1 Corinthians 2

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

1And I, when I came to you, brothers, ▼

▼Or  brothers and sisters

^bdid not come proclaiming to you ^cthe testimony ▼

▼Some manuscripts mystery (or secret)

of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except ^eJesus Christ and him crucified. 3And ^fI was with you ^gin weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of ^hthe Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men ▼

▼The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women

but ^jin the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

6Yet among ^kthe mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not ^la wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, ^mwho are doomed to pass away. 7But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, ⁿwhich God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8None of ^othe rulers of this age understood this, for ^pif they had, they would not have crucified ^qthe Lord of glory. 9But, as it is written,

^r“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has ^sprepared ^tfor those who love him”—
10these things ^uGod has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^vthe depths of God. 11For who knows a person’s thoughts ^wexcept the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12Now ^xwe have received not ^ythe spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13And we impart this ^zin words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^aainterpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. ▼

▼Or  interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual language, or comparing spiritual things with spiritual

14The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^acfolly to him, and ^adhe is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15The ^aespiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 ^af“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But ^agwe have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 3

Divisions in the Church

1But I, brothers, ▼

▼Or  brothers and sisters

could not address you as ^aispiritual people, but as ^ajpeople of the flesh, as ^akinfants in Christ. 2 ^alI fed you with milk, not solid food, for ^amyou were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3for you are still of the flesh. For while there is ^anjealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4For ^aowhen one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” ^apare you not being merely human?

5What then is Apollos? What is Paul? ^aqServants through whom you believed, ^aras the Lord assigned to each. 6 ^asI planted, ^atApollos watered, ^aubut God gave the growth. 7So ^avneither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8He who plants and he who waters are one, and each ^awwill receive his wages according to his labor. 9For we are ^axGod’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, ^ayGod’s building.

10 ^azAccording to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a ^bafoundation, and ^bbsomeone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11For no one can lay a ^bcfoundation other ^bdthan that which is laid, ^bewhich is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 ^bfeach one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed ^bgby fire, and ^bhthe fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, ^bihe will receive a reward. 15If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, ^bjbut only as through fire.

16 ^bkDo you not know that you ▼

▼The Greek for  you is plural in verses 16 and 17

are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For ^bmGod’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

18 ^bnLet no one deceive himself. ^boIf anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19For ^bpthe wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ^bq“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20and again, ^br“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21So ^bslet no one boast in men. For ^btall things are yours, 22whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23and ^buyou are Christ’s, and ^bvChrist is God’s.