1 Corinthians 1:10–18

DIVISIONS AT CORINTH

¹⁰Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. ¹¹For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers and sisters, by members of Chloe’s people, that there is rivalry^u among you. ¹²What I am saying is this: One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,”^v or “I belong to Cephas,”^w or “I belong to Christ.”^{x 13}Is Christ divided?^y Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? ¹⁴I thank God^AB that I baptized none of you except Crispus^z and Gaius,^{aa 15}so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶I did, in fact, baptize the household^ab of Stephanas;^ac beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else. ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross^ad of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.

CHRIST THE POWER AND WISDOM OF GOD

¹⁸For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God to us who are being saved.^ae