1 Corinthians 1–4

Greeting

1Paul, ^acalled to be an apostle of Jesus Christ ^bthrough the will of God, and ^cSosthenes our brother,

²To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who ^dare ¹sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^ecalled to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ ^four Lord, ^gboth theirs and ours:

^3hGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Gifts at Corinth

⁴ⁱI thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, ⁵that you were enriched in everything by Him ^jin all ²utterance and all knowledge, ⁶even as ^kthe testimony of Christ was confirmed ³in you, ⁷so that you come short in no gift, eagerly ^lwaiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^8mwho will also confirm you to the end, ⁿthat you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^9oGod is faithful, by whom you were called into ^pthe fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sectarianism is Sin

¹⁰Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^qthat you all ⁴speak the same thing, and that there be no ⁵divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are ⁶contentions among you. ¹²Now I say this, that ^reach of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of ^sApollos,” or “I am of ^tCephas,” or “I am of Christ.” ^13uIs Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

¹⁴I thank God that I baptized ^vnone of you except ^wCrispus and ^xGaius, ¹⁵lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. ¹⁶Yes, I also baptized the household of ^yStephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, ^znot with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

¹⁸For the ⁷message of the cross is ^afoolishness to ^bthose who are perishing, but to us ^cwho are being saved it is the ^dpower of God. ¹⁹For it is written:

^e“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

^20fWhere is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the ⁸disputer of this age? ^gHas not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹For since, in the ^hwisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²²For ⁱJews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³but we preach Christ crucified, ^jto the Jews a ⁹stumbling block and to the ¹Greeks ^kfoolishness, ²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^lthe power of God and ^mthe wisdom of God. ²⁵Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Glory Only in the Lord

²⁶For ²you see your calling, brethren, ⁿthat not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many ³noble, are called. ²⁷But ^oGod has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸and the ⁴base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and ^prighteousness and sanctification and redemption—³¹that, as it is written, ^q“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

Christ Crucified

2And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the ¹testimony of God. ²For I determined not to know anything among you ^aexcept Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ^3bI was with you ^cin weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. ⁴And my speech and my preaching ^dwere not with persuasive words of ²human wisdom, ^ebut in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the ^fpower of God.

Spiritual Wisdom

⁶However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ³ordained before the ages for our glory, ⁸which none of the rulers of this age knew; for ^ghad they known, they would not have ^hcrucified the Lord of glory.

⁹But as it is written:

ⁱ“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

¹⁰But ^jGod has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ¹¹For what man knows the things of a man except the ^kspirit of the man which is in him? ^lEven so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but ^mthe Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

¹³These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the ⁴Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ⁿBut the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. ¹⁶For ^o“who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” ^pBut we have the mind of Christ.

Sectarianism is Carnal

3And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to ^ababes in Christ. ²I fed you with ^bmilk and not with solid food; ^cfor until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; ³for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and ¹behaving like mere men? ⁴For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

Watering, Working, Warning

⁵Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ^dministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? ^6eI planted, ^fApollos watered, ^gbut God gave the increase. ⁷So then ^hneither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. ⁸Now he who plants and he who waters are one, ⁱand each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

⁹For ^jwe are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are ^kGod’s building. ^10lAccording to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid ^mthe foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹For no other foundation can anyone lay than ⁿthat which is laid, ^owhich is Jesus Christ. ¹²Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³each one’s work will become clear; for the Day ^pwill declare it, because ^qit will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. ¹⁴If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

^16rDo you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone ²defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Avoid Worldly Wisdom

^18sLet no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, ^t“He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; ²⁰and again, ^u“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” ²¹Therefore let no one boast in men. For ^vall things are yours: ²²whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. ²³And ^wyou are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Stewards of the Mysteries of God

4Let a man so consider us, as ^aservants of Christ ^band stewards of the mysteries of God. ²Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful. ³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human ¹court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord. ^5cTherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to ^dlight the hidden things of darkness and ^ereveal the ²counsels of the hearts. ^fThen each one’s praise will come from God.

Fools for Christ’s Sake

⁶Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be ³puffed up on behalf of one against the other. ⁷For who ⁴makes you differ from another? And ^gwhat do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸You are already full! ^hYou are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you! ⁹For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a ⁱspectacle ⁵to the world, both to angels and to men. ¹⁰We are ^jfools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! ^kWe are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! ¹¹To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. ^12lAnd we labor, working with our own hands. ^mBeing reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; ¹³being defamed, we ⁶entreat. ⁿWe have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

Paul’s Paternal Care

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