1 Corinthians 1
1Paul, a summoned apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2to the assembly of God in Corinth—to those who have been consecrated in Christ Jesus, summoned to be a holy people, together with all those in every place who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4I always thank my God concerning you for the grace of God given to you in Christ Jesus, 5because in every way you were enriched in him—in all your speaking and all your knowledge— 6just as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you. 7As a result, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the unveiling of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8He is the one who will also keep you firm until the end, so that you will be irreproachable on the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9God is trustworthy; it is through him that you were summoned into the shared life of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
10Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak in agreement and that there be no fractures among you, but that you be restored to a state of unity in the same mind and the same purpose. 11For it has been made clear to me concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are rivalries among you. 12What I mean is this: each of you is saying, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” 13Has Christ been carved into pieces? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so that no one can say, “I was baptized into your name.” 16(I did also baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know if I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize but to announce the good news—and not with the “wisdom” of clever rhetoric, so that the cross of Christ would not be drained of its power.
18For the logic of the cross is sheer nonsense to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. 19For it stands written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the skilled debater of this present age? Has God not made the wisdom of this world look like nonsense? 21For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its own wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the "nonsense" of our proclamation to save those who believe. 22For while Jews demand signs and Greeks seek after wisdom, 23we proclaim a crucified Christ—an offensive hurdle to Jews and nonsense to the nations, 24but to those who are summoned, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25Because God’s "nonsense" is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s "weakness" is stronger than human strength.
26Consider your own summons, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27Instead, God chose the nonsensical things of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28God chose the low-born and the despised things of the world—the things that "are not"—to nullify the things that "are," 29so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30But it is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom for us from God—that is, our justice, our consecration, and our liberation. 31This was done so that, as it stands written: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”