- Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ
Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
- To the church of God in Corinth, to those
sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those
everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ--their Lord and
ours:
- Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- I always thank God for you because of his
grace given you in Christ Jesus.
- For in him you have been enriched in every
way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge --
- because our testimony about Christ was
confirmed in you.
- Therefore you do not lack any spiritual
gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
- He will keep you strong to the end, so
that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- God, who has called you into fellowship
with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
- I appeal to you, brothers, in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that
there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united
in mind and thought.
- My brothers, some from Chloe's household
have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
- What I mean is this: One of you says, "I
follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I
follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."
- Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for
you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul ?
- I am thankful that I did not baptize any
of you except Crispus and Gaius,
- so no one can say that you were baptized
into my name.
- (Yes, I also baptized the household of
Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.)
- For Christ did not send me to baptize,
but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross
of Christ be emptied of its power.
- For 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.
- For it is written: "I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
- Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar?
Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom
of the world?
- For since in the wisdom of God the world
through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness
of what was preached to save those who believe.
- Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks
look for wisdom,
- but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
- but to those whom God has called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
- For the foolishness of God is wiser than
man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
- Brothers, think of what you were when you
were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were
influential; not many were of noble birth.
- But God chose the foolish things of the
world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame
the strong.
- He chose the lowly things of this world
and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things
that are,
- so that no one may boast before him.
- It is because of him that you are in Christ
Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness,
holiness and redemption.
- Therefore, as it is written: "Let
him who boasts boast in the Lord."
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