15 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weaku and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good,v to build them up.w 3 For even Christ did not please himselfx but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”a y 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,z so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of minda toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorifyb the God and Fatherc of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7 Accept one another,d then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jewsb e on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promisesf made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentilesg might glorify Godh for his mercy. As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;

I will sing the praises of your name.”c i

10 Again, it says,

“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”d j

11 And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;

let all the peoples extol him.”e k

12 And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jessel will spring up,

one who will arise to rule over the nations;

in him the Gentiles will hope.”f m

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peacen as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.o

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness,p filled with knowledgeq and competent to instruct one another. 15 Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave mer 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles.s He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God,t so that the Gentiles might become an offeringu acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesusv in my service to God.w 18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentilesx to obey Gody by what I have said and done—19 by the power of signs and wonders,z through the power of the Spirit of God.a So from Jerusalemb all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.c 20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospeld where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.e 21 Rather, as it is written:

“Those who were not told about him will see,

and those who have not heard will understand.”g f

22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.g

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you,h 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain.i I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assistj me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalemk in the servicel of the Lord’s peoplem there. 26 For Macedonian and Achaiao were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem.p 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.q 28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to Spainr and visit you on the way. 29 I know that when I come to you,s I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.

30 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit,t to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.u 31 Pray that I may be kept safev from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contributionw I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s peoplex there, 32 so that I may come to youy with joy, by God’s will,z and in your company be refreshed.a 33 The God of peaceb be with you all. Amen.

Personal Greetings

16 I commendc to you our sister Phoebe, a deacona,b of the church in Cenchreae.d 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lorde in a way worthy of his peoplef and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.

3 Greet Priscillac and Aquila,g my co-workersh in Christ Jesus.i 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.

5 Greet also the church that meets at their house.j

Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convertk to Christ in the province of Asia.l

6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.

7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jewsm who have been in prison with me.n They are outstanding amongd the apostles, and they were in Christo before I was.

8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

9 Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ,p and my dear friend Stachys.

10 Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.q

Greet those who belong to the householdr of Aristobulus.

11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.s

Greet those in the householdt of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.

13 Greet Rufus,u chosenv in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.

14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.

15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s peoplew who are with them.x

16 Greet one another with a holy kiss.y

All the churches of Christ send greetings.

17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.z Keep away from them.a 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ,b but their own appetites.c By smooth talk and flattery they deceived the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has hearde about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.f

20 The God of peaceg will soon crushh Satani under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.j

21 Timothy,k my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius,l Jasonm and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.n

22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23 Gaius,o whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.

Erastus,p who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. [24]e

25 Now to him who is ableq to establish you in accordance with my gospel,r the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mysterys hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writingst by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes fromf faithu—27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.v

1 Corinthians

Paul wrote this very practical book to address the problems of the tumultuous church in Corinth and to give instructions on marriage, disputes, immorality, public worship and lawsuits. These practical lessons are appropriate words of wisdom for Christians still today.

1 Paul, called to be an apostlea of Christ Jesus by the will of God,b and our brother Sosthenes,c

2 To the church of Godd in Corinth,e to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and calledf to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the nameg of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.h

Thanksgiving

4 I always thank my God for youi because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enrichedj in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledgek—6 God thus confirming our testimonyl about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual giftm as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.n 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blamelesso on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.p 9 God is faithful,q who has called your into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.s

A Church Divided Over Leaders

10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,a t in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you,u but that you be perfectly unitedv in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s householdw have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”;x another, “I follow Apollos”;y another, “I follow Cephasb”;z still another, “I follow Christ.”

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?a 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispusb and Gaius,c 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the householdd of Stephanas;e beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize,f but to preach the gospel—not with wisdomg and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom

18 For the message of the cross is foolishnessh to those who are perishing,i but to us who are being savedj it is the power of God.k 19 For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;

the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”c l

20 Where is the wise person?m Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age?n Has not God made foolisho the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the worldp through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to saveq those who believe.r 22 Jews demand signss and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified:t a stumbling blocku to Jews and foolishnessv to Gentiles, 24 but to those whom God has called,w both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of Godx and the wisdom of God.y 25 For the foolishnessz of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weaknessa of God is stronger than human strength.

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called.b Not many of you were wisec by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chosed the foolishe things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are notf—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.g 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus,h who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness,i holinessj and redemption.k 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”d l

2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdomm as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.a 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.n 3 I came to youo in weaknessp with great fear and trembling.q 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words,r but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,s 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.t

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature,u but not the wisdom of this agev or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.w 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mysteryx that has been hiddeny and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this agez understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.a 9 However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen,

what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived”b—

the things God has prepared for those who love him—b

10 these are the things God has revealedc to us by his Spirit.d

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughtse except their own spiritf within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spiritg of the world,h but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdomi but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.c 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of Godj but considers them foolishness,k and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spiritl makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord

so as to instruct him?”d m

But we have the mind of Christ.n

The Church and Its Leaders

3 Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spirito but as people who are still worldlyp—mere infantsq in Christ. 2 I gave you milk, not solid food,r for you were not yet ready for it.s Indeed, you are still not ready. 3 You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelingt among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? 4 For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,”u are you not mere human beings?

5 What, after all, is Apollos?v And what is Paul? Only servants,w through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed,x Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.y 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service;z you are God’s field,a God’s building.b

10 By the grace God has given me,c I laid a foundationd as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.e 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is,f because the Dayg will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.h 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.i 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.j

16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s templek and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?l 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wisem by the standards of this age,n you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishnesso in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”a;p 20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”b q 21 So then, no more boasting about human leaders!r All things are yours,s 22 whether Paul or Apollost or Cephasc u or the world or life or death or the present or the futurev—all are yours, 23 and you are of Christ,w and Christ is of God.