Paul, acalled as an apostle of Jesus Christ 1by bthe will of God, and cSosthenes our dbrother, 2 To athe church of God which is at bCorinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, ccalled as 1saints, with all who in every place dcall on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: 3 aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 aI thank 1my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in everything you were aenriched in Him, in all bword and ball knowledge, 6 even as athe witness about Christ was confirmed 1in you, 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, aeagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 awho will also confirm you to the end, beyond reproach in bthe day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 aGod is faithful, through whom you were bcalled into cfellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 10 Now aI exhort you, bbrothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all 1agree and that there be no 2cdivisions among you, but that you be 3made complete in dthe same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that aeach one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of bApollos,” and “I of cCephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 1Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you abaptized 2in the name of Paul? 14 1I thank God that I abaptized none of you except aCrispus and bGaius, 15 so that no one would say you were baptized 1in my name. 16 Now I did baptize also the ahousehold of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 aFor Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the gospel, bnot in wisdom of word, so that the cross of Christ will not be made empty.
Christ the Power and Wisdom of God
18 For the word of the cross is afoolishness to bthose who 1are perishing, but to us who 2are being saved, it is cthe power of God. 19 For it is written,
“aI will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”
20 aWhere is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of bthis age? Has not God cmade foolish the wisdom of dthe world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, athe world through its wisdom did not come to know God, bGod was well-pleased, through the cfoolishness of the 1message preached, to dsave those who believe. 22 For indeed aJews ask for 1signs and Greeks search for wisdom, 23 but we preach 1aChrist crucified, bto Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles cfoolishness, 24 but to those who are athe called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ bthe power of God and cthe wisdom of God. 25 Because the afoolishness of God is wiser than men, and bthe weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For 1consider your acalling, brothers, that there were bnot many wise according to 2the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. 27 But aGod has chosen the foolish things of bthe world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of bthe world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of athe world and the despised God has chosen, bthe things that are not, so that He may cabolish the things that are, 29 so that ano flesh may boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in aChrist Jesus, who became to us bwisdom from God, 1and crighteousness and dsanctification, and eredemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “aLet him who boasts, boast in the1Lord.”