Apollos Speaks Boldly in Ephesus

²⁴ Now a Jew named ^(A)Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, ^(B)competent in the Scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in ^(C)the way of the Lord. And ^(D)being fervent in spirit,^[a] he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only ^(E)the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when ^(F)Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him ^(G)the way of God more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wished to cross to ^(H)Achaia, ^(I)the brothers encouraged him and ^(J)wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, ^(K)he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures ^(L)that the Christ was Jesus.

Paul in Ephesus

19 And it happened that while ^(M)Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed ^(N)through the inland^[b] country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. ² And he said to them, ^(O)“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, ^(P)we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” ³ And he said, ^(Q)“Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into ^(R)John's baptism.” ⁴ And Paul said, ^(S)“John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people ^(T)to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” ⁵ On hearing this, ^(U)they were baptized in^[c] the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And ^(V)when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and ^(W)they began speaking in tongues and ^(X)prophesying. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.

⁸ And ^(Y)he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them ^(Z)about the kingdom of God. ^9 (AA)But when some became stubborn and ^(AB)continued in unbelief, speaking evil of ^(AC)the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.^{[d] 10} This continued for ^(AD)two years, so that ^(AE)all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

The Sons of Sceva

¹¹ And ^(AF)God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, ^12 (AG)so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and ^(AH)the evil spirits came out of them. ¹³ Then some of the itinerant Jewish ^(AI)exorcists ^(AJ)undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ^(AK)“I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. ¹⁵ But the evil spirit answered them, ^(AL)“Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” ¹⁶ And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all^[e] of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and ^(AM)the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. ¹⁸ Also many of those who were now believers came, ^(AN)confessing and divulging their practices. ¹⁹ And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰ So the word of the Lord ^(AO)continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(A)called ^(B)by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those ^(C)sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^(D)called to be saints together with all those who in every place ^(E)call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

^3 (F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

⁴ I ^(G)give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way ^(H)you were enriched in him in all ^(I)speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as ^(J)the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you ^(K)wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^8 (L)who will sustain you to the end, ^(M)guiltless ^(N)in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^9 (O)God is faithful, by whom you were called into the ^(P)fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers,^[a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no ^(Q)divisions among you, but that you be united ^(R)in the same mind and the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is ^(S)quarreling among you, my brothers. ¹² What I mean is that ^(T)each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow ^(U)Apollos,” or “I follow ^(V)Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” ^13 (W)Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^(X)baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except ^(Y)Crispus and ^(Z)Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (I did baptize also ^(AA)the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and ^(AB)not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is ^(AC)folly to ^(AD)those who are perishing, but to us ^(AE)who are being saved it is ^(AF)the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written,

^20 (AH)Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^(AI)Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach^[b] to save those who believe. ²² For ^(AJ)Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ ^(AK)crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(AL)the power of God and ^(AM)the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: ^(AN)not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[c] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But ^(AO)God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^(AP)God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(AQ)things that are not, to ^(AR)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so ^(AS)that no human being^[d] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him^[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(AT)wisdom from God, ^(AU)righteousness and ^(AV)sanctification and ^(AW)redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, ^(AX)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^{[f] (AY)}did not come proclaiming to you ^(AZ)the testimony^[g] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ² For I decided to know nothing among you except ^(BA)Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ And ^(BB)I was with you ^(BC)in weakness and in fear and much trembling, ⁴ and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of ^(BD)the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men^[h] but ^(BE)in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

⁶ Yet among ^(BF)the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not ^(BG)a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, ^(BH)who are doomed to pass away. ⁷ But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, ^(BI)which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸ None of ^(BJ)the rulers of this age understood this, for ^(BK)if they had, they would not have crucified ^(BL)the Lord of glory. ⁹ But, as it is written,

¹⁰ these things ^(BP)God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^(BQ)the depths of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person's thoughts ^(BR)except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now ^(BS)we have received not ^(BT)the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³ And we impart this ^(BU)in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^(BV)interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^[i]

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^(BW)folly to him, and ^(BX)he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The ^(BY)spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ^16 (BZ)“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But ^(CA)we have the mind of Christ.

Divisions in the Church

3 But I, brothers,^[j] could not address you as ^(CB)spiritual people, but as ^(CC)people of the flesh, as ^(CD)infants in Christ. ^2 (CE)I fed you with milk, not solid food, for ^(CF)you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³ for you are still of the flesh. For while there is ^(CG)jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ⁴ For ^(CH)when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” ^(CI)are you not being merely human?

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? ^(CJ)Servants through whom you believed, ^(CK)as the Lord assigned to each. ^6 (CL)I planted, ^(CM)Apollos watered, ^(CN)but God gave the growth. ⁷ So ^(CO)neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are one, and each ^(CP)will receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹ For we are ^(CQ)God's fellow workers. You are God's field, ^(CR)God's building.

^10 (CS)According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled^[k] master builder I laid a ^(CT)foundation, and ^(CU)someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a ^(CV)foundation other ^(CW)than that which is laid, ^(CX)which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ^13 (CY)each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed ^(CZ)by fire, and ^(DA)the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, ^(DB)he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, ^(DC)but only as through fire.

^16 (DD)Do you not know that you^[l] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For ^(DE)God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

^18 (DF)Let no one deceive himself. ^(DG)If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For ^(DH)the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ^(DI)“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” ²⁰ and again, ^(DJ)“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” ²¹ So ^(DK)let no one boast in men. For ^(DL)all things are yours, ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³ and ^(DM)you are Christ's, and ^(DN)Christ is God's.