Letters to the Churches

But God gives it a body as He has designed, and to each kind of seed He gives its own body.

Not all flesh is the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another.

There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the splendor of the heavenly bodies is of one degree, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is of another.

The sun has one degree of splendor, the moon another, and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable.

It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.

It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam a life-giving spirit.

The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.

The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.

As was the earthly man, so also are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.

And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man.

Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—

in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:

On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed.

Then, on my arrival, I will send letters with those you recommend to carry your gift to Jerusalem.

And if it is advisable for me to go also, they can travel with me.