1 Corinthians 1-2

Expanded Bible

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].”

The Message of Christ’s Death

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I did not come preaching God’s ·secret^[a] [mystery; ^Csomething God had not previously disclosed; Eph. 1:9] with ·fancy [superior; eloquent] words or a show of human wisdom. ² [^LFor] I ·decided [resolved] that while I was with you I would ·forget about everything [^Lnot know anything] except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. ³ So when I came to you, I was weak and fearful and trembling. ⁴ My ·teaching [message; speech] and preaching were not with words of human wisdom that ·persuade [or entice] people but with ·proof of the power that the Spirit gives [or proof powerfully revealed by the Spirit; or demonstrations of the Spirit and of power]. ⁵ This was so that your faith would be in God’s power and not in human wisdom.

God’s Wisdom

⁶ However, we speak wisdom to those who are mature. But this wisdom is not from this ·world [age] or from the rulers of this ·world [age], who ·are losing their power [will soon disappear; are passing away]. ⁷ We speak God’s ·secret wisdom [or wisdom in a mystery; 2:1], which he has kept hidden. Before the ·world began [ages], God ·planned [decreed; destined] this wisdom for our glory. ⁸ None of the rulers of this ·world [age] understood it. If they had, they would not have crucified the ·Lord of glory [glorious Lord]. ⁹ But as it is written in the Scriptures:

¹⁰ But God has ·shown [revealed to] us these things through the Spirit.

[^LFor] The Spirit ·searches out [examines; scrutinizes] all things, even the ·deep secrets [deep things; depths] of God. ¹¹ Who knows the thoughts that another person has? Only a person’s spirit that lives within him knows his thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God so that we can know all that God has [freely] given us. ¹³ And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom but with words taught us by the Spirit. And so we explain spiritual truths ·to spiritual people [or to those who have the Spirit; or with the Spirit’s words]. ¹⁴ A ·person who does not have the Spirit [or natural person] does not accept the ·truths [^Lthings] that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish and cannot understand them, because they can only be ·judged to be true [discerned; assessed] by the Spirit. ¹⁵ The ·spiritual person [or person with the Spirit] is able to ·judge [discern; assess] all things, but no one can ·judge [discern; assess] him. ·The Scripture says [^LFor]:

But we have the mind of Christ [^Cthe Holy Spirit reveals God and his ways to us; Rom. 11:34].