Greeting

1Paul, a called apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and brother Sosthenes, ⁰

2to the church ¹of God that is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, ²called saints, ³along with all those everywhere ⁴who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord —yes, theirs and yours: ⁵

3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Sovereign Jesus Christ. ⁶

A word of thanksgiving

4Concerning you, I always thank my God because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus;

5for in Him you were enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge,

6even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, ⁷

7so that you lack no spiritual gift as you expectantly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸

8who will also confirm you until the end, blameless in the Day of our Lord, Jesus Christ. ⁹

9God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship ¹⁰with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. ¹¹

A word of exhortation

10Now I appeal to you, brothers, by the name ¹²of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing ¹³and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be restored ¹⁴to the same mind and to the same purpose.

11You see, my brothers, it has been reported to me concerning you, by some from Chloe's household, ¹⁵that there are contentions among you.

12What I mean is that you are individually saying: “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ!”

13Has Christ been divided? It was not Paul who was crucified for you, was it? You were not baptized into the name of Paul, were you?

A disclaimer about baptism

14I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

15lest anyone should say that I had baptized into my own name.

16O yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanus; besides them I do not remember if I baptized anyone else.

17Because Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel ¹⁶—not with eloquent ‘wisdom’, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of power. ¹⁷

Foolishness to the lost

18The message of the cross, you see, is foolishness to those who are being wasted, ¹⁸but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and confound the shrewdness of the intelligent.” ¹⁹

20Where is the wise one? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its ‘wisdom’ did not get to know God, it pleased God to save the believing ones through the ‘foolishness’ of what was preached—

22since Jews request a sign while Greeks seek after wisdom,

23but we proclaim a crucified Christ: an offense to Jews, foolishness to Greeks. ²⁰

24Now to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God,

25because the ‘foolishness’ of God is wiser than men, and the ‘weakness’ of God is stronger than men. ²¹

God uses ‘nothings’

26Just look at your calling, brothers: not many are wise, not many are powerful, not many are of noble birth, by human standards;

27but God has chosen the foolish things of the world that He might put the wise to shame, and God has chosen the weak things of the world that He might put the strong things to shame;

28and God has chosen the lowly things of the world and the despised things—even the ‘nothings’—that He might nullify the ‘somethings’;

29so that no flesh should boast in God's presence. ²²

30It is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God—also righteousness and sanctification and redemption ²³—

31so that, as it is written: “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.” ²⁴