1Cor 1 | ESV | STEP | Paul , called 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 ^csanctified in Christ Jesus, ^dcalled to be saints together with all those who in every place ^ecall upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

3 ^fGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

4 I ^ggive 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 ^hyou were enriched in him in all ⁱspeech and all knowledge— 6 even as ^jthe testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you ^kwait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 ^lwho will sustain you to the end, ^mguiltless ⁿin the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 ^oGod is faithful, by whom you were called into the ^pfellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

10 I appeal to you, brothers, ^{▼▼Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God’s family, the church; also verses 11, 26} by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no ^rdivisions among you, but that you be united ^sin the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is ^tquarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that ^ueach one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow ^vApollos,” or “I follow ^wCephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 ^xIs Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^ybaptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except ^zCrispus and ^aaGaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also ^abthe 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 ^acnot 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 ^adfolly to ^aethose who are perishing, but to us ^afwho are being saved it is ^agthe power of God. 19 For it is written,

^ah“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20 ^aiWhere is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^ajHas 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 ^{▼▼Or the folly of preaching} to save those who believe. 22 For ^alJews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ ^amcrucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^anthe power of God and ^aothe 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: ^apnot many of you were wise according to worldly standards, ^{▼▼Greek according to the flesh} not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But ^arGod chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^asGod chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^atthings that are not, to ^aubring to nothing things that are, 29 so ^avthat no human being ^{▼▼Greek no flesh} might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him ^{▼▼Greek And from him} you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^aywisdom from God, ^azrighteousness and ^basanctification and ^bbredemption, 31 so that, as it is written, ^bc“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”