God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

But what is God's reply to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."

What then? Israel did not obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,

For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

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.

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.

Therefore he who resists the authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

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.

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.

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

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

For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed

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.

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."

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.

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,"

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.

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

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?

What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

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

Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what counts.

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.

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?

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.

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.

I speak as to sensible men; judge for yourselves what I say.

What do I mean then? That a thing offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? No, I will not.

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,

But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?

If even lifeless things, such as the flute or the harp, do not give a distinction in the notes, how will any one know what is played?

So it is with you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is intelligible, how will anyone know what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.

What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also.

Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how can any one in the position of an outsider say the "Amen" to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?

What is the outcome then, brethren? When you come together, each one has a hymn, or a teaching, or a revelation, or a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.

If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of themyet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Otherwise, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are people baptized for them?

If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

But someone will ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?"

You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.

I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have supplied what was lacking on your part.

For we write you nothing but what you can read and understand; and I hope you will understand fully,

Any one whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,

For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it.

For if what was fading away came with glory, much more is the glory of that which lasts.

Since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak,

For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men; but what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

What harmony has Christ with Belial? Or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

For behold what this very thing, godly sorrow, has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what readiness to see justice done! At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

And in this matter I give my advice: it is best for you now to complete what a year ago you began not only to do but to desire.

For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a man has, not according to what he does not have.

for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

Let such people realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so.

And what I am doing, I will also continue to do, in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things of which they boast.

What I am saying I am not saying as the Lord would, but as a fool, in this confidence of boasting.

For in what respect were you inferior to the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong!

Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden to you, for I seek not what is yours but you; for children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for their children.

For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you what I wish you to be, and you may not find me what you wish me to be; I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.

Now we pray to God that you may not do wrong, not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to have failed.

For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. What we pray for is your perfection.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we preached to you, let him be accursed!

As we have said before, so I say again now, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed!

(Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I do not lie.)

And from those who were reputed to be something (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)those, I say, who were of repute added nothing to me;

For if I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove myself a transgressor.

What I mean is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

But the Scripture has bound everyone under sin, so that that what was promised by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

What has become of the satisfaction you felt? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me.

But what does the scripture say? "Cast out the slave and her son, for the son of the slave shall not inherit with the son of the free woman."

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you would.

See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but what counts is a new creation.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might

may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

(In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean except that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth?

from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each part, causes the growth of the body and builds itself up in love.

and try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.

so that you may approve what is excellent, and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ;

Now I want you to know, brethren, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel,

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice,

because he almost died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was deficient in your service to me.

Brethren, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share for the sake of his body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions.