Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 1 - English Standard Version (2024)

Greeting

1Paul, ^(A)called ^(B)by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

²To 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

⁴I ^(G)give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵that in every way ^(H)you were enriched in him in all ^(I)speech and all knowledge— ⁶even as ^(J)the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷so 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

¹⁰I 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. ¹¹For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is ^(S)quarreling among you, my brothers. ¹²What 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? ¹⁴I thank God that I baptized none of you except ^(Y)Crispus and ^(Z)Gaius, ¹⁵so 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.) ¹⁷For 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

¹⁸For 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. ¹⁹For it is written,

^(AG)“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

^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? ²¹For 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. ²²For ^(AJ)Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ ^(AK)crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(AL)the power of God and ^(AM)the wisdom of God. ²⁵For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶For 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. ²⁷But ^(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; ²⁸God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(AQ)things that are not, to ^(AR)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹so ^(AS)that no human being^[d] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰And 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, ³¹so that, as it is written, ^(AX)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”