1. Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, of the Good News that I preached to you and which you received and on which you stand firm.

2. By that Gospel you are saved, provided that you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed in vain.

3. In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself received: that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says;

4. that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures;

5. that he appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.

6. Afterwards he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still alive, although some have already gone to rest.

7. Then he appeared to James and after that to all the apostles.

8. And last of all, he appeared the most despicable of them, this is to me.

9. For I am the last of the apostles, and I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.

10. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace towards me has not been without fruit. Far from it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather the grace of God in me.

11. Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and this you have believed.

12. Well, then, if Christ is preached as risen from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

13. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.

14. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is empty and our belief comes to nothing.

15. And we become false witnesses of God, attesting that he raised Christ, whereas he could not raise him if indeed the dead are not raised.

16. If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised.

17. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith gives you nothing, and you are still in sin.

18. Also those who fall asleep in Christ are lost.

19. If it is only for this life that we hope in Christ, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

20. But no, Christ has been raised from the dead and he comes before all those who have fallen asleep.

21. A human being brought death; a human being also brings resurrection of the dead.

22. All die for being Adam's, and in Christ all will receive life.

23. However, each one in his own time: first Christ, then Christ's people, when he visits them.

24. Then the end will come, when Christ delivers the Kingdom to God the Father, after having destroyed every rule, authority and power.

25. For he must reign and put all enemies under his feet.

26. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death.

27. As Scripture says: God has subjected everything under his feet. When we say that everything is put under his feet, we exclude, of course, the Father who subjects everything to him.

28. When the Father has subjected everything to him, the Son will place himself under the One who subjected everything to him. From then on, God will be all in all.

29. Tell me: what are these people doing who are baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead cannot be raised, why do they want to be baptized for the dead?

30. As for us, why do we constantly risk our life? For death is my daily companion.

31. I say that, brothers and sisters, before you who are my pride in Christ Jesus our Lord.

32. Was it for human interest that I fought in Ephesus like a lion tamer? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die!

33. Do not be deceived; bad theories corrupt good morals. Wake up, and do not sin,

34. because some of you are outstandingly ignorant about God; I say this to your shame.

35. Some of you will ask: How will the dead be raised? With what kind of body will they come?

36. You fools! What you sow cannot sprout unless it dies.

37. And what you sow is not the body of the future plant but a bare grain of wheat or any other seed,

38. and God will give the appropriate body, as he gives to each seed its own body.

39. Now look: not all flesh is the same; one is the flesh of human beings; another the flesh of animals, and still others the flesh of birds and of fish.

40. There are, likewise, heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the earthly bodies do not shine as do the heavenly ones.

41. The brightness of the sun differs from the brightness of the moon and the stars, and the stars differ from one another in brightness.

42. It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in decomposition; it will be raised never more to die.

43. It is sown in humiliation, and it will be raised for Glory. It is buried in weakness, but the resurrection shall be with power. When buried it is a natural body, but it will be raised as a spiritual body.

44. For there shall be a spiritual body as there is at present a living body.

45. Scripture says that Adam, the first human being, was given natural life; but the last Adam has become spirit that gives life.

46. The spirit does not appear first, but the natural life, and afterwards comes the spirit.

47. The first man comes from the earth and is earthly, while the second one comes from heaven.

48. As it was with the earthly one, so is it with the earthly people. As it is with Christ, so with the heavenly.

49. This is why, after bearing the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

50. This I say, brothers: Flesh and blood cannot share the kingdom of God; nothing of us that is to decay can reach imperishable life.

51. So I want to teach you this mystery: although not all of us will die, all of us have to be transformed,

52. in an instant, at the sound of the trumpet. You have heard of the last trumpet; then in the twinkling of an eye, the dead will be raised imperishable, while we shall be transformed.

53. For it is necessary that our mortal and perishable being put on the life that knows neither death nor decay.

54. When our perishable being puts on imperishable life, when our mortal being puts on immortality, the word of Scripture will be fulfilled: Death has been swallowed up by victory.

55. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?

56. Sin is the sting of death to kill, and the Law is what gives force to sin.

57. But give thanks to God who gives us the victory through Christ Jesus, our Lord.

58. So then, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast and do not be moved. Improve constantly in the work of the Lord, knowing that with him your labor is not without fruit.





“Peçamos a São José o dom da perseverança até o final”. São Padre Pio de Pietrelcina