Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,¹ did not come proclaiming to you the testimony² of God with ^vlofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you ^wexcept Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in ^xweakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were ^ynot in plausible words of wisdom, but ^zin demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men³ but in the ^apower of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

6 Yet among the ^bmature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a ^csecret and hidden wisdom of God, which God ^ddecreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the ^eLord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

10 these things ^hGod has ⁱrevealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For ^jwho knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have ^kreceived ^lnot the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, ^mthat we might understand the things freely given us by God. 13 And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.⁴

14 ⁿThe natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^ofolly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The ^pspiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 ^q“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Divisions in the Church

3 But I, brothers,¹ could not address you as spiritual people, but as people ^rof the flesh, as ^sinfants in Christ. 2 I fed you with ^tmilk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and ^ustrife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only ^vin a human way? 4 For ^wwhen one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 ^xI planted, ^yApollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s ^zfield, God’s ^abuilding.

10 According to ^bthe grace of God given to me, like a skilled² master builder I laid a foundation, and ^csomeone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a foundation ^dother than that which is laid, ^ewhich is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the ^fDay will ^gdisclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

16 Do you not know that you³ are ^hGod’s temple and that ⁱGod’s Spirit dwells in 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 among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For ^jthe wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ^k“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” 20 and again, ^l“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” 21 So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, 22 whether ^mPaul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or ⁿlife or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 23 and you are ^oChrist’s, and ^pChrist is God’s.

The Ministry of Apostles

4 This is how one should regard us, as ^qservants of Christ and ^rstewards of the ^smysteries of God. 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4 For ^tI am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore ^udo not pronounce ^vjudgment before the time, before the Lord ^wcomes, who will ^xbring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will ^ydisclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

6 I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers,¹ that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be ^zpuffed up in favor of one against another. 7 For who sees anything different in you? ^aWhat do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

8 Already you have all you want! Already you have become ^brich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! 9 For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, ^clike men sentenced to death, because we have ^dbecome a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. 10 We are ^efools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. ^fWe are ^gweak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour ^hwe hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, 12 and we ⁱlabor, working with our own hands. ^jWhen reviled, ^kwe bless; when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

14 I do not write these things to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15 For though you have countless² guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. ^lFor I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 ^mI urge you, then, ⁿbe imitators of me. 17 That is why ^oI sent³ you Timothy, my beloved and faithful ^pchild in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,⁴ as I teach them ^qeverywhere in every church. 18 Some are arrogant, as though I were not coming to you. 19 But ^rI will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. 20 For the kingdom of God ^sdoes not consist in ^ttalk but ^uin power. 21 What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love ^vin a spirit of gentleness?

Sexual Immorality Defiles the Church

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for ^wa man has his father’s wife. 2 And you are ^xarrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? ^yLet him who has done this be removed from among you.

3 For though ^zabsent in body, I am present in spirit; and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did such a thing. 4 When you are ^aassembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to ^bdeliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.¹

6 ^cYour boasting is not good. Do you not know that ^da little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, ^eour Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore ^fcelebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, ^gthe leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral ^hof this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to ⁱgo out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of ^jsexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? ^kIs it not those inside the church² whom you are to judge? 13 God judges³ those outside. ^l“Purge the evil person from among you.”

Lawsuits Against Believers

6 When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will ^mjudge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4 So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5 ⁿI say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. ^oWhy not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!¹

9 ^pOr do you not know that the unrighteous² will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the ^qsexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,³ 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And ^rsuch were some of you. But you were ^swashed, you were ^tsanctified, you were ^ujustified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Flee Sexual Immorality

12 ^v“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13 ^w“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And ^xGod raised the Lord and will also ^yraise us up ^zby his power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are ^amembers of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined⁴ to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, ^b“The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes ^cone spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin⁵ a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that ^dyour body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? ^eYou are not your own, 20 for you were ^fbought with a price. So ^gglorify God in your body.