1 From Paul. ·God called me [^L…called] to be an ·apostle [messenger] of Christ Jesus ·because that is what God wanted [^Lby the will of God]. Also from Sosthenes [^Ca coworker; Paul may be dictating the letter to him; see 16:21; perhaps the synagogue leader mentioned in Acts 18:15–17], our ·brother in Christ [^Lbrother].

² To the church of God in Corinth [^Can important city in southern Greece; Paul started the church on his second missionary journey, around ad 52; Acts 18], to you who have been ·made holy [sanctified; dedicated/set apart to God] in Christ Jesus. You were called to be ·God’s holy people [^Tsaints] with all people everywhere who pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—·their Lord and ours [^Ltheirs 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 [gift; favor] God has given you in Christ Jesus. ⁵ I thank God because in Christ you have been ·made rich [enriched] in every way, in all your ·speaking [or spiritual gifts of speaking] and in all your ·knowledge [or gifts of spiritual knowledge]. ⁶ Just as our ·witness [testimony; message] about Christ has been ·guaranteed to [or confirmed among] you, ⁷ so you ·have every [^Ldo not lack any] ·gift from God [spiritual gift; ^Lgift] while you wait for the ·return [^Lrevelation] of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ ·Jesus [^L…who] will keep you strong until the end so that ·there will be no wrong in you [you will be blameless/faultless] on the day ·our Lord Jesus Christ comes again [^Lof our Lord Jesus Christ; ^Cthe final day of judgment, known in the OT as “the Day of the Lord”]. ⁹ God, who has called you into ·fellowship [partnership; relationship] with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

Problems in the Church

¹⁰ I ·beg [urge; appeal to] you, brothers and sisters, ·by the name [or by the authority; or as followers] of our Lord Jesus Christ that all of you agree with each other and not be ·split into groups [divided into factions]. I beg that you be ·completely joined together [fully united; or made complete] by having the same ·kind of thinking [^Lmind] and the same ·purpose [intention; conviction]. ¹¹ My brothers and sisters, some people from Chloe’s ·family [household; ^Cthese could be family members, servants, or business agents] have ·told me quite plainly [reported to me] that there are ·quarrels [conflicts; rivalries] 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 [^LCephas; ^CPeter’s name in Aramaic; 3:22; 9:5; 15:5; Mark 1:30; John 1:42]”; and another says, “I follow Christ.” ¹³ ·Christ has been divided up into different groups! [or Is Christ divided?] Did Paul die on the cross for you? No! Were you baptized in the name of Paul? No! [^C“No!” is implied but not stated in the Greek.] 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 [household] of Stephanas, but I do not remember if I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ [^LFor] Christ did not send me to baptize people but to preach the ·Good News [Gospel], and not using ·words of human wisdom [or eloquent language; clever speech] so that the cross of Christ [^Cthe message of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross] would not ·lose its power [or become meaningless; ^Lbe emptied].

Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom

¹⁸ [^LFor] The ·teaching [message; word] about the cross is ·foolishness [folly] to those who are ·being lost [headed for destruction; perishing], but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ [^LFor] It is written in the Scriptures:

²⁰ Where is the wise person? Where is the ·educated person [scholar; or scribe; teacher of the law]? Where is the ·skilled talker [orator; debater; philosopher] of this ·world [age]? ·God has [^LHas not God…?] made the wisdom of the world foolish. ²¹ ·In the wisdom of God the world did [or God wisely determined that the world would] not know God through its own wisdom. So God ·chose [was pleased] to use the ·message that sounds foolish [^Lfolly/foolishness of what was preached] to save those who believe. ²² [^LFor; Since] The Jews ·ask for [demand] ·miracles [^Lsigns], and the Greeks ·want [seek; look for] wisdom. ²³ But we preach ·that Christ was crucified [Christ crucified; or a crucified Messiah]. This ·causes the Jews to stumble [is a stumbling block/offense/obstacle to Jews] and is ·foolishness [folly] to Gentiles. ²⁴ But to those people God has called—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ [^LFor] 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 [by human standards; ^Laccording to the flesh]. Not many of you ·had great influence [were powerful/strong]. Not many of you ·came from important families [were well-born; were of high social status]. 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 [insignificant; lowly] and what the world ·looks down on [despises] and thinks is nothing in order to destroy what the world thinks is ·important [something special]. ²⁹ God did this so that no one can ·brag [boast] in his presence. ³⁰ Because of God you are ·in [united with; in relationship with] 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 [^L…and became for us righteousness, holiness, and redemption]. ³¹ So, as the Scripture says, “If people want to ·brag [boast], they should ·brag [boast] only about the Lord [Jer. 9:24].”