1Paul, called by God's will to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and our brother Sosthenes,
2to the church of God in Corinth—to you who are made holy in Christ Jesus and called to be God's people, along with everyone everywhere who calls on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
3May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
4I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus.
5Through him you have been enriched in every way, in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.
6because the message about Christ has been proven true in you.
7As a result, you don't lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.
8He will keep you strong until the very end, so you will be blameless on the day our Lord Jesus Christ returns.
9God is faithful; he is the one who called you to have a relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
10Now, brothers and sisters, I appeal to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, to agree with each other and not be divided. Instead, be perfectly united in your way of thinking and in your purpose.
11My brothers and sisters, some people from Chloe’s household have told me that there are arguments among you.
12This is what I mean: some of you are saying, “I follow Paul,” others, “I follow Apollos,” others, “I follow Cephas,” and still others, “I follow Christ.”
13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?
14I thank God that I didn’t baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius,
15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name.
16(I also baptized Stephanas’s household; besides them, I don't remember baptizing anyone else.)
17Christ didn't send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News. And I didn't preach with clever words, so that the power of Christ's cross wouldn't be lost.
18Because the message about the cross seems foolish to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.
19As it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; I will frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent.”
20Where are the wise people? Where are the scholars? Where are the debaters of this world? Hasn't God shown that the wisdom of this world is foolish?
21Since the world, in God's wisdom, did not come to know God through its own wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of what we preach.
22For Jews ask for miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom,
23but we preach Christ crucified. This is an obstacle to Jews, and foolishness to Gentiles,
24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25Because the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26Brothers and sisters, think of who you were when God called you. Not many of you were considered wise by human standards, nor were many of you powerful or born into important families.
27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
28God chose the common and despised things of the world, things that are considered as nothing, to do away with the things that are considered important,
29so that no one might boast in the presence of God.
30It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us. He is our righteousness, our holiness, and our freedom.
31This is so that, as it is written, "Whoever boasts should boast only in the Lord."