1 ¶ Paul, 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 congregation of God which is at Corinth, to those that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy, 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 in Christ Jesus,

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 in him in all word 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 w ith which the testimony of the 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 lack nothing in any gift, waiting for the manifestation 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 that ye shall remain unimpeachable unto the end, 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 into 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 ¶ Now 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 perfect, joined together in the same understanding and in the same perception.

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 has been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by those 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 I n other words, that each one of you says, 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 the Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized into 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 ye were baptized into my 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 ¶ For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made void.

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 word of the cross is foolishness to those that perish, but unto us who 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 philosopher of this world? Has 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 in the wisdom of God, since the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save those 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 Gentiles 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 those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is 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 F or that which is foolish of God is wiser than men, and that which is weak 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 look upon your vocation, brothers, that ye are not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,

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 rather God has chosen that which is the foolishness of the world to confound the wise, and God has chosen that which is the weakness of the world to put to shame 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 that which is vile of the world and that which is despised God has chosen, and things which are not, to bring to nought the 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 ye are reborn 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 glories, 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.”