[This letter is from] Paul, who was called by the will of God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and [from] our brother Sosthenes;

[it is being sent] to the church of God at Corinth. [You people are] set apart in [the fellowship of] Christ Jesus and called [by God] to be saints [i.e., His holy people], along with all [others] everywhere who call on our Lord Jesus Christ [i.e., in prayer]. He is their Lord and ours [as well].

May you experience unearned favor and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank God for you, [especially] for God's unearned favor that was given to you [in providing salvation and blessings] in Christ Jesus.

so that you are not lacking in any [spiritual] gift, while you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed [i.e., at His second coming].

He will also make you stand firm [in the faith] to the end [of your lives], so that you will be [considered] without just blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ [returns].

God is faithful [i.e., He will continue working among you] and it is through Him that you were called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now I urge you, brothers, through the name [i.e., by the authority] of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you should all agree in what you say, so that no divisions [continue] among you. Be restored [to unity] by having common thoughts and convictions [i.e., in spiritual matters].

But God brought you into [fellowship with] Christ Jesus, who was made to be God's wisdom for us. Through Christ you have received a right relationship with God, [as well as] holiness and redemption [i.e., being bought back from Satan].

For I have decided not to know anything [while] among you, except Jesus Christ and His being crucified.

None of the rulers of this age knew about this [divine] wisdom, for if they had [known it], they would not have crucified the glorious Lord [i.e., Jesus].

For no one can lay [any] other foundation than the one which [God] has [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ.

[I command you], when you people are assembled together, with my spirit [also present], in the name [i.e., by the authority] and power of our Lord Jesus,

And some of you have practiced such things, but you were washed [i.e., from your sins. See Acts 22:16]; you were dedicated [i.e., set apart for God's service]; you were made right with God in the name [i.e., by the authority] of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit of our God.

Now God has both raised up the Lord [Jesus], and will [also] raise us up [from the dead] through His power.

But I, not the Lord, say this to the rest of you [Note: Paul now addresses the matter of mixed marriages, a circumstance Jesus never taught about]: If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she agrees to continue living with him [Note: In these verses Paul addresses a situation where one marriage partner is converted after they are married], he should not divorce her.

yet there is [only] one God to us, [and He is] the Father, from whom all things have come, and for whom we live. And [there is only] one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom all things have come, and through whom we live.

Am I not a free man? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? [See Acts 9:17; I Cor. 15:8]. Are you people not [the result of] my work in [the service of] the Lord?

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you: On the night the Lord Jesus was turned over [to the Jewish authorities] He took bread,

For a person who eats and drinks without determining the significance of the body [of Jesus], [i.e., without showing proper reverence for Christ, as represented by the bread and cup (see verse 27), or without distinguishing this sacred memorial Supper from a common meal], eats and drinks judgment upon himself. [Note: Some apply "the body" in this verse to the church and explain it as a warning against failing to appreciate the unity that the Supper is intended to signify].

Therefore, I am telling you that no one who speaks under the influence of the Holy Spirit of God says, "Jesus is cursed!" And no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Then He appeared to James [Note: This was probably Jesus' half-brother. See Acts 12:17; Gal. 1:19], and then to all of the apostles. [See John 20:26].

I face death every day, I assure you brothers, as surely as I boast of [fellowship with] you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

But I thank God for giving us victory [i.e., over sin and death] through our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the unearned favor of the Lord Jesus Christ [continue to] be with you.

[I send] my love to all of you in [fellowship with] Christ Jesus. May it be so.