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¹Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives — especially the ability to prophesy.

²For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won’t be able to understand you. You will be speaking by the power of the Spirit, but it will all be mysterious.

³But one who prophesies strengthens others, encourages them, and comforts them.

⁴A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally, but one who speaks a word of prophecy strengthens the entire church.

⁵I wish you could all speak in tongues, but even more I wish you could all prophesy. For prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues, unless someone interprets what you are saying so that the whole church will be strengthened.

⁶Dear brothers and sisters, if I should come to you speaking in an unknown language, how would that help you? But if I bring you a revelation or some special knowledge or prophecy or teaching, that will be helpful.

⁷Even lifeless instruments like the flute or the harp must play the notes clearly, or no one will recognize the melody.

⁸And if the bugler doesn’t sound a clear call, how will the soldiers know they are being called to battle?

⁹It’s the same for you. If you speak to people in words they don’t understand, how will they know what you are saying? You might as well be talking into empty space.

¹⁰There are many different languages in the world, and every language has meaning.

¹¹But if I don’t understand a language, I will be a foreigner to someone who speaks it, and the one who speaks it will be a foreigner to me.

¹²And the same is true for you. Since you are so eager to have the special abilities the Spirit gives, seek those that will strengthen the whole church.

¹³So anyone who speaks in tongues should pray also for the ability to interpret what has been said.

¹⁴For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.

¹⁵Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.

¹⁶For if you praise God only in the spirit, how can those who don’t understand you praise God along with you? How can they join you in giving thanks when they don’t understand what you are saying?

¹⁷You will be giving thanks very well, but it won’t strengthen the people who hear you.

¹⁸I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.

¹⁹But in a church meeting I would rather speak five understandable words to help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language.

²⁰Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.

²¹It is written in the Scriptures : “I will speak to my own people through strange languages and through the lips of foreigners. But even then, they will not listen to me,” says the LORD.

²²So you see that speaking in tongues is a sign, not for believers, but for unbelievers. Prophecy, however, is for the benefit of believers, not unbelievers.

²³Even so, if unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your church meeting and hear everyone speaking in an unknown language, they will think you are crazy.

²⁴But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say.

²⁵As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, “God is truly here among you.”

²⁶Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.

²⁷No more than two or three should speak in tongues. They must speak one at a time, and someone must interpret what they say.

²⁸But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately.

²⁹Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said.

³⁰But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop.

³¹In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged.

³²Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns.

³³For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people.

³⁴Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.

³⁵If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.

³⁶Or do you think God’s word originated with you Corinthians? Are you the only ones to whom it was given?

³⁷If you claim to be a prophet or think you are spiritual, you should recognize that what I am saying is a command from the Lord himself.

³⁸But if you do not recognize this, you yourself will not be recognized.

³⁹So, my dear brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking in tongues.

⁴⁰But be sure that everything is done properly and in order.

¹Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.

²It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you — unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.

³I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.

⁴He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.

⁵He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.

⁶After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

⁷Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles.

⁸Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him.

⁹For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.

¹⁰But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me — and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.

¹¹So it makes no difference whether I preach or they preach, for we all preach the same message you have already believed.

¹²But tell me this — since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead?

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

¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless.

¹⁵And we apostles would all be lying about God — for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead.

¹⁶And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.

¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.

¹⁸In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost!

¹⁹And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

²⁰But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

²¹So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man.

²²Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life.

²³But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.

²⁴After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power.

²⁵For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet.

²⁶And the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

²⁷For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.)

²⁸Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

²⁹If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again?

³⁰And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour?

³¹For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you.

³²And what value was there in fighting wild beasts — those people of Ephesus — if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

³³Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.”

³⁴Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all.

³⁵But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?”

³⁶What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.

³⁷And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting.

³⁸Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed.

³⁹Similarly there are different kinds of flesh — one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.

⁴⁰There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies.

⁴¹The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory.

⁴²It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.

⁴³Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength.

⁴⁴They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

⁴⁵The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam — that is, Christ — is a life-giving Spirit.

⁴⁶What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later.

⁴⁷Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven.

⁴⁸Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man.

⁴⁹Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.

⁵⁰What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.

⁵¹But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!

⁵²It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

⁵³For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

⁵⁴Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.

⁵⁵O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? ”

⁵⁶For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.

⁵⁷But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

¹Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia.

²On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.

³When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem.

⁴And if it seems appropriate for me to go along, they can travel with me.

⁵I am coming to visit you after I have been to Macedonia, for I am planning to travel through Macedonia.

⁶Perhaps I will stay awhile with you, possibly all winter, and then you can send me on my way to my next destination.

⁷This time I don’t want to make just a short visit and then go right on. I want to come and stay awhile, if the Lord will let me.

⁸In the meantime, I will be staying here at Ephesus until the Festival of Pentecost.

⁹There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me.

¹⁰When Timothy comes, don’t intimidate him. He is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am.

¹¹Don’t let anyone treat him with contempt. Send him on his way with your blessing when he returns to me. I expect him to come with the other believers.

¹²Now about our brother Apollos — I urged him to visit you with the other believers, but he was not willing to go right now. He will see you later when he has the opportunity.

¹³Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

¹⁴And do everything with love.

¹⁵You know that Stephanas and his household were the first of the harvest of believers in Greece, and they are spending their lives in service to God’s people. I urge you, dear brothers and sisters,

¹⁶to submit to them and others like them who serve with such devotion.

¹⁷I am very glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come here. They have been providing the help you weren’t here to give me.

¹⁸They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well.

¹⁹The churches here in the province of Asia send greetings in the Lord, as do Aquila and Priscilla and all the others who gather in their home for church meetings.

²⁰All the brothers and sisters here send greetings to you. Greet each other with a sacred kiss.

²¹HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING — PAUL.

²²If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed. Our Lord, come!

²³May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

²⁴My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.