1 Corinthians 1

1 Corinthians 2

¹Brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I didn’t speak about Theos’s mystery (Some manuscripts and translations read “testimony.”) as if it were some kind of brilliant message or wisdom. ²While I was with you, I decided to deal with only one subject—Jesus Christ, who was crucified. ³When I came to you, I was weak. I was afraid and very nervous. ⁴I didn’t speak my message with persuasive intellectual arguments. I spoke my message with a show of spiritual power ⁵so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on Theos’s power.

⁶However, we do use wisdom to speak to those who are mature. It is a wisdom that doesn’t belong to this world or to the rulers of this world who are in power today and gone tomorrow. ⁷We speak about the mystery of Theos’s wisdom. It is a wisdom that has been hidden, which Theos had planned for our glory before the world began. ⁸Not one of the rulers of this world has known it. If they had, they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹But as Scripture says:

“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
the things that Theos has prepared
for those who love him.”

¹⁰Theos has revealed those things to us by his Spirit (pneuma). The Spirit (pneuma) searches everything, especially the deep things of Theos. ¹¹After all, who knows everything about a person except that person’s own spirit (pneuma)? In the same way, no one has known everything about Theos except Theos’s Spirit (pneuma). ¹²Now, we didn’t receive the spirit (pneuma) that belongs to the world. Instead, we received the Spirit (pneuma) who comes from Theos so that we could know the things which Theos has freely given us. ¹³We don’t speak about these things using teachings that are based on intellectual arguments like people do. Instead, we use the Spirit (pneuma)’s teachings. We explain spiritual things to those who have the Spirit (pneuma). (Or “We explain spiritual things in spiritual words.”)

¹⁴A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the teachings of Theos’s Spirit (pneuma). He thinks they’re nonsense. He can’t understand them because a person must be spiritual to evaluate them. ¹⁵Spiritual people evaluate everything but are subject to no one’s evaluation.

16 “Who has known the mind of the Lord
so that he can teach him?”

However, we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 3

You Belong to Christ

¹Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t talk to you as spiritual people but as people still influenced by your corrupt nature. You were infants in your faith in Christ. ²I gave you milk to drink. I didn’t give you solid food because you weren’t ready for it. Even now you aren’t ready for it ³because you’re still influenced by your corrupt nature.

When you are jealous and quarrel among yourselves, aren’t you influenced by your corrupt nature and living by human standards? ⁴When some of you say, “I follow Paul” and others say, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting like ⌞sinful⌟ humans? ⁵Who is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are servants who helped you come to faith. Each did what the Lord gave him to do. ⁶I planted, and Apollos watered, but Theos made it grow. ⁷So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is important because ⌞only⌟ Theos makes it grow. ⁸The one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive a reward for his own work. ⁹We are Theos’s coworkers. You are Theos’s field.

You are Theos’s building. ¹⁰As a skilled and experienced builder, I used the gift (Or “grace.”) that Theos gave me to lay the foundation ⌞for that building⌟. However, someone else is building on it. Each person must be careful how he builds on it. ¹¹After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that foundation is Jesus Christ. ¹²People may build on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³The day will make what each one does clearly visible because fire will reveal it. That fire will determine what kind of work each person has done. ¹⁴If what a person has built survives, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵If his work is burned up, he will suffer ⌞the loss⌟. However, he will be saved, though it will be like going through a fire.

¹⁶Don’t you know that you are Theos’s temple and that Theos’s Spirit (pneuma) lives in you? ¹⁷If anyone destroys Theos’s temple, Theos will destroy him because Theos’s temple is holy. You are that holy temple!

¹⁸Don’t deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise in the ways of this world, you should give up that wisdom in order to become really wise. ¹⁹The wisdom of this world is nonsense in Theos’s sight. That’s why Scripture says, “Theos catches the wise in their cleverness.” ²⁰Again Scripture says, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are pointless.”

²¹So don’t brag about people. Everything belongs to you. ²²Whether it is Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life or death, present or future things, everything belongs to you. ²³You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to Theos.

1 Corinthians 4

The Work of the Apostles

¹People should think of us as servants of Christ and managers who are entrusted with Theos’s mysteries. ²Managers are required to be trustworthy.

³It means very little to me that you or any human court should cross-examine me. I don’t even ask myself questions. ⁴I have a clear conscience, but that doesn’t mean I have Theos’s approval. It is the Lord who cross-examines me. ⁵Therefore, don’t judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will also bring to light what is hidden in the dark and reveal people’s motives. Then each person will receive praise from Theos.

⁶Brothers and sisters, I have applied this to Apollos and myself for your sake. You should learn from us not to go beyond what is written in Scripture. Then you won’t arrogantly place one of us in opposition to the other.

⁷Who says that you are any better than other people? What do you have that wasn’t given to you? If you were given what you have, why are you bragging as if it weren’t a gift?

⁸You already have what you want! You’ve already become rich! You’ve become kings without us! I wish you really were kings so that we could be kings with you.

⁹As I see it, Theos has placed us apostles last in line, like people condemned to die. We have become a spectacle for people and angels to look at. ¹⁰We have given up our wisdom for Christ, but you have insight because of Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. ¹¹To this moment, we are hungry, thirsty, poorly dressed, roughly treated, and homeless. ¹²We wear ourselves out doing physical labor. When people verbally abuse us, we bless them. When people persecute us, we endure it. ¹³When our reputations are attacked, we remain courteous. Right now we have become garbage in the eyes of the world and trash in the sight of all people.

¹⁴I’m not writing this to make you feel ashamed but to instruct you as my dear children. ¹⁵You may have countless Christian guardians, but you don’t have many ⌞spiritual⌟ fathers. I became your father in the Christian life by telling you the Good News about Christ Jesus. ¹⁶So I encourage you to imitate me. ¹⁷That’s why I’ve sent Timothy to you to help you remember my Christian way of life as I teach it everywhere in every church. Timothy is my dear child, and he faithfully does the Lord’s work.

¹⁸Some of you have become arrogant because you think I won’t pay you a visit. ¹⁹If it’s the Lord’s will, I’ll visit you soon. Then I’ll know what these arrogant people are saying and what power they have. ²⁰Theos’s kingdom is not just talk, it is power.

²¹When I come to visit you, would you prefer that I punish you or show you love and a gentle spirit (pneuma)?

1 Corinthians 5

How to Treat Christians Who Live Like Non-Christians

¹Your own members are aware that there is sexual sin going on among them. This kind of sin is not even heard of among unbelievers—a man is actually married to his father’s wife. ²You’re being arrogant when you should have been more upset about this. If you had been upset, the man who did this would have been removed from among you. ³Although I’m not physically present with you, I am with you in spirit (pneuma). I have already judged the man who did this as though I were present with you. ⁴When you have gathered together, I am with you in spirit (pneuma). Then, in the name of our Lord Jesus, and with his power, ⁵hand such a person over to Satan to destroy his corrupt nature so that his spiritual nature may be saved on the day of the Lord.

⁶It’s not good for you to brag. Don’t you know that a little yeast spreads through the whole batch of dough? ⁷Remove the old yeast ⌞of sin⌟ so that you may be a new batch of dough, since you don’t actually have the yeast ⌞of sin⌟.

Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸So we must not celebrate our festival with the old yeast ⌞of sin⌟ or with the yeast of vice and wickedness. Instead, we must celebrate it with the bread of purity and truth that has no yeast.

⁹In my letter to you I told you not to associate with people who continue to commit sexual sins. ¹⁰I didn’t tell you that you could not have any contact with unbelievers who commit sexual sins, are greedy, are dishonest, or worship false gods. If that were the case, you would have to leave this world. ¹¹Now, what I meant was that you should not associate with people who call themselves brothers or sisters in the Christian faith but live in sexual sin, are greedy, worship false gods, use abusive language, get drunk, or are dishonest. Don’t eat with such people.

¹²After all, do I have any business judging those who are outside ⌞the Christian faith⌟? Isn’t it your business to judge those who are inside? ¹³Theos will judge those who are outside. Remove that wicked man from among you.

1 Corinthians 6

Settling Disagreements between Christians

¹When one of you has a complaint against another, how dare you go to court to settle the matter in front of wicked people. Why don’t you settle it in front of Theos’s holy people? ²Don’t you know that Theos’s people will judge the world? So if you’re going to judge the world, aren’t you capable of judging insignificant cases? ³Don’t you know that we will judge angels, not to mention things in this life? ⁴When you have cases dealing with this life, why do you allow people whom the church has a low opinion of to be your judges? ⁵You should be ashamed of yourselves! Don’t you have at least one wise person who is able to settle disagreements between believers? ⁶Instead, one believer goes to court against another believer, and this happens in front of unbelievers.

⁷You are already totally defeated because you have lawsuits against each other. Why don’t you accept the fact that you have been wronged? Why don’t you accept that you have been cheated? ⁸Instead, you do wrong and cheat, and you do this to other believers.

⁹Don’t you know that wicked people won’t inherit Theos’s kingdom? Stop deceiving yourselves! People who continue to commit sexual sins, who worship false gods, those who commit adultery, homosexuals, ¹⁰or thieves, those who are greedy or drunk, who use abusive language, or who rob people will not inherit Theos’s kingdom. ¹¹That’s what some of you were! But you have been washed and made holy, and you have received Theos’s approval in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit (pneuma) of our Theos.

Stay Away from Sexual Sins

¹²Someone may say, “I’m allowed to do anything,” but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but I won’t allow anything to gain control over my life. ¹³Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food, but Theos will put an end to both of them. However, the body is not for sexual sin but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. ¹⁴Theos brought the Lord back to life, and by his power Theos will also bring us back to life.

¹⁵Don’t you realize that your bodies are parts of Christ’s body? Should I take the parts of Christ’s body and make them parts of a prostitute’s body? That’s unthinkable! ¹⁶Don’t you realize that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her? Theos says, “The two will be one.” ¹⁷However, the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit (pneuma) with him.

¹⁸Stay away from sexual sins. Other sins that people commit don’t affect their bodies the same way sexual sins do. People who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. ¹⁹Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit (pneuma)? The Holy Spirit (pneuma), whom you received from Theos, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. ²⁰You were bought for a price. So bring glory to Theos in the way you use your body.

1 Corinthians 7

Advice about Marriage

¹Now, concerning the things that you wrote about: It’s good for men not to get married. ²But in order to avoid sexual sins, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

³Husbands and wives should satisfy each other’s ⌞sexual⌟ needs. ⁴A wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but his wife does.

⁵Don’t withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so for a set time to devote yourselves to prayer. Then you should get back together so that Satan doesn’t use your lack of self-control to tempt you. ⁶What I have just said is not meant as a command but as a suggestion. ⁷I would like everyone to be like me. However, each person has a special gift from Theos, and these gifts vary from person to person.

⁸I say to those who are not married, especially to widows: It is good for you to stay single like me. ⁹However, if you cannot control your desires, you should get married. It is better for you to marry than to burn ⌞with sexual desire⌟.

¹⁰I pass this command along (not really I, but the Lord): A wife shouldn’t leave her husband. ¹¹If she does, she should stay single or make up with her husband. Likewise, a husband should not divorce his wife.

¹²I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If any Christian man is married to a woman who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to live with him, he should not divorce her. ¹³If any Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to live with her, she should not divorce her husband. ¹⁴Actually, the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and an unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, their children would be unacceptable ⌞to Theos⌟, but now they are acceptable to him. ¹⁵But if the unbelieving partners leave, let them go. Under these circumstances a Christian man or Christian woman is not bound ⌞by a marriage vow⌟. Theos has called you to live in peace. ¹⁶How do you as a wife know whether you will save your husband? How do you as a husband know whether you will save your wife?

¹⁷Everyone should live the life that the Lord gave him when Theos called him. This is the guideline I use in every church.

¹⁸Any man who was already circumcised when he was called to be a Christian shouldn’t undo his circumcision. Any man who was uncircumcised when he was called to be a Christian shouldn’t get circumcised. ¹⁹Circumcision is nothing, and the lack of it is nothing. But keeping what Theos commands is everything. ²⁰All people should stay as they were when they were called. ²¹Were you a slave when you were called? That shouldn’t bother you. However, if you have a chance to become free, take it. ²²If the Lord called you when you were a slave, you are the Lord’s free person. In the same way, if you were free when you were called, you are Christ’s slave. ²³You were bought for a price. Don’t become anyone’s slaves. ²⁴Brothers and sisters, you should remain in whatever circumstances you were in when Theos called you. Theos is with you in those circumstances.

²⁵Concerning virgins: Even though I don’t have any command from the Lord, I’ll give you my opinion. I’m a person to whom the Lord has shown mercy, so I can be trusted. ²⁶Because of the present crisis I believe it is good for people to remain as they are. ²⁷Do you have a wife? Don’t seek a divorce. Are you divorced from your wife? Don’t look for another one. ²⁸But if you do get married, you have not sinned. If a virgin gets married, she has not sinned. However, these people will have trouble, and I would like to spare them from that.

²⁹This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: The time has been shortened. While it lasts, those who are married should live as though they were not. ³⁰Those who have eyes filled with tears should live as though they have no sorrow. Those who are happy should live as though there was nothing to be happy about. Those who buy something should live as though they didn’t own it. ³¹Those who use the things in this world should do so but not depend on them. It is clear that this world in its present form is passing away.

³²So I don’t want you to have any concerns. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord, ⌞that is,⌟ about how he can please the Lord. ³³But the married man is concerned about earthly things, ⌞that is,⌟ about how he can please his wife. ³⁴His attention is divided.

An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the Lord’s things so that she may be holy in body and in spirit (pneuma). But the married woman is concerned about earthly things, ⌞that is,⌟ about how she can please her husband. ³⁵I’m saying this for your benefit, not to restrict you. I’m showing you how to live a noble life of devotion to the Lord without being distracted by other things.

³⁶No father would want to do the wrong thing when his virgin daughter is old enough to get married. If she wants to get married, he isn’t sinning by letting her get married. ³⁷However, a father may have come to a decision about his daughter. If his decision is to keep her ⌞at home⌟ because she doesn’t want to get married, that’s fine. ³⁸So it’s fine for a father to give his daughter in marriage, but the father who doesn’t give his daughter in marriage does even better.

³⁹A married woman must remain with her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if the man is a Christian. (Or “only as the Lord guides her.”) ⁴⁰However, she will be more blessed if she stays as she is. That is my opinion, and I think that I, too, have Theos’s Spirit (pneuma).

1 Corinthians 8

Advice about Food Offered to False Gods

¹Now, concerning food offered to false gods: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes people arrogant, but love builds them up. ²Those who think they know something still have a lot to learn. ³But if they love Theos, they are known by Theos.

⁴Now about eating food that was offered to false theoi (plural of theos): We know that the false theoi (plural of theos) in this world don’t really exist and that no theos exists except the one Theos. ⁵People may say that there are theoi (plural of theos) in heaven and on earth—many gods and many lords, as they would call them. ⁶But for us,

“There is only one Theos, the Father.
Everything came from him, and we live for him.
There is only one Lord, Jesus Christ.
Everything came into being through him,
and we live because of him.”

⁷But not everyone knows this. Some people are so used to worshiping false gods that they believe they are eating food offered to a false theos. So they feel guilty because their conscience is weak.

⁸Food will not affect our relationship with Theos. We are no worse off if we eat ⌞that food⌟ and no better off if we don’t. ⁹But be careful that by using your freedom you don’t somehow make a believer who is weak in faith fall into sin. ¹⁰For example, suppose someone with a weak conscience sees you, who have this knowledge, eating in the temple of a false theos. Won’t you be encouraging that person to eat food offered to a false theos? ¹¹In that case, your knowledge is ruining a believer whose faith is weak, a believer for whom Christ died. ¹²When you sin against other believers in this way and harm their weak consciences, you are sinning against Christ.

¹³Therefore, if eating food ⌞offered to false gods⌟ causes other believers to lose their faith, I will never eat that kind of food so that I won’t make other believers lose their faith.

1 Corinthians 9

Paul’s Right to Be Paid for His Work as an Apostle

¹Don’t you agree that I’m a free man? Don’t you agree that I’m an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord? Aren’t you the result of my work for the Lord? ²If I’m not an apostle to other people, at least I’m an apostle to you. You are the seal which proves that I am the Lord’s apostle. ³This is how I defend myself to those who cross-examine me. ⁴Don’t we have the right to eat and drink? ⁵Don’t we have the right to take our wives along with us like the other apostles, the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas (Cephas is the Aramaic name for the Apostle Peter.) do? ⁶Or is it only Barnabas and I who don’t have any rights, except to find work to support ourselves?

⁷Does a soldier ever serve in the army at his own expense? Does anyone plant a vineyard and not eat the grapes? Does anyone take care of a flock and not drink milk from the sheep? ⁸Am I merely stating some human rule? Don’t Moses’ Teachings say the same thing? ⁹Moses’ Teachings say, “Never muzzle an ox when it is threshing (Threshing is the process of beating stalks to separate them from the grain.) grain.” Theos’s concern isn’t for oxen. ¹⁰Isn’t he speaking entirely for our benefit? This was written for our benefit so that the person who plows or threshes should expect to receive a share of the crop. ¹¹If we have planted the spiritual seed that has been of benefit to you, is it too much if we receive part of the harvest from your earthly goods? ¹²If others have the right to expect this from you, don’t we deserve even more? But we haven’t used our rights. Instead, we would put up with anything in order not to hinder the Good News of Christ in any way.

¹³Don’t you realize that those who work at the temple get their food from the temple? Don’t those who help at the altar get a share of what is on the altar? ¹⁴In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who spread the Good News should earn their living from the Good News.

¹⁵I haven’t used any of these rights, and I haven’t written this in order to use them now. I would rather die than have anyone turn my bragging into meaningless words. ¹⁶If I spread the Good News, I have nothing to brag about because I have an obligation to do this. How horrible it will be for me if I don’t spread the Good News! ¹⁷If I spread the Good News willingly, I’ll have a reward. But if I spread the Good News unwillingly, I’m ⌞only⌟ doing what I’ve been entrusted to do.

¹⁸So what is my reward? It is to spread the Good News free of charge. In that way I won’t use the rights that belong to those who spread the Good News.

Paul’s Work as an Apostle

¹⁹Although I’m free from all people, I have made myself a slave for all people to win more of them. ²⁰I became Jewish for Jewish people. I became subject to the laws in Moses’ Teachings for those who are subject to those laws. I did this to win them even though I’m not subject to Moses’ Teachings. ²¹I became like a person who does not have Moses’ Teachings for those who don’t have those teachings. I did this to win them even though I have Theos’s teachings. I’m really subject to Christ’s teachings. ²²I became like a person weak in faith to win those who are weak in faith. I have become everything to everyone in order to save at least some of them. ²³I do all this for the sake of the Good News in order to share what it offers.

²⁴Don’t you realize that everyone who runs in a race runs to win, but only one runner gets the prize? Run like them, so that you can win. ²⁵Everyone who enters an athletic contest goes into strict training. They do it to win a temporary crown, but we do it to win one that will be permanent. ²⁶So I run—but not without a clear goal ahead of me. So I box—but not as if I were just shadow boxing. ²⁷Rather, I toughen my body with punches and make it my slave so that I will not be disqualified after I have spread the Good News to others.

1 Corinthians 10

Learn from What Happened in the Time of Moses

¹I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that all our ancestors ⌞who left Egypt⌟ were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea. ²They were all united with Moses by baptism in the cloud and in the sea. ³All of them ate the same spiritual food, ⁴and all of them drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them, and that rock was Christ. ⁵Yet, Theos was not pleased with most of them, so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert.

⁶These things have become examples for us so that we won’t desire what is evil, as they did. ⁷So don’t worship false gods as some of them did, as Scripture says, “The people sat down to a feast which turned into an orgy.” ⁸We shouldn’t sin sexually as some of them did. Twenty-three thousand of them died on one day. ⁹We shouldn’t put the Lord (Some manuscripts and translations; other manuscripts and translations “Christ.”) to the test as some of them did. They were killed by snakes. ¹⁰Don’t complain as some of them did. The angel of death destroyed them. ¹¹These things happened to make them an example for others. These things were written down as a warning for us who are living in the closing days of history. ¹²So, people who think they are standing firmly should be careful that they don’t fall.

¹³There isn’t any temptation that you have experienced which is unusual for humans. Theos, who faithfully keeps his promises, will not allow you to be tempted beyond your power to resist. But when you are tempted, he will also give you the ability to endure the temptation as your way of escape.

Stay Away from Worshiping False Gods

¹⁴Therefore, my dear friends, get as far away from the worship of false gods as you can.

¹⁵I’m talking to intelligent people. Judge for yourselves what I’m saying. ¹⁶When we bless the cup of blessing aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? When we break the bread aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? ¹⁷Because there is one loaf, we are one body, although we are many individuals. All of us share one loaf.

¹⁸Look at the people of Israel from a human point of view. Don’t those who eat the sacrifices share what is on the altar? ¹⁹Do I mean that an offering made to a false theos is anything, or that a false theos itself is anything? ²⁰Hardly! What I am saying is that these sacrifices which people make are made to demons and not to Theos. I don’t want you to be partners with demons. ²¹You cannot drink the Lord’s cup and the cup of demons. You cannot participate at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons. ²²Are we trying to make the Lord jealous? Are we stronger than he is?

²³Someone may say, “I’m allowed to do anything,” but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but not everything encourages growth. ²⁴People should be concerned about others and not just about themselves. ²⁵Eat anything that is sold in the market without letting your conscience trouble you. ²⁶Certainly, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything it contains is his.” ²⁷If an unbeliever invites you ⌞to his house for dinner⌟, and you wish to go, eat anything he serves you without letting your conscience trouble you. ²⁸However, if someone says to you, “This was sacrificed to a theos,” don’t eat it because of the one who informed you and because of conscience. ²⁹I’m not talking about your conscience but the other person’s conscience. Why should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? ³⁰If I give thanks to Theos for the food I eat, why am I condemned for that? ³¹So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of Theos. ³²Don’t cause others to stumble, whether they are Jewish, Greek, or members of Theos’s church. ³³I try to please everyone in every way. I don’t think about what would be good for me but about what would be good for many people so that they might be saved.

1 Corinthians 11

¹Imitate me as I imitate Christ.

Advice about Worship

²I praise you for always thinking about me and for carefully following the traditions that I handed down to you.

³However, I want you to realize that Christ has authority over every man, a husband has authority over his wife, and Theos has authority over Christ. ⁴Every man who covers his head when he prays or speaks what Theos has revealed dishonors the one who has authority over him. ⁵Every woman who prays or speaks what Theos has revealed and has her head uncovered while she speaks dishonors the one who has authority over her. She is like the woman who has her head shaved. ⁶So if a woman doesn’t cover her head, she should cut off her hair. If it’s a disgrace for a woman to cut off her hair or shave her head, she should cover her head. ⁷A man should not cover his head. He is Theos’s image and glory. The woman, however, is man’s glory. ⁸Clearly, man wasn’t made from woman but woman from man. ⁹Man wasn’t created for woman but woman for man. ¹⁰Therefore, a woman should wear something on her head to show she is under ⌞someone’s⌟ authority, out of respect for the angels.

¹¹Yet, as believers in the Lord, women couldn’t exist without men and men couldn’t exist without women. ¹²As a woman came into existence from a man, so men come into existence by women, but everything comes from Theos.

¹³Judge your own situation. Is it proper for a woman to pray to Theos with her head uncovered? ¹⁴Doesn’t nature itself teach you that it is disgraceful for a man to have long hair? ¹⁵Doesn’t it teach you that it is a woman’s pride to wear her hair long? Her hair is given to her in place of a covering. ¹⁶If anyone wants to argue about this ⌞they can’t, because⌟ we don’t have any custom like this—nor do any of the churches of Theos.

¹⁷I have no praise for you as I instruct you in the following matter: When you gather, it results in more harm than good. ¹⁸In the first place, I hear that when you gather as a church you split up into opposing groups. I believe some of what I hear. ¹⁹Factions have to exist in order to make it clear who the genuine believers among you are.

²⁰When you gather in the same place, you can’t possibly be eating the Lord’s Supper. ²¹Each of you eats his own supper ⌞without waiting for each other⌟. So one person goes hungry and another gets drunk. ²²Don’t you have homes in which to eat and drink? Do you despise Theos’s church and embarrass people who don’t have anything to eat? What can I say to you? Should I praise you? I won’t praise you for this. ²³After all, I passed on to you what I had received from the Lord.

On the night he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread ²⁴and spoke a prayer of thanksgiving. He broke the bread and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this to remember me.” ²⁵When supper was over, he did the same with the cup. He said, “This cup is the new promise (Or “testament,” or “covenant.”) made with my blood. Every time you drink from it, do it to remember me.” ²⁶Every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you tell about the Lord’s death until he comes.

²⁷Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks from the Lord’s cup in an improper way will be held responsible for the Lord’s body and blood. ²⁸With this in mind, individuals must determine whether what they are doing is proper when they eat the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹Anyone who eats and drinks is eating and drinking a judgment against himself when he doesn’t recognize the Lord’s body.

³⁰This is the reason why many of you are weak and sick and quite a number ⌞of you⌟ have died. ³¹If we were judging ourselves correctly, we would not be judged. ³²But when the Lord judges us, he disciplines us so that we won’t be condemned along with the rest of the world.

³³Therefore, brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, wait for each other. ³⁴Whoever is hungry should eat at home so that you don’t have a gathering that brings judgment on you.

I will give directions concerning the other matters when I come.

1 Corinthians 12

Spiritual Gifts

¹Brothers and sisters, I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding concerning spiritual gifts. ²You know that when you were unbelievers, every time you were led to worship false gods you were worshiping gods who couldn’t even speak. ³So I want you to know that no one speaking by Theos’s Spirit (pneuma) says, “Jesus is cursed.” No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit (pneuma).

⁴There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit (pneuma) gives them. ⁵There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. ⁶There are different types of work to do, but the same Theos produces every gift in every person.

⁷The evidence of the Spirit (pneuma)’s presence is given to each person for the common good of everyone. ⁸The Spirit (pneuma) gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. The same Spirit (pneuma) gives another person the ability to speak with knowledge. ⁹To another person the same Spirit (pneuma) gives ⌞courageous⌟ faith. To another person the same Spirit (pneuma) gives the ability to heal. ¹⁰Another can work miracles. Another can speak what Theos has revealed. Another can tell the difference between spirits. Another can speak in different kinds of languages. Another can interpret languages. ¹¹There is only one Spirit (pneuma) who does all these things by giving what Theos wants to give to each person.

¹²For example, the body is one unit and yet has many parts. As all the parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³By one Spirit (pneuma) we were all baptized into one body. Whether we are Jewish or Greek, slave or free, Theos gave all of us one Spirit (pneuma) to drink.

¹⁴As you know, the human body is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. ¹⁵Suppose a foot says, “I’m not a hand, so I’m not part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? ¹⁶Or suppose an ear says, “I’m not an eye, so I’m not a part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? ¹⁸So Theos put each and every part of the body together as he wanted it. ¹⁹How could it be a body if it only had one part? ²⁰So there are many parts but one body.

²¹An eye can’t say to a hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²²The opposite is true. The parts of the body that we think are weaker are the ones we really need. ²³The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we give special honor. So our unpresentable parts are made more presentable. ²⁴However, our presentable parts don’t need this kind of treatment. Theos has put the body together and given special honor to the part that doesn’t have it. ²⁵Theos’s purpose was that the body should not be divided but rather that all of its parts should feel the same concern for each other. ²⁶If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts share its suffering. If one part is praised, all the others share in its happiness.

²⁷You are Christ’s body and each of you is an individual part of it. ²⁸In the church Theos has appointed first apostles, next prophets, third teachers, then those who perform miracles, then those who have the gift of healing, then those who help others, those who are managers, and those who can speak in a number of languages. ²⁹Not all believers are apostles, are they? Are all of them prophets? Do all of them teach? Do all of them perform miracles ³⁰or have gifts of healing? Can all of them speak in other languages or interpret languages?

³¹You ⌞only⌟ want the better gifts, but I will show you the best thing to do. (Or “Desire the better gifts, and I will show you the best thing to do.”)

1 Corinthians 13

Love

¹I may speak in the languages of humans and of angels. But if I don’t have love, I am a loud gong or a clashing cymbal. ²I may have the gift to speak what Theos has revealed, and I may understand all mysteries and have all knowledge. I may even have enough faith to move mountains. But if I don’t have love, I am nothing. ³I may even give away all that I have and give up my body to be burned. (Some manuscripts read “give up my body so that I may brag.”) But if I don’t have love, none of these things will help me.

⁴Love is patient. Love is kind. Love isn’t jealous. It doesn’t sing its own praises. It isn’t arrogant. ⁵It isn’t rude. It doesn’t think about itself. It isn’t irritable. It doesn’t keep track of wrongs. ⁶It isn’t happy when injustice is done, but it is happy with the truth. ⁷Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.

⁸Love never comes to an end. There is the gift of speaking what Theos has revealed, but it will no longer be used. There is the gift of speaking in other languages, but it will stop by itself. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will no longer be used. ⁹Our knowledge is incomplete and our ability to speak what Theos has revealed is incomplete. ¹⁰But when what is complete comes, then what is incomplete will no longer be used. ¹¹When I was a child, I spoke like a child, thought like a child, and reasoned like a child. When I became an adult, I no longer used childish ways. ¹²Now we see a blurred image in a mirror. Then we will see very clearly. Now my knowledge is incomplete. Then I will have complete knowledge as Theos has complete knowledge of me.

¹³So these three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the best one of these is love.

1 Corinthians 14

Speak in Ways That Can Be Understood

¹Pursue love, and desire spiritual gifts, but especially the gift of speaking what Theos has revealed. ²When a person speaks in another language, he doesn’t speak to people but to Theos. No one understands him. His spirit (pneuma) is speaking mysteries. ³But when a person speaks what Theos has revealed, he speaks to people to help them grow, to encourage them, and to comfort them. ⁴When a person speaks in another language, he helps himself grow. But when a person speaks what Theos has revealed, he helps the church grow. ⁵I wish that all of you could speak in other languages, but especially that you could speak what Theos has revealed. The person who speaks what Theos has revealed is more important than the person who speaks in other languages. This is true unless he can interpret what he says to help the church grow. ⁶Brothers and sisters, it wouldn’t do you any good if I came to you speaking in other languages, unless I explained revelation, knowledge, prophecy, or doctrine to you.

⁷Musical instruments like the flute or harp produce sounds. If there is no difference in the notes, how can a person tell what tune is being played? ⁸For example, if the trumpet doesn’t sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle? ⁹In the same way, if you don’t speak in a way that can be understood, how will anyone know what you’re saying? You will be talking into thin air.

¹⁰No matter how many different languages there are in the world, not one of them is without meaning. ¹¹If I don’t know what a language means, I will be a foreigner to the person who speaks it and that person will be a foreigner to me. ¹²In the same way, since you’re eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in them so that you help the church grow. ¹³So the person who speaks in another language should pray for an interpretation of what he says.

¹⁴If I pray in another language, my spirit (pneuma) prays, but my mind is not productive. ¹⁵So what does this mean? It means that I will pray with my spirit (pneuma), and I will pray with my mind. I will sing psalms with my spirit (pneuma), and I will sing psalms with my mind. ¹⁶Otherwise, if you praise Theos only with your spirit (pneuma), how can outsiders say “Amen!” to your prayer of thanksgiving? They don’t know what you’re saying. ¹⁷Your prayer of thanksgiving may be very good, but it doesn’t help other people grow. ¹⁸I thank Theos that I speak in other languages more than any of you. ¹⁹Yet, in order to teach others in church, I would rather say five words that can be understood than ten thousand words in another language.

²⁰Brothers and sisters, don’t think like children. When it comes to evil, be like babies, but think like mature people. ²¹Theos’s word says,

“Through people who speak foreign languages
and through the mouths of foreigners
I will speak to these people,
but even then they will not listen to me,
says the Lord.”

²²So the gift of speaking in other languages is a sign for unbelievers, not for believers. The gift of speaking what Theos has revealed is a sign for believers, not for unbelievers. ²³Suppose the whole congregation gathers in the same place and you speak in other languages. When outsiders or unbelievers come in, won’t they say that you’re out of your mind? ²⁴Now suppose you speak what Theos has revealed. When unbelievers or outsiders come in you will show them where they are wrong and convince them that they are sinners. ²⁵The secrets in their hearts will become known, and in this way they will quickly bow with their faces touching the ground, worship Theos, and confess that Theos is truly among you.

Maintain Order in Your Worship Services

²⁶So what does this mean, brothers and sisters? When you gather, each person has a psalm, doctrine, revelation, another language, or an interpretation. Everything must be done to help each other grow. ²⁷If people speak in other languages, only two or three at the most should speak. They should do it one at a time, and someone must interpret what each person says. ²⁸But if an interpreter isn’t present, those people should remain silent in church. They should only speak to themselves and to Theos.

²⁹Two or three people should speak what Theos has revealed. Everyone else should decide whether what each person said is right or wrong. ³⁰If Theos reveals something to another person who is seated, the first speaker should be silent. ³¹All of you can take your turns speaking what Theos has revealed. In that way, everyone will learn and be encouraged. ³²People who speak what Theos has revealed must control themselves. ³³Theos is not a Theos of disorder but a Theos of peace.

As in all the churches of Theos’s holy people, ³⁴the women must keep silent. They don’t have the right to speak. They must take their place as Moses’ Teachings say. ³⁵If they want to know anything they should ask their husbands at home. It’s shameful for a woman to speak in church. ³⁶Did Theos’s word originate with you? Are you the only ones it has reached?

³⁷Whoever thinks that he speaks for Theos or that he is spiritually gifted must acknowledge that what I write to you is what the Lord commands. ³⁸But whoever ignores what I write should be ignored.

³⁹So, brothers and sisters, desire to speak what Theos has revealed, and don’t keep anyone from speaking in other languages. ⁴⁰Everything must be done in a proper and orderly way.

1 Corinthians 15

Jesus Came Back to Life

¹Brothers and sisters, I’m making known to you the Good News which I already told you, which you received, and on which your faith is based. ²In addition, you are saved by this Good News if you hold on to the doctrine I taught you, unless you believed it without thinking it over. ³I passed on to you the most important points of doctrine that I had received:

Christ died to take away our sins as the Scriptures predicted.

⁴He was placed in a tomb.

He was brought back to life on the third day as the Scriptures predicted.

⁵He appeared to Cephas. (Cephas is the Aramaic name for the Apostle Peter.) Next he appeared to the twelve apostles. ⁶Then he appeared to more than 500 believers at one time. (Most of these people are still living, but some have died.) ⁷Next he appeared to James. Then he appeared to all the apostles. ⁸Last of all, he also appeared to me.

I’m like an aborted child ⌞who was given life⌟. ⁹I’m the least of the apostles. I’m not even fit to be called an apostle because I persecuted Theos’s church. ¹⁰But Theos’s kindness (Or “grace.”) made me what I am, and that kindness was not wasted on me. Instead, I worked harder than all the others. It was not I who did it, but Theos’s kindness was with me. ¹¹So, whether it was I or someone else, this is the message we brought you, and this is what you believed.

We Will Come Back to Life

¹²If we have told you that Christ has been brought back to life, how can some of you say that coming back from the dead is impossible? ¹³If the dead can’t be brought back to life, then Christ hasn’t come back to life. ¹⁴If Christ hasn’t come back to life, our message has no meaning and your faith also has no meaning. ¹⁵In addition, we are obviously witnesses who lied about Theos because we testified that he brought Christ back to life. But if it’s true that the dead don’t come back to life, then Theos didn’t bring Christ back to life. ¹⁶Certainly, if the dead don’t come back to life, then Christ hasn’t come back to life either. ¹⁷If Christ hasn’t come back to life, your faith is worthless and sin still has you in its power. ¹⁸Then those who have died as believers in Christ no longer exist. ¹⁹If Christ is our hope in this life only, we deserve more pity than any other people.

²⁰But now Christ has come back from the dead. He is the very first person of those who have died to come back to life. ²¹Since a man brought death, a man also brought life back from death. ²²As everyone dies because of Adam, so also everyone will be made alive because of Christ. ²³This will happen to each person in his own turn. Christ is the first, then at his coming, those who belong to him ⌞will be made alive⌟. ²⁴Then the end will come. Christ will hand over the kingdom to Theos the Father as he destroys every ruler, authority, and power.

²⁵Christ must rule until Theos has put every enemy under his control. ²⁶The last enemy he will destroy is death. ²⁷Clearly, Theos has put everything under Christ’s authority. When Theos says that everything has been put under Christ’s authority, this clearly excludes Theos, since Theos has put everything under Christ’s authority. ²⁸But when Theos puts everything under Christ’s authority, the Son will put himself under Theos’s authority, since Theos had put everything under the Son’s authority. Then Theos will be in control of everything.

²⁹However, people are baptized because the dead ⌞will come back to life⌟. What will they do? If the dead can’t come back to life, why do people get baptized as if they can ⌞come back to life⌟?

³⁰Why are we constantly putting ourselves in danger? ³¹Brothers and sisters, I swear to you on my pride in you which Christ Jesus our Lord has given me: I face death every day. ³²If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus, what have I gained according to the way people look at things? If the dead are not brought back to life, “Let’s eat and drink because tomorrow we’re going to die!” ³³Don’t let anyone deceive you. Associating with bad people will ruin decent people. ³⁴Come back to the right point of view, and stop sinning. Some people don’t know anything about Theos. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

We Will Have Bodies That Will Not Decay

³⁵But someone will ask, “How do the dead come back to life? With what kind of body will they come back?”

³⁶You fool! The seed you plant doesn’t come to life unless it dies first. ³⁷What you plant, whether it’s wheat or something else, is only a seed. It doesn’t have the form that the plant will have. ³⁸Theos gives the plant the form he wants it to have. Each kind of seed grows into its own form. ³⁹Not all flesh is the same. Humans have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds have another, and fish have still another. ⁴⁰There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies don’t all have the same splendor, neither do earthly bodies. ⁴¹The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon has another kind of splendor, and the stars have still another kind of splendor. Even one star differs in splendor from another star.

⁴²That is how it will be when the dead come back to life. When the body is planted, it decays. When it comes back to life, it cannot decay. ⁴³When the body is planted, it doesn’t have any splendor and is weak. When it comes back to life, it has splendor and is strong. ⁴⁴It is planted as a physical body. It comes back to life as a spiritual body. As there is a physical body, so there is also a spiritual body.

⁴⁵This is what Scripture says: “The first man, Adam, became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit (pneuma). ⁴⁶The spiritual does not come first, but the physical and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷The first man was made from the dust of the earth. He came from the earth. The second man came from heaven. ⁴⁸The people on earth are like the man who was made from the dust of the earth. The people in heaven are like the man who came from heaven. ⁴⁹As we have worn the likeness of the man who was made from the dust of the earth, we will also wear the likeness of the man who came from heaven. ⁵⁰Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: Flesh and blood cannot inherit Theos’s kingdom. What decays cannot inherit what doesn’t decay.

⁵¹I’m telling you a mystery. Not all of us will die, but we will all be changed. ⁵²It will happen in an instant, in a split second at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will come back to life. They will be changed so that they can live forever. ⁵³This body that decays must be changed into a body that cannot decay. This mortal body must be changed into a body that will live forever. ⁵⁴When this body that decays is changed into a body that cannot decay, and this mortal body is changed into a body that will live forever, then the teaching of Scripture will come true:

“Death is turned into victory!
55 Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your sting?”

⁵⁶Sin gives death its sting, and Theos’s standards give sin its power. ⁵⁷Thank Theos that he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸So, then, brothers and sisters, don’t let anyone move you off the foundation ⌞of your faith⌟. Always excel in the work you do for the Lord. You know that the hard work you do for the Lord is not pointless.

1 Corinthians 16

The Collection for the People in Jerusalem

¹Now, concerning the money to be collected for Theos’s people ⌞in Jerusalem⌟: I want you to do as I directed the churches in Galatia. ²Every Sunday each of you should set aside some of your money and save it. Then money won’t have to be collected when I come. ³When I come, I will give letters of introduction to the people whom you choose. You can send your gift to Jerusalem with them. ⁴If I think it’s worthwhile for me to go, they can go with me.

Paul’s Plans

⁵After I go through the province of Macedonia, I’ll visit you. (I will be going through Macedonia.) ⁶I’ll probably stay with you. I might even spend the winter. Then you can give me your support as I travel, wherever I decide to go. ⁷Right now all I could do is visit you briefly, but if the Lord lets me, I hope to spend some time with you. ⁸I will be staying here in Ephesus until Pentecost. ⁹I have a great opportunity to do effective work here, although there are many people who oppose me.

News about Timothy, Apollos, and Others

¹⁰If Timothy comes, make sure that he doesn’t have anything to be afraid of while he is with you. He’s doing the Lord’s work as I am, ¹¹so no one should treat him with contempt. Without quarreling, give him your support for his trip so that he may come to me. I’m expecting him to arrive with the other Christians.

¹²Concerning Apollos, our brother in the Christian faith: I tried hard to get him to visit you with the other Christians. He didn’t want to at this time. However, he will visit you when he has an opportunity.

¹³Be alert. Be firm in the Christian faith. Be courageous and strong. ¹⁴Do everything with love.

¹⁵You know that the family of Stephanas was the first family to be won ⌞for Christ⌟ in Greece. This family has devoted itself to serving Theos’s people. So I encourage you, brothers and sisters, ¹⁶to follow the example of people like these and anyone else who shares their labor and hard work. ¹⁷I am glad that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus came here. They have made up for your absence. ¹⁸They have comforted me, and they have comforted you. Therefore, show people like these your appreciation.

Greetings

¹⁹The churches in the province of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca and the church that meets in their house send their warmest Christian greetings. ²⁰All the brothers and sisters ⌞here⌟ greet you. Greet each other with a holy kiss. ²¹I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand.

²²If anyone doesn’t love the Lord, let him be cursed! Our Lord, come!

²³May the good will (Or “grace.”) of the Lord Jesus be with you. ²⁴Through Christ Jesus my love is with all of you.

Greeting

Theos’s Wisdom Is Better Than the World’s Wisdom