Book of Common Prayer

He recalls God’s grace to the Corinthians, exhorts them to be of one mind, and rebukes the division that was among them. The wisdom of the world is foolishness before God; yea, there is no wisdom but in the despised cross of God.

1 Paul, by calling an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and brother Sosthenes.

² To the congregation of God which is at Corinth. To those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

³ Grace be with you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ I thank my God always in your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ – ⁵ that in all things you are made rich by him, in all learning and in all knowledge, ⁶ even as the testimony of Jesus Christ was confirmed in you, ⁷ so that you are behind in no gift, and wait for the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁸ He will strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For God is faithful, by whom you are called to the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰ I beseech you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to all speak one thing, and that there be no dissension among you, but be knit together in one mind and in one purpose. ¹¹ It is reported to me about you, my brethren, by those who are of the house of Chloe, that there is strife among you. ¹² And this is what I mean: that commonly among you one says, I hold to Paul; another, I hold to Apollos; the third, I hold to Cephas; the fourth, I hold to Christ. ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I christened none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. ¹⁶ (I baptized also the household of Stephanas. Beyond this, I do not remember if I baptized anyone or not.)

¹⁷ For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel – not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should have been made of no effect. ¹⁸ For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will cast away the understanding of the learned.

Christ fasts and is proved. He calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John, and heals all the sick.

4 Then Jesus was led away by the Spirit into wilderness, to be tried by the devil. ² And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterwards hungered. ³ Then the tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. ⁴ He answered and said, It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

⁵ Then the devil took him up into the holy city and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to him, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels charge over you, and with their hands they will hold you up so that you do not dash your foot against a stone. ⁷ And Jesus said to him, It is written also: You shall not tempt the Lord your God.

⁸ The devil took him up again, and led him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and all the glory of them, ⁹ and said to him, All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to him, Away, Satan! For it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve. 

¹¹ Then the devil left him, and behold, the angels came and ministered to him.