1 Corinthians 1:10-18

GOD’S WORD Translation

God’s Wisdom Is Better Than the World’s Wisdom

¹⁰ Brothers and sisters, I encourage all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to agree with each other and not to split into opposing groups. I want you to be united in your understanding and opinions. ¹¹ Brothers and sisters, some people from Chloe’s family have made it clear to me that you are quarreling among yourselves. ¹² This is what I mean: Each of you is saying, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” ^[a] or “I follow Christ.” ¹³ Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in Paul’s name? ¹⁴ I thank God that ^[b] I didn’t baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius ¹⁵ so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ I also baptized Stephanas and his family. Beyond that, I’m not sure whether I baptized anyone else. ¹⁷ Christ didn’t send me to baptize. Instead, he sent me to spread the Good News. I didn’t use intellectual arguments. That would have made the cross of Christ lose its meaning.

¹⁸ The message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.