Beginning

Greetings

1 Paul, called as an emissary of Messiah Yeshua by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

² To God’s community in Corinth—having been made holy in Messiah Yeshua, called as kedoshim—with all who everywhere call on the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, both theirs and ours:

³ Grace to you and shalom from God our Father, and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah!

Thanksgiving

⁴ I always thank my God for you because of God’s grace that was given to you in Messiah Yeshua. ⁵ For in Him you were made rich in every way—in all speaking and all knowledge— ⁶ just as the evidence of Messiah was confirmed among you. ⁷ So you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you eagerly wait for the revealing of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. ⁸ He will also strengthen you until the end—blameless in the Day of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. ⁹ God is faithful,^[a] through whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Yeshua the Messiah our Lord.

Concern about Disunity

¹⁰ Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, through the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. ¹¹ For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by those who are from Chloe’s household, that there are rivalries among you. ¹² I say this because you are each saying, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Kefa,” or “I follow Messiah.” ¹³ Has Messiah been divided? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? Or were you immersed into the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I immersed none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one should say that I had immersed you into my own name. ¹⁶ (I also immersed the household of Stephanas; besides them, I don’t recall if I immersed anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Messiah sent me not to immerse, but to proclaim the Good News—not with cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Messiah would not be made of no effect.

Whose Wisdom Is Foolish?

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written,

²⁰ Where is the wise one? Where is the Torah scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ^{[c] 21} For seeing that—in God’s wisdom—the world through its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased—through the foolishness of the message proclaimed—to save those who believe. ²² For Jewish people ask for signs and Greek people seek after wisdom, ²³ but we proclaim Messiah crucified—a stumbling block to Jewish people and foolishness to Gentile people, ²⁴ but to those who are called (both Jewish and Greek people), Messiah, the power of God and 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 you see your calling, brothers and sisters, that not many are wise according to human standards,^[d] not many are powerful, and not many are born well. ²⁷ Yet God chose the foolish things of the world so He might put to shame the wise; and God chose the weak things of the world so He might put to shame the strong; ²⁸ and God chose the lowly and despised things of the world, the things that are as nothing, so He might bring to nothing the things that are— ²⁹ so that no human might boast before God. ³⁰ But because of Him you are in Messiah Yeshua, who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and holiness and redemption— ³¹ so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in Adonai.”^[e]

Wisdom that Rests on God’s Power

2 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with excellence of speech or wisdom, proclaiming to you the mystery^[f] of God. ² For I decided not to know about anything among you except Yeshua the Messiah—and Him crucified. ³ I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. ⁴ My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power— ⁵ so that your faith would not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

⁶ We do speak wisdom, however, among those who are mature—but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ Rather, we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery—a wisdom that has been hidden, which God destined for our glory before the ages. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it—for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ But as it is written,

¹⁰ But God revealed these things to us through the Ruach.^[h] For the Ruach searches all things—even the depths of God. ¹¹ For who among men knows the things of a man, except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the things of God except the Ruach Elohim. ¹² Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God—so we might come to know the things freely given to us by God. ¹³ These things we also speak—not in words taught by human wisdom but in words taught by the Ruach, explaining the spiritual to the spiritual.

¹⁴ Now a natural man does not accept the things of the Ruach Elohim, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But the one who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is discerned by no one. For

Building Together on God’s Foundation

3 And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as Spirit-filled but as worldly^[j]—as infants in Messiah. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. Indeed, even now you are not yet ready, ³ for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, aren’t you worldly and walking in a human way? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere humans^[k]?

⁵ What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you came to trust—and to each as the Lord gave. ⁶ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow. ⁸ Now he who plants and he who waters work as one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. ⁹ For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰ According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each consider carefully how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no one can lay any other foundation than what is already laid^[l]—which is Yeshua the Messiah. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each one’s work will become clear. For the Day will show it, because it is to be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test each one’s work—what sort it is. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss—he himself will be saved, but as through fire.

¹⁶ Don’t you know that you are God’s temple and that the Ruach Elohim dwells among you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

¹⁸ Let no one deceive himself. If anyone thinks he is wise in this age, let him become a fool so he may become wise. ^{[m] 19} For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written, “He catches the clever in their craftiness.” ^{[n] 20} And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless.” ^{[o] 21} So let no one boast about men. For all things are yours— ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Kefa, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come. All are yours, ²³ and you are Messiah’s, and Messiah is God’s.

Learning to Imitate Messiah’s Emissary

4 So let each one think of us in this way—as Messiah’s helpers and stewards of the mysteries of God. ² In this case, moreover, what is required of stewards is to be found trustworthy. ³ But to me it matters very little to be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore do not judge anything before the time—wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light the things hidden in darkness and also make clear the motives of the hearts. Then the praise for each one will come from God.

⁶ Now I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers and sisters, so you might learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then none of you will be puffed up in favor of one against the other. ⁷ For who makes you different? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

⁸ Already you are full! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! Indeed, I wish you were kings, so we also might be kings with you! ⁹ For it seems to me that God has put us, the emissaries, on display last of all—like men sentenced to death. For we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to people. ¹⁰ We are fools for Messiah’s sake, but you are wise in Messiah! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are dishonored! ¹¹ To this very hour we are both hungry and thirsty, dressed in rags and mistreated and homeless. ¹² We toil, working with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless. When we are persecuted, we endure. ¹³ When we are slandered, we speak kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the dregs of all things—even to this moment.

¹⁴ I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to warn you as my dearly loved children. ¹⁵ For though you may have ten thousand guardians in Messiah, yet you do not have many fathers. For in Messiah Yeshua, I became your father through the Good News. ¹⁶ I urge you therefore—be imitators of me. ¹⁷ For this reason I have sent you Timothy, my dearly loved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways in Messiah, just as I teach everywhere in every community.

¹⁸ Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹ But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing; and I will find out not the talk of those who are puffed up, but their power. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God does not consist of talk but of power. ²¹ What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of gentleness?