I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given you by the Messiah Jesus.

For by him you have become rich in every way in speech and knowledge of every kind

Therefore, you don't lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus the Messiah to be revealed.

Is the Messiah divided? Paul wasn't crucified for you, was he? You weren't baptized in Paul's name, were you?

For the Messiah did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, not with eloquent wisdom, so the cross of the Messiah won't be emptied of its power.

For the message about the cross is nonsense to those who are being destroyed, but it is God's power to us who are being saved.

For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject."

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

Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom,

For God's nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength.

It is because of God that you are in union with the Messiah Jesus, who for us has become wisdom from God, as well as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

For while I was with you I resolved to know nothing except Jesus the Messiah, and him crucified.

It was in weakness, fear, and great trembling that I came to you.

Instead, we speak about God's wisdom in a hidden secret, which God destined before the world began for our glory.

But as it is written, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him."

But God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God.

A person who isn't spiritual doesn't accept the things of God's Spirit, for they are nonsense to him. He can't understand them because they are spiritually evaluated.

For "Who has known the mind of the Lord so that he can advise him?" However, we have the mind of the Messiah.

I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, because you weren't ready for it. And you're still not ready!

For when one person says, "I follow Paul," and another person says, "I follow Apollos," you're following your own human nature, aren't you?

The one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive a reward for his own action.

For we are God's co-workers. You are God's farmland and God's building.

the workmanship of each person will become evident, for the day of judgment will show what it is, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's action.

If his work is burned up, he will suffer loss. However, he himself will be saved, but it will be like going through fire.

If anyone destroys God's sanctuary, God will destroy him, for God's sanctuary is holy. And you are that sanctuary!

For the wisdom of this world is nonsense in God's sight. For it is written, "He catches the wise with their own trickery,"

For my conscience is clear, but that does not vindicate me. It is the Lord who examines me.

Therefore, stop judging prematurely, before the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is now hidden in darkness and reveal the motives of our hearts. Then each person will receive his praise from God.

Brothers, I have applied all this to Apollos and myself for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what the Scriptures say. Then you will stop boasting about one person at the expense of another.

For who makes you superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not receive it?

For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display in last place, like men condemned to death. We have become a spectacle for the world, for angels, and for people to stare at.

We are fools for the Messiah's sake, but you are wise in the Messiah. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.

You may have 10,000 mentors who work for the Messiah, but not many fathers. For in the Messiah Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

That's why I sent Timothy to you. He is my dear and dependable son in the Lord and will help you remember how I live for the Messiah Jesus as I teach everywhere in every church.

for the kingdom of God isn't just talk, but also power.

turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of his body, so that his spirit may be saved on the Day of the Lord.

Get rid of the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough, since you are to be free from yeast. For the Messiah, our Passover, has been sacrificed.

So let's keep celebrating the festival, neither with old yeast nor with yeast that is evil and wicked, but with yeast-free bread that is both sincere and true.

The very fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves is already a defeat for you. Why not rather just accept the wrong? Why not rather be cheated?

Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not allow anything to control me.

Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but God will make them both unnecessary. The body is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

You know that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her, don't you? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh."

because you were bought for a price. Therefore, glorify God with your bodies.

Now about what you asked: "Is it advisable for a man not to marry?"

A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should do the same for her husband.

Do not withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so just for a set time, in order to devote yourselves to prayer. Then you should come together again so that Satan does not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

I say to those who are unmarried, especially to widows: It is good for them to remain like me.

However, if they cannot control themselves, they should get married, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let that bother you. Of course, if you have a chance to become free, take advantage of the opportunity.

For the slave who has been called to belong to the Lord is the Lord's free person. In the same way, the free person who has been called is the Messiah's slave.

You were bought for a price. Stop becoming slaves of people.

In view of the present crisis, I think it is prudent for a man to stay as he is.

Have you become committed to a wife? Stop trying to get released from your commitment. Have you been freed from your commitment to a wife? Stop looking for one.

and those who use the things in the world as though they were not dependent on them. For the world in its present form is passing away.

I want you to be free from concerns. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord, that is, about how he can please the Lord.

An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the affairs of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world, that is, about how she can please her husband. I'm saying this for your benefit, not to put a noose around your necks, but to promote good order and unhindered devotion to the Lord.

A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord.

For even if there are "gods" in heaven and on earth (as indeed there are many so-called "gods" and "lords"),

yet for us there is only one God, the Father, from whom everything came into being and for whom we live. And there is only one Lord, Jesus the Messiah, through whom everything came into being and through whom we live.

But you must see to it that this right of yours does not become a stumbling block for those who are weak.

For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you, who know better, eating in an idol's temple, he will be encouraged to eat what has been offered to idols, won't he?

In that case, the weak brother for whom the Messiah died is ruined by your knowledge.

I am free, am I not? I am an apostle, am I not? I have seen Jesus our Lord, haven't I? You are the result of my work in the Lord, aren't you?

If I am not an apostle to other people, surely I am one to you, for you are the evidence of my apostolic authority from the Lord.

Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to keep on working for a living?

For in the Law of Moses it is written, "You must not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." God is not only concerned about oxen, is he?

Isn't he really speaking for our benefit? Yes, this was written for our benefit, because the one who plows should plow in hope, and the one who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing in the crop.

But I have not used any of these rights, and I'm not writing this so that they may be applied in my case. I would rather die than let anyone deprive me of my reason for boasting.

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for this obligation has been entrusted to me. How terrible it would be for me if I didn't preach the gospel!

For if I preach voluntarily, I get a reward, but if I am unwilling to do it, I am still entrusted with that obligation.

What, then, is my reward? It is to be able to preach the gospel free of charge, and so I never resort to demanding my rights when I'm preaching the gospel.

Although I am free from everyone's expectations, I have made myself a servant to all of them to win more people.

To those who do not have the Law, I became like a man who does not have the Law in order to win those who do not have the Law. However, I am not free from God's Law, but I'm subject to the Messiah's law.

I do all this for the sake of the gospel in order to have a share in its blessings.

and drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that went with them. That rock was the Messiah.

Now their experiences serve as examples for us so that we won't set our hearts on evil as they did.

These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down as a warning for us in whom the culmination of the ages has been attained.

No temptation has overtaken you that is unusual for human beings. But God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. Instead, along with the temptation he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to endure it.

for "the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord."

However, if someone says to you, "This was offered as a sacrifice," don't eat it, both out of consideration for the one who told you and also for the sake of conscience.

I mean, of course, his conscience, not yours. For why should my freedom be determined by someone else's conscience?

If I eat with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of what I am thankful for?

Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.

just as I myself try to please everybody in every way. I don't look out for my own benefit, but rather for the benefit of many people, so that they might be saved.

I praise you for remembering everything I told you and for holding to the traditions that I passed on to you.

So if a woman does not cover her head, she should cut off her hair. If it is a disgrace for a woman to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her own head.

For man did not come from woman, but woman from man;

and man was not created for woman, but woman for man.

For as woman came from man, so man comes through woman. But everything comes from God.

Decide for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?

Nature itself teaches you neither that it is disgraceful for a man to have long hair

nor that hair is a woman's glory, since hair is given as a substitute for coverings.

Now I am not praising you in giving you the following instructions. When you gather, it is not for the better but for the worse.

For in the first place, I hear that when you gather as a church there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it.

For as you eat, each of you rushes to eat his own supper, and one person goes hungry while another gets drunk.

You have homes in which to eat and drink, don't you? Or do you despise God's church and humiliate those who have nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I will not praise you for this!

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you how the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took a loaf of bread,

gave thanks for it, and broke it in pieces, saying, "This is my body that is for you. Keep doing this in memory of me."

For as often as you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.