Paul, ^acalled as an apostle (special messenger, personally chosen representative) of Jesus Christ by ^bthe will of God, and our ^cbrother ^1dSosthenes,

2 To ^athe church of God in ^bCorinth, to those sanctified (set apart, made holy) in Christ Jesus, who are selected and ^ccalled as saints (God’s people) , together with all those who in every place ^dcall on and honor the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

3 ^aGrace to you and peace inner calm and spiritual well-being from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4 ^aI thank my God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 so that in everything you were exceedingly ^aenriched in Him, in all ^bspeech empowered by the spiritual gifts and in ^call knowledge with insight into the faith. 6 In this way our ^atestimony about Christ was confirmed and established in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift which comes from the Holy Spirit, as you ^aeagerly wait with confident trust for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ when He returns. 8 ^aAnd He will also confirm you to the end keeping you strong and free of any accusation, so that you will be blameless and beyond reproach in ^bthe day of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 ^aGod is faithful He is reliable, trustworthy and ever true to His promise—He can be depended on, and through Him you were ^bcalled into ^cfellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

10 But ^aI urge you, ^bbelievers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in full agreement in what you say, and that there be no ^cdivisions or factions among you, but that you be perfectly united in ^dyour way of thinking and in your judgment about matters of the faith. 11 For I have been informed about you, my brothers and sisters, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are quarrels and factions among you. 12 Now I mean this, that ^aeach one of you says, “I am a disciple of Paul,” or “I am a disciple of ^bApollos,” or “I am a disciple of ^cCephas (Peter) ,” or “I am a disciple of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided into different parts? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^abaptized into the name of Paul? Certainly not! 14 I thank God that I ^adid not baptize any of you except ^bCrispus and ^cGaius, Acts 18:8; Rom 16:23 15 so that no one would say that you were baptized into my name. 16 Now I also baptized the ^ahousehold of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else. 17 ^aFor Christ did not send me as an apostle to baptize, but commissioned and empowered me to preach the good news of salvation—^bnot with clever and eloquent speech as an orator, so that the cross of Christ would not be ¹made ineffective deprived of its saving power.

18 For the message of the cross is ^afoolishness absurd and illogical to ^bthose who are perishing and spiritually dead because they reject it, but to us who are being saved by God’s grace it is the manifestation of ^cthe power of God. 19 For it is written and forever remains written,“^aI WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE the philosophy of the philosophers,AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER who do not know Me I WILL NULLIFY.” Is 29:14 20 ^aWhere is the wise man (philosopher) ? Where is the scribe (scholar) ? Where is the debater (logician, orator) of ^bthis age? Has God not ^cexposed the foolishness of ^dthis world’s wisdom? 21 For since ^athe world through all its earthly wisdom failed to recognize God, ^bGod in His wisdom was well-pleased through the ^1cfoolishness of the message preached regarding salvation to ^dsave those who believe in Christ and welcome Him as Savior. 22 For ^aJews demand signs (attesting miracles) , and Greeks pursue worldly wisdom and philosophy, 23 but we preach ^aChrist crucified, a message which is ^bto Jews a stumbling block that provokes their opposition, and to Gentiles ^cfoolishness just utter nonsense, 24 but to those who are ^athe called, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) , Christ is ^bthe power of God and ^cthe wisdom of God. Rom 8:28 25 This is because the ^afoolishness of God is not foolishness at all and is wiser than men far beyond human comprehension, and ^bthe weakness of God is stronger than men far beyond the limits of human effort.

26 Just look at your own ^acalling, believers; ^bnot many of you were considered wise according to human standards, not many powerful or influential, not many of high and noble birth. 27 But ^aGod has selected for His purpose the foolish things of ^bthe world to shame the wise revealing their ignorance, and God has selected for His purpose the weak things of ^cthe world to shame the things which are strong revealing their frailty. 28 God has selected for His purpose the insignificant (base) things of ^athe world, and the things that are despised and treated with contempt, even ^bthe things that are nothing, so that He might ^creduce to nothing the things that are, 29 so that ^ano one may be able to boast in the presence of God. 30 But it is from Him that you are in ^aChrist Jesus, who became to us ^bwisdom from God revealing His plan of salvation, and ^crighteousness making us acceptable to God, and ^dsanctification making us holy and setting us apart for God, and ^eredemption providing our ransom from the penalty for sin, 31 so then, as it is written in Scripture, “^aHE WHO BOASTS and GLORIES, LET HIM BOAST and GLORY IN THE LORD.” Jer 9:24