For by the grace given to me I ask every one of you not to think of yourself more highly than you should think, rather to think of yourself with sober judgment on the measure of faith that God has assigned each of you.

For we have many parts in one body, but these parts do not all have the same function.

Live in harmony with each other. Do not be arrogant, but associate with humble people. Do not think that you are wiser than you really are.

Do not pay anyone back evil for evil, but focus your thoughts on what is right in the sight of all people.

Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, "Vengeance belongs to me. I will pay them back, declares the Lord."

Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

For the authorities are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you like to live without being afraid of the authorities? Then do what is right, and you will receive their approval.

But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for it is not without reason that they bear the sword. Indeed, they are God's servants to administer punishment to anyone who does wrong. Therefore, it is necessary for you to be acquiescent to the authorities, not only for the sake of God's punishment, but also for the sake of your own conscience.

Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another. For the one who loves another has fulfilled the Law.

For the commandments, "You must not commit adultery; you must not murder; you must not steal; you must not covet," and every other commandment are summed up in this statement: "You must love your neighbor as yourself."

The night is almost over, and the day is near. Let's therefore put aside the actions of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and do not obey your flesh and its desires.

Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of arguing over differences of opinion.

The person who eats any kind of food must not ridicule the person who does not eat them, and the person who does not eat certain foods must not criticize the person who eats them, for God has accepted him.

The one who observes a special day, observes it to honor the Lord. The one who eats, eats to honor the Lord, since he gives thanks to God. And the one who does not eat, refrains from eating to honor the Lord; yet he, too, gives thanks to God.

Therefore, let's no longer criticize each other. Instead, make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

For if your brother is being hurt by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not destroy the person for whom the Messiah died by what you eat.

Do not allow what seems good to you to be spoken of as evil.

For God's kingdom does not consist of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy produced by the Holy Spirit.

Do not destroy God's action for the sake of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make another person stumble because of what you eat.

But the person who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not act in faith; and anything that is not done in faith is sin.

Now we who are strong ought to be patient with the weaknesses of those who are not strong and must stop pleasing ourselves.

For even the Messiah did not please himself. Instead, as it is written, "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."

I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are filled with goodness and full of all the knowledge you need to be able to instruct each other.

My one ambition is to proclaim the gospel where the name of the Messiah is not known, so I don't build on someone else's foundation.

Welcome her in the Lord as is appropriate for saints, and provide her with anything she may need from you, for she has assisted many people, including me.

because such people are not serving the Messiah our Lord, but their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

Brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, I urge all of you to be in agreement and not to have divisions among you, so that you may be perfectly united in your understanding and opinions.

I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

(Oh yes, I also baptized the family of Stephanas. Beyond that, I'm not sure whether I baptized anyone else.)

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 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.

Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

My message and my preaching were not accompanied by clever, wise words, but by a display of the Spirit's power,

so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God's power.

However, when we are among mature people, we do speak a message of wisdom, but not the wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are passing off the scene.

None of the rulers of this world understood it, because if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

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

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

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

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?

I'm not writing this to make you feel ashamed, but to warn you as my dear children.

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.

Some of you have become arrogant, as though I were not coming to evaluate you.

But I will come to you soon if it's the Lord's will. Then I'll discover not only what these arrogant people are saying but also what power they have,

It is actually reported that sexual immorality exists among you, and of a kind that is not found even among the gentiles. A man is actually living with his father's wife!

Your boasting is not good. You know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough, don't you?

not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, greedy, robbers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.

When one of you has a complaint against another, does he dare to take the matter before those who are unrighteous and not before the saints?

You know that we will rule angels, not to mention things in this life, don't you?

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?

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?

You know that wicked people will not inherit the kingdom of God, don't you? Stop deceiving yourselves! Sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,

thieves, greedy people, drunks, slanderers, and robbers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

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 your bodies belong to the Messiah, don't you? Should I take what belongs to the Messiah and unite them with a prostitute? Certainly not!

You know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God, don't you? You do not belong to yourselves,

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

A wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn't have authority over his own body, but his wife does.

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.

But I say this as a concession, not as a command.

To married people I give this command (not really I, but the Lord): A wife must not leave her husband.

But if she does leave him, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. Likewise, a husband must not abandon his wife.

I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If a brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she is willing to live with him, he must not abandon her.

And if a woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he is willing to live with her, she must not abandon him.

But if the unbelieving partner leaves, let him go. In such cases the brother or sister is not under obligation. God has called you to live in peace.

Was anyone circumcised when he was called? He should not try to change that. Was anyone uncircumcised when he was called? He should not get circumcised.

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.

Now concerning virgins, although I do not have any command from the Lord, I will give you my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy.

But if you do get married, you have not sinned. And if a virgin gets married, she has not sinned. However, these people will experience trouble in this life, and I want to spare you from that.

and those who mourn as though they did not mourn, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they did not own a thing,

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.

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.

If a man thinks he is not behaving properly toward his virgin, and if his passion is so strong that he feels he ought to marry her, let him do what he wants; he isn't sinning. Let them get married.

If anyone thinks he really knows something, he has not yet learned it as he ought to know it.

But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are so accustomed to idolatry that when they eat food that has been offered to an idol, their conscience becomes contaminated because it is weak.

However, food will not bring us closer to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat food that has been offered to an idol, and no better off if we do.

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

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.

Who ever goes to war at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat any of its grapes? Or who takes care of a flock and does not drink any of its milk?

I am not saying this on human authority, am I? The Law says the same thing, doesn't it?

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?

If others enjoy this right over you, don't we have a stronger claim? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we tolerate everything in order not to put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of the Messiah.

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.

To the Jews I became like a Jew in order to win Jews. To those under the Law I became like a man under the Law, in order to win those under the Law (although I myself am not under the Law).

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.

That is the way I run, with a clear goal in mind. That is the way I fight, not like someone shadow boxing.

No, I keep on disciplining my body, making it serve me so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified.

Now I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the fact that all of our ancestors who left Egypt were under the cloud. They all went through the sea,

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.

Hardly! What they offer, they offer to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to become partners with demons.

Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up.

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

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.

A man should not cover his head, because he exists as God's image and glory. But the woman is man's glory.

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

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