Bible in 90 Days

15 We who are strong in faith should help the weak with their weaknesses, and not please only ourselves. ² Let each of us please our neighbors for their good, to help them be stronger in faith. ³ Even Christ did not live to please himself. It was as the Scriptures said: “When people insult you, it hurts me.”^{[a] 4} Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope. ⁵ May the patience and encouragement that come from God allow you to live in harmony with each other the way Christ Jesus wants. ⁶ Then you will all be joined together, and you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other, which will bring glory to God. ⁸ I tell you that Christ became a servant of the Jews to show that God’s promises to the Jewish ancestors are true. ⁹ And he also did this so that those who are not Jews could give glory to God for the mercy he gives to them. It is written in the Scriptures:

¹⁰ The Scripture also says,

¹¹ Again the Scripture says,

¹² And Isaiah says,

¹³ I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul Talks About His Work

¹⁴ My brothers and sisters, I am sure that you are full of goodness. I know that you have all the knowledge you need and that you are able to teach each other. ¹⁵ But I have written to you very openly about some things I wanted you to remember. I did this because God gave me this special gift: ¹⁶ to be a minister of Christ Jesus to those who are not Jews. I served God by teaching his Good News, so that the non-Jewish people could be an offering that God would accept—an offering made holy by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ So I am proud of what I have done for God in Christ Jesus. ¹⁸ I will not talk about anything except what Christ has done through me in leading those who are not Jews to obey God. They have obeyed God because of what I have said and done, ¹⁹ because of the power of miracles and the great things they saw, and because of the power of the Holy Spirit. I preached the Good News from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, and so I have finished that part of my work. ²⁰ I always want to preach the Good News in places where people have never heard of Christ, because I do not want to build on the work someone else has already started. ²¹ But it is written in the Scriptures:

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

²² This is the reason I was stopped many times from coming to you. ²³ Now I have finished my work here. Since for many years I have wanted to come to you, ²⁴ I hope to visit you on my way to Spain. After I enjoy being with you for a while, I hope you can help me on my trip. ²⁵ Now I am going to Jerusalem to help God’s people. ²⁶ The believers in Macedonia and Southern Greece were happy to give their money to help the poor among God’s people at Jerusalem. ²⁷ They were happy to do this, and really they owe it to them. These who are not Jews have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, so they should use their material possessions to help the Jews. ²⁸ After I am sure the poor in Jerusalem get the money that has been given for them, I will leave for Spain and stop and visit you. ²⁹ I know that when I come to you I will bring Christ’s full blessing.

³⁰ Brothers and sisters, I beg you to help me in my work by praying to God for me. Do this because of our Lord Jesus and the love that the Holy Spirit gives us. ³¹ Pray that I will be saved from the nonbelievers in Judea and that this help I bring to Jerusalem will please God’s people there. ³² Then, if God wants me to, I will come to you with joy, and together you and I will have a time of rest. ³³ The God who gives peace be with you all. Amen.

Greetings to the Christians

16 I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a helper^[c] in the church in Cenchrea. ² I ask you to accept her in the Lord in the way God’s people should. Help her with anything she needs, because she has helped me and many other people also.

³ Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, who work together with me in Christ Jesus ⁴ and who risked their own lives to save my life. I am thankful to them, and all the non-Jewish churches are thankful as well. ⁵ Also, greet for me the church that meets at their house.

Greetings to my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first person in Asia to follow Christ. ⁶ Greetings to Mary, who worked very hard for you. ⁷ Greetings to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives, who were in prison with me. They are very important apostles. They were believers in Christ before I was. ⁸ Greetings to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. ⁹ Greetings to Urbanus, a worker together with me for Christ. And greetings to my dear friend Stachys. ¹⁰ Greetings to Apelles, who was tested and proved that he truly loves Christ. Greetings to all those who are in the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greetings to Herodion, my fellow citizen. Greetings to all those in the family of Narcissus who belong to the Lord. ¹² Greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa, women who work very hard for the Lord. Greetings to my dear friend Persis, who also has worked very hard for the Lord. ¹³ Greetings to Rufus, who is a special person in the Lord, and to his mother, who has been like a mother to me also. ¹⁴ Greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the brothers and sisters who are with them. ¹⁵ Greetings to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and to all God’s people with them. ¹⁶ Greet each other with a holy kiss. All of Christ’s churches send greetings to you.

¹⁷ Brothers and sisters, I ask you to look out for those who cause people to be against each other and who upset other people’s faith. They are against the true teaching you learned, so stay away from them. ¹⁸ Such people are not serving our Lord Christ but are only doing what pleases themselves. They use fancy talk and fine words to fool the minds of those who do not know about evil. ¹⁹ All the believers have heard that you obey, so I am very happy because of you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

²⁰ The God who brings peace will soon defeat Satan and give you power over him.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹ Timothy, a worker together with me, sends greetings, as well as Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.

²² I am Tertius, and I am writing this letter from Paul. I send greetings to you in the Lord.

²³ Gaius is letting me and the whole church here use his home. He also sends greetings to you, as do Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus. [²⁴ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.]^[d]

²⁵ Glory to God who can make you strong in faith by the Good News that I tell people and by the message about Jesus Christ. The message about Christ is the secret that was hidden for long ages past but is now made known. ²⁶ It has been made clear through the writings of the prophets. And by the command of the eternal God it is made known to all nations that they might believe and obey.

²⁷ To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

1 From Paul. God called me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus because that is what God wanted. Also from Sosthenes, our brother in Christ.

² To the church of God in Corinth, to you who have been made holy in Christ Jesus. You were called to be God’s holy people with all people everywhere who pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul Gives Thanks to God

⁴ I always thank my God for you because of the grace God has given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵ I thank God because in Christ you have been made rich in every way, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge. ⁶ Just as our witness about Christ has been guaranteed to you, ⁷ so you have every gift from God while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to come again. ⁸ Jesus will keep you strong until the end so that there will be no wrong in you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. ⁹ God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Problems in the Church

¹⁰ I beg you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree with each other and not be split into groups. I beg that you be completely joined together by having the same kind of thinking and the same purpose. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some people from Chloe’s family have told me quite plainly that there are quarrels among you. ¹² This is what I mean: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another says, “I follow Apollos”; another says, “I follow Peter”; and another says, “I follow Christ.” ¹³ Christ has been divided up into different groups! Did Paul die on the cross for you? No! Were you baptized in the name of Paul? No! ¹⁴ I thank God I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius ¹⁵ so that now no one can say you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (I also baptized the family of Stephanas, but I do not remember that I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ Christ did not send me to baptize people but to preach the Good News. And he sent me to preach the Good News without using words of human wisdom so that the cross^[e] of Christ would not lose its power.

Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom

¹⁸ The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ It is written in the Scriptures:

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where is the skilled talker of this world? God has made the wisdom of the world foolish. ²¹ In the wisdom of God the world did not know God through its own wisdom. So God chose to use the message that sounds foolish to save those who believe. ²² The Jews ask for miracles, and the Greeks want wisdom. ²³ But we preach a crucified Christ. This causes the Jews to stumble and is foolishness to non-Jews. ²⁴ But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God to those people God has called—Jews and Greeks. ²⁵ Even the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and he chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose what the world thinks is unimportant and what the world looks down on and thinks is nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is important. ²⁹ God did this so that no one can brag in his presence. ³⁰ Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God. In Christ we are put right with God, and have been made holy, and have been set free from sin. ³¹ So, as the Scripture says, “If people want to brag, they should brag only about the Lord.”^[f]

The Message of Christ’s Death

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I did not come preaching God’s secret^[g] with fancy words or a show of human wisdom. ² I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. ³ So when I came to you, I was weak and fearful and trembling. ⁴ My teaching and preaching were not with words of human wisdom that persuade people but with proof of the power that the Spirit gives. ⁵ This was so that your faith would be in God’s power and not in human wisdom.

God’s Wisdom

⁶ However, I speak a wisdom to those who are mature. But this wisdom is not from this world or from the rulers of this world, who are losing their power. ⁷ I speak God’s secret wisdom, which he has kept hidden. Before the world began, God planned this wisdom for our glory. ⁸ None of the rulers of this world understood it. If they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ But as it is written in the Scriptures:

¹⁰ But God has shown us these things through the Spirit.

The Spirit searches out all things, even the deep secrets of God. ¹¹ Who knows the thoughts that another person has? Only a person’s spirit that lives within him knows his thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God so that we can know all that God has given us. ¹³ And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom but with words taught us by the Spirit. And so we explain spiritual truths to spiritual people. ¹⁴ A person who does not have the Spirit does not accept the truths that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish and cannot understand them, because they can only be judged to be true by the Spirit. ¹⁵ The spiritual person is able to judge all things, but no one can judge him. The Scripture says:

But we have the mind of Christ.

Following People Is Wrong

3 Brothers and sisters, in the past I could not talk to you as I talk to spiritual people. I had to talk to you as I would to people without the Spirit—babies in Christ. ² The teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food, because you were not able to take solid food. And even now you are not ready. ³ You are still not spiritual, because there is jealousy and quarreling among you, and this shows that you are not spiritual. You are acting like people of the world. ⁴ One of you says, “I belong to Paul,” and another says, “I belong to Apollos.” When you say things like this, you are acting like people of the world.

⁵ Is Apollos important? No! Is Paul important? No! We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do. ⁶ I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it. But God is the One who made it grow. ⁷ So the one who plants is not important, and the one who waters is not important. Only God, who makes things grow, is important. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose, and each will be rewarded for his own work. ⁹ We are God’s workers, working together; you are like God’s farm, God’s house.

¹⁰ Using the gift God gave me, I laid the foundation of that house like an expert builder. Others are building on that foundation, but all people should be careful how they build on it. ¹¹ The foundation that has already been laid is Jesus Christ, and no one can lay down any other foundation. ¹² But if people build on that foundation, using gold, silver, jewels, wood, grass, or straw, ¹³ their work will be clearly seen, because the Day of Judgment^[h] will make it visible. That Day will appear with fire, and the fire will test everyone’s work to show what sort of work it was. ¹⁴ If the building that has been put on the foundation still stands, the builder will get a reward. ¹⁵ But if the building is burned up, the builder will suffer loss. The builder will be saved, but it will be as one who escaped from a fire.

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person, because God’s temple is holy and you are that temple.

¹⁸ Do not fool yourselves. If you think you are wise in this world, you should become a fool so that you can become truly wise, ¹⁹ because the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. It is written in the Scriptures, “He catches those who are wise in their own clever traps.”^{[i] 20} It is also written in the Scriptures, “The Lord knows what wise people think. He knows their thoughts are just a puff of wind.”^{[j] 21} So you should not brag about human leaders. All things belong to you: ²² Paul, Apollos, and Peter; the world, life, death, the present, and the future—all these belong to you. ²³ And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Apostles Are Servants of Christ

4 People should think of us as servants of Christ, the ones God has trusted with his secrets. ² Now in this way those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust. ³ As for myself, I do not care if I am judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. ⁴ I know of no wrong I have done, but this does not make me right before the Lord. The Lord is the One who judges me. ⁵ So do not judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light things that are now hidden in darkness, and will make known the secret purposes of people’s hearts. Then God will praise each one of them.

⁶ Brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself as examples so you could learn through us the meaning of the saying, “Follow only what is written in the Scriptures.” Then you will not be more proud of one person than another. ⁷ Who says you are better than others? What do you have that was not given to you? And if it was given to you, why do you brag as if you did not receive it as a gift?

⁸ You think you already have everything you need. You think you are rich. You think you have become kings without us. I wish you really were kings so we could be kings together with you. ⁹ But it seems to me that God has put us apostles in last place, like those sentenced to die. We are like a show for the whole world to see—angels and people. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are very wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You receive honor, but we are shamed. ¹¹ Even to this very hour we do not have enough to eat or drink or to wear. We are often beaten, and we have no homes in which to live. ¹² We work hard with our own hands for our food. When people curse us, we bless them. When they hurt us, we put up with it. ¹³ When they tell evil lies about us, we speak nice words about them. Even today, we are treated as though we were the garbage of the world—the filth of the earth.

¹⁴ I am not trying to make you feel ashamed. I am writing this to give you a warning as my own dear children. ¹⁵ For though you may have ten thousand teachers in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Through the Good News I became your father in Christ Jesus, ¹⁶ so I beg you, please follow my example. ¹⁷ That is why I am sending to you Timothy, my son in the Lord. I love Timothy, and he is faithful. He will help you remember my way of life in Christ Jesus, just as I teach it in all the churches everywhere.

¹⁸ Some of you have become proud, thinking that I will not come to you again. ¹⁹ But I will come to you very soon if the Lord wishes. Then I will know what the proud ones do, not what they say, ²⁰ because the kingdom of God is present not in talk but in power. ²¹ Which do you want: that I come to you with punishment or with love and gentleness?

Wickedness in the Church

5 It is actually being said that there is sexual sin among you. And it is a kind that does not happen even among people who do not know God. A man there has his father’s wife. ² And you are proud! You should have been filled with sadness so that the man who did this should be put out of your group. ³ I am not there with you in person, but I am with you in spirit. And I have already judged the man who did that sin as if I were really there. ⁴ When you meet together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I meet with you in spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵ then hand this man over to Satan. So his sinful self^[k] will be destroyed, and his spirit will be saved on the day of the Lord.

⁶ Your bragging is not good. You know the saying, “Just a little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise.” ⁷ Take out all the old yeast so that you will be a new batch of dough without yeast, which you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ So let us celebrate this feast, but not with the bread that has the old yeast—the yeast of sin and wickedness. Let us celebrate this feast with the bread that has no yeast—the bread of goodness and truth.

⁹ I wrote you in my earlier letter not to associate with those who sin sexually. ¹⁰ But I did not mean you should not associate with those of this world who sin sexually, or with the greedy, or robbers, or those who worship idols. To get away from them you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ I am writing to tell you that you must not associate with those who call themselves believers in Christ but who sin sexually, or are greedy, or worship idols, or abuse others with words, or get drunk, or cheat people. Do not even eat with people like that.

^12-13 It is not my business to judge those who are not part of the church. God will judge them. But you must judge the people who are part of the church. The Scripture says, “You must get rid of the evil person among you.”^[l]

Judging Problems Among Christians

6 When you have something against another Christian, how can you bring yourself to go before judges who are not right with God? Why do you not let God’s people decide who is right? ² Surely you know that God’s people will judge the world. So if you are to judge the world, are you not able to judge small cases as well? ³ You know that in the future we will judge angels, so surely we can judge the ordinary things of this life. ⁴ If you have ordinary cases that must be judged, are you going to appoint people as judges who mean nothing to the church? ⁵ I say this to shame you. Surely there is someone among you wise enough to judge a complaint between believers. ⁶ But now one believer goes to court against another believer—and you do this in front of unbelievers!

⁷ The fact that you have lawsuits against each other shows that you are already defeated. Why not let yourselves be wronged? Why not let yourselves be cheated? ⁸ But you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do this to other believers!

⁹ - ¹⁰ Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit God’s kingdom. Do not be fooled. Those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, those who are male prostitutes, or men who have sexual relations with other men, those who steal, are greedy, get drunk, lie about others, or rob—these people will not inherit God’s kingdom. ¹¹ In the past, some of you were like that, but you were washed clean. You were made holy, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Use Your Bodies for God’s Glory

¹² “I am allowed to do all things,” but not all things are good for me to do. “I am allowed to do all things,” but I will not let anything make me its slave. ¹³ “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not for sexual sin but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. ¹⁴ By his power God has raised the Lord from the dead and will also raise us from the dead. ¹⁵ Surely you know that your bodies are parts of Christ himself. So I must never take the parts of Christ and join them to a prostitute! ¹⁶ It is written in the Scriptures, “The two will become one body.”^[m] So you should know that anyone who joins with a prostitute becomes one body with the prostitute. ¹⁷ But the one who joins with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord.

¹⁸ So run away from sexual sin. Every other sin people do is outside their bodies, but those who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. ¹⁹ You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit who is in you. You have received the Holy Spirit from God. So you do not belong to yourselves, ²⁰ because you were bought by God for a price. So honor God with your bodies.

About Marriage

7 Now I will discuss the things you wrote me about. It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman. ² But because sexual sin is a danger, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. ³ The husband should give his wife all that he owes her as his wife. And the wife should give her husband all that she owes him as her husband. ⁴ The wife does not have full rights over her own body; her husband shares them. And the husband does not have full rights over his own body; his wife shares them. ⁵ Do not refuse to give your bodies to each other, unless you both agree to stay away from sexual relations for a time so you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again so Satan cannot tempt you because of a lack of self-control. ⁶ I say this to give you permission to stay away from sexual relations for a time. It is not a command to do so. ⁷ I wish that everyone were like me, but each person has his own gift from God. One has one gift, another has another gift.

⁸ Now for those who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for them to stay unmarried as I am. ⁹ But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.

¹⁰ Now I give this command for the married people. (The command is not from me; it is from the Lord.) A wife should not leave her husband. ¹¹ But if she does leave, she must not marry again, or she should make up with her husband. Also the husband should not divorce his wife.

¹² For all the others I say this (I am saying this, not the Lord): If a Christian man has a wife who is not a believer, and she is happy to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ And if a Christian woman has a husband who is not a believer, and he is happy to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴ The husband who is not a believer is made holy through his believing wife. And the wife who is not a believer is made holy through her believing husband. If this were not true, your children would not be clean, but now your children are holy.

¹⁵ But if those who are not believers decide to leave, let them leave. When this happens, the Christian man or woman is free. But God called us^[n] to live in peace. ¹⁶ Wife, you don’t know; maybe you will save your husband. And husband, you don’t know; maybe you will save your wife.

Live as God Called You

¹⁷ But in any case each one of you should continue to live the way God has given you to live—the way you were when God called you. This is a rule I make in all the churches. ¹⁸ If a man was already circumcised when he was called, he should not undo his circumcision. If a man was without circumcision when he was called, he should not be circumcised. ¹⁹ It is not important if a man is circumcised or not. The important thing is obeying God’s commands. ²⁰ Each one of you should stay the way you were when God called you. ²¹ If you were a slave when God called you, do not let that bother you. But if you can be free, then make good use of your freedom. ²² Those who were slaves when the Lord called them are free persons who belong to the Lord. In the same way, those who were free when they were called are now Christ’s slaves. ²³ You all were bought at a great price, so do not become slaves of people. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, each of you should stay as you were when you were called, and stay there with God.

Questions About Getting Married

²⁵ Now I write about people who are not married. I have no command from the Lord about this; I give my opinion. But I can be trusted, because the Lord has shown me mercy. ²⁶ The present time is a time of trouble, so I think it is good for you to stay the way you are. ²⁷ If you have a wife, do not try to become free from her. If you are not married, do not try to find a wife. ²⁸ But if you decide to marry, you have not sinned. And if a girl who has never married decides to marry, she has not sinned. But those who marry will have trouble in this life, and I want you to be free from trouble.

²⁹ Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: We do not have much time left. So starting now, those who have wives should live as if they had no wives. ³⁰ Those who are crying should live as if they were not crying. Those who are happy should live as if they were not happy. Those who buy things should live as if they own nothing. ³¹ Those who use the things of the world should live as if they were not using them, because this world in its present form will soon be gone.

³² I want you to be free from worry. A man who is not married is busy with the Lord’s work, trying to please the Lord. ³³ But a man who is married is busy with things of the world, trying to please his wife. ³⁴ He must think about two things—pleasing his wife and pleasing the Lord. A woman who is not married or a girl who has never married is busy with the Lord’s work. She wants to be holy in body and spirit. But a married woman is busy with things of the world, as to how she can please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this to help you, not to limit you. But I want you to live in the right way, to give yourselves fully to the Lord without concern for other things.

³⁶ If a man thinks he is not doing the right thing with the girl he is engaged to, if she is almost past the best age to marry and he feels he should marry her, he should do what he wants. They should get married. It is no sin. ³⁷ But if a man is sure in his mind that there is no need for marriage, and has his own desires under control, and has decided not to marry the one to whom he is engaged, he is doing the right thing. ³⁸ So the man who marries his girl does right, but the man who does not marry will do better.

³⁹ A woman must stay with her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry any man she wants, but she must marry another believer. ⁴⁰ The woman is happier if she does not marry again. This is my opinion, but I believe I also have God’s Spirit.

About Food Offered to Idols

8 Now I will write about meat that is sacrificed to idols. We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds up. ² If you think you know something, you do not yet know anything as you should. ³ But if any person loves God, that person is known by God.

⁴ So this is what I say about eating meat sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is really nothing in the world, and we know there is only one God. ⁵ Even though there are things called gods, in heaven or on earth (and there are many “gods” and “lords”), ⁶ for us there is only one God—our Father. All things came from him, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord—Jesus Christ. All things were made through him, and we also were made through him.

⁷ But not all people know this. Some people are still so used to idols that when they eat meat, they still think of it as being sacrificed to an idol. Because their conscience is weak, when they eat it, they feel guilty. ⁸ But food will not bring us closer to God. Refusing to eat does not make us less pleasing to God, and eating does not make us better in God’s sight.

⁹ But be careful that your freedom does not cause those who are weak in faith to fall into sin. ¹⁰ Suppose one of you who has knowledge eats in an idol’s temple.^[o] Someone who is weak in faith might see you eating there and be encouraged to eat meat sacrificed to idols while thinking it is wrong to do so. ¹¹ This weak believer for whom Christ died is ruined because of your “knowledge.” ¹² When you sin against your brothers and sisters in Christ like this and cause them to do what they feel is wrong, you are also sinning against Christ. ¹³ So if the food I eat causes them to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again so that I will not cause any of them to sin.

Paul Is like the Other Apostles

9 I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus our Lord. You people are all an example of my work in the Lord. ² If others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do, because you are proof that I am an apostle in the Lord.

³ This is the answer I give people who want to judge me: ⁴ Do we not have the right to eat and drink? ⁵ Do we not have the right to bring a believing wife with us when we travel as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Peter? ⁶ Are Barnabas and I the only ones who must work to earn our living? ⁷ No soldier ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. No one ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes. No person takes care of a flock without drinking some of the milk.

⁸ I do not say this by human authority; God’s law also says the same thing. ⁹ It is written in the law of Moses: “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.”^[p] When God said this, was he thinking only about oxen? No. ¹⁰ He was really talking about us. Yes, that Scripture was written for us, because it goes on to say: “The one who plows and the one who works in the grain should hope to get some of the grain for their work.” ¹¹ Since we planted spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we should harvest material things? ¹² If others have the right to get something from you, surely we have this right, too. But we do not use it. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not keep anyone from believing the Good News of Christ. ¹³ Surely you know that those who work at the Temple get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar. ¹⁴ In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who tell the Good News should get their living from this work.

¹⁵ But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for bragging taken away. ¹⁶ Telling the Good News does not give me any reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And how terrible it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News. ¹⁷ If I preach because it is my own choice, I have a reward. But if I preach and it is not my choice to do so, I am only doing the duty that was given to me. ¹⁸ So what reward do I get? This is my reward: that when I tell the Good News I can offer it freely. I do not use my full rights in my work of preaching the Good News.

¹⁹ I am free and belong to no one. But I make myself a slave to all people to win as many as I can. ²⁰ To the Jews I became like a Jew to win the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to win those who are ruled by the law. ²¹ To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to win those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) ²² To those who are weak, I became weak so I could win the weak. I have become all things to all people so I could save some of them in any way possible. ²³ I do all this because of the Good News and so I can share in its blessings.

²⁴ You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. So run to win! ²⁵ All those who compete in the games use self-control so they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time, but our crown will never be destroyed. ²⁶ So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. ²⁷ I treat my body hard and make it my slave so that I myself will not be disqualified after I have preached to others.

Warnings from Israel’s Past

10 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the cloud and all went through the sea. ² They were all baptized as followers of Moses in the cloud and in the sea. ³ They all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵ But God was not pleased with most of them, so they died in the desert.

⁶ And these things happened as examples for us, to stop us from wanting evil things as those people did. ⁷ Do not worship idols, as some of them did. Just as it is written in the Scriptures: “They sat down to eat and drink, and then they got up and sinned sexually.”^{[q] 8} We must not take part in sexual sins, as some of them did. In one day twenty-three thousand of them died because of their sins. ⁹ We must not test Christ as some of them did; they were killed by snakes. ¹⁰ Do not complain as some of them did; they were killed by the angel that destroys.

¹¹ The things that happened to those people are examples. They were written down to teach us, because we live in a time when all these things of the past have reached their goal. ¹² If you think you are strong, you should be careful not to fall. ¹³ The only temptation that has come to you is that which everyone has. But you can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, he will also give you a way to escape so that you will be able to stand it.

¹⁴ So, my dear friends, run away from the worship of idols. ¹⁵ I am speaking to you as to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say. ¹⁶ We give thanks for the cup of blessing,^[r] which is a sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ. ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many are one body, because we all share that one loaf.

¹⁸ Think about the Israelites: Do not those who eat the sacrifices share in the altar? ¹⁹ I do not mean that the food sacrificed to an idol is important. I do not mean that an idol is anything at all. ²⁰ But I say that what is sacrificed to idols is offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to share anything with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons also. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons. ²² Are we trying to make the Lord jealous? We are not stronger than he is, are we?

How to Use Christian Freedom

²³ “We are allowed to do all things,” but not all things are good for us to do. “We are allowed to do all things,” but not all things help others grow stronger. ²⁴ Do not look out only for yourselves. Look out for the good of others also.

²⁵ Eat any meat that is sold in the meat market. Do not ask questions about it. ²⁶ You may eat it, “because the earth belongs to the Lord, and everything in it.”^[s]

²⁷ Those who are not believers may invite you to eat with them. If you want to go, eat anything that is put before you. Do not ask questions about it. ²⁸ But if anyone says to you, “That food was offered to idols,” do not eat it. Do not eat it because of that person who told you and because eating it might be thought to be wrong. ²⁹ I don’t mean you think it is wrong, but the other person might. But why, you ask, should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? ³⁰ If I eat the meal with thankfulness, why am I criticized because of something for which I thank God?

³¹ The answer is, if you eat or drink, or if you do anything, do it all for the glory of God. ³² Never do anything that might hurt others—Jews, Greeks, or God’s church— ³³ just as I, also, try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me but what is good for most people so they can be saved.

11 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Being Under Authority

² I praise you because you remember me in everything, and you follow closely the teachings just as I gave them to you. ³ But I want you to understand this: The head of every man is Christ, the head of a woman is the man,^[t] and the head of Christ is God. ⁴ Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered brings shame to his head. ⁵ But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered brings shame to her head. She is the same as a woman who has her head shaved. ⁶ If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off. But since it is shameful for a woman to cut off her hair or to shave her head, she should cover her head. ⁷ But a man should not cover his head, because he is the likeness and glory of God. But woman is man’s glory. ⁸ Man did not come from woman, but woman came from man. ⁹ And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man. ¹⁰ So that is why a woman should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

¹¹ But in the Lord women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. ¹² This is true because woman came from man, but also man is born from woman. But everything comes from God. ¹³ Decide this for yourselves: Is it right for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? ¹⁴ Even nature itself teaches you that wearing long hair is shameful for a man. ¹⁵ But long hair is a woman’s glory. Long hair is given to her as a covering. ¹⁶ Some people may still want to argue about this, but I would add that neither we nor the churches of God have any other practice.

The Lord’s Supper

¹⁷ In the things I tell you now I do not praise you, because when you come together you do more harm than good. ¹⁸ First, I hear that when you meet together as a church you are divided, and I believe some of this. ¹⁹ (It is necessary to have differences among you so that it may be clear which of you really have God’s approval.) ²⁰ When you come together, you are not really eating the Lord’s Supper.^{[u] 21} This is because when you eat, each person eats without waiting for the others. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others have too much to drink. ²² You can eat and drink in your own homes! You seem to think God’s church is not important, and you embarrass those who are poor. What should I tell you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you for doing this.

²³ The teaching I gave you is the same teaching I received from the Lord: On the night when the Lord Jesus was handed over to be killed, he took bread ²⁴ and gave thanks for it. Then he broke the bread and said, “This is my body; it is^[v] for you. Do this to remember me.” ²⁵ In the same way, after they ate, Jesus took the cup. He said, “This cup is the new agreement that is sealed with the blood of my death. When you drink this, do it to remember me.” ²⁶ Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord’s death until he comes.

²⁷ So a person who eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in a way that is not worthy of it will be guilty of sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Look into your own hearts before you eat the bread and drink the cup, ²⁹ because all who eat the bread and drink the cup without recognizing the body eat and drink judgment against themselves. ³⁰ That is why many in your group are sick and weak, and some of you have died. ³¹ But if we judged ourselves in the right way, God would not judge us. ³² But when the Lord judges us, he disciplines us so that we will not be destroyed along with the world.

³³ So my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. ³⁴ Anyone who is too hungry should eat at home so that in meeting together you will not bring God’s judgment on yourselves. I will tell you what to do about the other things when I come.

Gifts from the Holy Spirit

12 Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand about spiritual gifts. ² You know the way you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away to worship idols—things that could not speak. ³ So I want you to understand that no one who is speaking with the help of God’s Spirit says, “Jesus be cursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” without the help of the Holy Spirit.

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. ⁵ There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. ⁶ And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do. ⁷ Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good. ⁸ The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom, and the same Spirit gives another the ability to speak with knowledge. ⁹ The same Spirit gives faith to one person. And, to another, that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. ¹⁰ The Spirit gives to another person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy. And he gives to another the ability to know the difference between good and evil spirits. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages^[w] and to another the ability to interpret those languages. ¹¹ One Spirit, the same Spirit, does all these things, and the Spirit decides what to give each person.

The Body of Christ Works Together

¹² A person’s body is one thing, but it has many parts. Though there are many parts to a body, all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that also. ¹³ Some of us are Jews, and some are Greeks. Some of us are slaves, and some are free. But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.

¹⁴ The human body has many parts. ¹⁵ The foot might say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. ¹⁶ The ear might say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the ear from being a part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, it would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, it would not be able to smell. ^18-19 If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put all the parts, each one of them, in the body as he wanted them. ²⁰ So then there are many parts, but only one body.

²¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the foot, “I don’t need you!” ²² No! Those parts of the body that seem to be the weaker are really necessary. ²³ And the parts of the body we think are less deserving are the parts to which we give the most honor. We give special respect to the parts we want to hide. ²⁴ The more respectable parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it ²⁵ so our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. ²⁶ If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor.

²⁷ Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body. ²⁸ In the church God has given a place first to apostles, second to prophets, and third to teachers. Then God has given a place to those who do miracles, those who have gifts of healing, those who can help others, those who are able to govern, and those who can speak in different languages.^{[x] 29} Not all are apostles. Not all are prophets. Not all are teachers. Not all do miracles. ³⁰ Not all have gifts of healing. Not all speak in different languages. Not all interpret those languages. ³¹ But you should truly want to have the greater gifts.

Love Is the Greatest Gift

And now I will show you the best way of all.

13 I may speak in different languages^[y] of people or even angels. But if I do not have love, I am only a noisy bell or a crashing cymbal. ² I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all the secret things of God and have all knowledge, and I may have faith so great I can move mountains. But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. ³ I may give away everything I have, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned.^[z] But I gain nothing if I do not have love.

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. ⁵ Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not get upset with others. Love does not count up wrongs that have been done. ⁶ Love takes no pleasure in evil but rejoices over the truth. ⁷ Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always endures.

⁸ Love never ends. There are gifts of prophecy, but they will be ended. There are gifts of speaking in different languages, but those gifts will stop. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will come to an end. ⁹ The reason is that our knowledge and our ability to prophesy are not perfect. ¹⁰ But when perfection comes, the things that are not perfect will end. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways. ¹² It is the same with us. Now we see a dim reflection, as if we were looking into a mirror, but then we shall see clearly. Now I know only a part, but then I will know fully, as God has known me. ¹³ So these three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love.

Desire Spiritual Gifts

14 You should seek after love, and you should truly want to have the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. ² I will explain why. Those who have the gift of speaking in different languages^[aa] are not speaking to people; they are speaking to God. No one understands them; they are speaking secret things through the Spirit. ³ But those who prophesy are speaking to people to give them strength, encouragement, and comfort. ⁴ The ones who speak in different languages are helping only themselves, but those who prophesy are helping the whole church. ⁵ I wish all of you had the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages, but more, I wish you would prophesy. Those who prophesy are greater than those who can only speak in different languages—unless someone is there who can explain what is said so that the whole church can be helped.

⁶ Brothers and sisters, will it help you if I come to you speaking in different languages? No! It will help you only if I bring you a new truth or some new knowledge, or prophecy, or teaching. ⁷ It is the same as with lifeless things that make sounds—like a flute or a harp. If they do not make clear musical notes, you will not know what is being played. ⁸ And in a war, if the trumpet does not give a clear sound, who will prepare for battle? ⁹ It is the same with you. Unless you speak clearly with your tongue, no one can understand what you are saying. You will be talking into the air! ¹⁰ It may be true that there are all kinds of sounds in the world, and none is without meaning. ¹¹ But unless I understand the meaning of what someone says to me, we will be like foreigners to each other. ¹² It is the same with you. Since you want spiritual gifts very much, seek most of all to have the gifts that help the church grow stronger.

¹³ The one who has the gift of speaking in a different language should pray for the gift to interpret what is spoken. ¹⁴ If I pray in a different language, my spirit is praying, but my mind does nothing. ¹⁵ So what should I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. ¹⁶ If you praise God with your spirit, those persons there without understanding cannot say amen^[ab] to your prayer of thanks, because they do not know what you are saying. ¹⁷ You may be thanking God in a good way, but the other person is not helped.

¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in different kinds of languages more than all of you. ¹⁹ But in the church meetings I would rather speak five words I understand in order to teach others than thousands of words in a different language.

²⁰ Brothers and sisters, do not think like children. In evil things be like babies, but in your thinking you should be like adults. ²¹ It is written in the Scriptures:

says the Lord.

²² So the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages is a sign for those who do not believe, not for those who do believe. And prophecy is for people who believe, not for those who do not believe. ²³ Suppose the whole church meets together and everyone speaks in different languages. If some people come in who do not understand or do not believe, they will say you are crazy. ²⁴ But suppose everyone is prophesying and some people come in who do not believe or do not understand. If everyone is prophesying, their sin will be shown to them, and they will be judged by all that they hear. ²⁵ The secret things in their hearts will be made known. So they will bow down and worship God saying, “Truly, God is with you.”

Meetings Should Help the Church

²⁶ So, brothers and sisters, what should you do? When you meet together, one person has a song, and another has a teaching. Another has a new truth from God. Another speaks in a different language,^[ac] and another person interprets that language. The purpose of all these things should be to help the church grow strong. ²⁷ When you meet together, if anyone speaks in a different language, it should be only two, or not more than three, who speak. They should speak one after the other, and someone should interpret. ²⁸ But if there is no interpreter, then those who speak in a different language should be quiet in the church meeting. They should speak only to themselves and to God.

²⁹ Only two or three prophets should speak, and the others should judge what they say. ³⁰ If a message from God comes to another person who is sitting, the first speaker should stop. ³¹ You can all prophesy one after the other. In this way all the people can be taught and encouraged. ³² The spirits of prophets are under the control of the prophets themselves. ³³ God is not a God of confusion but a God of peace.

As is true in all the churches of God’s people, ³⁴ women should keep quiet in the church meetings. They are not allowed to speak, but they must yield to this rule as the law says. ³⁵ If they want to learn something, they should ask their own husbands at home. It is shameful for a woman to speak in the church meeting. ³⁶ Did God’s teaching come from you? Or are you the only ones to whom it has come?

³⁷ Those who think they are prophets or spiritual persons should understand that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. ³⁸ Those who ignore this will be ignored by God.^[ad]

³⁹ So my brothers and sisters, you should truly want to prophesy. But do not stop people from using the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages. ⁴⁰ But let everything be done in a right and orderly way.