripture, and 4) He appeared to Peter, the disciples, 500 others, James, all the apostles, and finally to Paul himself. This is showing that hundreds of people professed that they saw Jesus after He had been killed even though all who did were facing threats of execution. Paul even says that some of them had died at that point. Paul compares himself to an aborted fetus who now has been given life. He was not living before because he was consumed in destroying the church. He calls himself the least of the apostles because he had been executing the church. Paul says without God's grace, he wouldn't be anything, especially what a strong Christian figure he became. He tells the church that the grace shown to him was not wasted. He worked with God's kindness to spread the word harder than all of the other apostles. No matter what background you may come from, God will accept you if you accept Jesus as you Lord and Savior. Not only that, but He will use you to better His kingdom, and to bring others closer to Him. You may have unique experiences that you can share with others struggling with similar things. You can be more driven to work harder to reach the unreached people. God will show you your gifts and talents, and you won't have to feel like the least among Jesus' followers.

Paul is very upset that some people in the church say that the dead will not come back to life. He says if that's true, then Jesus never came back to life, and therefore, our faith means nothing. Without the resurrection, the story of Jesus is no more than a prophet who did some cool stuff. What makes the story truly amazing and shows the Godliness behind it is the resurrection. If Jesus didn't rise from the grave, sin would still control us. Paul also tells us that Christ is only the first person who came back to life. We all have to die because of Adam and the original sin in Eden, but we all come back to life because of Jesus. God the Father has put Jesus in charge of the world. When the time comes, Jesus will hand the world back over to God, who will destroy it with all of the worldly rulers, authority, and power. Until then, Christ rules all things, except God. When God gave over the power of the world to Christ, Christ gave Himself to God the Father. Paul says two more things in the last paragraph. One is that we all face danger everyday when we do what God has called us to do, speak with the unbelievers. Spending too much time with just nonbelievers and not spending anytime in fellowship with other believers causes us to begin to fall away from God. Adversely there are still people who have never heard of Jesus, and that is not right. We should not rest until everyone knows about Christ and what He did for us, as we are called to do in the Great Commission.

Paul addresses how people try to reject the thought of coming back to life. People may say that it is impossible because there is no way that our bodies can come back when they decay. Paul calls these people fools, and he says that a seed must be dead before it can be planted. When it is planted, it does not yet look like a plant. In the same way, on Earth we are the seeds still living in the plant that is Jesus Christ. Then we will die and be planted, but in an instant, we will take to our plant form, our perfect Heavenly bodies. Now, we die weak and lackluster, but our Heavenly bodies will be strong and full of splendor. Paul quotes scripture talking about Adam and a prophesy for Jesus that says the first man came from Earth and the second from Heaven. The man from Earth was made of Earth and dirt, and in the end, he would decay. The second man was from Heaven and made of Heavenly things. He did not decay, but rose again to be in Heaven. All people today bear a resemblance to Adam, made of Earth and dirt. All of the unholy and sinful qualities are abundant in every person who has ever lived. But, we can bear a resemblance to the second man because if we follow Him, we can join Him in Heaven with bodies made of perfect Heavenly things. Our bodies will change from what decays to what doesn't decay. Sin gives death its sting, and the way God created things gives sin its power, but He gave us a way to turn death into victory through Jesus Christ. So don't forget that and let people throw you off the foundation. Always do the work the Lord has given you to the best of your abilities. You should know that the work you do for the Lord is not useless.