What I am proud of is not the mere preaching of the gospel; that I am constrained to do. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

I get a reward if I do it of my own accord, whereas to do it otherwise is no more than for a steward to discharge his trust.

And my reward? This, that I can preach the gospel free of charge, that I can refrain from insisting on all my rights as a preacher of the gospel.

Why, free as I am from all, I have made myself the slave of all, to win over as many as I could.

To Jews I have become like a Jew, to win over Jews; to those under the Law I have become as one of themselves ??though I am not under the Law myself ??to win over those under the Law;

to the weak I have become as weak myself, to win over the weak. To all men I have become all things, to save some by all and every means.

Do you not know that in a race, though all run, only one man gains the prize? Run so as to win the prize.

Now this took place as a warning for us, to keep us from craving for evil as they craved.

And you must not be idolaters, like some of them; as it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to make sport.

Nor must we commit immorality, as some of them did ??and in a single day twenty-three thousand of them fell.

Nor must we presume upon the Lord as some of them did ??only to be destroyed by serpents.

And you must not murmur, as some of them did ??only to be destroyed by the destroying angel.

It all happened to them by way of warning for others, and it was written down for the purpose of instructing us whose lot has been cast in the closing hours of the world.

No temptation has waylaid you that is beyond man's power; trust God, he will never let you be tempted beyond what you can stand, but when temptation comes, he will provide the way out of it, so that you can bear up under it.

The cup of blessing, which we bless, is that not participating in the blood of Christ? The bread we break, is that not participating in the body of Christ?

(for many as we are, we are one Bread, one Body, since we all partake of the one Bread).

No, what I imply is that anything people sacrifice is sacrificed to daemons, not to God. And I do not want you to participate in daemons!

What! do we intend to rouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he is?

'All things are lawful'? Yes, but not all are good for us. 'All things are lawful'? Yes, but not all are edifying.

Each of us must consult his neighbour's interests, not his own.

When an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you agree to go, eat whatever is put before you, instead of letting scruples of conscience induce you to ask any questions about it.

Such is my own rule, to satisfy all men in all points, aiming not at my own advantage but at the advantage of the greater number ??at their salvation.

Copy me, as I copy Christ.

But I would like you to understand this: Christ is the head of every man, man is the head of woman, and God is the head of Christ.

while any woman who prays or prophesies without a veil on her head dishonours her head; she is no better than a shaven woman.

If a woman will not veil herself, she should cut off her hair as well. But she ought to veil herself; for it is disgraceful that a woman should have her hair cut off or be shaven.

for as woman was made from man, so man is now made from woman, while both, like all things, come from God.)

Judge for yourselves; is it proper for an unveiled woman to pray to God?

Surely nature herself teaches you that while long hair is disgraceful for a man,

for a woman long hair is a glory? Her hair is given her as a covering.

As you eat, everyone takes his own supper; one goes hungry while another gets drunk.

In the same way he took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup means the new covenant ratified by my blood; as often as you drink it, do it in memory of me.'

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

That is why many of you are ill and infirm, and a number even dead.

As it is, we are chastened when we are judged by him, so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

and if anyone is hungry let him eat at home. You must not gather, only to incur condemnation. I will give you my instructions upon the other matters when I come.

so I tell you now, that no one is speaking in the Spirit of God when he cries, 'Cursed be Jesus,' and that no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except in the holy Spirit.

One man is granted words of wisdom by the Spirit, another words of knowledge by the same Spirit;

But all these effects are produced by one and the same Spirit, apportioning them severally to each individual as he pleases.

As the human body is one and has many members, all the members of the body forming one body for all their number, so is it with Christ.

As it is, God has set the members in the body, each as it pleased him.

As it is, there are many members and one body.

just as the parts we consider rather dishonourable are the very parts we invest with special honour; our indecorous parts get a special care and attention

Thus if one member suffers, all the members share its suffering; if one member is honoured, all the members share its honour.

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.

Love is very patient, very kind. Love knows no jealousy; love makes no parade, gives itself no airs,

is never rude, never selfish, never irritated, never resentful;

love is never glad when others go wrong, love is gladdened by goodness,

Love never disappears. As for prophesying, it will be superseded; as for 'tongues,' they will cease; as for knowledge, it will be superseded.

At present we only see the baffling reflections in a mirror, but then it will be face to face; at present I am learning bit by bit, but then I shall understand, as all along I have myself been understood.

Thus 'faith and hope and love last on, these three,' but the greatest of all is love.

For he who speaks in a 'tongue' addresses God not men; no one understands him; he is talking of divine secrets in the Spirit.

Now I would like you all to speak with 'tongues,' but I would prefer you to prophesy. The man who prophesies is higher than the man who speaks with 'tongues' ??unless indeed the latter interprets, so that the church may get edification.

Inanimate instruments, such as the flute or the harp, may give a sound, but if no intervals occur in their music, how can one make out the air that is being played either on flute or on harp?

Well, it is the same with yourselves. Unless your tongue utters language that is readily understood, how can people make out what you say? You will be pouring words into the empty air!

Well, unless I understand the meaning of what is said to me, I shall appear to the speaker to be talking gibberish, and to my mind he will be talking gibberish himself.

So with yourselves; since your heart is set on possessing 'spirits,' make the edification of the church your aim in this desire to excel.

For if I pray with a 'tongue,' my spirit prays, no doubt, but my mind is no use to anyone.

Otherwise, suppose you are blessing God in the Spirit, how is the outsider to say 'Amen' to your thanksgiving? The man does not understand what you are saying!

Your thanksgiving may be all right, but then ??the other man is not edified!

It is written in the Law, By men of alien tongues and by the lips of aliens I will speak to this People; but even so, they will not listen to me, saith the Lord.

Thus 'tongues' are intended as a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; whereas prophesying is meant for believers, not for unbelievers.

Whereas, if everybody prophesies, and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is exposed by all, brought to book by all;

the secrets of his heart are brought to light, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God, declaring, 'God is really among you.'

As for speaking in a 'tongue,' let only two or at most three speak at one meeting, and that in turn. Also, let someone interpret;

if there is no interpreter, let the speaker keep quiet in church and address himself and God.

Let only two or three prophets speak, while the rest exercise their judgment upon what is said.

Should a revelation come to one who is seated, the first speaker must be quiet.

You can all prophesy quite well, one after another, so as to let all learn and all be encouraged.

for God is a God not of disorder but of harmony. [Move 33b-36 to follow vs 40] As is the rule in all churches of the saints,

women must keep quiet at gatherings of the church. They are not allowed to speak; they must take a subordinate place, as the Law enjoins.

If they want any information, let them ask their husbands at home; it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.

If anyone considers himself a prophet or gifted with the Spirit, let him understand that what I write to you is a command of the Lord.

First and foremost, I passed on to you what I had myself received, namely, that Christ died for our sins as the scriptures had said,

that he was buried, that he rose on the third day as the scriptures had said,

At any rate, whether I or they have done most, such is what we preach, such is what you believed.

Now if we preach that Christ rose from the dead, how can certain individuals among you assert that 'there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead'?

If 'there is no such thing as a resurrection from the dead,' then even Christ did not rise;

and if Christ did not rise, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins.

But it is not so! Christ did rise from the dead, he was the first to be reaped of those who sleep in death.

as all die in Adam, so shall all be made alive in Christ.

(Death is the last foe to be put down.)

For God has put everything under his feet. When it is said that everything has been put under him, plainly that excludes Him who put everything under him;

and when everything is put under him, then the Son himself will be put under Him who put everything under him, so that God may be everything to everyone.

Otherwise, if there is no such thing as a resurrection, what is the meaning of people getting baptized on behalf of their dead? If dead men do not rise at all, why do people get baptized on their behalf?

What would it avail me that, humanly speaking, I 'fought with wild beasts' at Ephesus? If dead men do not rise, let us eat and drink, for we will be dead to-morrow!

Make no mistake about this: 'bad company is the ruin of good character.'

And what you sow is not the body that is to be; it is a mere grain of wheat, for example, or some other seed.

God gives it a body as he pleases, gives each kind of seed a body of its own.

Flesh is not all the same; there is human flesh, there is flesh of beasts, flesh of birds, and flesh of fish.

There are heavenly bodies and also earthly bodies, but the splendour of the heavenly is one thing and the splendour of the earthly is another.

There is a splendour of the sun and a splendour of the moon and a splendour of the stars ??for one star differs from another in splendour.

So with the resurrection of the dead: what is sown is mortal, what rises is immortal;

sown an animate body, it rises a spiritual body. As there is an animate body, so there is a spiritual body.

Thus it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became an animate being, the last Adam a life-giving Spirit';

Man the first is from the earth, material; Man the second is from heaven.

As Man the material is, so are the material; as Man the heavenly is, so are the heavenly.

Thus, as we have borne the likeness of material Man, so we are to bear the likeness of the heavenly Man.

Here is a secret truth for you: not all of us are to die, but all of us are to be changed ??52 changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet-call. The trumpet will sound, the dead will rise imperishable, and we shall be changed.

and when this mortal body has been invested with immortality, then the saying of Scripture will be realized, Death is swallowed up in victory.