Chapter 2

Paul’s Reliance upon the Spirit

1 And when I came to you, brethren, I adid not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you bthe 1testimony of God.

2 For I determined to know nothing among you except aJesus Christ, and Him crucified.

3 I was with you in aweakness and in bfear and in much trembling,

4 and my 1message and my preaching were anot in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of bthe Spirit and of power,

5 so that your faith would not 1rest on the wisdom of men, but on athe power of God.

6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are amature; a wisdom, however, not of bthis age nor of the rulers of bthis age, who are cpassing away;

7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a amystery, the hidden wisdom which God bpredestined before the cages to our glory;

8 the wisdom awhich none of the rulers of bthis age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified cthe Lord of glory;

9 but just as it is written,

“aThings which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,

And which have not entered the heart of man,

All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

10 1aFor to us God revealed them bthrough the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the cdepths of God.

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

12 Now we ahave received, not the spirit of bthe world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

13 which things we also speak, anot in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, 1combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

14 But 1a anatural man bdoes not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are cfoolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually 2appraised.

15 But he who is aspiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.

16 For awho has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct Him? But bwe have the mind of Christ.

Chapter 3

Foundations for Living

1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to aspiritual men, but as to bmen of flesh, as to cinfants in Christ.

2 I gave you amilk to drink, not solid food; for you bwere not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,

3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is ajealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking 1blike mere men?

4 For when aone says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not mere bmen?

5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? aServants through whom you believed, even bas the Lord gave opportunity to each one.

6 aI planted, bApollos watered, but cGod was causing the growth.

7 So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will areceive his own 1reward according to his own labor.

9 For we are God’s afellow workers; you are God’s 1bfield, God’s cbuilding.

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

11 For no man can lay a afoundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, 1precious stones, wood, hay, straw,

13 aeach man’s work will become evident; for bthe day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test 1the quality of each man’s work.

14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will areceive a reward.

15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet aso as through fire.

16 aDo you not know that byou are a 1temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

17 If any man destroys the 1temple of God, God will destroy him, for the 1temple of God is holy, and 2that is what you are.

18 aLet no man deceive himself. bIf any man among you thinks that he is wise in cthis age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.

19 For athe wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is bthe one who catches the wise in their craftiness”;

20 and again, “aThe Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.”

21 So then alet no one boast in men. For ball things belong to you,

22 awhether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or blife or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you,

23 and ayou belong to Christ; and bChrist belongs to God.

Chapter 4

Servants of Christ

1 Let a man regard us in this manner, as aservants of Christ and bstewards of cthe mysteries of God.

2 In this case, moreover, it is required 1of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

3 But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human 1court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.

4 For I aam conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this bacquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.

5 Therefore ado not go on 1passing judgment before 2the time, but wait buntil the Lord comes who will both cbring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s dpraise will come to him from God.

6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed awhat is written, so that no one of you will bbecome 1arrogant cin behalf of one against the other.

7 For who regards you as superior? aWhat 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?

8 You are aalready 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.

9 For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men acondemned to death; because we bhave become a spectacle to the world, 1both to angels and to men.

10 We are afools for Christ’s sake, but byou are prudent in Christ; cwe are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.

11 To this present hour we are both ahungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless;

12 and we toil, aworking with our own hands; when we are breviled, we bless; when we are cpersecuted, we endure;

13 when we are slandered, we try to 1conciliate; we have abecome as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

14 I do not write these things to ashame you, but to admonish you as my beloved bchildren.

15 For if you were to have countless atutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in bChrist Jesus I cbecame your father through the dgospel.

16 Therefore I exhort you, be aimitators of me.

17 For this reason I ahave sent to you bTimothy, who is my cbeloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, djust as I teach everywhere in every church.

18 Now some have become 1aarrogant, as though I were not bcoming to you.

19 But I awill come to you soon, bif the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the 1words of those who are carrogant but their power.

20 For the kingdom of God does anot consist in 1words but in power.

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