I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

For as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function,

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;

if service, let us use it in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching;

Let love be genuine. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Repay no one evil for evil, but have regard for what is noble in the sight of all.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

No, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God.

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will have praise from him.

For he is God's servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is God's servant, an avenger to execute wrath on the wrongdoer.

Pay all of them their dues: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and any other commandment there may be, are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

And do this, knowing the hour, that now it is full time for you to wake from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

The night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy.

As for the man who is weak in faith, accept him, but not for disputes over opinions.

One believes he may eat anything, but the man whose faith is weak eats only vegetables.

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will be made to stand, for the Master is able to make him stand.

One man esteems one day as better than another; another man esteems every day alike. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind.

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.

For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another anymore, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in our brother's way.

I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.

If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not by your eating destroy the one for whom Christ died.

So do not let your good be spoken of as evil.

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit;

he who serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Let us therefore pursue what makes for peace and for mutual edification.

Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

It is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble.

The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself for what he approves.

But he who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not act from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

For even Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."

Therefore, welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God.

and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name";

And again, Isaiah says: "There shall be a root of Jesse; and he who shall rise to rule over the Gentiles, in him the Gentiles shall hope."

But I have written very boldly to you on some points, so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God,

by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

but as it is written: "They shall see who have not been told of him, and those who have not heard shall understand."

This is the reason why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea,

greet also the church that meets in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert of Asia for Christ.

Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

For your obedience has become known to all, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

Gaius, who is my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, our brother.

Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret for long ages

but is now revealed and made known to all nations through the prophetic writings, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith

to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,

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

God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

What I mean is this, that each one of you says, "I am of Paul," and "I of Apollos," and "I of Cephas," and "I of Christ."

Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will frustrate."

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 the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

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.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong,

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,

therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord."

But, as it is written, "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,"

God has revealed them to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit which is in him? Even so no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

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 spiritual man judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

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

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?

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord assigned to each one.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.

For no other foundation can any one lay than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.

If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

If any one destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and that temple you are.

Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become a fool so that he may become wise.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness";

and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.

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.

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?

You are already filled! You have already become rich! You have become kings without us! And indeed, I wish that you had become kings so that we also might reign with you.

For, I think that God has exhibited us apostles last of all, like men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.

when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

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

For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

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