1 Corinthians 1

Greeting

1 Paul, a called b by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

2 To 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 d Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

4 I f give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way g you were enriched in him in all h speech and all knowledge - 6 even as i the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you - 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you j wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 k who will sustain you to the end, l guiltless m in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 n God is faithful, by whom you were called into the o fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

10 I appeal to you, brothers, 1 by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no p divisions among you, but that you be united q in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is r quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that s each one of you says, "I follow Paul," or "I follow t Apollos," or "I follow u Cephas," or "I follow Christ." 13 v Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you w baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except x Crispus and y Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also z the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and a not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

18 For the word of the cross is b folly to c those who are perishing, but to us d who are being saved it is e the power of God.

19 For it is written,
f "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."

20 g Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? h Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For i Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ j crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ k the power of God and l the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For consider your calling, brothers: m not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, 2 not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But n God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; o God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even p things that are not, to q bring to nothing things that are, 29 so r that no human being 3 might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him 4 you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us s wisdom from God, t righteousness and u sanctification and v redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, w "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

  1. Cross References
    Romans 1:1
    Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.
  2. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 1:1
    Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia:
    Ephesians 1:1
    Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
    Colossians 1:1
    Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother.
    2 Timothy 1:1
    Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus.
  3. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 6:11
    And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
    1 Corinthians 1:30
    And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
    John 17:19
    And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
  4. Cross References
    Romans 1:7
    To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  5. Cross References
    Acts 9:14
    And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.
  6. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 1:2
    To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
  7. Cross References
    Romans 1:8
    First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.
  8. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 9:11
    You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
    2 Corinthians 6:10
    As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
  9. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 8:7
    But as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you - see that you excel in this act of grace also.
    1 Corinthians 12:8
    For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit.
    Romans 15:14
    I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
    1 John 2:20
    But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.
  10. Cross References
    2 Timothy 1:8
    Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.
    2 Thessalonians 1:10
    When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
    1 Timothy 2:6
    Who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
    Revelation 1:2
    Who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
  11. Cross References
    Romans 8:19
    For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
    Philippians 3:20
    But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
    Hebrews 9:28
    So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
    Luke 17:30
    So will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
    2 Peter 3:12
    Waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!
  12. Cross References
    Philippians 1:6
    And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
    1 Thessalonians 3:13
    So that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.
  13. Cross References
    Colossians 1:22
    He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.
  14. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 5:5
    You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
    2 Corinthians 1:14
    Just as you did partially acknowledge us - that on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.
    Philippians 2:16
    Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
    Luke 17:24
    For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
  15. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 10:13
    No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
    Deuteronomy 7:9
    Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.
    Isaiah 49:7
    Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.
    2 Corinthians 1:18
    As surely as God is faithful, our word to you has not been Yes and No.
  16. Cross References
    1 John 1:3
    That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
  17. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 11:18
    For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part.
  18. Cross References
    Philippians 1:27
    Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.
  19. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 3:3
    For you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
  20. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 3:4
    For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human?
    Matthew 23:9 - 10
    And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
  21. Cross References
    Acts 18:24
    Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures.
  22. Cross References
    John 1:42
    He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).
  23. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 12:5
    And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord.
    2 Corinthians 11:4
    For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
    Ephesians 4:5
    One Lord, one faith, one baptism.
  24. Cross References
    Acts 8:16
    For he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
  25. Cross References
    Acts 18:8
    Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.
  26. Cross References
    Romans 16:23
    Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.
  27. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 16:15
    Now I urge you, brothers - you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints -
    1 Corinthians 16:17
    I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for your absence.
  28. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 2:1
    And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not co...
    1 Corinthians 2:4
    And my speech and my message were not in plausi...
    1 Corinthians 2:13
    And we impart this in words not taught by human...
    2 Corinthians 10:10
    For they say, "His letters are weighty and stro...
    2 Corinthians 11:6
    Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so...
    2 Peter 1:16
    For we did not follow cleverly devised myths wh...
  29. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 1:21
    For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
    1 Corinthians 1:23
    But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.
    1 Corinthians 1:25
    For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
    1 Corinthians 2:14
    The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
  30. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 2:15
    For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
    2 Corinthians 4:3
    And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.
    2 Thessalonians 2:10
    And with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
  31. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 15:2
    And by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you - unless you believed in vain.
    Acts 2:47
    Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
  32. Cross References
    Romans 1:16
    For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
    1 Corinthians 1:24
    But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
  33. Cross References
    Isaiah 29:14
    Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.
    Job 5:12 - 13
    He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
    Jeremiah 8:9
    The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom is in them?
    Matthew 11:25
    At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.
  34. Cross References
    Isaiah 29:14
    Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.
  35. Cross References
    Isaiah 19:12
    Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you that they might know what the Lord of hosts has purposed against Egypt.
  36. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 2:6
    Yet among the mature 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.
    1 Corinthians 3:19
    For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness.
    Isaiah 44:25
    Who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish.
    Romans 1:22
    Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
    1 Corinthians 1:26
    For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.
  37. Cross References
    Matthew 12:38
    Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.
  38. Cross References
    Galatians 5:11
    But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
    1 Peter 2:8
    And "A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
  39. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 1:18
    For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
  40. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 1:30
    And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
    Colossians 2:3
    In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
    Luke 11:49
    Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute.
  41. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 2:8
    None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
    John 7:48
    Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him?
    1 Corinthians 1:20
    Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
    Matthew 11:25
    At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.
  42. Cross References
    James 2:5
    Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
  43. Cross References
    Psalms 8:2
    Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
  44. Cross References
    Romans 4:17
    As it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations" - in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
  45. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 2:6
    Yet among the mature 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.
    Job 34:19
    Who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his hands?
    Job 34:24
    He shatters the mighty without investigation and sets others in their place.
  46. Cross References
    Ephesians 2:9
    Not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
    Judges 7:2
    The Lord said to Gideon, "The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.
  47. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 1:24
    But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
  48. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:5 - 6
    Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
    Jeremiah 33:16
    In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: 'The Lord is our righteousness.
    2 Corinthians 5:21
    For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
    Philippians 3:9
    And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith -
  49. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 1:2
    To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
  50. Cross References
    Ephesians 1:7
    In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.
    Colossians 1:14
    In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
    Romans 3:24
    And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
  51. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 10:17
    "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
    Jeremiah 9:23 - 24
    Thus says the Lord : "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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