1 Corinthians 1
1
Greeting
1Paul, # Ac 13:9 called as an apostle # Rm 1:1 of Christ Jesus by God’s will, # 2Co 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1; 2Tm 1:1 and Sosthenes our brother: # Ac 18:17
2To God’s church at Corinth, # Ac 18:1; 19:1; 2Co 1:1,23; 2Tm 4:20 to those who are sanctified # Ac 20:32; 26:18; 1Co 6:11; Heb 10:10 in Christ Jesus and called # Rm 1:6-7 as saints, with all those in every place who call on the name # Gn 4:26; Ps 79:6; Jn 10:25; Ac 9:14; 15:14; Rv 14:1 of Jesus Christ our Lord — both their Lord and ours.
3Grace to you and peace from God our Father # Rm 1:7; 2Co 1:2; Gl 1:3; Eph 1:2; Php 1:2; 2Th 1:2; Ti 1:4 and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4I always thank # Rm 1:8; Php 1:3; Col 1:3; 1Th 1:2; 2Th 1:3; 2Tm 1:3; Phm 4 my God for you because of God’s grace given to you in Christ Jesus, 5that by Him you were enriched # 2Co 8:9; 9:11 in everything — in all speech and all knowledge. # Rm 15:14; 1Co 12:8; 2Co 8:7; 1Jn 2:20 6In this way, the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you, # 2Th 1:10; 1Tm 2:6; 2Tm 1:8; Rv 1:2 7so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait # Lk 17:30; Rm 8:19; Php 3:20; Heb 9:28; 2Pt 3:12 for the revelation # 1Pt 4:13 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will also strengthen you to the end, # Php 1:6; 1Th 3:13 so that you will be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. # Lk 17:24; 1Co 5:5; 2Co 1:14; Php 2:16; Col 1:22 9God is faithful; # Dt 7:9; Is 49:7; 1Co 10:13; 2Co 1:18 you were called by Him # Rm 8:28 into fellowship with His Son, # Jn 5:19; Heb 1:2; 1Jn 1:3 Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions at Corinth
10Now I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction. 11For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by members of Chloe’s household, that there is rivalry # Ti 3:9 among you. 12What I am saying is this: Each of you says, “I’m with Paul,” or “I’m with Apollos,” # Ti 3:13 or “I’m with Cephas,” # Jn 1:42 or “I’m with Christ.” # Mt 23:9-10 13Is Christ divided? # 1Co 12:5; 2Co 11:4; Eph 4:5 Was it Paul who was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14I thank God # Other mss omit God # Or I am thankful that I baptized none of you except Crispus # Ac 18:8 and Gaius, # Rm 16:23 15so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16I did, in fact, baptize the household # Rm 16:5 of Stephanas; # 1Co 16:15,17 beyond that, I don’t know if I baptized anyone else. 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to evangelize — not with clever words, so that the cross # Lk 23:26; Php 3:18 of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved. # Ac 19:11; Rm 1:16; 2Co 13:4 19For it is written:
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and I will set aside the understanding of the experts. # Is 29:14 # Is 29:14
20Where is the philosopher? # Or wise Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? # Lk 16:8 Hasn’t God made the world’s wisdom foolish? 21For since, in God’s wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. 22For the Jews ask for signs # Mt 12:38 and the Greeks seek wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, # Lk 23:26; 1Co 2:2; Gl 3:1; 5:11 a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. # Other mss read Greeks 24Yet to those who are called, # Rm 1:6 both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, 25because God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.
Boasting Only in the Lord
26Brothers, consider your calling: Not many are wise from a human perspective, # Lit wise according to the flesh not many powerful, # Ac 25:5 not many of noble birth. 27Instead, God has chosen # Mt 24:22; Eph 1:4 what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. 28God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world # Lk 18:9 — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, 29so that no one # Lit that not all flesh can boast in His presence. # Ac 7:46 30But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became God-given wisdom for us — our righteousness, # Mt 6:33; Rm 1:17; 2Pt 1:1 sanctification, # 1Th 4:3 and redemption, # Eph 1:7 31in order that, as it is written: # Mk 1:2 The one who boasts must boast in the Lord. # Jr 9:23-24 # Jr 9:24
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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
1 Corinthians 1
1
1This letter comes from Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother. 2It is sent to the church of God in Corinth, those who are being made right in Christ Jesus, called to live holy lives—and to everyone who worships the Lord Jesus Christ everywhere, the Lord both of them and of us.
3May you have grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4I'm always thanking God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus. 5Through him you have been made rich in everything, in all that you say and every aspect of what you know. 6In fact the testimony of Christ was proved valid in your experience, 7so that you're not missing any spiritual gift as you wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He will also keep you strong to the very end, so you will be kept right until the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is trustworthy who called you to share together in fellowship with his son Jesus Christ our Lord.
10Brothers and sisters, I plead with you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all agree and that you're not divided. Instead develop a united attitude and purpose. 11For I have been told things about you, my brothers and sisters, by some of Chloe's people—that you are quarreling among yourselves. 12Let me explain what I mean. You're all making different claims: “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow Christ.” 13Is Christ divided? Did Paul die on a cross for you? Was it in the name of Paul that you were baptized?
14I'm grateful to God that I didn't baptize any of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 15so nobody can claim they were baptized in my name. 16(Oh, and I also baptized the Stephanas family—I can't think of anyone else.) 17For Christ didn't send me out to baptize, but to spread the good news, and not with eloquent human wisdom, otherwise the cross of Christ would be made powerless.#1:17. Or “ineffectual.” Literally, “emptied.”
18For the message of the cross is nonsense to those who are lost, but it's the power of God to those of us who are saved. 19As Scripture says, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will wipe out the cleverness of the clever.”#1:19. Probably referencing Isaiah 29:14.
20So how about the wise, the writers, and the philosophers of this age? Hasn't God turned the wisdom of this world into foolishness? 21Since God in his wisdom allowed the world in its wisdom not to know God, it was God's gracious plan that by the foolishness of the good news those who trusted in him would be saved. 22The Jews ask for miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but our message is of Christ killed on a cross—offensive to the Jews, and foolishness to the foreigners. 24However, for those who are called by God, both Jews and foreigners, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than we are; and the weakness of God is stronger than we are.
26Brothers and sisters, remember your calling—and that this did not include many who are wise, humanly speaking; not many who are powerful; not many who are important. 27Instead God chose the things the world considers foolish to humiliate those who think they are wise. He chose the things the world considers weak to humiliate those who think they are strong. 28He chose the things that are unimportant and despised by the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,#1:28. This complicated verse is really saying that God uses things and people not viewed as important by this world to demonstrate what really is important. 29so that nobody should boast in God's presence.
30It's because of him that you live in Christ Jesus, who God made to be wisdom for us. He sets us right, keeps us right, and frees us. 31So as Scripture says, “Whoever wants to boast, let them boast in the Lord.”#1:31. Referencing Jeremiah 9:23.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com