Copyright (c) Timothy E. Clontz 1999 All rights reserved.
The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians
1
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and our brother Sosthenes, 2 to the church of God which is at Corinth, to
those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those
who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their
Lord and ours: 3 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always for you because of the grace of God
which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were
enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge-6 even as the testimony
of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any
spiritual gift, as you eagerly wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus
Christ; 8 who will also confirm you to the end, blameless in the day of
our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into
fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but
that you be united in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I
have been informed by Chloe's people, that there are quarrels among you,
my brethren. 12 What I mean is this, that each one of you says, "I am of
Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ." 13 Is
Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the
name of Paul? 14 I am thankful that I baptized none of you except
Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized in my
name. 16 (Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond
that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else.) 17 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.
18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it
is written,
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the cleverness of the clever I will frustrate."
20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of
this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For
since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know
God, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to
save those who believe. 22 Jews demand signs and Greeks look for
wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and
to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God and 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 call, brethren; not many of you were wise
according to fleshly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of
noble birth. 27 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, 28
God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things, and the
things that are not, to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no flesh may
boast before God. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,
who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and
sanctification, and redemption, 31 therefore, as it is written, "Let him who
boasts, boast in the Lord."
2
1 When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority
of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I
resolved to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him
crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much
trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive
words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so
that your faith might not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of
God.
6 Yet we do speak a wisdom among the mature, a wisdom,
however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing
away. 7 But we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been
hidden and which God destined for our glory before the ages. 8 None of
the rulers of this age understood it; for if they had, they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,
"No eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him,"
10 God has revealed them to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches
all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the
thoughts of a man except the man's spirit which is in him? Even so no one
knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have
received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that
we may understand the things freely given to us by God. 13 This is what
we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught
by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 But the
natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually discerned. 15 But the spiritual man judges all things, yet he
himself is rightly judged by no one.
16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him?"
But we have the mind of Christ.
3
1 But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as
carnal men, as infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food; for you
were not yet ready for it. Indeed, even now you are not ready, 3 for you
are still carnal. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you
not carnal, and are you not walking like mere men? 4 For when one says,
"I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men? 5
What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you
believed, even as the Lord assigned to each one. 6 I planted, Apollos
watered, but God was causing the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor
he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 Now he
who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own
reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow workers;
you are God's field, God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a
wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But
each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation
can any one lay than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now
if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones,
wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day
will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will
test the quality of each man's work. 14 If any man's work which he has
built on it survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is
burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, but only as
through fire. 16 Do you not know that you are God's temple and that
God's Spirit dwells in you? 17 If any one destroys God's temple, God will
destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are.
18 Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you thinks that
he is wise in this age, he must become a fool so that he may become wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
"He catches the wise in their own craftiness";
20 and again,
"The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile."
21 So then let no one boast of men. 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 belong to you, 23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ
belongs to God.
4
1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and
stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required of stewards
that they be found trustworthy. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that
I should be judged by you, or by any human court; I do not even judge
myself. 4 I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not
acquitted by this. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore do not go on
passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will
both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the
motives of men's hearts. Then every man will receive his praise from God.
6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to
myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that in us you may learn not to go
beyond what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in
favor of one against the other. 7 For who regards you as different? What
do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do
you boast as if you had not received it? 8 You are already filled! You
have already become rich! You have become kings without us! And
indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with
you. 9 For, I think that God has exhibited us apostles last of all, like men
condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world,
both to angels and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are
wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished,
but we are without honor. 11 To this present hour we are both hungry and
thirsty, and we are poorly clothed, and roughly treated, and homeless; 12
and we toil, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless;
when we are persecuted, we endure; 13 when we are slandered, we try to
conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the scum of the world, the
refuse of all things.
14 I do not write this to shame you, but to admonish you as my
beloved children. 15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you
do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through
the gospel. 16 Therefore I urge you, be imitators of me. 17 For this reason
I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the
Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I
teach everywhere in every church. 18 Now some have become arrogant, as
though I were not coming to you. 19 But I will come to you soon, if the
Lord wills, and I will find out, not the words of these arrogant people, but
their power. 20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in
power. 21 What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with
love and a spirit of gentleness?
5
1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and
of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: a man has his father's
wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to have mourned? Let
the one who has done this be removed from your midst. 3 For though I am
absent in body, I am present in spirit, and have already passed judgment
on the one who has committed this, as if I were present. 4 In the name of
our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, and the
power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan
for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day
of the Lord Jesus. 6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a
little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Cleanse out the old
leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For
Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us, therefore,
celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and
wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
10 not at all meaning the immoral people of this world, or with the greedy
and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the
world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any one who
bears the name of brother if he is an immoral person, or greedy, or an
idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-not even to eat with
such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not
those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13 God judges those
outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."
6
1 When any one of you has a grievance against a brother, does
he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of before the saints? 2
Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is
to be judged by you, are you not competent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you
not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life!
4 So if you have disputes about such matters, do you appoint them as
judges who are of no account in the church? 5 I say this to your shame.
Can it be that there is no man among you wise enough to decide between
his brethren, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before
unbelievers? 7 Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have
lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be
defrauded? 8 Instead, you yourselves defraud and do wrong, and you even
do this to your brethren. 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will
not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts, 10 nor thieves, nor the
greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom
of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were
sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in
the Spirit of our God.
12 "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful.
"All things are lawful for me," but I will not be mastered by anything. 13
"Food is for the stomach and the stomach for food"-but God will
destroy them both. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the
Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord,
and he will also raise us up. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are
members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make
them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who
joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is
written, "The two shall become one flesh." 17 But he who unites himself
with the Lord is one spirit with him. 18 Flee immorality. Every other sin
that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against
his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not
your own; 20 you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body.
7
1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good
for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But because of immorality, each man
should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. 3 The
husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife
to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body,
but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have
authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one
another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote
yourselves to prayer, and then come together again so that Satan will not
tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this by way of
concession, not of command. 7 I wish that all men were as I myself am.
But each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another
in that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows that it is good for
them if they remain even as I. 9 But if they cannot exercise self-control,
they should marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 10
To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not
separate from her husband 11 (but if she does leave, she must remain
unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband
should not divorce his wife. 12 But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if
any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with
him, he must not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an
unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14
For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the
unbelieving wife is sanctified through her husband. Otherwise, your
children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy. 15 But if the
unbelieving partner leaves, let him do so; in such a case the brother or
sister is not bound. For God has called us to peace. 16 For how do you
know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you
know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
17 Only, let each one lead the life which the Lord has assigned
to him, and in which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all
the churches. 18 Was any man called when he was already circumcised?
He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in
uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing
and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is
what counts. 20 Each one should remain in the state in which he was
called. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it trouble
you-but if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For he who was called
in the Lord as a slave is the Lord's freedman; likewise he who was free
when called is Christ's slave. 23 You were bought with a price; do not
become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each one remain with God in that
condition in which he was called.
25 Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but
I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. 26 I
think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain
as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free
from a wife? Do not seek marriage. 28 But if you marry, you have not
sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry
will have troubles in this flesh, and I am trying to spare you. 29 I mean,
brethren, the appointed time has grown very short; so that from now on,
those who have wives should live as though they had none, 30 and those
who mourn, as though they were not mourning; and those who rejoice, as
though they were not rejoicing; and those who buy, as though they did
not possess; 31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make
full use of it. For the form of this world is passing away. 32 But I want
you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the
affairs of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; 33 but a married man is
concerned about the affairs of the world, how he may please his wife, 34
and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman, and the virgin, is
concerned about the affairs of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body
and spirit; but the married woman is concerned about the affairs of the
world, how she may please her husband. 35 This I say for your own
benefit, not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is good and
to secure undivided devotion to the Lord.
36 But if any man thinks that he is not acting properly toward
his betrothed, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do
what he wishes, he does not sin; let them marry. 37 But he who stands
firm in his heart, being under no constraint, but has control over his own
will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep her as his betrothed,
he will do well. 38 So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and
he who does not marry her will do better.
39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her
husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the
Lord. 40 But in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is; and I
think that I also have the Spirit of God.
8
1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that we all
possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone
imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to
know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by him. 4 Therefore
concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that an idol is
nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there
are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are
many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the
Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist; and one Lord,
Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist.
7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, being
accustomed to idols, eat food as really sacrificed to an idol; and their
conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 But food will not commend us to
God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 9 But take
care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling
block to the weak. 10 For if a man sees you, who have knowledge, at
table in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be
encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge
this weak man is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus,
sinning against your brethren and wounding their conscience when it is
weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to
fall, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to fall.
9
1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our
Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If to others I am not an apostle,
at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 This is my defense to those who would examine me. 4 Do we
not have the right to food and drink? 5 Do we not have a right to take
along a believing wife, even as the other apostles and the brothers of the
Lord and Cephas? 6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to
refrain from working for a living? 7 Who at any time serves as a soldier at
his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit?
Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? 8 Do I say this merely
from a human point of view? Does not the Law say the same thing? 9 For
it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it is
treading out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? 10 Or is he
speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because
the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of
sharing the crops. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too
much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others share this right
of support from you, do not we all the more?
Nevertheless, we did not make use of this right, but we endure
anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. 13
Do you not know that those who work in the temple get their food from
the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the
altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim
the gospel should get their living from the gospel. 15 But I have not used
any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do
such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my
ground for boasting. 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast
of, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not preach the
gospel! 17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if it is not of
my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me. 18 What then is my
reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may offer the gospel free of
charge, and so not make full use of my right in the gospel.
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave
to all, that I might win the more. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in
order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the
law-though not being myself under the law-so that I might win those
under the law. 21 To those who are without law, I became as one without
law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ,
so that I might win those who are without the law. 22 To the weak I
became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all
men, so that I might by all means save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of
the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only
one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone
who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it
to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I do
not run aimlessly. I do not box as a man beating the air. 27 But I
discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to
others, I myself will not be disqualified.
10
1 For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers
were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; 2 and all were
baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 and all ate the same
spiritual food; 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank
from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. 5
Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for they were
overthrown in the wilderness. 6 Now these things are examples for us, not
to desire evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them
were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up
to play." 8 We must not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and
twenty-three thousand fell in one day. 9 We must not put the Lord to the
test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. 10 Nor
grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written
down for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12
Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man. And God
is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able, but
with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will
be able to endure it.
14 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to
sensible men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing
which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17
Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all
partake of the one bread. 18 Consider Israel after the flesh; are not those
who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? 19 What do I mean then? That
a thing offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but
I say that the things pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God.
I do not want you to be partners with demons. 21 You cannot drink the
cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table
of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to provoke the Lord
to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
23 "All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All
things are lawful," but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own
good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat anything that is sold in the
meat market without raising questions of conscience; 26 for, "The earth is
the Lord's, and everything in it." 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you
to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is set before you without
raising questions of conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, "This has
been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man
who informed you and for conscience' sake-29 the other man's
conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by
another's conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I
denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31 So, whether you
eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no
offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 23 just as I
try to please all men in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage,
but that of many, that they may be saved.
11
1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
2 I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold
firmly to the traditions, just as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you
to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the
head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 4 Every man who prays
or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 But every
woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her
head-it is the same as if her head were shaved. 6 For if a woman does
not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful
for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, let her cover her head. 7
For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of
God; but the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man does not originate
from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman,
but woman for man. 10 Therefore the woman ought to have a symbol of
authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 In the Lord, however,
woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12
For as woman was made from man, so also man is born of woman. And
all things are from God. 13 Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman
to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself
teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him, 15 but if a
woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a
covering. 16 If anyone wants to be contentious, we have no other practice,
nor do the churches of God.
17 But in the following instructions, I do not praise you, because
you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first
place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions
among you; and I partly believe it. 19 For there must be factions among
you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20
Therefore when you meet together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat,
21 for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal, and one is
hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and
drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who
have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? No, I
will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that
the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and
when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which
is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way he took the
cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood;
do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For as often
as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death
until he comes.
27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the
Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and
blood of the Lord. 28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread
and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without
recognizing the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why
many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen
asleep. 31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32
But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will
not be condemned along with the world. 33 So then, my brethren, when
you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34 If anyone is hungry, let
him eat at home, so that you will not come together for judgment. About
the other things I will give directions when I come.
12
1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to
be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led
astray to mute idols, however you may have been moved. 3 Therefore I tell
you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be
cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And
there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are varieties of
working, but the same God who works all of them in all men. 7 But to
each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8
To one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the
word of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the
same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to
another the working of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another
distinguishing between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to
another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit
works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as he
wills.
12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the
members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so it is with
Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-whether
Jews or Greeks, slaves or free-and we were all made to drink of one
Spirit. 14 For the body is not made up of one member but of many. 15 If
the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the
body," it would not for that reason be any less a part of the body. 16 And
if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the
body," it would not for that reason be any less a part of the body. 17 If the
whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole body
were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? 18 But now God has
arranged the members in the body, each one of them, just as he desired.
19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 As it is,
there are many parts, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the
hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no
need of you." 22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be
weaker are indispensable, 23 and those parts of the body which we think
less honorable we treat with the greater honor, and our unpresentable
parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 while our more presentable
members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving
the greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there may be no
division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one
another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if
one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and individually members of
it. 28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second
prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then those having gifts
of healings, helps, administrations, and those speaking in various kinds of
tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all
work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with
tongues? Do all interpret? 31 But earnestly desire the greater gifts.
13
And I will show you a still more excellent way. 1 If I speak in
the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or
a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove
mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I have to the
poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain
nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous or boastful, it is
not arrogant 5 or rude, it does not seek its own, it is not provoked, it
keeps no record of wrongs, 6 it does not rejoice in evil, but rejoices with
the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,
endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but where there are prophecies, they will
cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is
knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in
part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I
was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a
child; when I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 For now
we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but
then I shall know fully-even as I have been fully known. 13 So now
faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
14
1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially
that you may prophesy. 2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak
to men but to God; for no one understands him, but in his spirit he speaks
mysteries. 3 But everyone who prophesies speaks to men for their
edification and encouragement and comfort. 4 He who speaks in a tongue
edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church. 5 Now I want
you all to speak in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. He
who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless some
one interprets, so that the church may be edified. 6 But now, brethren, if I
come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I bring you
some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 If even lifeless
things, such as the flute or the harp, do not give a distinction in the notes,
how will any one know what is played? 8 And if the bugle gives an
indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 So it is with you, unless
you utter by the tongue speech that is intelligible, how will anyone know
what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 Undoubtedly
there are many languages in the world, and none of them is without
meaning. 11 If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a
foreigner to the one who is speaking, and the speaker will be a foreigner
to me. 12 So it is with you; since you are eager for spiritual gifts, strive to
excel in building up the church. 13 Therefore, he who speaks in a tongue
should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit
prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with the
spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I
will sing with the mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit,
how can any one in the position of an outsider say the "Amen" to your
thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you
may be giving thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. 18 I
thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 but in the church
I would rather speak five words with my mind, to instruct others, than ten
thousand words in a tongue.
20 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; be infants in
evil, but in thinking be mature. 21 In the law it is written,
"By men of strange tongues
and by the lips of foreigners
will I speak to this people,
and even then they will not listen to me,
says the Lord." 22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for
unbelievers; but prophecy is for believers, not for unbelievers. 23
Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in
tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are
mad? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an outsider enters, he is
convicted by all, he is called to account by all; 25 the secrets of his heart
are disclosed; and so, he will fall on his face, and worship God, declaring
that God is really among you.
26 What is the outcome then, brethren? When you come
together, each one has a hymn, or a teaching, or a revelation, or a tongue,
or an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27 If anyone
speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in
turn; and one must interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, he must
keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let
two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 But
if a revelation is made to another who is sitting, the first one must keep
silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and
all be encouraged; 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.
33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
As in all the churches of the saints, 34 the women should keep
silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be
submissive, as even the law says. 35 If they desire to learn anything, let
them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for a woman to
speak in church. 36 Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you
the only people it has reached?
37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him
acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. 38 But
if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 Therefore, my
brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in
tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in an orderly way.
15
1 Now I would remind you, brethren, of the gospel I preached to
you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 by which also you are
saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you
believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also
received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that
he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the
Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After
that he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of
whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared
to James, then to all the apostles. 8 And last of all, as to one untimely
born, he appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, and not
fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But
by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in
vain. No, I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of
God that was with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and
so you believed.
12 Now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the
dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has
been raised; 14 if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain
and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are even found to be false
witnesses of God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ,
whom he did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the
dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has
not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then
those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If for this
life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first
fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by a man came death,
by a man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all
die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order:
Christ the first fruits, then, at his coming, those who belong to him. 24
Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father
after he has destroyed all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must
reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to
be destroyed is death. 27 "For God has put all things in subjection under
his feet." But when it says, "All things are put in subjection under him,"
it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him. 28 When all
things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to
the one who put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
29 Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead?
If the dead are not raised at all, why then are people baptized for them? 30
Why are we also in danger every hour? 31 I protest, brethren, by my pride
in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day.
32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons,
what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
"Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die."
33 Do not be deceived:
"Bad company corrupts good morals."
34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for some
have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
35 But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what
kind of body do they come?" 36 You foolish man! What you sow does
not come to life unless it dies. 37 And that which you sow, you do not
sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of
something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to
each kind of seed he gives its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same
flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals,
another of birds, and another of fish. 40 There are also heavenly bodies
and there are earthly bodies; but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the
glory of the earthly is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and
another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs
from star in glory.
42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a
perishable body, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is
raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown
a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there
is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written, "The first man Adam became a
living being"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the
spiritual is not first, but the natural; and then the spiritual. 47 The first
man was from the earth, of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As
was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of
heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the
image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of
heaven.
50 Now I tell you this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the
imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but
we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on
the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 When the
perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality,
then will come to pass the saying that is written:
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
55 "O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But
thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain
in the Lord.
16
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the
churches of Galatia, so you must also do. 2 On the first day of every
week, each one of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may
prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. 3 And when I arrive,
I will send those whom you approve with letters to carry your gift to
Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany
me.
5 But I will come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I am
going through Macedonia; 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even
spend the winter, so that you may help me on my journey, wherever I go.
7 For I do not want to see you now just in passing; I hope to spend some
time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until
Pentecost, 9 for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and
there are many adversaries.
10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you with nothing
to fear, for he is doing the work of the Lord, just as I am. 11 So let no one
despise him. Send him on his way in peace, that he may return to me; for I
am expecting him with the brethren.
12 As for our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to
you with the other brethren, but it was not at all his will to come now. He
will come when he has opportunity.
13 Be on the your guard, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be
strong. 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
15 You know that the household of Stephanas were the first
converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the
saints. Now I urge you, brethren, 16 to be subject to such men and to
everyone who helps in the work and labors. 17 I rejoice at the coming of
Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have supplied what
was lacking on your part. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours also.
Give recognition to such men.
19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca
greet you warmly in the lord, with the church that is in their house. 20 All
the brethren send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. 22 If anyone does
not love the Lord-let him be accursed. Come, O Lord! 23 The grace of
The Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
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