The Example of Christ

15 ^sWe who are strong ^thave an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 ^uLet each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For ^vChrist did not please himself, but as it is written, ^w“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For ^xwhatever was written in former days was written for our ^yinstruction, that through endurance and through ^zthe encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ^ato live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify ^bthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

8 For I tell you that Christ ^cbecame a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order ^dto confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order ^ethat the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

10 And again it is said,

11 And again,

12 And again Isaiah says,

13 May the God of hope fill you with all ^ljoy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

14 ^mI myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,¹ that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with ⁿall knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, ^obecause of the grace given me by God 16 to be ^pa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ^qin the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that ^rthe offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have ^sreason to be proud of ^tmy work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except ^uwhat Christ has accomplished through me ^vto bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 ^wby the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that ^xfrom Jerusalem and all the way around ^yto Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, ^zlest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

22 This is the reason why ^bI have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^csince I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go ^dto Spain, and ^eto be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, ^fI am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For ^gMacedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^hthey owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,² I will leave ⁱfor Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing³ of Christ.

30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^jthe love of the Spirit, ^kto strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 ^lthat I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^mmy service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and ⁿbe refreshed in your company. 33 May ^othe God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Personal Greetings

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant¹ of the church at ^pCenchreae, 2 that you ^qmay welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

3 Greet ^rPrisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also ^sthe church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was ^tthe first convert² to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia,³ my kinsmen and my ^ufellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,⁴ and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those ^vwho belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers⁵ who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 ^wGreet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Final Instructions and Greetings

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles ^xcontrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; ^yavoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^ztheir own appetites,⁶ and ^aby smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For ^byour obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you ^cto be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 ^dThe God of peace ^ewill soon crush Satan under your feet. ^fThe grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

21 ^gTimothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

22 I Tertius, ^hwho wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23 ⁱGaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.⁷

Doxology

25 ^jNow to him who is able to strengthen you ^kaccording to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ^laccording to the revelation of the mystery ^mthat was kept secret for ⁿlong ages 26 but ^ohas now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, ^pto bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to ^qthe only wise God ^rbe glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

1 Corinthians

Greeting

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

2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those ^csanctified in Christ Jesus, ^dcalled to be saints together with all those who in every place ^ecall upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

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

Thanksgiving

4 I ^fgive thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way ^gyou were enriched in him in all ^hspeech and all knowledge— 6 even as ⁱthe testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you ^jwait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 ^kwho will sustain you to the end, ^lguiltless ^min the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 ⁿGod is faithful, by whom you were called into the ^ofellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

10 I appeal to you, brothers,¹ by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no ^pdivisions among you, but that you be united ^qin the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is ^rquarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that ^seach one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow ^tApollos,” or “I follow ^uCephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 ^vIs Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^wbaptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except ^xCrispus and ^yGaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also ^zthe household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and ^anot with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

18 For the word of the cross is ^bfolly to ^cthose who are perishing, but to us ^dwho are being saved it is ^ethe power of God. 19 For it is written,

20 ^gWhere is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^hHas not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach² to save those who believe. 22 For ⁱJews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ ^jcrucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^kthe power of God and ^lthe wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For consider your calling, brothers: ^mnot many of you were wise according to worldly standards,³ not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But ⁿGod chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^oGod chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^pthings that are not, to ^qbring to nothing things that are, 29 so ^rthat no human being⁴ might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him⁵ you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^swisdom from God, ^trighteousness and ^usanctification and ^vredemption, 31 so that, as it is written, ^w“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^{1 x}did not come proclaiming to you ^ythe testimony² of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except ^zJesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And ^aI was with you ^bin weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of ^cthe Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men³ but ^din the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

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

10 these things ^oGod has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^pthe depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts ^qexcept the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now ^rwe have received not ^sthe spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this ^tin words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^uinterpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.⁴

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

Divisions in the Church

3 But I, brothers,¹ could not address you as ^aspiritual people, but as ^bpeople of the flesh, as ^cinfants in Christ. 2 ^dI fed you with milk, not solid food, for ^eyou were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is ^fjealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For ^gwhen one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” ^hare you not being merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? ⁱServants through whom you believed, ^jas the Lord assigned to each. 6 ^kI planted, ^lApollos watered, ^mbut God gave the growth. 7 So ⁿneither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each ^owill receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are ^pGod’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, ^qGod’s building.

10 ^rAccording to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled² master builder I laid a ^sfoundation, and ^tsomeone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a ^ufoundation other ^vthan that which is laid, ^wwhich is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 ^xeach one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed ^yby fire, and ^zthe fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, ^ahe will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, ^bbut only as through fire.

16 ^cDo you not know that you³ are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For ^dGod’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

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