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1 Corinthians · Majority Standard Bible

1 Corinthians 1 Majority Standard Bible

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About MSB
  • Protestant
  • OT: Masoretic Hebrew
  • NT: Majority (Byzantine) text
  • Protestant (66 books)
  • Formal (word for word)
  • 2022
  • Public domain

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, 2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours: 3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace He has given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge, 6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. 10 I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction. 11 My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that I baptized into my name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that I do not remember if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22 Jews demand a sign and Greeks search for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 26 Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast in His presence. 30 It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

People & places in this chapter

From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.

People

  • Apollos

    Alexandrian Jewish teacher

    An eloquent Alexandrian Jew, mighty in the Scriptures, who was taught more accurately by Priscilla and Aquila and then ministered in Achaia and at Corinth.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 18:24; 1 Corinthians 1:12; 1 Corinthians 3:6

  • Crispus

    Synagogue leader at Corinth

    The leader of the synagogue at Corinth who believed in the Lord with his whole household and was baptized by Paul.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 1:14

  • Gaius

    Host of Paul and the church

    Paul's host at Corinth, whose hospitality extended to the whole church; Paul baptized him.

    Cited in the guide: Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14

  • Sosthenes

    Synagogue leader at Corinth

    The synagogue leader seized and beaten before Gallio's tribunal at Corinth; a Sosthenes is named as co-sender of 1 Corinthians, probably the same man.

    Cited in the guide: Acts 18:17; 1 Corinthians 1:1

  • Stephanas

    First fruits of Achaia

    Paul baptized his household, the first fruits of Achaia, who devoted themselves to serving the saints; he visited Paul at Ephesus.

    Cited in the guide: 1 Corinthians 1:16; 1 Corinthians 16:15; 1 Corinthians 16:17

Places

  • Corinth

    Today: Southern Greece (the isthmus) · On Second Journey · On Third Journey

    Corinth straddled the isthmus linking mainland Greece to the Peloponnese — a hub of commerce and immorality. Paul founded the church here; a Roman bema traditionally linked to his hearing before…

    Cited in the guide: Acts 18:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1

Cross references (31)

Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.

  1. 1 Romans 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Acts 18:17; Colossians 1:1
  2. 2 Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Acts 26:18; 1 Peter 1:15–16
  3. 3 Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:2
  4. 4 Romans 1:8; John 14:26; John 15:26; Romans 6:17; John 14:14
  5. 5 2 Corinthians 9:11; 2 Corinthians 8:7; Colossians 2:3; Philippians 1:9; Romans 15:14
  6. 6 Revelation 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:8; 1 Timothy 2:6; 1 Corinthians 2:1–2; Acts 20:24
  7. 7 Philippians 3:20; 2 Peter 3:12; Hebrews 9:28; 1 John 3:2; Jude 21
  8. 8 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; Colossians 1:22; Philippians 1:6; Jude 24–25
  9. 9 2 Thessalonians 3:3; Hebrews 10:23; Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 John 1:3; 1 Corinthians 10:13
  10. 10 Philippians 2:1–4; Ephesians 4:1–7; 1 Corinthians 12:25; Romans 12:16; James 3:13–18
  11. 11 1 Timothy 6:4; 2 Timothy 2:23–25; Galatians 5:26; Proverbs 18:6; Genesis 37:2
  12. 12 Matthew 23:9–10; John 1:42; 1 Corinthians 3:21–23; 1 Corinthians 3:4–6; Galatians 2:9
  13. 13 Ephesians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 11:4; Acts 2:38; Acts 10:48; 1 Corinthians 10:2
  14. 14 Acts 18:8; Romans 16:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 2 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Corinthians 14:18
  15. 15 John 7:18; 2 Corinthians 11:2; John 3:28–29
  16. 16 1 Corinthians 16:15; 1 Corinthians 16:17; Acts 16:15; Acts 16:33
  17. 17 1 Corinthians 2:1; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:16; 1 Corinthians 2:4–5; 2 Corinthians 10:10
  18. 18 1 Corinthians 2:14; Romans 1:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 1:23–25; 2 Corinthians 4:3
  19. 19 Isaiah 29:14; Jeremiah 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:19; Job 5:12–13; Isaiah 19:11
  20. 20 Romans 1:22; 1 Corinthians 3:19; Job 12:17; 1 Corinthians 1:19; Job 12:24
  21. 21 Luke 10:21; Romans 1:20–22; Matthew 11:25; Ephesians 3:10; 1 Corinthians 1:24
  22. 22 Matthew 16:1–4; Matthew 12:38–39; John 2:18; Acts 17:18–21; Mark 8:11
  23. 23 1 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Peter 2:8; 1 Corinthians 2:2; Galatians 5:11; Isaiah 8:14–15
  24. 24 1 Corinthians 1:30; Colossians 2:3; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Romans 1:16
  25. 25 Romans 11:33–36; 1 Corinthians 1:18; Zechariah 4:6–7; 2 Corinthians 13:4; Zechariah 12:7–8
  26. 26 James 2:5; 1 Corinthians 3:18–20; 1 Corinthians 2:8; James 1:9–11; Matthew 11:25–26
  27. 27 James 2:5; Matthew 11:25; 1 Corinthians 1:20; Psalm 8:2; Luke 21:15
  28. 28 Job 34:24; Romans 4:17; Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 41:12; Job 34:19–20
  29. 29 Romans 3:27; Ephesians 2:9; Jeremiah 9:23; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Corinthians 1:31
  30. 30 Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 3:9; Romans 8:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 1 Corinthians 6:11
  31. 31 Jeremiah 9:23–24; 2 Corinthians 10:17; Philippians 3:3; Psalm 105:3; Isaiah 41:16

Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences

What the Fathers said

Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).

How these were chosen

“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).

  1. Commentary 1:1 John Chrysostom, Homilies on First Corinthians (Homily I)

    See how immediately, from the very beginning, he casts down their pride, and dashes to the ground all their fond imagination, in that he speaks of himself as "called." For what I have learnt, saith he, I discovered not myself, nor acquired by my own wisdom, but while I was persecuting and laying waste the Church I was called.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 12 (1889)

  2. Quotes verse 1:31 Clement of Rome, First Epistle to the Corinthians (Chapters VII–XIII)

    … "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, neither let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in the Lord, in diligently seeking Him, and doing judgment and righteousness" ), being especially mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus which He spake, teaching …

    Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)

  3. Quotes verse 1:18 Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (Book I, Chapters III–IV)

    Moreover, they affirm that the Apostle Paul himself made mention of this cross in the following words: "The doctrine of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but to us who are saved it is the power of God." And again: "God forbid that I should glory in anything save in the cross of Christ, by whom the world …

    Read in context · Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1 (1885)

  4. Quotes verse 1:30 Augustine of Hippo, Confessions (Book V)

    But the Only-begotten has been "made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification," and has been numbered amongst us, and paid tribute to Cæsar.

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 1 (1886)

  5. Quotes verse 1:9 John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew (Homily LIX)

    … whom;" as when it saith, "I have gotten a man by God," putting not the second cause, but the first; and again, "Is not the interpretation of them by God," and, "God is faithful, by whom ye are called unto the fellowship of His Son."

    Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)