The State of the Church at Corinth

10 But I appeal to you, my friends, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree in what you profess, and not to allow divisions to exist among you, but to be united – of one mind and of one opinion. 11 For I have been informed, my friends, by the members of Chloe’s household, that party feeling exists among you. 12 I mean this: that every one of you says either “I follow Paul,” or “I Apollos,” or “I Cephas,” or “I Christ.” 13 You have torn the Christ in pieces! Was it Paul who was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 I baptized also the household of Stephanas. I do not know that I baptized anyone else. 17 My mission from Christ was not to baptize, but to tell the good news; not, however, in the language of philosophy, in case the cross of the Christ should be robbed of its meaning.Titleless Section Break

18 The message of the cross is indeed mere folly to those who are on the path to ruin, but to us who are on the path of salvation it is the power of God. 19 For scripture says –

“I will bring the philosophy of the philosophers to naught, and the shrewdness of the shrewd I will bring to nothing.”

20 Where is the philosopher? Where the teacher of the Law? Where the disputant of today? Has not God shown the world’s philosophy to be folly? 21 For since the world, in God’s wisdom, did not by its philosophy learn to know God, God saw fit, by the “folly” of our proclamation, to save those who believe in Christ! 22 While Jews ask for miraculous signs, and Greeks study philosophy, 23 we are proclaiming Christ crucified! – to the Jews an obstacle, to the Gentiles mere folly, 24 but to those who have received the call, whether Jews or Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God! 25 For God’s “folly” is wiser than people, and God’s “weakness” is stronger than people.

26 Look at the facts of your call, friends. There are not many among you who are wise, as people reckon wisdom, not many who are influential, not many who are high-born; 27 but God chose what the world counts foolish to put its wise to shame, and God chose what the world counts weak to put its strong to shame, 28 and God chose what the world counts poor and insignificant – things that to it are unreal – to bring its “realities” to nothing, 29 so that in his presence no one should boast. 30 But you, by your union with Christ Jesus, belong to God; and Christ, by God’s will, became not only our wisdom, but also our righteousness, holiness, and deliverance, 31 so that – in the words of scripture –

“Whoever boasts should boast of the Lord!”

2 For my own part, friends, when I came to you, it was with no display of eloquence or philosophy that I came to tell the hidden purpose of God; 2 for I had determined that, while with you, I would forget everything except Jesus Christ – and him crucified! 3 Indeed, when I came among you, I was weak, and full of fears, and in great anxiety. 4 My message and my proclamation were not delivered in the persuasive language of philosophy, but were accompanied by the manifestation of spiritual power, 5 so that your faith should be based, not on the human wisdom, but on the power of God.

6 Yet there is a philosophy that we teach to those whose faith is matured, but it is not the philosophy of today, or of the leaders of today – whose downfall is at hand. 7 No, it is a divine philosophy that we teach, one concerned with the hidden purpose of God – that long hidden philosophy which God, before time began, destined for our glory. 8 This philosophy is clearly not known to any of the leaders of today, since, had they known it, they would never have crucified our glorious Lord! 9 It is what scripture speaks of as –

“What eye never saw, nor ear ever heard,

what never entered people’s minds –

all these things God has prepared for those who love him.”

10 Yet to us God revealed it through his Spirit; for the Spirit fathoms all things, even the inmost depths of God’s being. 11 For what person is there who knows what a person is, except the person’s own spirit within them? So, also, no one comprehends what God is, except the Spirit of God. 12 And as for us, it is not the spirit of the world that we have received, but the Spirit that comes from God, so that we may realize the blessings given to us by him. 13 And we speak of these gifts, not in language taught by human philosophy, but in language taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things in spiritual words. 14 The merely intellectual person rejects the teaching of the Spirit of God; for to them it is mere folly; they cannot grasp it, because it is to be understood only by spiritual insight. 15 But the person with spiritual insight is able to understand everything, although they themselves are understood by no one. 16 For who has so comprehended the mind of the Lord as to be able to instruct him? We, however, have the mind of Christ.

3 But I, my friends, could not speak to you as people with spiritual insight, but only as worldly-minded – mere infants in the faith of Christ. 2 I fed you with milk, not with solid food, for you were not then able to take it.

No, and even now you are not able; you are still worldly. 3 While there exist among you jealousy and party feeling, is it not true that you are worldly, and are acting merely as other people do? 4 When one says “I follow Paul,” and another “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you like other people? 5 What, I ask, is Apollos? Or what is Paul? Servants through whom you were led to accept the faith; and that only as the Lord helped each of you. 6 I planted, and Apollos watered, but it was God who caused the growth. 7 Therefore neither the one who plants, nor the one who waters, counts for anything, but only God who causes the growth. 8 In this the person who plants and the person who waters are one; yet each will receive their own reward in proportion to their own labour. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s harvest field, God’s building.

10 In fulfilment of the charge which God had entrusted to me, I laid the foundation like a skilful master; but someone else is now building on it. Let everyone take care how they build; 11 for no one can lay any other foundation than the one already laid – Jesus Christ. 12 Whatever is used by those who build on this foundation, whether gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 the quality of each man’s work will become known, for the day will make it plain; because that day is to be ushered in with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of every man’s work. 14 If anyone’s work, which they have built on that foundation, still remains, they will gain a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burnt up, they will suffer loss; though they themselves will escape, but only as one who has passed through fire.

16 Don’t you know that you are God’s Temple, and that God’s Spirit has his home in you? 17 If any one destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy them; for the Temple of God is sacred, and so also are you.Titleless Section Break

18 Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you imagines that, as regards this world, they are wise, they should become a “fool,” that they may become wise. 19 For in God’s sight this world’s wisdom is folly. Scripture tells of –

“One who catches the wise in their own craftiness,”

20 And it says again –

“The Lord sees how fruitless are the deliberations of the wise.”

21 Therefore let no one boast about people; for all things are yours – 22 whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or the present, or the future – all things are yours! 23 But you are Christ’s and Christ is God’s.

4 Let people look on us as Christ’s servants, and as stewards of the hidden truths of God. 2 Now what we look for in stewards is that they should be trustworthy. 3 But it weighs very little with me that I am judged by you or by any human tribunal. No, I do not even judge myself; 4 for, though I am conscious of nothing against myself, that does not prove me innocent. It is the Lord who is my judge. 5 Therefore do not pass judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes. He will throw light on what is now dark and obscure, and will reveal the motives in people’s minds; and then everyone will receive due praise from God.

6 All this, friends, I have, for your sakes, applied to Apollos and myself, so that, from our example, you may learn to observe the precept – “Keep to what is written,” that none of you may speak boastfully of one teacher to the disparagement of another. 7 For who makes any one of you superior to others? And what have you that was not given you? But if you received it as a gift, why do you boast as if you had not? 8 Are you all so soon satisfied? Are you so soon rich? Have you begun to reign without us? Would indeed that you had, so that we also might reign with you! 9 For, as it seems to me, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all, as people doomed to death. We are made a spectacle to the universe, both to angels and to people! 10 We, for Christ’s sake, are fools, but you, by your union with Christ, are people of discernment. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honoured, but we are despised. 11 To this very hour we go hungry, thirsty, and naked; we are beaten; we are homeless; 12 we work hard, toiling with our own hands. We meet abuse with blessings, we meet persecution with endurance, 13 we meet slander with gentle appeals. We have been treated as the scum of the earth, the vilest of the vile, to this very hour.

14 It is with no wish to shame you that I am writing like this; but to warn you as my own dear children. 15 Though you may have thousands of instructors in the faith of Christ, yet you have not many fathers. It was I who, through union with Christ Jesus, became your father by means of the good news. 16 Therefore I entreat you – Follow my example. 17 This is my reason for sending Timothy to you. He is my own dear faithful child in the Master’s service, and he will remind you of my methods of teaching the faith of Christ Jesus – methods which I follow everywhere in every church.

18 Some, I hear, are puffed up with pride, thinking that I am not coming to you. 19 But come to you I will, and that soon, if it please the Lord; and then I will find out, not what words these people use who are so puffed up, but what power they possess; 20 for the kingdom of God is based, not on words, but on power. 21 What do you wish? Am I to come to you with a rod, or in a loving and gentle spirit?

5 There is a wide-spread report respecting a case of immorality among you, and that, too, of a kind that does not occur even among the Gentiles – a man, I hear, is living with his father’s wife! 2 Instead of grieving over it and taking steps for the expulsion of the man who has done this thing, is it possible that you are still puffed up? 3 For I myself, though absent in body, have been present with you in spirit, and in the name of our Lord Jesus I have already passed judgment, just as if I had been present, on the man who has acted in this way. 4 I have decided – having been present in spirit at your meetings, when the power of the Lord Jesus was with us – 5 to deliver such a man as this over to Satan, that what is sensual in him may be destroyed, so that his spirit may be saved at the day of the Lord. 6 Your boasting is unseemly. Don’t you know that even a little yeast leavens all the dough? 7 Get rid entirely of the old leaven, so that you may be like new dough – free from leaven, as in truth you are. For our passover lamb is already sacrificed – Christ himself; 8 therefore let us keep our festival, not with the leaven of former days, nor with the leaven of vice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I told you, in my letter, not to associate with immoral people – 10 not, of course, meaning people of the world who are in immoral, or who are covetous and grasping, or who worship idols; for then you would have to leave the world altogether. 11 But, as things are, I say that you are not to associate with anyone who, although a follower of Christ in name, is immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or abusive, or a drunkard, or grasping – no, not even to sit down to eat with such people. 12 What have I to do with judging those outside the church? Is it not for you to judge those who are within the church, 13 while God judges those who are outside? Put away the wicked from among you.

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6 Can it be that, when one of you has a dispute with another, they dare to have their case tried before the heathen, instead of before Christ’s people? 2 Don’t you know that Christ’s people will try the world? And if the world is to be tried by you, are you unfit to try the most trivial cases? 3 Don’t you know that we are to try angels – to say nothing of the affairs of this life? 4 Why, then, if you have cases relating to the affairs of this life, do you set to try them those who carry no weight with the church? To your shame I ask it. 5 Can it be that there is not one among you wise enough to decide between two of their fellow followers? 6 Must a follower sue a fellow follower? In front of unbelievers? 7 To begin with, it is undoubtedly a loss to you to have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather let yourselves be wronged? Why not rather let yourselves be cheated? 8 Instead of this, you wrong and cheat others yourselves – yes, even other followers! 9 Don’t you know that wrongdoers will have no share in God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived. No one who is immoral, or an idolater, or an adulterer, or licentious, or a sexual pervert, 10 or a thief, or covetous, or a drunkard, or abusive, or grasping, will have any share in God’s kingdom. 11 Such some of you used to be; but you washed yourselves clean. You became Christ’s people! You were pronounced righteous through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and through the Spirit of our God!Titleless Section Break

12 Everything is allowable for me! Yes, but everything is not profitable. Everything is allowable for me! Yes, but for my part, I will not let myself be enslaved by anything. 13 Food exists for the stomach, and the stomach for food; but God will put an end to both the one and the other. The body, however, exists, not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body; 14 and, as God has raised the Lord, so he will raise us up also by the exercise of his power. 15 Don’t you know that your bodies are Christ’s members? Am I, then, to take the members that belong to the Christ and make them the members of a prostitute? Heaven forbid! 16 Or don’t you know that a man who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body (for “the two,” it is said, “will become one”); 17 while a man who is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit? 18 Shun all immorality. Every other sin that people commit is something outside the body; but an immoral person sins against their own body. 19 Again, don’t you know that your body is a shrine of the Holy Spirit that is within you – the Spirit which you have from God? 20 Moreover, you are not your own masters; you were bought, and the price was paid. Therefore, honour God in your bodies.