so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you eagerly wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ;

(Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any one else.)

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospelnot with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

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

For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to fleshly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are,

When I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.

and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

so that your faith might not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

Yet we do speak a wisdom among the mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away.

None of the rulers of this age understood it; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

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

This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

But the natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as carnal men, as infants in Christ.

I gave you milk, not solid food; for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, even now you are not ready,

for you are still carnal. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not carnal, and are you not walking like mere men?

For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not mere men?

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

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by any human court; I do not even judge myself.

I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not acquitted by this. It is the Lord who judges me.

Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts. Then every man will receive his praise from God.

Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that in us you may learn not to go beyond what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in favor of one against the other.

For who regards you as different? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

I do not write this to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.

For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

Now some have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to you.

But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out, not the words of these arrogant people, but their power.

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.

It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: a man has his father's wife.

And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to have mourned? Let the one who has done this be removed from your midst.

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?

Let us, therefore, celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

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

not at all meaning the immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.

But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any one who bears the name of brother if he is an immoral person, or greedy, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindlernot even to eat with such a one.

For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?

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 try trivial cases?

Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life!

Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts,

"All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be mastered by anything.

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

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

Or do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, "The two shall become one flesh."

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman.

The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.

Do not deprive one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

I say this by way of concession, not of command.

To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband

(but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.

But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.

If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she must not divorce him.

But if the unbelieving partner leaves, let him do so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound. For God has called us to peace.

Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised.

Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it trouble youbut if you can gain your freedom, do so.

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

Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek marriage.

But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have troubles in this flesh, and I am trying to spare you.

and those who mourn, as though they were not mourning; and those who rejoice, as though they were not rejoicing; and those who buy, as though they did not possess;

and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it. For the form of this world is passing away.

This I say for your own benefit, not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is good and to secure undivided devotion to the Lord.

But if any man thinks that he is not acting properly toward his betrothed, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let them marry.

So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who does not marry her will do better.

If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.

However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, being accustomed to idols, eat food as really sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

But food will not commend us to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

For if a man sees you, who have knowledge, at table in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols?

Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to fall.

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

Do we not have the right to food and drink?

Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?

Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk?

Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Does not the Law say the same thing?

For it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned?

If others share this right of support from you, do not we all the more? Nevertheless, we did not make use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

Do you not know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?

But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of my ground for boasting.

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!

For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if it is not of my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.

What then is my reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may offer the gospel free of charge, and so not make full use of my right in the gospel.

To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the lawthough not being myself under the lawso that I might win those under the law.

To those who are without law, I became as one without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without the law.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

Therefore I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as a man beating the air.

But I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

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

Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

Now these things are examples for us, not to desire evil things as they did.

Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play."

We must not indulge in immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day.

We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents.

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

Consider Israel after the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?

No, but I say that the things pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.