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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."