1 P aul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

This letter is from Paul. I have been chosen by God to be a missionary of Jesus Christ. Sosthenes, a Christian brother, writes also.

2 u nto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

I write to God’s church in the city of Corinth. I write to those who belong to Christ Jesus and to those who are set apart by Him and made holy. I write to all the Christians everywhere who call on the name of Jesus Christ. He is our Lord and their Lord also.

3 g race be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul Gives Thanks for Their Faith

4 I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;

I am thankful to God all the time for you. I am thankful for the loving-favor God has given to you because you belong to Christ Jesus.

5 t hat in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

He has made your lives rich in every way. Now you have power to speak for Him. He gave you good understanding.

6 e ven as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

This shows that what I told you about Christ and what He could do for you has been done in your lives.

7 s o that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

You have the gifts of the Holy Spirit that you need while you wait for the Lord Jesus Christ to come again.

8 w ho shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ will keep you strong until He comes again. No blame will be held against you.

9 G od is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

God is faithful. He chose you to be joined together with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. The Church in Corinth Is Divided

10 N ow I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Christian brothers, I ask you with all my heart in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to agree among yourselves. Do not be divided into little groups. Think and act as if you all had the same mind.

11 F or it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

My Christian brothers, I have heard from some of Chloe’s family that you are arguing among yourselves.

12 N ow this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

I hear that some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul,” and “I am a follower of Apollos,” and “I am a follower of Peter,” and “I am a follower of Christ.”

13 I s Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Has Christ been divided? Was Paul put on a cross to die for your sins? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?

14 I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;

I am thankful to God that I baptized Crispus and Gaius only.

15 l est any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.

No one can say that you were baptized in the name of Paul.

16 A nd I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

I remember I did baptize the family of Stephanas, but I do not remember baptizing any others.

17 F or Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to preach the Good News. I did not use big sounding words when I preached. If I had, the power of the cross of Christ would be taken away. Christ Is the Power and Wisdom of God

18 F or the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Preaching about the cross sounds foolish to those who are dying in sin. But it is the power of God to those of us who are being saved from the punishment of sin.

19 F or it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

The Holy Writings say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise people. I will put aside the learning of those who think they know a lot.”

20 W here is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

Where is the man who is wise? Where is the man who thinks he knows a lot? Where is the man who thinks he has all the answers? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.

21 F or after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

In His wisdom, He did not allow man to come to know Him through the wisdom of this world. It pleased God to save men from the punishment of their sins through preaching the Good News. This preaching sounds foolish.

22 F or the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

The Jews are looking for something special to see. The Greek people are looking for the answer in wisdom.

23 b ut we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

But we preach that Christ died on a cross to save them from their sins. These words are hard for the Jews to listen to. The Greek people think it is foolish.

24 b ut unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

Christ is the power and wisdom of God to those who are chosen to be saved from the punishment of sin for both Jews and Greeks.

25 B ecause the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

God’s plan looked foolish to men, but it is wiser than the best plans of men. God’s plan which may look weak is stronger than the strongest plans of men. God’s Wisdom—Human Wisdom

26 F or ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

Christian brothers, think who you were when the Lord called you. Not many of you were wise or powerful or born into the family of leaders of a country.

27 b ut God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

But God has chosen what the world calls foolish to shame the wise. He has chosen what the world calls weak to shame what is strong.

28 a nd base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

God has chosen what is weak and foolish of the world, what is hated and not known, to destroy the things the world trusts in.

29 t hat no flesh should glory in his presence.

In that way, no man can be proud as he stands before God.

30 B ut of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

God Himself made the way so you can have new life through Christ Jesus. God gave us Christ to be our wisdom. Christ made us right with God and set us apart for God and made us holy. Christ bought us with His blood and made us free from our sins.

31 t hat, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

It is as the Holy Writings say, “If anyone is going to be proud of anything, he should be proud of the Lord.”