1 Corinthians 1
Expanded Bible
1 From Paul. ·God called me [L …called] to be an ·apostle [messenger] of Christ Jesus ·because that is what God wanted [L by the will of God]. Also from Sosthenes [C a 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 [L brother].
2 To the church of God in Corinth [C an 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 [T saints] with all people everywhere who pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—·their Lord and ours [L theirs 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 [L do not lack any] ·gift from God [spiritual gift; L gift] while you wait for the ·return [L revelation] 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 [L of our Lord Jesus Christ; C the 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 [L mind] and the same ·purpose [intention; conviction]. 11 My brothers and sisters, some people from Chloe’s ·family [household; C these 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 [L Cephas; C Peter’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 [L For] 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 [C the message of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross] would not ·lose its power [or become meaningless; L be emptied].
Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom
18 [L For] 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 [L For] It is written in the Scriptures:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
And I will ·reject [thwart; bring to nothing] the ·intelligence [discernment; cleverness] of the ·intelligent [discerning; clever; Is. 29:14].”
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 [L Has 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 [L folly/foolishness of what was preached] to save those who believe. 22 [L For; Since] The Jews ·ask for [demand] ·miracles [L signs], 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 [L For] 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; L according 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].”
1 Corinthians 1
Amplified Bible
Appeal to Unity
1 Paul, called as an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and our brother [a]Sosthenes,
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified (set apart, made holy) in Christ Jesus, who are selected and called as saints (God’s people), together with all those who in every place call on and honor the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I thank my God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 so that in everything you were [exceedingly] enriched in Him, in all speech [empowered by the spiritual gifts] and in all knowledge [with insight into the faith]. 6 In this way our testimony about Christ was confirmed and established in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift [which comes from the Holy Spirit], as you eagerly wait [with confident trust] for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ [when He returns]. 8 And He will also confirm you to the end [keeping you strong and free of any accusation, so that you will be] blameless and beyond reproach in the day [of the return] of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful [He is reliable, trustworthy and ever true to His promise—He can be depended on], and through Him you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10 But I urge you, believers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in full agreement in what you say, and that there be no divisions or factions among you, but that you be perfectly united in your way of thinking and in your judgment [about matters of the faith]. 11 For I have been informed about you, my brothers and sisters, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are quarrels and factions among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I am [a disciple] of Paul,” or “I am [a disciple] of Apollos,” or “I am [a disciple] of Cephas (Peter),” or “I am [a disciple] of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided [into different parts]? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? [Certainly not!] 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,(A) 15 so that no one would say that you were baptized into my name. 16 Now I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me [as an apostle] to baptize, but [commissioned and empowered me] to preach the good news [of salvation]—not with clever and eloquent speech [as an orator], so that the cross of Christ would not be [b]made ineffective [deprived of its saving power].
The Wisdom of God
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness [absurd and illogical] to those who are perishing and spiritually dead [because they reject it], but to us who are being saved [by God’s grace] it is [the manifestation of] the power of God. 19 For it is written and forever remains written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise [the philosophy of the philosophers],
And the cleverness of the clever [who do not know Me] I will nullify.”(B)
20 Where is the wise man (philosopher)? Where is the scribe (scholar)? Where is the debater (logician, orator) of this age? Has God not exposed the foolishness of this world’s wisdom? 21 For since the world through all its [earthly] wisdom failed to recognize God, God in His wisdom was well-pleased through the [c]foolishness of the message preached [regarding salvation] to save those who believe [in Christ and welcome Him as Savior]. 22 For Jews demand signs (attesting miracles), and Greeks pursue [worldly] wisdom and philosophy, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, [a message which is] to Jews a stumbling block [that provokes their opposition], and to Gentiles foolishness [just utter nonsense], 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles), Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.(C) 25 [This is] because the foolishness of God [is not foolishness at all and] is wiser than men [far beyond human comprehension], and the weakness of God is stronger than men [far beyond the limits of human effort].
26 Just look at your own calling, believers; not many [of you were considered] wise according to human standards, not many powerful or influential, not many of high and noble birth. 27 But God has selected [for His purpose] the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected [for His purpose] the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty]. 28 God has selected [for His purpose] the insignificant (base) things of the world, and the things that are despised and treated with contempt, [even] the things that are nothing, so that He might reduce to nothing the things that are, 29 so that no one may [be able to] boast in the presence of God. 30 But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God [revealing His plan of salvation], and righteousness [making us acceptable to God], and sanctification [making us holy and setting us apart for God], and redemption [providing our ransom from the penalty for sin], 31 so then, as it is written [in Scripture], “He who boasts and glories, let him boast and glory in the Lord.”(D)
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 1:1 This man may have served as secretary to Paul to record his dictation, and may be the synagogue leader mentioned in Acts 18:17.
- 1 Corinthians 1:17 Paul may be referring to the danger that convincing people to become Christians by the use of clever rhetoric would result in false conversions (cf 2:5).
- 1 Corinthians 1:21 The straightforward message of salvation seemed foolish to unbelievers.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
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