17. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith doesn't mean anything. Your sins have not been forgiven.
18. Those who have died believing in Christ are also lost.
19. Do we have hope in Christ only for this life? Then people should pity us more than anyone else.
20. But Christ really has been raised from the dead. He is the first of all those who will rise.
21. Death came because of what a man did. Rising from the dead also comes because of what a man did.
22. Because of Adam, all people die. So because of Christ, all will be made alive.
23. But here is the order of events. Christ is the first of those who rise from the dead. When he comes back, those who belong to him will be raised.
24. Then the end will come. Christ will destroy all rule, authority and power. He will hand over the kingdom to God the Father.
25. Christ must rule until he has put all his enemies under his control.
26. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
27. Scripture says that God "has put everything under his control." (Psalm 8:6) It says that "everything" has been put under him. But it is clear that this does not include God himself, who puts everything under Christ.
28. When he has done that, the Son also will be under God's rule. God puts everything under the Son. In that way, God will be all in all.