so that there is no gift of God in which you consciously come short while patiently waiting for the reappearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Now I entreat you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to cultivate a spirit of harmony--all of you--and that there be no divisions among you, but rather a perfect union through your having one mind and one judgement.

and the things which the world regards as base, and those which it sets utterly at nought--things that have no existence--God has chosen in order to reduce to nothing things that do exist;

But we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which comes forth from God, that we may know the blessings that have been so freely given to us by God.

But the spiritual man judges of everything, although he is himself judged by no one.

I fed you with milk and not with solid food, since for this you were not yet strong enough. And even now you are not strong enough:

Now in aim and purpose the planter and the waterer are one; and yet each will receive his own special reward, answering to his own special work.

For no one can lay any other foundation in addition to that which is already laid, namely Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God's Sanctuary, and that the Spirit of God has His home within you?

Let no one deceive himself. If any man imagines that he is wise, compared with the rest of you, with the wisdom of the present age, let him become "foolish" so that he may be wise.

Therefore let no one boast about his human teachers.

Therefore form no premature judgements, but wait until the Lord returns. He will both bring to light the secrets of darkness and will openly disclose the motives that have been in people's hearts; and then the praise which each man deserves will come to him from God.

But, if the Lord is willing, I shall come to you without delay; and then I shall know not the fine speeches of these conceited people, but their power.

It is no good thing--this which you make the ground of your boasting. Do you not know that a little yeast corrupts the whole of the dough?

Get rid of the old yeast so that you may be dough of a new kind; for in fact you *are* free from corruption. For our Passover Lamb has already been offered in sacrifice--even Christ.

Do you not know that God's people will sit in judgement upon the world? And if you are the court before which the world is to be judged, are you unfit to deal with these petty matters?

Do you not know that we are to sit in judgement upon angels--to say nothing of things belonging to this life?

To say no more, then, it is altogether a defect in you that you have law-suits with one another. Why not rather endure injustice? Why not rather submit to being defrauded?

Do you not know that unrighteous men will not inherit God's Kingdom? Cherish no delusion here. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor any who are guilty of unnatural crime,

And all this describes what some of you were. But now you have had every stain washed off: now you have been set apart as holy: now you have been pronounced free from guilt; in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and through the Spirit of our God.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them the members of a prostitute? No, indeed.

Or do you not know that a man who has to do with a prostitute is one with her in body? For God says, "The two shall become one."

Or do you not know that your bodies are a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is within you--the Spirit whom you have from God?

I now deal with the subjects mentioned in your letter. It is well for a man to abstain altogether from marriage.

If, however, the unbeliever is determined to leave, let him or her do so. Under such circumstances the Christian man or woman is no slave; God has called us to live lives of peace.

Concerning unmarried women I have no command to give you from the Lord; but I offer you my opinion, which is that of a man who, through the Lord's mercy, is deserving of your confidence.

I think then that, taking into consideration the distress which is now upon us, it is well for a man to remain as he is.

and those who use the world as not using it to the full. For the world as it now exists is passing away.

If, however, a father thinks he is acting unbecomingly towards his still unmarried daughter if she be past the bloom of her youth, and so the matter is urgent, let him do what she desires; he commits no sin; she and her suitor should be allowed to marry.

Now as to things which have been sacrificed to idols. This is a subject which we already understand--because we all have knowledge of it. Knowledge, however, tends to make people conceited; it is love that builds us up.

If any one imagines that he already possesses any true knowledge, he has as yet attained to no knowledge of the kind to which he ought to have attained;

As to eating things which have been sacrificed to idols, we are fully aware that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but One.

But all believers do not recognize these facts. Some, from force of habit in relation to the idol, even now eat idol sacrifices as such, and their consciences, being but weak, are polluted.

For if any one were to see you, who know the real truth of this matter, reclining at table in an idol's temple, would not his conscience (supposing him to be a weak believer)

Do you not know that those who perform the sacred rites have their food from the sacred place, and that those who serve at the altar all alike share with the altar?

But I, for my part, have not used, and do not use, my full rights in any of these things. Nor do I now write with that object so far as I myself am concerned, for I would rather die than have anybody make this boast of mine an empty one.

Do you not know that in the foot-race the runners all run, but that only one gets the prize? You must run like him, in order to win with certainty.

No temptation has you in its power but such as is common to human nature; and God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. But, when the temptation comes, He will also provide the way of escape; so that you may be able to bear it.

No, but that which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God; and I would not have you have fellowship with one another through the demons.

Let no one be for ever seeking his own good, but let each seek that of his fellow man.

Anything that is for sale in the meat market, eat, and ask no questions for conscience' sake;

If an unbeliever gives you an invitation and you are disposed to accept it, eat whatever is put before you, and ask no questions for conscience' sake.

But now I mean his conscience, not your own. "Why, on what ground," you may object, "is the question of my liberty of action to be decided by a conscience not my own?

Now I commend you for remembering me in everything, and because you hold fast truths and practices precisely as I have taught them to you.

I would have you know, however, that of every man, Christ is the Head, that of a woman her husband is the Head, and that God is Christ's Head.

But if any one is inclined to be contentious on the point, we have no such custom, nor have the Churches of God.

When, however, you meet in one place, there is no eating the Supper of the Lord;

Why, have you no homes in which to eat and drink? Or do you wish to show your contempt for the Church of God and make those who have no homes feel ashamed? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I certainly do not praise you.

In the same way, when the meal was over, He also took the cup. "This cup," He said, "is the new Covenant of which my blood is the pledge. Do this, every time that you drink it, in memory of me."

You know that when you were heathens you went astray after dumb idols, wherever you happened to be led.

For this reason I would have you understand that no one speaking under the influence of The Spirit of God ever says, "Jesus is accursed," and that no one is able to say, "Jesus is Lord," except under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Now there are various kinds of gifts, but there is one and the same Spirit;

No, it is quite otherwise. Even those parts of the body which are apparently somewhat feeble are yet indispensable;

that there might be no disunion in the body, but that all the members might entertain the same anxious care for one another's welfare.

But always seek to excel in the greater gifts. And now I will point out to you a way of life which transcends all others.

She finds no pleasure in injustice done to others, but joyfully sides with the truth.

For the present we see things as if in a mirror, and are puzzled; but then we shall see them face to face. For the present the knowledge I gain is imperfect; but then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

For he who speaks in an unknown tongue is not speaking to men, but to God; for no one understands him. Yet in the Spirit he is speaking secret truths.

Even inanimate things--flutes or harps, for instance--when yielding a sound, if they make no distinction in the notes, how shall the tune which is played on the flute or the harp be known?

And so with you; if with the living voice you fail to utter intelligible words, how will people know what you are saying? You will be talking to the winds.

There are, we will suppose, a great number of languages in the world, and no creature is without a language.

If, however, I do not know the meaning of the particular language, I shall seem to the speaker of it, and he to me, to be merely talking some foreign tongue.

Otherwise, if you bless God in spirit only, how shall he who is in the position of an ungifted man say the 'Amen' to your giving of thanks, when he does not know what your words mean?

or if there is no interpreter, let the man with the gift be silent in the Church, speaking to himself and to God.

If any one deems himself to be a Prophet or a man with spiritual gifts, let him recognize as the Lord's command all that I am now writing to you.

Afterwards He was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once, most of whom are still alive, although some of them have now fallen asleep.

But if Christ is preached as having risen from the dead, how is it that some of you say that there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead?

If there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead, then Christ Himself has not risen to life.

Nay more, we are actually being discovered to be bearing false witness about God, because we have testified that God raised Christ to life, whom He did not raise, if in reality none of the dead are raised.

Wake from this drunken fit; live righteous lives, and cease to sin; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak thus in order to move you to shame.

Foolish man! the seed you yourself sow has no life given to it unless it first dies;

Now sin is the sting of death, and sin derives its power from the Law;

On the first day of every week let each of you put on one side and store up at his home whatever gain has been granted to him; so that whenever I come, there may then be no collections going on.

Therefore let no one slight him, but all of you should help him forward in peace to join me; for I am waiting for him and others of the brethren.

And I beseech you, brethren--you know the household of Stephanas, how they were the earliest Greek converts to Christ, and have devoted themselves to the service of God's people--

It is a joy to me that Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus have now arrived, because what was wanting so far as you are concerned they have supplied.