so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

(I also baptized the household of Stephanus. Otherwise, I do not remember whether I baptized anyone else.)

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel -- and not with clever speech, so that the cross of Christ would not become useless.

Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?

For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching.

Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position.

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God.

My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing.

None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.

And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.

The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

So, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. In fact, you are still not ready,

for you are still influenced by the flesh. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people?

For whenever someone says, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," are you not merely human?

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

So for me, it is a minor matter that I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not acquitted because of this. The one who judges me is the Lord.

So then, do not judge anything before the time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the motives of hearts. Then each will receive recognition from God.

I have applied these things to myself and Apollos because of you, brothers and sisters, so that through us you may learn "not to go beyond what is written," so that none of you will be puffed up in favor of the one against the other.

For who concedes you any superiority? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as though you did not?

I am not writing these things to shame you, but to correct you as my dear children.

For though you may have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, because I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Some have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing, and I will find out not only the talk of these arrogant people, but also their power.

For the kingdom of God is demonstrated not in idle talk but with power.

It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, the kind of immorality that is not permitted even among the Gentiles, so that someone is cohabiting with his father's wife.

Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast affects the whole batch of dough?

So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.

I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

For what do I have to do with judging those outside? Are you not to judge those inside?

Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial suits?

Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters!

The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals,

thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

"All things are lawful for me" -- but not everything is beneficial. "All things are lawful for me" -- but I will not be controlled by anything.

"Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both." The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!

Or do you not know that anyone who is united with a prostitute is one body with her? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

Now with regard to the issues you wrote about: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman."

It is not the wife who has the rights to her own body, but the husband. In the same way, it is not the husband who has the rights to his own body, but the wife.

Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then resume your relationship, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

I say this as a concession, not as a command.

But if they do not have self-control, let them get married. For it is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.

To the married I give this command -- not I, but the Lord -- a wife should not divorce a husband

(but if she does, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband), and a husband should not divorce his wife.

To the rest I say -- I, not the Lord -- if a brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is happy to live with him, he should not divorce her.

And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is happy to live with her, she should not divorce him.

But if the unbeliever wants a divorce, let it take place. In these circumstances the brother or sister is not bound. God has called you in peace.

Was anyone called after he had been circumcised? He should not try to undo his circumcision. Was anyone called who is uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised.

Were you called as a slave? Do not worry about it. But if indeed you are able to be free, make the most of the opportunity.

You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men.

The one bound to a wife should not seek divorce. The one released from a wife should not seek marriage.

But if you marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face difficult circumstances, and I am trying to spare you such problems.

those with tears like those not weeping, those who rejoice like those not rejoicing, those who buy like those without possessions,

those who use the world as though they were not using it to the full. For the present shape of this world is passing away.

I am saying this for your benefit, not to place a limitation on you, but so that without distraction you may give notable and constant service to the Lord.

If anyone thinks he is acting inappropriately toward his virgin, if she is past the bloom of youth and it seems necessary, he should do what he wishes; he does not sin. Let them marry.

So then, the one who marries his own virgin does well, but the one who does not, does better.

If someone thinks he knows something, he does not yet know to the degree that he needs to know.

But this knowledge is not shared by all. And some, by being accustomed to idols in former times, eat this food as an idol sacrifice, and their conscience, because it is weak, is defiled.

Now food will not bring us close to God. We are no worse if we do not eat and no better if we do.

But be careful that this liberty of yours does not become a hindrance to the weak.

For if someone weak sees you who possess knowledge dining in an idol's temple, will not his conscience be "strengthened" to eat food offered to idols?

For this reason, if food causes my brother or sister to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause one of them to sin.

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?

If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, for you are the confirming sign of my apostleship in the Lord.

Do we not have the right to financial support?

Do we not have the right to the company of a believing wife, like the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas?

Or do only Barnabas and I lack the right not to work?

Who ever serves in the army at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not consume its milk?

Am I saying these things only on the basis of common sense, or does the law not say this as well?

For it is written in the law of Moses, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." God is not concerned here about oxen, is he?

Or is he not surely speaking for our benefit? It was written for us, because the one plowing and threshing ought to work in hope of enjoying the harvest.

If others receive this right from you, are we not more deserving? But we have not made use of this right. Instead we endure everything so that we may not be a hindrance to the gospel of Christ.

But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing these things so that something will be done for me. In fact, it would be better for me to die than -- no one will deprive me of my reason for boasting!

For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason for boasting, because I am compelled to do this. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

What then is my reward? That when I preach the gospel I may offer the gospel free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights in the gospel.

To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) to gain those under the law.

To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God's law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law.

Do you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So run to win.

So I do not run uncertainly or box like one who hits only air.

Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified.

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea,

But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were cut down in the wilderness.

These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not crave evil things as they did.

So do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play."

And let us not be immoral, as some of them were, and twenty-three thousand died in a single day.

And let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes.

And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel.

So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall.

No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it.

Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ?