1 Corinthians 1-2

English Standard Version

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)called ^(B)by 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 ^(C)sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^(D)called to be saints together with all those who in every place ^(E)call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

^3 (F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

⁴ I ^(G)give 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 ^(H)you were enriched in him in all ^(I)speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as ^(J)the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you ^(K)wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^8 (L)who will sustain you to the end, ^(M)guiltless ^(N)in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^9 (O)God is faithful, by whom you were called into the ^(P)fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers,^[a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no ^(Q)divisions among you, but that you be united ^(R)in the same mind and the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is ^(S)quarreling among you, my brothers. ¹² What I mean is that ^(T)each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow ^(U)Apollos,” or “I follow ^(V)Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” ^13 (W)Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^(X)baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except ^(Y)Crispus and ^(Z)Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (I did baptize also ^(AA)the 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 ^(AB)not 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 ^(AC)folly to ^(AD)those who are perishing, but to us ^(AE)who are being saved it is ^(AF)the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written,

^20 (AH)Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^(AI)Has 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 preach^[b] to save those who believe. ²² For ^(AJ)Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ ^(AK)crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(AL)the power of God and ^(AM)the 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: ^(AN)not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[c] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But ^(AO)God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^(AP)God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(AQ)things that are not, to ^(AR)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so ^(AS)that no human being^[d] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him^[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(AT)wisdom from God, ^(AU)righteousness and ^(AV)sanctification and ^(AW)redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, ^(AX)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^{[f] (AY)}did not come proclaiming to you ^(AZ)the testimony^[g] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ² For I decided to know nothing among you except ^(BA)Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ And ^(BB)I was with you ^(BC)in 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 ^(BD)the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men^[h] but ^(BE)in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

⁶ Yet among ^(BF)the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not ^(BG)a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, ^(BH)who are doomed to pass away. ⁷ But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, ^(BI)which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸ None of ^(BJ)the rulers of this age understood this, for ^(BK)if they had, they would not have crucified ^(BL)the Lord of glory. ⁹ But, as it is written,

¹⁰ these things ^(BP)God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^(BQ)the depths of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person's thoughts ^(BR)except 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 ^(BS)we have received not ^(BT)the 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 ^(BU)in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^(BV)interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^[i]

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^(BW)folly to him, and ^(BX)he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The ^(BY)spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ^16 (BZ)“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But ^(CA)we have the mind of Christ.