And thus there is no gift in which you are deficient, while waiting for the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Message of the Cross is indeed mere folly to those who are in the path to Ruin, but to us who are in the path of Salvation it is the very power of God.

We are proclaiming Christ crucified!-to the Jews an obstacle, to the Gentiles mere folly,

Look at the facts of your Call, Brothers. There are not many among you who are wise, as men reckon wisdom, not many who are influential, not many who are high-born;

And God chose what the world counts poor and insignificant-- things that to it are unreal-to bring its 'realities' to nothing,

I fed you with milk, not with solid food, for you were not then able to take it. No, and even now you are not able; you are still worldly.

While there exist among you jealousy and party feeling, is it not true that you are worldly, and are acting merely as other men do?

When one says 'I follow Paul,' and another 'I follow Apollos,' are not you like other men?

In this the man who plants and the man who waters are one; yet each will receive his own reward in proportion to his own labor.

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's harvest field, God's building.

Do not you know that you are God's Temple, and that God's Spirit has his home in you?

If any one destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him; for the Temple of God is sacred, and so also are you.

And it says again-'The Lord sees how fruitless are the deliberations of the wise.'

Therefore let no one boast about men; for all things are yours--

Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Kephas, or the world, or life, or death, or the present, or the future-all things are yours!

But you are Christ's and Christ is God's.

Are you all so soon satisfied? Are you so soon rich? Have you begun to reign without us? Would indeed that you had, so that we also might reign with you!

For, as it seems to me, God has exhibited us, the Apostles, last of all, as men doomed to death. We are made a spectacle to the universe, both to angels and to men!

We, for Christ's sake, are 'fools,' but you, by your union with Christ, are men of discernment. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are despised.

To this very hour we go hungry, thirsty, and naked; we are beaten; we are homeless;

Some, I hear, are puffed up with pride, thinking that I am not coming to you.

But come to you I will, and that soon, if it please the Lord; and then I shall find out, not what words these men use who are so puffed up, but what power they possess;

Instead of grieving over it and taking steps for the expulsion of the man who has done this thing, is it possible that you are still puffed up?

Get rid entirely of the old leaven, so that you may be like new dough-free from leaven, as in truth you are. For our Passover Lamb is already sacrificed-Christ himself;

Not, of course, meaning men of the world who are in immoral, or who are covetous and grasping, or who worship idols; for then you would have to leave the world altogether.

But, as things are, I say that you are not to associate with any one who, although a Brother in name, is immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or abusive, or a drunkard, or grasping-no, not even to sit at table with such people.

What have I to do with judging those outside the Church? Is it not for you to judge those who are within the Church,

While God judges those who are outside? 'Put away the wicked man from among you.'

Do not you know that Christ's People will try the world? And if the world is to be tried by you, are you unfit to try the most trivial cases?

Do not you know that we are to try angels-to say nothing of the affairs of this life?

Do not you know that your bodies are Christ's members? Am I, then, to take the members that belong to the Christ and make them the members of a prostitute? Heaven forbid!

Moreover, you are not your own masters; you were bought, and the price was paid. Therefore, honor God in your bodies.

My advice, then, to those who are not married, and to widows, is this: It would be well for them to remain as I am myself.

To those who are married my direction is-yet it is not mine, but the Master's-that a woman is not to leave her husband

Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that trouble you. No, even if you are able to gain your freedom, still do your best.

Are you married to a wife? Then do not seek to be separated. Are you separated from a wife? Then do not seek for a wife.

Those who are weeping as if not weeping, those who are rejoicing as if not rejoicing, those who buy as if not possessing,

And so his interests are divided. Again, the unmarried woman, whether she is old or young, is anxious about the Master's Cause, striving to be pure both in body and in spirit, while the married woman is anxious about worldly matters, desiring to please her husband.

With reference to food that has been offered in sacrifice to idols-We are aware that all of us have knowledge! Knowledge breeds conceit, while love builds up character.

With reference, then, to eating food that has been offered to idols-we are aware that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but one.

Even supposing that there are so-called 'gods' either in Heaven or on earth-and there are many such 'gods' and 'lords'-

Still, it is not every one that has this knowledge. Some people, because of their association with idols, continued down to the present time, eat the food as food offered to an idol; and their consciences, while still weak, are dulled.

Am I not free? Am I not an Apostle? Have I not seen our Lord Jesus? Are not you yourselves my work achieved in union with the Lord?

If I am not an Apostle to others, yet at least I am to you; for you are the seal that stamps me as an Apostle in union with the Lord.

To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews. To those who are subject to Law I became like a man subject to Law-though I was not myself subject to Law-to win those who are subject to Law.

The Bread is one, and we, though many, are one body; for we all partake of that one Bread.

No; what I say is that the sacrifices offered by the Gentiles 'are offered to demons and to a Being who is no God,' and I do not want you to share with demons.

Or 'are we to rouse the jealousy of the Lord'? Are we stronger than he?

I praise you, indeed, because you never forget me, and are keeping my injunctions in mind, exactly as I laid them upon you.

Have you no houses in which you can eat and drink? Or are you trying to show your contempt for the Church of God, and to humiliate the poor? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I cannot praise you.

That is why so many among you are weak and ill, and why some are sleeping.

Yet, in being judged by the Lord, we are undergoing discipline, so that we may not have judgment passed upon us with the rest of the world.

For just as the human body is one whole, and yet has many parts, and all its parts, many though they are, form but one body, so it is with the Christ;

No! Those parts of the body that seem naturally the weaker are indispensable;

Together you are the Body of Christ, and individually its parts.

Even with inanimate things, such as a flute or a harp, though they produce sounds, yet unless the notes are quite distinct, how can the tune played on the flute or the harp be recognized?

And so with you; since your are striving for spiritual gifts, be eager to excel in such as will build up the faith of the Church.

If you bless God with your spirit only, how can the man in the congregation who is without your gift say 'Amen' to your thanksgiving? He does not know what you are saying!

So, when the whole Church meets, if all present use the gift of 'tongues,' and some men who are without the gift, or who are unbelievers, come in, will not they say that you are mad?

The secrets of his heart are revealed, and then, throwing himself on his face, he will worship God, and declare 'God is indeed among you!'

At the meetings of the Church married women should remain silent, for they are not allowed to speak in public; they should take a subordinate place, as the Law itself directs.

And by means of which you are being saved. I would remind you of the very words that I used in telling it to you, since you are still holding fast to it, and since it was not in vain that you became believers in Christ.

After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of our Brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have gone to their rest.

Yes, and we are being proved to have borne false testimony about God; for we testified of God that he raised the Christ, whom he did not raise, if, indeed, the dead do not rise!

And, if Christ has not been raised, your faith is folly-your sins are on you still!

If all that we have done has been to place our hope in Christ for this life, then we of all men are the most to be pitied.

But, in truth, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who are at rest.

Again, what good will they be doing who are baptized on behalf of the dead? If it is true that the dead do not rise, why are people baptized on their behalf?

Awake to a righteous life, and cease to sin. There are some who have no true knowledge of God. I speak in this way to shame you.

All forms of life are not the same; there is one for men, another for beasts, another for birds, and another for fishes.

There are heavenly bodies, and earthly bodies; but the beauty of the heavenly bodies is not the beauty of the earthly.

Those who are of the dust are like him who came from the dust; and those who are of Heaven are like him who came from Heaven.

For a great opening for active work has presented itself, and there are many opponents.

My love to all of you who are in union with Christ Jesus.