A Riot at Ephesus

21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit ^uto pass through ^vMacedonia and Achaia and ^wgo to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, ^xI must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of ^yhis helpers, ^zTimothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia ^afor a while.

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

1 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^{6 x}did not come proclaiming to you ^ythe testimony⁷ 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 men⁸ 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.⁹

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

1 But I, brothers,¹⁰ 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 skilled¹¹ 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 you¹² 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.

The Ministry of Apostles

1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and ⁿstewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 ^oFor I am not aware of anything against myself, ^pbut I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore ^qdo not pronounce judgment before the time, ^rbefore the Lord comes, ^swho will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. ^tThen each one will receive his commendation from God.

6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers,¹³ that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may ^ube puffed up in favor of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you? ^vWhat do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, ^wlike men sentenced to death, because we ^xhave become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10 ^yWe are fools for Christ’s sake, but ^zyou are wise in Christ. ^aWe are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour ^bwe hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and ^cbuffeted and ^dhomeless, 12 and we ^elabor, working with our own hands. ^fWhen reviled, we bless; ^gwhen persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. ^hWe have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, ⁱthe refuse of all things.

14 I do not write these things ^jto make you ashamed, but to admonish you ^kas my beloved children. 15 For ^lthough you have countless¹⁴ guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For ^mI became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, ⁿbe imitators of me. 17 That is why ^oI sent¹⁵ you Timothy, ^pmy beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,^{16 q}as I teach them everywhere in every church. 18 Some are ^rarrogant, ^sas though I were not coming to you. 19 But ^tI will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For ^uthe kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 21 What do you wish? ^vShall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?