For Scripture says-'I will bring the philosophy of the philosophers to nought, and the shrewdness of the shrewd I will make of no account.'

But you, by your union with Christ Jesus, belong to God; and Christ, by God's will, became not only our Wisdom, but also our Righteousness, Holiness, and Deliverance,

In this the man who plants and the man who waters are one; yet each will receive his own reward in proportion to his own labor.

The quality of each man's work will become known, for the Day will make it plain; because that Day is to be ushered in with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of every man's work.

If any man's work, which he has built upon that foundation, still remains, he will gain a reward.

If any man's work is burnt up, he will suffer loss; though he himself will escape, but only as one who has passed through fire.

If any one destroys the Temple of God, God will destroy him; for the Temple of God is sacred, and so also are you.

Therefore do not pass judgment before the time, but wait till the Lord comes. He will throw light upon what is now dark and obscure, and will reveal the motives in men's minds; and then every one will receive due praise from God.

This is my reason for sending Timothy to you. He is my own dear faithful child in the Master's service, and he will remind you of my methods of teaching the Faith of Christ Jesus-methods which I follow everywhere in every Church.

But come to you I will, and that soon, if it please the Lord; and then I shall find out, not what words these men use who are so puffed up, but what power they possess;

Do not you know that Christ's People will try the world? And if the world is to be tried by you, are you unfit to try the most trivial cases?

Do not you know that wrong-doers will have no share in God's Kingdom? Do not be deceived. No one who is immoral, or an idolater, or an adulterer, or licentious, or a sodomite,

Or a thief, or covetous, or a drunkard, or abusive, or grasping, will have any share in God's Kingdom.

Everything is allowable for me! Yes, but everything is not profitable. Everything is allowable for me! Yes, but for my part, I will not let myself be enslaved by anything.

Food exists for the stomach, and the stomach for food; but God will put an end to both the one and the other. The body, however, exists, not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body;

And, as God has raised the Lord, so he will raise up us also by the exercise of his power.

Or do not you know that a man who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body (for 'the two,' it is said, 'will become one');

still, if you should marry, that is not wrong; nor, if a young woman marries, is that wrong. But those who marry will have much trouble to bear, and my wish is to spare you.

On the other hand, a father, who has definitely made up his mind, and is under no compulsion, but is free to carry out his own wishes, and who has come to the decision, in his own mind, to keep his unmarried daughter at home will be doing right.

In short, the one who consents to his daughter's marriage is doing right, and yet the other will be doing better.

Yet she will be happier if she remains as she is-in my opinion, for I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

What we eat, however, will not bring us nearer to God. We lose nothing by not eating this food, and we gain nothing by eating it.

For if some one should see you who possess this knowledge, feasting in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is a weak man, become so hardened that he, too, will eat food offered to idols?

Therefore, if what I eat makes my Brother fall, rather than make my Brother fall, I will never eat meat again.

No temptation has come upon you that is not common to all mankind. God will not fail you, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength; but, when he sends the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape, so that you may have strength to endure.

Indeed, there must be actual parties among you, for so only will the men of real worth become known.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread, or drinks the Lord's cup, in an irreverent spirit, will have to answer for an offence against the Lord's body and blood.

If a man is hungry, let him eat at home, so that your meetings may not bring a judgment upon you. The other details I will settle when I come.

Love never fails. But, whether it be the gift of preaching, it will be done with; whether it be the gift of 'tongues,' it will cease; whether it be knowledge, it, too, will be done with.

But, when the Perfect has come, that which is incomplete will be done with.

But he who preaches is speaking to his fellow men words that will build up faith, and give them comfort and encouragement.

If the bugle sounds a doubtful call, who will prepare for battle?

And so with you; unless, in using the gift of 'tongues,' you utter intelligible words, how can what you say be understood? You will be speaking to the winds!

If, however, I do not happen to know the language, I shall be a foreigner to those who speak it, and they will be foreigners to me.

And so with you; since your are striving for spiritual gifts, be eager to excel in such as will build up the faith of the Church.

What, then, is my conclusion? Simply this-I will pray with my spirit, but with my mind as well; I will sing with my spirit, but with my mind as well.

It is said in the Law-'In strange tongues and by the lips of strangers will I speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.'

So, when the whole Church meets, if all present use the gift of 'tongues,' and some men who are without the gift, or who are unbelievers, come in, will not they say that you are mad?

The secrets of his heart are revealed, and then, throwing himself on his face, he will worship God, and declare 'God is indeed among you!'

For, as through union with Adam all men die, so through union with the Christ will all be made to live.

Then will come the end-when he surrenders the Kingdom to his God and Father, having overthrown all other rule and all other authority and power.

And, when everything has been placed under him, the Son will place himself under God who placed everything under him, that God may be all in all!

Again, what good will they be doing who are baptized on behalf of the dead? If it is true that the dead do not rise, why are people baptized on their behalf?

Some one, however, may ask 'How do the dead rise? and in what body will they come?'

And when you sow, you sow not the body that will be, but a mere grain-perhaps of wheat, or something else.

Listen, I will tell you God's hidden purpose! We shall not all have passed to our rest, but we shall all be transformed-in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,

At the last trumpet-call; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise immortal, and we, also, shall be transformed.

And, when this dying body has put on its deathless form, then indeed will the words of Scripture come true-

On my arrival, I will send any persons, whom you may authorize by letter, to carry your gift to Jerusalem;

I will come to you as soon as I have been through Macedonia- -for I am going through Macedonia-

As for our Brother Apollos, I have often urged him to go to you with the others. He has, however, been very unwilling to do so as yet; but he will go as soon as he finds a good opportunity.

To the Church of God in Corinth, and to all Christ's People throughout Greece, from Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and from Timothy, a Brother.

If we meet with trouble, it is for the sake of your consolation and salvation; and, if we find consolation, it is for the sake of the consolation that you will experience when you are called to endure the very sufferings that we ourselves are enduring;

And our hope for you remains unshaken. We know that, as you are sharing our sufferings, you will also share our consolation.

And from so imminent a death God delivered us, and will deliver us again; for in him we have placed our hopes of future deliverance, while you, also, help us by your prayers.

And then many lips will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us in answer to many prayers.

We never write anything to you other than what you will acknowledge to the very end--

Will not the religion that confers the Spirit have still greater glory?

And, if that which was to pass away was attended with glory, far more will that which is to endure be surrounded with glory!

For we know that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with him, and will bring us, with you, into his presence.

What agreement can thee be between a temple of God and idols? And we are a temple of the Living God. That is what God meant when he said--'I will dwell among them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Therefore "Come out from among the nations, and separate yourselves from them," says the Lord, "and touch nothing impure; And I will welcome you;

And I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters," says the Lord, the Ruler of all.'

I am glad now; not because of the sorrow it caused you, but because your sorrow brought you to repentance. For it was God's will that you should feel sorrow, in order that you should not suffer loss in any way at our hands.

For, when sorrow is in accordance with God's will, it results in a repentance leading to Salvation, and which will never be regretted. The sure result of the sorrow that the world knows is Death.

For see what results that other sorrow--sorrow in accordance with God's will--has had in your case. What earnestness it produced! what explanations! what strong feeling! what alarm! what longing! what eagerness! what readiness to punish! You have proved yourselves altogether free from guilt in that matter.

And that, not only in the way we had expected; but first they gave themselves to the Lord, and to us also, in accordance with God's will.

And he who supplies 'seed to the sower, and bread for eating,' will supply you with seed, and cause it to increase, and will multiply 'the fruits of your righteousness').

Rich in all things yourselves, you will be able to show liberality to all, which, with our help, will cause thanksgiving to be offered to God.

Let such a man be assured of this--that our words in our letters show us to be, when absent, just what our deeds will show us to be, when present.

We, however, will not give way to unlimited boasting, but will confine ourselves to the limits of the sphere to which God limited us, when he permitted us to come as far as Corinth.

And, when I was with you in need, I did not become a burden to any of you; for our Brothers, on coming from Macedonia, supplied my needs. I kept myself, and will keep myself from being an expense to you in any way.

It is not surprising, therefore, if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of Righteousness. But their end will be in accordance with their actions.

As so many are boasting of earthly things, I, too, will boast.

If I must boast, I will boast of things which show my weakness!

I must boast! It is unprofitable; but I will pass to visions and revelations given by the Lord.

About such a man I will boast, but about myself I will not boast except as regards my weaknesses.

But his reply has been-- 'My help is enough for you; for my strength attains its perfection in the midst of weakness.' Most gladly, then, will I boast all the more of my weaknesses, so that the strength of the Christ may overshadow me.

For my part, I will most gladly spend, and be spent, for your welfare. Can it be that the more intensely I love you the less I am to be loved?

You will admit that I was not a burden to you but you say that I was "crafty" and caught you "by a trick"!

And that will be the proof, which you are looking for, that the Christ speaks through me. There is no weakness in his dealings with you. No, he shows his power among you.

But I hope that you will recognize that we can stand the test.

And now, brothers, good-bye. Aim at perfection; take courage; agree together; live in peace. And then God, the source of all love and peace, will be with you.

Gave himself for our sins, in accordance with the will of God and Father,

So we placed our faith in Christ Jesus, in order that we might be pronounced righteous, as the result of faith in Christ, and not of obedience to Law; for such obedience 'will not result in even one soul's being pronounced righteous.'

But the Law is not based on faith; no, its words are--'Those who practice these precepts will find Life through them.'

Certain people are seeking your favor, but with no honorable object. No, indeed, they want to isolate you, so that you will have to seek their favor.

Understand that I, Paul, myself tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will avail you nothing.

I, through my union with the Lord, am persuaded that you will learn to think with me. But the man who is disturbing your minds will have to bear his punishment, whoever he may be.

This is what I have to say--Let your steps be guided by the Spirit, and then you will never gratify the cravings of your earthly nature.

Feelings of envy, drunkenness, revelry, and the like. And I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who indulge in such things will have no place in the Kingdom of God.

Let every one test his own work, and then his cause for satisfaction will be in himself and not in a comparison of himself with his neighbor;

Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. What a man sows that he will reap.

For he who sows the field of his earthly nature will from that earthly nature reap corruption; while he who sows the field of the spirit will from that spirit reap Immortal Life.

To Christ's People [AT EPHESUS] who are faithful to him, from Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God.

From the first he destined us, in his good-will towards us, to be adopted as Sons through Jesus Christ,

When he made known to us his hidden purpose. And it also accords with the good-will which God purposed to exhibit in Christ,

United in him, every part of the building, closely joined together, will grow into a Temple, consecrated by its union with the Lord.

And, by reading what I have written, you will be able to judge how far I understand this hidden purpose of God in Christ.

And pray that, in proportion to the wealth of his glory, he will strengthen you with his power by breathing his Spirit into your inmost soul,