The Church and Its Leaders

3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirit^(A) but as people who are still worldly^(B)—mere infants^(C) in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food,^(D) for you were not yet ready for it.^(E) Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling^(F) among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”^(G) are you not mere human beings?

⁵ What, after all, is Apollos?^(H) And what is Paul? Only servants,^(I) through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed,^(J) Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.^{(K) 9} For we are co-workers in God’s service;^(L) you are God’s field,^(M) God’s building.^(N)

¹⁰ By the grace God has given me,^(O) I laid a foundation^(P) as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.^{(Q) 12} If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is,^(R) because the Day^(S) will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.^{(T) 14} If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.^{(U) 15} If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.^(V)

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple^(W) and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?^{(X) 17} If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

¹⁸ Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise^(Y) by the standards of this age,^(Z) you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness^(AA) in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”^[a];^{(AB) 20} and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”^{[b](AC) 21} So then, no more boasting about human leaders!^(AD) All things are yours,^{(AE) 22} whether Paul or Apollos^(AF) or Cephas^[c](AG) or the world or life or death or the present or the future^(AH)—all are yours, ²³ and you are of Christ,^(AI) and Christ is of God.

The Nature of True Apostleship

4 This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants^(AJ) of Christ and as those entrusted^(AK) with the mysteries^(AL) God has revealed. ² Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³ I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ My conscience^(AM) is clear, but that does not make me innocent.^(AN) It is the Lord who judges me.^{(AO) 5} Therefore judge nothing^(AP) before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes.^(AQ) He will bring to light^(AR) what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.^(AS)

⁶ Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.”^(AT) Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other.^{(AU) 7} For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive?^(AV) And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

⁸ Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich!^(AW) You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! ⁹ For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die^(AX) in the arena. We have been made a spectacle^(AY) to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ,^(AZ) but you are so wise in Christ!^(BA) We are weak, but you are strong!^(BB) You are honored, we are dishonored! ¹¹ To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.^{(BC) 12} We work hard with our own hands.^(BD) When we are cursed, we bless;^(BE) when we are persecuted,^(BF) we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage^(BG) of the world—right up to this moment.

Paul’s Appeal and Warning

¹⁴ I am writing this not to shame you^(BH) but to warn you as my dear children.^{(BI) 15} Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father^(BJ) through the gospel.^{(BK) 16} Therefore I urge you to imitate me.^{(BL) 17} For this reason I have sent to you^(BM) Timothy,^(BN) my son^(BO) whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.^(BP)

¹⁸ Some of you have become arrogant,^(BQ) as if I were not coming to you.^{(BR) 19} But I will come to you very soon,^(BS) if the Lord is willing,^(BT) and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of^(BU) talk but of power.^{(BV) 21} What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline,^(BW) or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

Dealing With a Case of Incest

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife.^{(BX) 2} And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning^(BY) and have put out of your fellowship^(BZ) the man who has been doing this? ³ For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit.^(CA) As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus^(CB) on the one who has been doing this. ⁴ So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵ hand this man over^(CC) to Satan^(CD) for the destruction of the flesh,^[d][e] so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.^(CE)

⁶ Your boasting is not good.^(CF) Don’t you know that a little yeast^(CG) leavens the whole batch of dough?^{(CH) 7} Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.^{(CI) 8} Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread^(CJ) of sincerity and truth.

⁹ I wrote to you in my letter not to associate^(CK) with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the people of this world^(CL) who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister^[f](CM) but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater^(CN) or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.^(CO)

¹² What business is it of mine to judge those outside^(CP) the church? Are you not to judge those inside?^{(CQ) 13} God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”^[g](CR)

Lawsuits Among Believers

6 If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people?^{(CS) 2} Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world?^(CT) And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? ³ Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! ⁴ Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? ⁵ I say this to shame you.^(CU) Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?^{(CV) 6} But instead, one brother^(CW) takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!^(CX)

⁷ The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?^{(CY) 8} Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters.^{(CZ) 9} Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?^(DA) Do not be deceived:^(DB) Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers^(DC) nor men who have sex with men^{[h](DD) 10} nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers^(DE) will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And that is what some of you were.^(DF) But you were washed,^(DG) you were sanctified,^(DH) you were justified^(DI) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Sexual Immorality

¹² “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.^(DJ) “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. ¹³ You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.”^(DK) The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord,^(DL) and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴ By his power God raised the Lord from the dead,^(DM) and he will raise us also.^{(DN) 15} Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself?^(DO) Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! ¹⁶ Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”^{[i](DP) 17} But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit.^[j](DQ)

¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality.^(DR) All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.^{(DS) 19} Do you not know that your bodies are temples^(DT) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;^{(DU) 20} you were bought at a price.^(DV) Therefore honor God with your bodies.^(DW)