1 Corinthians Chapter 1
Showing all 31 verses for 1 Corinthians Chapter 1.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, "
"Paul introduces himself as someone appointed by God's own decision to represent Jesus Christ, writing this letter together with a fellow believer named Sosthenes."
I don't ask people to listen to me because I'm impressive - real authority to help someone comes from being called to serve them, not from chasing status. If you're ever in a position to guide or correct someone, check that you're doing it out of care for them, not to make yourself look important.
"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: "
"Written to the community of believers in Corinth - people set apart for Jesus Christ and called to live as his people - and to everyone everywhere who trusts in him."
I see who you're becoming, not only who you are right now with all your mess. Before anyone points out your flaws - including me, in this letter - know that you're already valued; that's the starting point for real change, not something you have to earn first.
"Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. "
"May you receive God's unearned kindness and inner peace, coming from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
I lead with kindness, always, even with people I'm about to be honest with. If you need to have a hard conversation with someone, start by making sure they know they're safe with you first - it changes how everything after that lands.
"I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; "
"Paul says he constantly thanks God for them, because of the kindness God has shown them through Jesus Christ."
You can be genuinely proud of someone and still need to have a difficult conversation with them - the two aren't opposites. Don't let frustration erase your appreciation, and don't let appreciation stop you from being honest.
"That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; "
"He says that in every way they've been made rich - in their speaking ability and in their knowledge."
Your talents are real gifts, worth being thankful for - but the same strength that makes you valuable can also become the thing that makes you proud and hard to live with. Stay alert to how your gifts affect the people around you, not just what they do for you.
"Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: "
"He explains that the message about Christ was proven true and firmly established among them."
When you've strayed from something good you once knew was true, the answer isn't to doubt that it was ever real - it's to return to it. Don't let your current mess convince you that your good beginning was fake.
"So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: "
"As a result, they aren't missing out on any spiritual gift while they wait for Jesus Christ to return."
Don't mistake what you have right now for the whole story - you're always in the middle of something bigger, still becoming who you're meant to be. Hold your current abilities and blessings loosely, as tools for the road, not trophies for the shelf.
"Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. "
"He adds that God will keep them steady right to the end, so that they'll be blameless on the day Jesus Christ returns."
I don't give up on people halfway through their story just because they're struggling right now. If you're carrying guilt over how far you feel from where you should be, know that being kept steady isn't about never messing up - it's about someone committed to seeing you through to the end.
"God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. "
"God can be trusted completely - it was God who called them into relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."
Before you fix anything about yourself or your relationships, get sure of the one thing that doesn't move - that you're genuinely wanted and included, not on trial. Build all your changes from that security, not to try to earn it.
"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. "
"Paul urgently appeals to them, in the name of Jesus Christ, to stop disagreeing with each other and instead be united in mindset and purpose."
When people you care about start taking sides against each other, don't shrug it off as normal friction - name it and appeal to what actually holds you together. Unity isn't about everyone agreeing on everything; it's about refusing to let disagreements fracture the relationship.
"For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. "
"Paul explains that people from Chloe's household have told him there are serious quarrels happening among them."
When something's wrong, deal with the actual facts someone brought you, not gossip or assumptions - and be willing to speak up like Chloe's people did, even when it's uncomfortable, because silence lets damage spread.
"Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. "
"Here's what he means: each of them is saying things like 'I follow Paul,' 'I follow Apollos,' 'I follow Cephas (Peter),' or 'I follow Christ.'"
Watch out for turning any teacher, leader, or even me, into a team badge that separates you from other people who are trying to follow the same truth. If your loyalty to a person or group makes you look down on someone else who's also sincerely searching, you've lost the plot.
"Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? "
"Paul asks pointedly: is Christ split into pieces? Was Paul the one crucified for you? Were you baptised in Paul's name?"
Ask yourself honestly whose sacrifice you're actually building your identity on - because if it's a person, a brand, or a tribe rather than something real and unifying, you've attached yourself to the wrong thing. Loyalty belongs to what actually saved you, not to whoever said it best.
"I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; "
"Paul says he's thankful he personally baptised none of them except Crispus and Gaius."
Be glad, not proud, when you can honestly say you didn't set out to make people dependent on you. Real service doesn't try to collect followers loyal to you personally - it points people past you, towards something bigger.
"Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. "
"He adds - so that no one could claim he'd been baptising people in his own name."
If you're in any position of influence, think ahead about how your actions could be misread as building a following around yourself - and deliberately choose the path that keeps the focus off you.
"And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. "
"He also remembers baptising Stephanas's household, and admits he isn't sure if he baptised anyone else."
It's fine to admit you don't remember every detail, especially about things that were never meant to be about you in the first place. Don't let uncertainty about small facts distract from the bigger truth you're trying to communicate.
"For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. "
"He explains that Christ didn't send him to baptise, but to preach the good news - and not with clever rhetoric, so that the meaning of Christ's death on the cross wouldn't be emptied out."
Don't let style eclipse substance in the things that matter most - a beautifully delivered message can actually hide the truth if the delivery becomes the point. Say what's true plainly, and trust the truth itself to do the work.
"For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. "
"He says the message of the cross sounds like nonsense to people who are perishing, but to those being saved, it's the power of God."
Don't judge the value of something purely by how impressive or sensible it looks on the surface - some of the most powerful truths in life look foolish from the outside until you actually experience what they do. Stay open to what looks strange before writing it off.
"For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. "
"He backs this up with scripture: God said he would destroy the wisdom of the wise and set aside the cleverness of the clever."
Being smart is a gift, but it can also become a hiding place from truths you'd rather not face. Use your intelligence in service of honesty, not to out-argue your own conscience.
"Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? "
"Paul asks - so where does that leave the wise person, the scholar, the skilled debater of this age? Hasn't God shown the world's wisdom to be foolish?"
Titles, degrees, and debating skill don't automatically mean someone has figured out what actually matters in life. Stay humble about your own cleverness, and don't be intimidated by someone else's, when it comes to questions of what's true and good.
"For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. "
"Because the world, using its own wisdom, never managed to know God - so God decided to save those who believe through the 'foolish' message that gets preached."
You don't need to out-think your way to meaning and connection - some of the deepest truths are available to anyone willing to receive them simply, not just to the most educated or articulate. Don't let anyone tell you that understanding real love and purpose requires special intelligence.
"For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: "
"Paul notes that Jewish people look for miraculous proof, while Greeks look for clever philosophy."
It's natural to want proof or persuasive logic before trusting something important - I don't fault you for that instinct. But be ready for the possibility that the deepest truths sometimes arrive in a form you weren't expecting or demanding.
"But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; "
"But instead, Paul says, we preach a crucified Christ - offensive to Jewish expectations and ridiculous to Greek ones."
Sometimes the truth won't fit the shape you expect it to come in, and it might even offend your sense of how things should work. Be willing to sit with that discomfort rather than dismissing something just because it doesn't match your assumptions.
"But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. "
"But to those who are called - both Jews and Greeks - Christ is God's power and God's wisdom."
How you see something shapes what it becomes for you - the same event or truth can be either a dead end or a doorway, depending on whether you're willing to look past first impressions.
"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. "
"He explains: what looks foolish about God is wiser than any human wisdom, and what looks weak about God is stronger than any human strength."
Don't measure real strength and wisdom only by how they look on the surface - sometimes gentleness beats force, and simplicity beats cleverness, in ways that only become clear over time. Trust that quiet, humble things can carry more power than they appear to.
"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: "
"Paul tells them to look at who was actually called into this - not many of them were wise by worldly standards, not many powerful, not many from noble families."
You don't need impressive credentials, wealth, or connections to matter or to be included - look honestly at the people around you who are living well and loving well, and you'll often find status was never the deciding factor.
"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; "
"Instead, God deliberately chose what the world calls foolish to embarrass the wise, and what the world calls weak to embarrass the strong."
If you've ever felt overlooked, unimpressive, or like you don't measure up to society's idea of successful or smart, that's not disqualifying - it might be exactly the kind of person who ends up mattering most. Don't let a status scoreboard tell you your worth.
"And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: "
"God chose what's low and despised in the world's eyes, and things counted as nothing, to bring to nothing the things that seem important."
Never write off yourself or anyone else as 'nothing' because the world doesn't rate them highly - value isn't handed out by popularity, wealth, or achievement, and some of the most meaningful lives are lived by people the world never noticed.
"That no flesh should glory in his presence. "
"The reason for all this, he says, is so that no human being can boast in God's presence."
Whatever good you achieve in life, hold it with open hands rather than as proof of your own superiority - the moment you start looking down on others because of your success, you've missed the point of the gift entirely.
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: "
"He reminds them that it's because of God that they're united with Christ Jesus, who has become their wisdom, their righteousness, their holiness, and their freedom from bondage."
The things you're chasing to feel worthy - being smart enough, good enough, free enough - aren't things you have to manufacture through sheer effort. They can be received as a gift through relationship, which takes enormous pressure off trying to prove yourself.
"That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. "
"So that, as scripture says, whoever wants to boast should boast only about the Lord."
When you feel proud of something, ask where it actually came from - your talents, your circumstances, the people who helped you along the way. Real confidence isn't self-generated; it comes from gratitude for what you've been given, which keeps you both secure and humble.