1 Corinthians Chapter 1

Salutation

1^:1 Paul, apostle of Christ^Messiah Jesus by God’s will, and Sosthenes our brother, ² to God’s church in Corinth, made holy in Christ and called to be saints with everyone everywhere that calls on our Lord. ³ Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.            1 Cor 1:1-3

Thanksgiving

⁴ I always thank God for you and for the grace he’s given you in Jesus. ⁵ He has enriched you in word and knowledge, ⁶ and confirmed in you the testimony about Christ. ⁷ So you don’t lack any gift as you anxiously wait for our Lord’s return. ⁸ He’ll continue to confirm you to the end so you’ll be blameless then. ⁹ You can rely on God, who called you into fellowship with his Son.  

1 Cor 1:4-9

Call for Unity

¹⁰ I urge you, by our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony so there’s no division among you. Unite in mind and purpose. ¹¹ Chloe’s family has told me about the rivalry that’s going on among you. ¹² This is what I mean: each of you is saying, “I’m with Paul”; “I’m with Apollos”; “I’m with Cephas”; “I’m with Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided up? Paul wasn’t crucified for you, was he? Were you baptized to Paul? ¹⁴ I’m glad I didn’t baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so you couldn’t say I baptized you to myself. ( ¹⁶ I did baptize the family of Stephanas; I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) ¹⁷ Christ didn’t send me to perform baptisms, but to deliver good news, not with an eloquence that could detract from the power of his cross.                                                  

1 Cor 1:10-17

Christ as Our Wisdom

            ¹⁸ The preaching about the cross is foolishness to people that perish; it’s God’s power to the people that are saved. ¹⁹ Scripture says,

                        “I’ll destroy the wisdom of the wise

                                    and set aside the insight of the insightful” [Is 29:14].

²⁰ Where’s the “wise”? Where’s the scribe? Where’s the skillful reasoner of this world? Hasn’t God made foolish the world’s “wisdom”? ²¹ In his wisdom, the world didn’t know him by wisdom. It pleased him to save believers by the “foolishness” of what we preach. ²² Jews ask for signs; Greeks look for wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks. ²⁴ But, to those who are called—Jews or Greeks—Christ is God’s power and wisdom. ²⁵ God’s foolishness is wiser than men; his weakness is stronger than men.

1 Cor 1:18-25

²⁶ You don’t see many wise, powerful, noble people called. ²⁷ God has chosen what’s foolish to the world to put the wise to shame, weak things to put strong things to shame, ²⁸ insignificant and disregarded things—even what’s not—to cancel out what is. ²⁹ He did it so nobody could act “proud” in his presence. ³⁰ By him you’re in Christ Jesus, who has become for us a wisdom, goodness, sanctification, and redemption that comes from God. ³¹ Like scripture says, “Whoever is proud should be proud of what he has in the LORD” [Jer 9:24].           

1 Cor 1:26-31