1 Corinthians 1

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  1. 1Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
  2. 2To the church of God in Corinth — those who have been set apart in Christ Jesus, called to be saints — along with everyone everywhere who calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
  3. 3May grace and peace be yours from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  4. 4I always thank my God for you because of the grace he has given you through Christ Jesus.
  5. 5Through him you've been made rich in every way — in your speaking and in your knowledge.
  6. 6In the same way, the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
  7. 7so that you are not lacking in any gift as you wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  8. 8He will also confirm you until the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  9. 9God is faithful, and he's the one who called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
  10. 10Brothers, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: agree with one another. Don't let there be divisions among you. Instead, be united — sharing the same mind and the same purpose.
  11. 11I say this because people from Chloe's household have told me that you're arguing among yourselves, my brothers.
  12. 12What I mean is that each of you says, 'I am of Paul,' or 'I am of Apollos,' or 'I am of Cephas,' or 'I am of Christ.'
  13. 13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
  14. 14I thank God that I didn't baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
  15. 15so no one can claim they were baptized in my name.
  16. 16(I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I don't remember baptizing anyone else.)
  17. 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, so that the cross of Christ would not be made of none effect.
  18. 18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.
  19. 19As it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will nullify the understanding of the prudent.'
  20. 20Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of this world foolish?
  21. 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through its wisdom, it pleased God to use the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.
  22. 22Jews demand miraculous signs, and Greeks go looking for wisdom,
  23. 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumblingblock to Jews and foolishness to Greeks.
  24. 24Yet to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
  25. 25Because what seems foolish in God is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems weak in God is stronger than human strength.
  26. 26Consider your calling, brothers: not many who are wise by worldly standards, not many powerful, not many of noble birth, are called.
  27. 27Instead, God chose what the world considers foolish to put the wise to shame. He chose what the world considers weak to put the strong to shame.
  28. 28God chose what is low and looked down on in this world — things considered nothing at all — to overthrow what the world considers something.
  29. 29He did this so that no flesh could boast in his presence.
  30. 30It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God, as well as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
  31. 31So as Scripture says, "Let the one who glories, glory in the Lord."
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