Now I beg you all, brothers, for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, to be harmonious in what you say and not to have factions among you, but to be perfectly harmonious in your minds and judgments.

Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.

For the Scripture says: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the learning of the learned."

so that, as the Scripture says, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

But, as the Scripture says, they are: "Things which eye has never seen and ear has never heard, and never have occurred to human hearts, which God prepared for those who love Him."

And these are the things which we say, not in the language of man's wisdom, but in words given to us by the Spirit, judging the things of the spirit by the help of the Spirit.

[Isa. 40:13 says], "For who knows [what is in] the Lord's mind? And who is capable of instructing Him? But we have the mind of Christ. [Note: The "we" may refer to the apostles, who had the gift of inspiration (See verse 12), or to all Christians who have spiritual discernment].

For when one says, "I belong to Paul's party," and another, "I belong to Apollos' party," are you not acting as mere human creatures?

For this world's wisdom is mere nonsense to God. For the Scripture says, "He who catches the wise with their own cunning,"

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

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.

But I am coming, and coming soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out, not only what those conceited fellows say but what they can do,

when ye are assembled together with my spirit, by the power, I say,

to deliver him, I say, being such, to Satan for destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

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.

Do you not know that we Christians are to sit in judgment on angels, to say nothing of the ordinary cases of life?

I say this to make you feel ashamed. Has it come to this, that there is not one person among you who is wise enough to settle disagreements between brothers?

To say no more, it is a mark of moral failure among you to have lawsuits at all with one another. Why not rather suffer being wronged? Why not suffer being robbed?

Or, are you not aware that a man who has to do with a prostitute makes his body one with hers? For God says, "The two shall be physically one."

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

I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.

To the rest of the people I myself would say -- though the Lord Himself has said nothing about it -- if a Christian has a wife that is not a believer and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her;

I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.

But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;

And this for your own profit I say: not that I may cast a noose upon you, but for the seemliness and devotedness to the Lord, undistractedly,

But if any man thinks he is [being tempted to] behave improperly toward his virgin [fiancee], and she is past prime [marriageable] age, and feels the need [to get married] [Note: The Greek says "and so it has to be"], he should do what he wants; they should get married --- that man has not sinned.

About food that has been offered to idols, it is true, as you say, that we all have some knowledge on that matter. Knowledge gives people airs; love is what builds up character.

But if any one love God, he is known by him. I say, as to the eating of things sacrificed to idols,

Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also?

For it says in the law of Moses, It is not right to keep the ox from taking the grain when he is crushing it. Is it for the oxen that God is giving orders?

or because of us by all means doth He say it? yes, because of us it was written, because in hope ought the plower to plow, and he who is treading ought of his hope to partake in hope.

If others enjoy such rights over you, have we not a still better claim? But, you say, we have never availed ourselves of this right. No, we will stand anything rather than put any hindrance in the way of the good news of the Christ.

But for my part, I have never availed myself of any of these rights. I do not say this to bring it about in my own case. I would rather die than let any one make void this boast of mine.

Now stop being idolaters, as some of them were, for the Scripture says, "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to dance."

And do not say evil things against the Lord, as some of them did, and destruction overtook them.

Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

consider the custom of the Jews by descent, are not they which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar? what say I then?

What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?

But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

"All things are lawful," you say? But not all things are expedient; "all things are lawful"; but not all build up.

But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:

Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?

But if I give praise to God for the food which I take, let no man say evil of me for that reason.

Now in what I am going to say, I do not commend you, because your assemblies are not to your advantage, but to your prejudice.

What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

Therefore, I must tell you that no one who is speaking under the influence of the Spirit of God ever says, "Curse Jesus!" and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord!" without being under the influence of the holy Spirit.

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say,

If the foot says, "As I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," that does not make it any less a part of the body.

And if the ear says, "As I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," that does not make it any less a part of the body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you," or the head to the feet, "I do not need you."

That is to say, God has set people within the church to be first of all apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, and speakers in 'tongues' of various kinds.

I want you all to speak ecstatically, but I especially want you to be inspired to preach. The man who is inspired to preach is more useful than the one who speaks ecstatically??nless he can explain what he says so that it may do the church some good.

So if you, in using a strange tongue, say words which have no sense, how will anyone take in what you are saying? for you will be talking to the air.

There are, let us say, so many languages in the world, and none without its meaning.

Therefore, the man who can speak ecstatically should pray for the power to explain what he says.

For else when thou blessest with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say "amen" at thy giving of thanks? Seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest?

But in public worship I would rather say five words with my understanding so as to instruct others also than ten thousand words in an ecstasy.

In the Law it says, "By men of strange languages and by the lips of foreigners I will speak to this nation, and not even then will they listen to me, says the Lord."

If therefore when all the congregation is come together, and all speak with tongues, there come in they that are unlearned, or they which believe not: will they not say that ye are out of your wits?

If there is any ecstatic speaking, let it be limited to two or three people at the most, and have one speak at a time and someone explain what he says.

And let the prophets give their words, but not more than two or three, and let the others be judges of what they say.

Women are to keep quiet in church, for they are not allowed to speak. They must take a subordinate place, just as the Law says.

By which you have salvation; that is to say, the form in which it was given to you, if it is fixed in your minds, and if your faith in it is not without effect.

For I gave to you first of all what was handed down to me, how Christ underwent death for our sins, as it says in the Writings;

And he was put in the place of the dead; and on the third day he came back from the dead, as it says in the Writings;

If Christ be preached, how that he rose from the dead: how say some that are among you, that there is no resurrection of the dead?

for everything is to be reduced to subjection and put under Christ's feet. But when it says that everything is subject to him, he is evidently excepted who reduced it all to subjection to him.

besides, my engaging with those monsters, as I may say, at Ephesus, what advantage was it to me? if the dead don't rise, "let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."

Return to your sober sense as you ought, and stop sinning, for some of you are utterly ignorant about God. To your shame I say so.

But some man will say, "How shall the dead arise? With what bodies come they in?

This is also what the Scripture says: "The first man Adam became a living creature." The last Adam has become a life-giving Spirit.

This say I brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth corruption inherit uncorruption.

And when this mortal nature puts on immortality, then what the Scripture says will come true??Death has been triumphantly destroyed.

[Hos. 13:14 says], "Death, where is your victory [over people]? Death, where is your [harmful] sting?"