1Cor 1 | ISV | STEP | The Letter of Paul Called First Corinthians Paul Greets the Church in Corinth From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and from our brother Sosthenes,

1 Corinthians 1

DoxologyNow may the God of peace be with all of you! Amen.Rom 16:20; 1Cor 14:33; 2Cor 13:11; Phil 4:9; 1Thes 5:23; 2Thes 3:16; Heb 13:20

1 The Letter of Paul Called First CorinthiansPaul Greets the Church in CorinthFrom ^{▼▼The Gk. lacks From} Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus ^{▼▼Other mss. read Jesus Christ} by the will of God, and from our brother Sosthenes,Acts 18:17; Rom 1:1; 2Cor 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1 2 to the church of God in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, ^{▼▼Or to be saints} together with all those everywhere who continually call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord ^{▼▼Lit. theirs} and ours.John 17:19; Acts 9:14, 21; 15:9; 22:16; Rom 1:7; 3:22; 10:12; 1Cor 8:6; 2Tim 1:9; 2:22; Jude 1:1 3 May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be yours!Rom 1:7; 2Cor 1:2; Eph 1:2; 1Pet 1:2

4 You Are RichI always thank my ^{▼▼Other mss. lack my} God for you because of the grace of God given you in Christ Jesus.Rom 1:8 5 For in him you have become rich in every way—in speech and knowledge of every kind.1Cor 12:8; 2Cor 8:7 6 In this way, our testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you.1Cor 2:1; 2Tim 1:8; Rev 1:2 7 Therefore, you don't lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.Phil 3:20; Titus 2:13; 2Pet 3:12 8 He will keep you strong until the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.Col 1:22; 1Thes 3:13; 5:23 9 Faithful is the God by whom you were called into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.Isa 49:7; John 15:4; 17:21; 1Cor 10:13; 1Thes 5:24; 2Thes 3:3; Heb 10:23; 1John 1:3; 4:13

10 Divisions in the ChurchBrothers, I urge all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to be in agreement ^{▼▼Lit. to say the same thing} and not to have divisions among you, so that you may be perfectly united in your understanding and opinions.Rom 12:16; 15:5; 2Cor 13:11; Phil 2:2; 3:16; 1Pet 3:8 11 My brothers, some members of Chloe's family have made it clear to me that there are quarrels among you. 12 This is what I mean: Each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” ^{▼▼I.e. Peter} or “I belong to Christ.”John 1:42; Acts 18:24; 19:1; 1Cor 3:4; 16:12

13 Has Christ been divided? Paul wasn't crucified for you, was he? You weren't baptized in Paul's name, were you?2Cor 11:4; Eph 4:5 14 I thank God ^{▼▼Other mss. read I thank my God; still other mss. read I am thankful} that I did not baptize any of you except Chrispus and Gaius,Acts 18:8; Rom 16:23 15 lest anyone can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the family of Stephanus. Beyond that, I'm not sure whether I baptized anyone else.)1Cor 16:15, 17 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, not with eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.1Cor 2:1, 4, 13; 2Pet 1:16

18 Christ Is God's Power and WisdomFor the message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God's power to us who are being saved.Acts 17:18; Rom 1:16; 1Cor 1:24; 2:14; 15:2; 2Cor 2:15 19 For it is written,Job 5:12-13; Isa 29:14; Jer 8:9

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject.” ^{▼▼Isa 29:14}

20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? God has turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense, hasn't he?Job 12:17, 20, 24; Isa 33:18; 44:25; Rom 1:22 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know God, God decided through the nonsense of our preaching to save those who believe.Matt 11:25; Luke 10:21; Rom 1:20-21, 28 22 Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom,Matt 12:38; 16:1; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; John 4:48 23 but we preach Christ crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to Gentiles,Isa 8:14; Matt 11:6; 13:57; Luke 2:34; John 6:60, 66; Rom 9:32; John 6:60, 66, 1Cor 15:14, 18; Gal 5:11; 1Pet 2:8 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God's power and God's wisdom.Rom 1:4, 16; 1Cor 1:18; Col 2:3 25 For God's nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, ^{▼▼Lit. than men} and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. ^{▼▼Lit. than men}

26 Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards, ^{▼▼Lit. according to the flesh} not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.John 7:48 27 But God chose what is nonsense in the world to make the wise feel ashamed. God chose what is weak in the world to make the strong feel ashamed.Ps 8:2; Matt 11:25; James 2:5 28 And God chose what is insignificant in the world, what is despised, what is nothing, in order to destroy what is something,Rom 4:17; 1Cor 2:6 29 so that no human being ^{▼▼Lit. no flesh} may boast in God's presence.Rom 3:27; Eph 2:9 30 It is because of him that you are in union with Christ Jesus, who for us has become wisdom from God, as well as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.Jer 23:5-6; John 17:19; Rom 4:25; 1Cor 1:24; 2Cor 5:21; Eph 1:7; Phil 3:9 31 Therefore, as it is written, “The person who boasts must boast in the Lord.” ^{▼▼Jer 9:24}Jer 9:23-24; 2Cor 10:17