₁₂Now, since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life? ₁₃If that is true, it means that Christ was not raised; ₁₄and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe. ₁₅More than that, we are shown to be lying about God, because we said that he raised Christ from death — but if it is true that the dead are not raised to life, then he did not raise Christ. ₁₆For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. ₁₇And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins. ₁₈It would also mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost. ₁₉If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world.

₂₀But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.