1 Paul^[a], a called apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, ² to the church of God being in Corinth, to ones having been sanctified^[b] in Christ Jesus, called saints^[c], with all the ones calling-upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place, their Lord and ours: ³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I am giving-thanks to my God always for you for the grace of God having been given to you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ because you were enriched in everything in^[d] Him— in all speech^[e] and all knowledge, ⁶ even as the testimony of ^[f] Christ was confirmed^[g] in^[h] you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift while eagerly-awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ Who also will confirm you until the end so as to be blameless^[i] on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, through Whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Brothers, Be of One Mind; Stop Dividing Over Your Leaders

¹⁰ Now I exhort you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all be speaking the same thing, and that there not be divisions among you, but that you be made-complete^[j] in the same mind^[k] and in the same purpose^[l]. ¹¹ For it was made-clear to me concerning you, my brothers, by the ones^[m] of Chloe, that there are quarrels among you. ¹² Now I mean this: that each of you is saying “I am of Paul”, and “I of Apollos”, and “I of Cephas”, and “I of Christ”.

Has Christ Been Divided? Were You Baptized Into Paul? Thankfully, I Did Not Baptize You!

¹³ Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I give-thanks to God that I baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name! ¹⁶ Now I baptized also the household of Stephanas. As to the rest, I do not know if I baptized any other.

For I Was Not Sent To Baptize, But To Announce The Gospel Without Wisdom of Speech

¹⁷ For Christ did not send me forth to be baptizing, but to be announcing-the-good-news— not in wisdom of speech, in order that the cross of Christ may not be made-empty^[n].

For God Intends The Gospel To Be Both Foolishness And Powerful

¹⁸ For the speech^[o] of the cross is foolishness to the ones perishing, but is the power of God to us being saved. ¹⁹ For it has been written [in Isa 29:14]: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise ones, and I will set-aside the intelligence^[p] of the intelligent ones”. ²⁰ Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe^[q]? Where is the debater of this age? Did not God make-foolish the wisdom of the world?

For God Saves Those Who Believe The “Foolishness” of Christ Crucified

²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know^[r] God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of ^[s] the proclamation to save the ones believing. ²² Because indeed Jews are asking-for signs and Greeks are seeking wisdom, ²³ but we are proclaiming Christ crucified^[t]— to Jews, an offense; and to Gentiles, foolishness; ²⁴ but to the called ones themselves, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolish thing^[u] of God is wiser than humans, and the weak thing of God is stronger than humans.

God Chose To Save The Foolish And Weak To Shame Human Self-Effort

²⁶ For look-at^[v] your calling, brothers— that there are not many wise according-to^[w] the flesh, not many powerful, not many well-born^[x]. ²⁷ But God chose^[y] the foolish things of the world in order that He might be putting the wise ones to shame. And God chose the weak things of the world in order that He might be putting the strong things to shame. ²⁸ And God chose the low-born^[z] things of the world, and the things having been treated-with-contempt^[aa]— the things not being^[ab], in order that He might bring-to-nothing the things being, ²⁹ so that no flesh may boast in the sight of God. ³⁰ But by Him you are in Christ Jesus, Who became wisdom to us from God— both righteousness and holiness^[ac], and redemption— ³¹ in order that just as it has been written [in Jer 9:24], “Let the one boasting be boasting in the Lord”.

And I Came To You Proclaiming Christ Crucified Without Human Eloquence Or Wisdom

2 And I, having come^[ad] to you, brothers, did not come in accordance with superiority^[ae] of speech or of wisdom while proclaiming to you the mystery of God. ² For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ— and this One having been crucified. ³ And I was^[af] with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. ⁴ And my speech and my proclamation was not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration^[ag] of ^[ah] the Spirit and power, ⁵ in order that your faith might not be in the wisdom of humans but in the power of God.

Yet We Are Speaking God’s Wisdom To The Mature

⁶ Yet we are speaking wisdom among the mature, but a wisdom not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age— the ones being brought-to-nothing. ⁷ Rather we are speaking God’s wisdom in a mystery; the wisdom having been hidden which God predestined before the ages for our glory, ⁸ which none of the rulers of this age has understood. For if they had understood, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ But it ^[ai] is just as it has been written: “Things which an eye did not see and an ear did not hear, and which did not come-up^[aj] on the heart of a human— which God prepared for the ones loving Him”.

God Revealed This Wisdom To Us Through His Spirit

¹⁰ And God revealed it ^[ak] to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who among people knows the things of the person except the spirit of the person within him? In this manner also, no one has known the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² And we did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit from God, in order that we might know the things having been freely-given to us by God— ¹³ things which we also are speaking not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, combining^[al] spiritual things with spiritual words. ¹⁴ But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him and he is not able to understand, because they are spiritually examined^[am]. ¹⁵ But the spiritual person examines all things, yet he himself is examined by no one^[an]. ¹⁶ For “who knew the mind of the Lord? Who will instruct Him?” [Isa 40:13], and we have the mind of Christ!

13 ¹ If I speak in the tongues of humans and of angels, but I do not have love, I have become a sounding brass [gong] or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but I do not have love, I am nothing. ³ And if I dole-out^[a] all my possessions, and if I hand-over^[b] my body so that I may boast^[c], but I do not have love, I am profited nothing.

The Way Love Behaves

⁴ Love is patient. Love shows-kindness. Love does not envy^[d], does not brag, is not puffed-up, ⁵ does not behave-dishonorably^[e], does not seek its own things, is not provoked^[f], does not count^[g] the bad, ⁶ does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices-with the truth, ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love Is Permanent; Gifts Are Temporary. Be Pursuing Love

⁸ Love never fails. But if there are prophecies, they will be set-aside^[h]. If there are tongues, they will cease^[i]. If there is knowledge, it will be set-aside. ⁹ For we know in part, and we prophesy in part— ¹⁰ but when the complete^[j] thing comes, the thing in part will be set-aside. ¹¹ When I was a child, I was speaking like a child, thinking like a child, counting^[k] like^[l] a child— when I have become^[m] a man, I have set-aside the things of the child. ¹² For now we are seeing through^[n] a mirror, in an enigma^[o]— but then face to face. Now I know in part— but then I will know-fully, just as I also was fully-known. ¹³ But now^[p] these three are remaining— faith, hope, love. But love is the greater of these.