
{1}1{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}From Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by 
the will of God, and from Sosthenes, our brother, [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}to 
God's Church which is in Corinth; to you whom God has sanctified 
in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with those who 
everywhere call upon the name of our Lord Christ Jesus, their Lord 
and ours. 
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}Receive grace and peace from God our Father, and Christ 
Jesus our Lord.
{R}_{I}4_{/}I give thanks constantly to my God for you and for the grace 
of God given to you in Christ Jesus. {I}5_{/}For you have been fully 
enriched in him with words as well as with knowledge, {I}6_{/}even as 
the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}You 
do not lack any spiritual gift and only await the glorious coming 
of Christ Jesus, our Lord. {R}_{I}8_{/}He will keep you steadfast to the 
end, and you will be without reproach on the day of the coming of 
our Lord Jesus. [=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}The faithful God will not fail you after 
calling you to this fellowship with his Son, Christ Jesus, our 
Lord.

{N}DIVISIONS AMONG THE FAITHFUL{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}10_{/}I beg of you, brothers, in the name of Christ Jesus, our 
Lord, to agree among yourselves and do away with divisions; please 
be perfectly united, with one mind and one judgment.
[=]_{I}11_{/}For I heard from people of Cloe's house about your 
rivalries. [=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}What I mean is this: some say, "I am for 
Paul," and others: "I am for Apollo," or "I am for Peter," or "I 
am for Christ." [*]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Is Christ divided or have I, Paul, been 
crucified for you? Have you been baptized in the name of Paul?
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}I thank God that I did not baptize any of you, except 
Crispus and Gaius, {I}15_{/}so that no one can say that he was 
baptized in my name. [=]_{I}16_{/}Well, I have also baptized the 
Stephanas family. Apart from these, I do not recall having 
baptized anyone else.

{N}THE FOLLY OF THE CROSS{/}

[\u0095]_[*]_{I}17_{/}For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to 
proclaim his Gospel. And not with beautiful words! That would be 
like getting rid of the cross of Christ. [=]_[*]_{R}_{I}18_{/}The language
of the cross remains nonsense for those who 
are lost. Yet for us who are saved, it is the power of God, 
{I}19_{/}as Scripture says: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and 
make fail the foresight of the foresighted. {R}_{I}20_{/}Masters of human 
wisdom, educated people, philosophers, you have no reply! And the 
wisdom of this world? God let it fail. 
{R}_{I}21_{/}At first God spoke the language of wisdom, and the world did 
not know God through wisdom. Then God thought of saving the 
believers through the foolishness that we preach.
{I}22_{/}The Jews ask for miracles and the Greeks for a higher 
knowledge, [=]_{I}23_{/}while we proclaim a crucified Messiah. For 
the Jews, what a great scandal! And for the Greeks, what nonsense! 
{R}_{I}24_{/}But he is Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God for 
those called by God among both Jews and Greeks.
{R}_{I}25_{/}In reality, the "foolishness" of God is wiser than humans, 
and the "weakness" of God is stronger than humans.
{R}_{I}26_{/}Brothers and sisters, look and see whom God has called. Few 
among you can be said to be cultured or wealthy, and few belong to 
noble families. {R}_{I}27_{/}Yet God has chosen what the world considers 
foolish, to shame the wise; he has chosen what the world considers 
weak to shame the strong. {R}_{I}28_{/}God has chosen common and 
unimportant people, making use of what is nothing to nullify the 
things that are, {R}_{I}29_{/}so that no mortal may boast before God. 
[=]_{R}_{I}30_{/}But, by God's grace you are in Christ Jesus, who has 
become our wisdom from God, and who makes us just and holy and 
free. [=]_{I}31_{/}Scripture says: Let the one who boasts boast of the 
Lord. {I}__{/}

{1}2{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}When I came to reveal to you he mystery of God's plan I 
did not count on eloquence or on a show of learning. {R}_{I}2_{/}I was 
determined not to know anything among you but Jesus, the Messiah, 
and a crucified Messiah. {I}3_{/}I myself came weak, fearful and 
trembling; [=]_{I}4_{/}my words and preaching{I}_{/}were not brilliant or 
clever to win listeners. {R}_{I}5_{/}It was, rather, a demonstration of 
spirit and power, so that your faith might be a matter, not of 
human wisdom, but of God's power.

{N}THE SPIRIT TEACHES US WISDOM{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_[*]_{I}6_{/}In fact, we do speak of wisdom to the mature in 
faith, although it is not a wisdom of this world or of its rulers, 
who, by the way, come to nothing. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}We teach the mystery 
and secret plan of divine wisdom, which God destined from the 
beginning to bring us to Glory.
{I}8_{/}No ruler of this world ever knew this; otherwise they would 
not have crucified the Lord of Glory. [=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}But as Scripture 
says: Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it dawned on 
the mind what God has prepared for those who love him. {R}_{I}10_{/}God 
has revealed it to us, through his Spirit, because the Spirit 
probes everything, even the depth of God.
[*]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Who but his own spirit knows the secrets of a person? 
Similarly, no one but the Spirit of God knows the secrets of God. 
{R}_{I}12_{/}We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit 
who comes from God and, through him, we understand what God in his 
goodness has given us.
{R}_{I}13_{/}So we speak of this, not in terms inspired by human wisdom, 
but in a language taught by the Spirit, explaining a spiritual 
wisdom to spiritual persons. [=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}The one who remains on the 
psychologic level does not understand the things of the Spirit. 
They are foolishness for him and he does not understand because 
they require a spiritual experience. {R}_{I}15_{/}On the other hand, the 
spiritual person judges everything but no one judges him. 
{R}_{I}16_{/}Who has known the mind of God so as to teach him? But we 
have the mind of Christ.

{N}THERE ARE MANY WORKERS, THE BUILDING IS ONE{/}

{1}3{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}I could not, friends, speak to you as spiritual persons 
but as fleshly people, for you are still infants in Christ. {I}2_{/}I 
gave you milk and not solid food, for you were not ready for it 
and up to now you cannot receive it {I}3_{/}for you are still of the 
flesh. As long as there is jealousy and strife, what can I say but 
that you are at the level of the flesh and behave like ordinary 
people.
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}While one says: "I follow Paul," and the other: "I follow 
Apollos," what are you but people still at a human level?
{R}_{I}5_{/}For what is Apollos? What is Paul? They are ministers and 
through them you believed, as it was given by the Lord to each of 
them. {R}_{I}6_{/}I planted, Apollos watered the plant, but God made it 
grow. {R}_{I}7_{/}So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is 
anything, but God who makes the plant grow.
{I}8_{/}The one who plants and the one who waters work to the same 
end, and the Lord will pay each according to their work. {R}_{I}9_{/}We 
are fellow-workers with God, but you are God's field and building.
[=]_{I}10_{/}I, as a good architect, according to the capacity given 
to me, I laid the foundation, and another is to build upon it. 
Each one must be careful how to build upon it. {R}_{I}11_{/}No one can 
lay a foundation other than the one which is already laid, which 
is Jesus Christ. {I}12_{/}Then if someone builds with gold upon this 
foundation, another with silver and precious stones, or with wood, 
bamboo or straw, {I}13_{/}the work of each one will be shown for what 
it is. The day of Judgment will reveal it, because the fire will 
make everything known. The fire will test the work of everyone. 
[=]_{I}14_{/}If your work withstands the fire, you will be rewarded; 
{I}15_{/}but if your work becomes ashes, you will pay for it. You will 
be saved, but it will be as if passing through fire.
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Do you not know that you are God's temple, and that 
God's Spirit abides within you? [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}If anyone destroys the 
temple of God, God will destroy him. God's temple is holy, and you 
are this temple.

{N}DO NOT DIVIDE THE CHURCH{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{I}18_{/}Do not deceive yourselves. If anyone of you considers 
himself wise in the ways of the world, let him become a fool, so 
that he may become wise. [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}For the wisdom of this world is 
foolishness in God's eyes. To this, Scripture says: God catches 
the wise in their own wisdom. [=]_{I}20_{/}It also says: The Lord 
knows the reasoning of the wise, that it is useless.
[=]_{I}21_{/}Because of this, let no one become an admirer 
of{I}_{/}humans, for everything belongs to you, {R}_{I}22_{/}Paul, Apollos, 
Cephas - life, death, the present and the future. Everything is 
yours, [=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}and you, you belong to Christ, and Christ is of 
God.

{1}4{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Let everyone then see us  as the servants of Christ 
and stewards of the secret works of God. [=]_{I}2_{/}Being stewards, 
faithfulness shall be demanded of us; [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}but I do not mind 
if you or any human court judges me. I do not even judge myself; 
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}my conscience indeed does not accuse me of anything, but 
that is not enough for me to be set right with God: the Lord is 
the one who judges me.
[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}Therefore, do not judge before the time, until the coming 
of the Lord. He will bring to light whatever was hidden in 
darkness and will disclose the secret intentions of the hearts. 
Then each one will receive praise from God.
[=]_[*]_{I}6_{/}Brothers and sisters, you forced me to apply these 
comparisons to Apollos and to myself. Learn by this example not 
to{I}_{/}believe yourselves superior by siding with one against the 
other. {I}7_{/}How then are you more than the others? What have you 
that you have not received? And if you received it, why are you 
proud, as if you did not receive it?

{N}COMFORTED CHRISTIANS AND HARASSED APOSTLES{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}So, then, you are already rich and satisfied, and 
feel like kings without us! I wish you really were kings, so that 
we might enjoy the kingship with you! 
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}It seems to me that God has placed us, the apostles, in 
the last place, as if condemned to death, and as spectacles for 
the whole world, for the angels as well as for mortals.
[=]_{I}10_{/}We are fools for Christ, while you show forth the wisdom 
of Christ. We are weak, you are strong. You are honored, while we 
are despised. [=]_{I}11_{/}Until now we hunger and thirst, we are 
poorly clothed and badly treated, while moving from place to 
place. {I}12_{/}We labor, working with our hands. People insult us and 
we bless them, they persecute us and we endure everything; 
{I}13_{/}they speak evil against us, and ours are works of peace. We 
have become like the scum of the earth, like the garbage of 
humankind until now.
{I}14_{/}I do not write this to shame you, but to warn you as very 
dear children. [*]_{I}15_{/}Because even though you may have ten 
thousand guardians in the Christian life, you have only one 
father; and it was I who gave you life in Christ through the 
Gospel. {I}16_{/}Therefore I pray you to follow my example. 
[=]_{I}17_{/}With this purpose I send to you Timothy, my dear and 
trustworthy son in the service of the Lord. He will remind you of 
my way of Christian life, as I teach it in all churches 
everywhere. 
[=]_{I}18_{/}Some of you thought that I could not visit you and became 
very arrogant. {I}19_{/}But I will visit you soon, the Lord willing, 
and I will see, not what those arrogant people say, but what they 
can do. [=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Because the kingdom of God is not a matter of 
words, but of power. [=]_{I}21{/}What do you prefer, for me to come 
with a stick or with love and gentleness?

{N}EXPEL THE IMMORAL BROTHER!{/}

{1}5{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}You have become news  with a case of immorality, and such 
a case that is not even found among pagans. Yes, one of you has 
taken as wife his own stepmother. {I}2_{/}And you feel proud! Should 
you not be in mourning instead and expel the one who did such a 
thing. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}For my part, although I am physically absent, my 
spirit is with you and, as if present, I have already passed 
sentence on the man who committed such a sin. {R}_{I}4_{/}Let us meet 
together, you and my spirit, and in the name of our Lord Jesus and 
with his power, [=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}you shall deliver him to Satan, so that 
he may lose everything and his life, but his spirit be saved in 
the day of Judgment.
[=]_{I}6_{/}This is not the time to praise yourselves. Do you not know 
that a little yeast makes the whole mass of dough rise? {R}_{I}7_{/}Throw 
out, then, the old yeast and be new dough. If Christ became our 
Passover, you should be unleavened bread. {R}_{I}8_{/}Let us celebrate, 
therefore, the Passover, no longer with old yeast, which is sin 
and perversity; let us have unleavened bread, that is purity and 
sincerity.
{I}9_{/}In my last letter I instructed you not to associate with 
immoral people. [=]_{I}10_{/}I did not mean, of course, those who do 
not belong to the church and who are immoral, exploiters, 
embezzlers or worshipers of idols. Otherwise you would have to 
leave this world. [=]_{I}11_{/}What I really meant was to avoid and 
not to mingle with anyone who, bearing the name of brother or 
sister, becomes immoral, exploiter, gossip, drunkard, embezzler. 
In which case you should not even eat with them.
[=]_{I}12_{/}Why should I judge outsiders? But you, are you not to 
judge those who are inside? [=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Let God judge those outside, 
but as for you, drive out the wicked person from among you.

{N}DO NOT BRING ANOTHER CHRISTIAN TO COURT{/}

{1}6{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}When you have a complaint against a brother, how dare you 
bring it before pagan judges instead of bringing it before God's 
people? {I}2_{/}Do you not know that you shall one day judge the 
world? And if you are to judge the world, are you incapable of 
judging such simple problems?
{I}3_{/}Do you not know that we will even judge the angels? And could 
you not decide every day affairs? {I}4_{/}You should ask those who are 
the last in the Church to decide such matters. {I}5_{/}Shame on you! 
Is there not even one among you wise enough to be the arbiter 
among believers?
{I}6_{/}But no. One of you brings a suit against another one, and 
files that suit before unbelievers. [=]_{I}7_{/}It is already a 
failure that you have suits against each other. Why do you not 
rather suffer wrong and receive some damage? {I}8_{/}But no. You wrong 
and injure others, and those are your brothers and sisters. 
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the 
Kingdom of God?
Make no mistake about it: those who lead immoral lives, or worship 
idols, or who are adulterers, homosexuals of any kind, {R}_{I}10_{/}or 
thieves, exploiters, drunkards, gossips or embezzlers will not 
inherit the kingdom of heaven. {R}_{I}11_{/}Some of you were like that, 
but you have been cleansed and consecrated to God and have been 
set right with God by the Name of the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of 
our God.

{N}SEXUAL IMMORALITY{/}

[\u0095]_{I}12_{/}Everything is lawful for me, but not everything is to my 
profit. Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become a slave 
of anything. {R}_{I}13_{/}Food is for the stomach, as the stomach is for 
food, and God will destroy them both. Yet the body is not for sex, 
but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body. [=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}And God 
who raised the Lord, will also raise us with his power.
[=]_[*]_{I}15_{/}Do you not know that your bodies are members of 
Christ? And you would make that part of his body become a part of 
a prostitute? Never! {I}16_{/}But you well know that when you join 
yourselves to a prostitute, you become one with her. For Scripture 
says: The two will become one flesh. [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}On the contrary, 
anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
[=]_{I}18_{/}Avoid unlawful sex entirely. Any other sin a person 
commits is outside the body but those who commit sexual immorality 
sin against their own body.
[=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy 
Spirit within you, given by God? You belong no longer to 
yourselves. [=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Remember at what price you have been bought 
and make your body serve the glory of God.

{N}MARRIAGE AND ABSTINENCE{/}

{1}7{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Now I will answer the questions in your letter. It is 
good for a man not to have sex with a woman. {R}_{I}2_{/}But the appeal 
of sex is there. Let each man have his own wife and each woman her 
own husband. {I}3_{/}Let the husband fulfill his duty of husband and 
likewise the wife. [=]_{I}4_{/}The wife is not the owner of her own 
body: the husband is. Similarly, the husband is not the owner of 
his own body: the wife is.
{I}5_{/}Do not refuse each other, except by mutual consent and only 
for a time in order to dedicate yourselves to prayer, and then 
come together again, lest you fall into Satan's trap by lack of 
self-control. {I}6_{/}I approve of this abstention, but I do not order 
it. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}I would like everyone to be like me, but each has 
from God a particular gift, some in one way, others differently.
{I}8_{/}To the unmarried and the widows I say that it would be good 
for them to remain as I am, [=]_{I}9_{/}but if they cannot control 
themselves, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn 
with passion.

{N}MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE{/}

[\u0095]_{I}10_{/}I command married couples - not I but the Lord - that the 
wife should not separate from her husband. [=]_{I}11_{/}If she 
separates from him, let her not marry again, or let her make peace 
with her husband. Similarly the husband should not divorce his 
wife.
{I}12_{/}To the others I say - from me and not from the Lord - if a 
brother has a wife who is not a believer but she agrees to live 
with him, let him not separate from her. {I}13_{/}In the same manner, 
if a woman has a husband who is not a believer but he agrees to 
live with her, let her not separate from her husband. 
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Because the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the 
wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband who 
believes. Otherwise, your children also would be apart from God; 
but as it is, they are consecrated to God.
{I}15_{/}Now, if the unbelieving husband or wife wants to separate, 
let them do so. In this case, the Christian partner is not bound, 
for the Lord has called us to peace. {I}16_{/}Besides, are you sure, 
wife, that you could save your husband, and you, husband, that you 
could save your wife?
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}17_{/}Except for this, let each one continue living as he was 
when God called him, as was his lot set by the Lord. This is what 
I order in all churches. {R}_{I}18_{/}Let the circumcised Jew not remove 
the marks of the circumcision when he is called by God, and let 
the non-Jew not be circumcised when he is called. {R}_{I}19_{/}For the 
important thing is not to be circumcised or not, but to keep the 
commandments of God.
{R}_{I}20_{/}Let each of you, therefore, remain in the state in which you 
were called by God. {I}21_{/}If you were a slave when called, do not 
worry, yet if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity. 
[=]_{I}22_{/}The slave called to believe in the Lord is a freed person 
belonging to the Lord just as whoever who has been called while 
free, becomes a slave of Christ. [=]_{I}23_{/}You have been bought at 
a very great price; do not become slaves of a human being.
{R}_{I}24_{/}So then, brothers and sisters, continue living in the state 
you were before God at the time of his call.

{N}MARRIAGE AND VIRGINITY{/}

[\u0095]_{I}25_{/}With regard to those who remain virgins, I have no 
special commandment from the Lord, but I give some advice, hoping 
that I am worthy of trust by the mercy of the Lord.
[*]_{I}26_{/}I think this is good in these hard times in which we 
live. It is good for someone to remain as he is. {I}27_{/}If you are 
married, do not try to divorce your wife; if you are not married, 
do not marry. [=]_{I}28_{/}He who marries does not sin, nor does the 
young girl sin who marries. Yet they will face disturbing 
experiences, and I would like to spare you.
[=]_{I}29_{/}I say this, brothers and sisters: time is running out, 
and those who are married must live as if not married; {I}30_{/}those 
who weep as if not weeping; those who are happy as if they were 
not happy; those buying something as if they had not bought it, 
and those enjoying the present life as if they were not enjoying 
it. [=]_{I}31_{/}For the order of this world is vanishing.
[=]_{I}32_{/}I would like you to be free from anxieties. He who is not 
married is concerned about the things of the Lord and how to 
please the Lord. {I}33_{/}While he who is married is taken up with the 
things of the world and how to please his wife, and he is divided 
in his interests.
[=]_{R}_{I}34_{/}Likewise, the unmarried woman and the virgin are 
concerned with the service of the Lord, to be holy in body and 
spirit. The married woman, instead, worries about the things of 
the world and how to please her husband.
{I}35_{/}I say this for your own good. I do not wish to lay traps for 
you but to lead you to a beautiful life, entirely united with the 
Lord.
[\u0095]_{I}36_{/}If anyone is not sure whether he is behaving correctly 
with his fiancee because of the ardor of his passion, and 
considers it is better to get married, let him do so; he commits 
no sin. {I}37_{/}But if another, of firmer heart, thinks that he can 
control his passion and decides not to marry so that his fiancee 
may remain a virgin, he does better. {I}38_{/}So then, he who marries 
does well, and he who does not marry does better.
[=]_{I}39_{/}The wife is bound as long as her husband lives. If he 
dies, she is free to be married to whomsoever she wishes, provided 
that she does so in the Christian way. [=]_{R}_{I}40_{/}However, she will 
be happier if, following my advice, she remains as she is, and I 
believe that I also have the Spirit of God.

{N}CAN WE SHARE IN PAGAN CUSTOMS?{/}

{1}8{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}Regarding meat from the offerings to idols, we know that 
all of us have knowledge but knowledge puffs up, while love 
builds. {I}2_{/}If anyone thinks that he has knowledge, he does not 
yet know as he should know, [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}but if someone loves (God), 
he has been known (by God).
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}Can we, then, eat meat from offerings to the idols? We 
know that an idol is without existence and that there is no God 
but one. {I}5_{/}People speak indeed of other gods in heaven and on 
earth and, in this sense, there are many gods and lords. 
[=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}Yet for us, there is but one God, the Father, from whom 
everything comes, and to whom we go. And there is one Lord, Christ 
Jesus, through whom everything exists and through him we exist.
[=]_{I}7_{/}Not everyone, however, has that knowledge. For some 
persons, who until recently took the idols seriously, that food 
remains linked to the idol and eating of it stains their 
conscience which is unformed.
{R}_{I}8_{/}It is not food that brings us closer to God. If we eat, we 
gain nothing, and if we do not eat, we do not lose anything. 
{I}9_{/}We are free, of course, but let not your freedom cause others, 
who are less prepared, to fall. {I}10_{/}What if others with an 
unformed conscience see you, a person of knowledge, sitting at the 
table in the temple of idols? Will not their weak conscience, 
because of your example, move them to eat also? {I}11_{/}Then with 
your knowledge you would have caused your weak brother or sister 
to perish, the one for whom Christ died. [=]_{I}12_{/}When you disturb 
the weak conscience of your brother or sister and sin against 
them, you sin against Christ himself. [=]_{I}13_{/}Therefore, if any 
food will bring my brother to sin,{I}_{/}I shall never eat this food 
lest my brother or sister fall.

{N}RENOUNCING ONE'S OWN RIGHTS: THE EXAMPLE OF PAUL{/}

{1}9{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}As for me, am I not free?  I am an apostle and I have 
seen Jesus, the Lord, and you are my work in the Lord. {I}2{/}Although 
I may not be an apostle for others, at least I am one for you. You 
are, in the Lord, evidence of my apostleship.
{I}3_{/}Now this is what I answer to those who criticize me: {I}4_{/}Have 
we not the right to be fed? [=]_{I}5_{/}Have we not the right to bring 
along with us a sister as do the other apostles and the brothers 
of the Lord, and Cephas? [=]_{I}6_{/}Am I the only one, with Barnabas, 
bound to work?
What soldier goes to war at his own expense? [=]_{I}7_{/}What farmer 
does not eat from the vineyard he planted? Who tends a flock and 
does not drink from its milk? {R}_{I}8_{/}Are these rights only accepted 
human practice? No. The Law says the same. In the law of Moses it 
is written: Do not muzzle the ox which threshes grain. 
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Does this mean that God is concerned with oxen, 
[=]_{I}10_{/}or rather with us? Of course it applies to us. For our 
sake it was written that no one plows without expecting a reward 
for plowing, and no one threshes without hoping for a share of the 
crop. [=]_{I}11_{/}Then, if we have sown spiritual riches among you, 
would it be too much for us to reap some material reward? {I}12_{/}If 
others have had a share among you, we could have it all the more.
Yet we made no use of this right and we prefer to endure 
everything rather than put any obstacle to the Gospel of Christ. 
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Do you not know that those working in the sacred service 
eat from what is offered for the temple? And those serving at the 
altar receive their part from the altar. [=]_{I}14_{/}The Lord 
ordered, likewise, that those announcing the Gospel live from the 
Gospel. [=]_{I}15_{/}Yet I have not made use of my rights, and now I 
do not write to claim them: I would rather die! No one will 
deprive me of this glory of mine. 
{I}16_{/}Because I cannot boast of announcing the Gospel: I am bound 
to do it. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! [=]_{I}17_{/}If I 
preached voluntarily, I could expect my reward, but I have been 
trusted this office against my will. {I}18_{/}How can I, then, deserve 
a reward? In announcing the Gospel, I will do it freely without 
making use of the rights given to me by the Gospel.
{I}19_{/}So, feeling free with everybody, I have become everybody's 
slave in order to gain a greater number. [=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}To save the 
Jews I became a Jew with the Jews, and because they are under the 
Law, I myself submitted to the Law, although I am free from it. 
[=]_{R}_{I}21_{/}With the pagans, not subject to the Law, I became one of 
them, although I am not without a law of God, since Christ is my 
Law. Yet I wanted to gain those strangers to the Law. {I}22_{/}With 
people of unformed conscience I acted as if I were sharing their 
scruples in order to gain those who are still weak. {I}23_{/}So I made 
myself all things to all people in order to save, by all possible 
means, some of them. This I do for the Gospel, so that I too have 
a share of it.

{N}FAITH DEMANDS SACRIFICE{/}

[\u0095]_{I}24_{/}Have you not learned anything from the stadium? Many run, 
but only one gets the prize. Run, therefore, intending to win it, 
{I}25_{/}as athletes who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline. 
Yet for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, 
it does not wither. 
[=]_{I}26_{/}So, then, I run knowing where I go. I box but not 
aimlessly in the air. {I}27_{/}I punish my body and control it, lest 
after preaching to others, I myself should be rejected.

{1}10{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Let me remind you, brothers and sisters, about our 
ancestors. All of them were under the cloud and all crossed the 
sea. {R}_{I}2_{/}All underwent the baptism of the land and of the sea to 
join Moses {I}3_{/}and all of them ate from the same spiritual manna 
[=]_{I}4_{/}and all of them drank from the same spiritual drink. For 
you know that they drank from a spiritual rock following them, and 
the rock was Christ. [=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}However, most of them did not please 
God, and the desert was strewn with their bodies.
{I}6_{/}All of this happened as an example for us, so that we might 
not become people of evil desires, as they did.
[=]_{I}7_{/}Do not follow idols, as some of them did, and Scripture 
says: The people sat down to eat and drink and stood up for orgy. 
{R}_{I}8_{/}Let us not fall into sexual immorality as some of them did, 
and in one day twenty-three thousand of them fell dead. 
[=]_{I}9_{/}And let us not tempt the Lord as some of them did, and 
were killed by serpents; [=]_{I}10_{/}nor grumble as some of them did 
and were cut down by the destroying angel.
[=]_{I}11_{/}These things happened to them as an example, and they 
were written as a warning for us, as the last times come upon us. 
{I}12_{/}Therefore, if you think you stand, beware, lest you fall. 
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}No trial greater than human endurance has overcome you. 
God is faithful and will not let you be tempted beyond your 
strength. He will give you, together with the temptation, the 
strength to escape and to resist.
{I}14_{/}Therefore,{I}_{/}dear{I}_{/}friends,{I}_{/}shun the cult of idols.
[\u0095]_[=]_{I}15_{/}I address you as intelligent persons; judge what I 
say. [=]_{I}16_{/}The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a 
communion with the blood of Christ? And the bread that we break, 
is it not a communion with the body of Christ? [=]_{I}17_{/}The bread 
is one, and so we, though many, form one body, sharing the one 
bread.
[=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}Consider the Israelites. For them, to eat of the victim 
is to come into communion with its altar.
{I}19_{/}What does all that mean? That the meat is really consecrated 
to the idol, or that the idol is a being. [=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}However, when 
the pagans offer a sacrifice, the sacrifice goes to the demons, 
not to God. I do not want you to come into fellowship with demons. 
[=]_{I}21_{/}You cannot drink at the same time from the cup of the 
Lord and from the cup of demons. You cannot share in the table of 
the Lord and in the table of the demons. [=]_{I}22_{/}Do we want, 
perhaps, to provoke the jealousy of the Lord? Could we be stronger 
than he?

{N}PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{I}23_{/}Everything is lawful for me, but not everything is to 
my profit. Everything is lawful for me, but not everything builds 
up: {I}24_{/}let no one pursue his own interests, but the interests of 
the other.
[=]_{I}25_{/}Eat, then, whatever is sold at the market, and do not 
raise questions of conscience about it. [=]_{I}26_{/}Because: the 
earth and whatever is on it belongs to the Lord. {I}27_{/}If someone 
who does not share your faith invites you, go and eat of anything 
served to you without problems of conscience. [=]_{I}28_{/}However, if 
somebody tells you that the meat is from the offerings to idols, 
then do not eat out of consideration for those warning you and for 
the sake of their conscience.
{I}29_{/}I say: "In consideration of their conscience," not of yours, 
for is it convenient that my rights be misinterpreted by them and 
their conscience? {I}30_{/}Is it good that I bring on me critics for 
some good thing I am sharing and for which I will give thanks?
{R}_{I}31_{/}Then, whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it 
for the glory of God. {R}_{I}32_{/}Give no offense to the Jews, or to the 
Greeks, or to the Church of God, {I}33_{/}just as I try to please 
everyone in everything. I do not seek my own interest, but that of 
many, this is: that they be saved.

{N}WOMEN'S DRESS AND MEDITERRANEAN CUSTOMS{/}

{1}11{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}Follow my example as I  follow the example of Christ. 
[=]_{I}2_{/}I praise you because you remember me in everything, and 
you keep the traditions that I have given you. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}However I 
wish to remind you that every man has Christ as his head, while 
the wife has her husband as her head; and God is the head of 
Christ. {R}_{I}4_{/}If a man prays or prophesies with his head covered, 
he dishonors his head. {I}5_{/}On the contrary, the woman who prays or 
prophesies with her head uncovered, does not respect her head. She 
might as well cut her hair. {I}6_{/}If a woman does not use a veil, 
let her cut her hair; and if it is a shame for a woman to have her 
hair cut or shaved, then let her use a veil.
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}Men do not need to cover their head, for they are the 
image of God and reflect his glory, while a woman reflects the 
glory of man. [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}Man was not formed from woman, but woman 
from man. {R}_{I}9_{/}Nor did God create man for woman, but woman for 
man. {I}10{/}Therefore, a woman must respect the angels and have on 
her head the sign of her dependence.
{R}_{I}11_{/}Anyway, the Christian attitude does not separate man from 
woman, and woman from man, {R}_{I}12_{/}and if God has created woman from 
man, man is born from woman and both come from God.
{I}13_{/}Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a woman to pray 
without a veil? {R}_{I}14_{/}Common sense teaches us that it is shameful 
for a man to wear long hair, {I}15_{/}while long hair is the pride of 
a woman, and it has been given to her precisely as a veil.
[*]_{R}_{I}16_{/}If some of you want to argue, let it be known that it is 
not our custom nor the custom in the churches of God.

{N}THE LORD'S SUPPER{/}

[\u0095]_{I}17_{/}To continue with my advice, I cannot praise you, for your 
gatherings are not for the better but for the worse.
[=]_{I}18_{/}First, as I have heard, when you gather together, there 
are divisions among you and I partly believe it. {I}19_{/}There may 
have to be different groups among you, so that it plainly appears 
who are approved among you.
{I}20_{/}Your gatherings are no longer the Supper of the Lord, 
{I}21_{/}for each one eats at once his own food and while one is 
hungry, the other is getting drunk. {R}_{I}22_{/}Do you not have houses 
in which to eat and drink? Or perhaps you despise the Church of 
God and desire to humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I 
say? Shall I praise you? For this I cannot praise you.
[=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}This is the tradition of the Lord that I received and 
that in my turn I have handed on to you; the Lord Jesus, on the 
night that he was delivered up, took bread and, {I}24_{/}after giving 
thanks, broke it, saying, "This is my body which is broken for 
you; do this in memory of me." [=]_{R}_{I}25_{/}In the same manner, 
taking the cup after the supper, he said, "This cup is the new 
Covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do it in memory of 
me." [=]_{R}_{I}26_{/}So, then, whenever you eat of this bread and drink 
from this cup, you are proclaiming the death of the Lord until he 
comes.
{I}27_{/}Therefore, if anyone eats of the bread or drinks from the cup 
of the Lord unworthily, he sins against the body and blood of the 
Lord.
[=]_{I}28_{/}Let each one, then, examine himself before eating of the 
bread and drinking from the cup. [=]_{I}29_{/}Otherwise, he eats and 
drinks his own condemnation in not recognizing the Body.
{I}30_{/}This is the reason why so many among you are sick and weak 
and several have died. [=]_{I}31_{/}If we examined and corrected 
ourselves, the Lord would not have to exercise judgment against 
us.{I}32_{/}The Lord's strokes are to correct us, so that we may not 
be condemned with this world. 
{I}33_{/}So then, brothers, when you gather for a meal, wait for one 
another {I}34_{/}and, if someone is hungry, let him eat in his own 
house. In this way you will not gather for your common 
condemnation. The other instructions I shall give when I go there.

{N}SPIRITUAL GIFTS AND HARMONY{/}

{1}12{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}With respect to spiritual  gifts, I{I}_{/}will remind you of 
the following. {I}2_{/}When you were still pagans, you went to your 
dumb idols as people possessed. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}I tell you that nobody 
inspired by the Spirit of God may say, "A curse on Jesus," as no 
one can say, "Jesus is the Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}There is diversity of gifts, but the Spirit is the same. 
{I}5_{/}There is diversity of ministries, but the Lord is the same. 
{R}_{I}6_{/}There is diversity of works, but the same God works in all.
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}The Spirit reveals his presence in each one with a gift 
which is also a{I} {/}service. {R}_{I}8_{/}One is to speak with wisdom, 
through the Spirit. Another teaches according to the same Spirit. 
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}To another is given faith, in which the Spirit acts; to 
another the gift of healing, and it is the same Spirit. 
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Another works miracles, another is a prophet, another 
recognizes what comes from the good or evil spirit; another speaks 
in tongues, and still another interprets what has been said in 
tongues. [=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}And all of this is the work of the one and only 
Spirit, who gives to each one as he so desires.

{N}COMPARISON WITH THE BODY{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{I}12_{/}As the body is one, having many members, and all the 
members, while being many, form one body, so it is with Christ. 
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}All of us, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, have 
been baptized in one Spirit to form one body and all of us have 
been given to drink from the one Spirit.
{I}14_{/}The body has not just one member, but many. {I}15_{/}If the foot 
should say, "I do not belong to the body for I am not a hand," it 
would be wrong: it is part of the body! {I}16_{/}Even though the ear 
says, "I do not belong to the body for I am not an eye," it is 
part of the body. {I}17_{/}If all the body were eye, how would we 
hear? And if all the body were ear, how would we smell?
{R}_{I}18_{/}God has arranged all the members, placing each part of the 
body as he pleased. {I}19_{/}If all were the same part where would the 
body be? {I}20_{/}But there are many members and one body. {I}21_{/}The 
eye cannot tell the hand, "I do not need you," nor the head tell 
the feet, "I do not need you."
{I}22_{/}Still more, the parts of our body that we most need are those 
that seem to be the weakest; {I}23_{/}the parts that we consider lower 
are treated with much care, {I}24_{/}and we cover them with more 
modesty because they are less presentable, whereas the others do 
not need such attention. {R}_{I}25_{/}God himself arranged the body in 
this way, giving more honor to those parts that need it, so that 
the body may not be divided, but rather each member may care for 
the others. {I}26_{/}When one suffers, all of them suffer, and when 
one receives honor, all rejoice together.
[=]_{I}27_{/}Now, you are the body of Christ and each of you 
individually is a member of it. [=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}So God has appointed us 
in the Church. First apostles, second prophets, third teachers. 
Then come miracles, then the gift of healing, material help, 
administration in the Church and the gift of tongues.
{R}_{I}29_{/}Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Can 
all perform miracles, {I}30_{/}or cure the sick, or speak in tongues, 
or explain what was said in tongues? {I}31_{/}Be that as it may, set 
your hearts on the most precious gifts, and I will show you a much 
better way.

{N}NO GIFT HIGHER THAN LOVE{/}

{1}13{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}If I could speak all the  human and angelic tongues, but 
had no love, I would only be sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 
[=]_{I}2_{/}If I had prophecy, knowing secret things with all kinds of 
knowledge, and had faith great enough to remove mountains, but had 
no love, I would be nothing. [=]_{I}3_{/}If I gave everything I had to 
the poor, and even gave up my own body, but only to receive praise 
and not through love, it would be of no value to me.
{I}4_{/}Love is patient, kind, without envy. It is not boastful or 
arrogant. It is not ill-mannered nor does it seek its own 
interest. {I}5_{/}Love overcomes anger and forgets offenses. 
[=]_{I}6_{/}It does not take delight in wrong, but rejoices in truth. 
{I}7_{/}Love excuses everything, believes all things, hopes all 
things, endures all things.
{I}8_{/}Love will never end. Prophecies may cease, tongues be silent 
and knowledge disappear. {I}9_{/}For knowledge grasps something of the 
truth and prophecy as well. {I}10_{/}And when what is perfect comes, 
everything imperfect will pass away. {I}11_{/}When I was a child I 
thought and reasoned like a child, but when I grew up, I gave up 
childish ways. [=]_{I}12_{/}Likewise, at present we see dimly as in a 
faulty mirror, but then it shall be face to face. Now we know in 
part, but then I will know as I am known. [=]_{I}13_{/}Now we have 
faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is 
love.

{N}GIFTS OF PROPHECY AND TONGUES{/}

{1}14{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}Strive, then, for love and set your hearts on spiritual 
gifts, especially that you may prophesy. {R}_{I}2_{/}The one who speaks 
in tongues does not speak to people, but to God, for no one 
understands him; the spirit makes him say things that are not 
understandable. {R}_{I}3_{/}The prophet, instead, addresses all people to 
give them strength, encouragement and consolation. [=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}He who 
speaks in tongues strengthens himself, but the prophet builds the 
Church.
[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}Would that all of you spoke in tongues! But better still 
if you were all prophets. The prophet has an advantage over the 
one speaking in tongues, unless someone explains what was spoken, 
so that the community may profit. {I}6_{/}Suppose, brothers and 
sisters, I go to you and I speak in tongues, of what use will it 
be to you if I do not bring you some revelation, knowledge, 
prophecy or teaching?
{I}7_{/}When someone plays the flute, or harp, or any musical 
instrument, if there are not tones and notes, who will recognize 
the tune? {I}8_{/}And if the bugle call is not clear, who will get 
ready for battle? {I}9_{/}The same with you. If your words are not 
understood, who will know what is said? You will be talking to the 
moon. {I}10_{/}There are many languages in the world, and each of them 
has meaning, {I}11_{/}but if I cannot find any meaning in what is 
said, I become a foreigner to the speaker, and the speaker to me.
{I}12_{/}As you set your heart on spiritual gifts, be eager to build 
the Church and you will receive abundantly. {R}_{I}13_{/}Because of this, 
those who speak in tongues should ask God for the ability to 
explain what they say.
{R}_{I}14_{/}When I am praying in tongues, my spirit prays, but my mind 
remains idle. [=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}What shall I do, then? I will pray with 
the spirit and I will pray with my mind. I will sing with the 
spirit and I will sing with the mind. [=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}If you praise God 
only with your spirit, how will the ordinary person add the "Amen" 
to your thanksgiving, since the outsider has not understood what 
you said? {I}17_{/}Your thanksgiving was indeed beautiful, but it was 
useless for others.
{R}_{I}18_{/}I give thanks to God because I speak in tongues more than 
all of you, {I}19_{/}but when I am in the assembly, I prefer to say 
five words from my mind, which may teach others, than ten thousand 
words in tongues.
[=]_{I}20_{/}Brothers and sisters, do not remain as children in your 
thinking. Be like infants in doing evil, but mature in your 
thinking. [=]_{R}_{I}21_{/}God says in the Law: I will speak to this 
people through those talking other tongues and through lips of 
foreigners, but even so they will not listen to me. {I}22_{/}So, 
speaking in tongues is significant for those who refuse to 
believe, not for those who believe, while prophecy is a sign for 
those who believe, not for those who refuse to believe.
[=]_{I}23_{/}Yet imagine that the whole Church is gathered together 
and all speak in tongues when unbelievers and uninformed people 
enter. What will they think? That you are crazy. {R}_{I}24_{/}Instead, 
suppose that each of you speaks as a prophet; as soon as an 
unbeliever or an uninformed person enters, all of you call him to 
account and disclose his most secret thinking. {R}_{I}25_{/}Then, falling 
on his face, he would be urged to worship God and declare that God 
is truly among you.
[=]_{I}26_{/}What then shall we conclude, brothers? When you gather, 
each of you can take part with a song, a teaching, or a 
revelation, by speaking in tongues or interpreting what has been 
said in tongues. But let all this build up the Church.
{I}27_{/}Are you going to speak in tongues? Let two or three, at most, 
speak, each in turn, and let one interpret what has been said. 
{R}_{I}28_{/}If there is no interpreter, hold your tongue in the assembly 
and speak to God by yourself.
{R}_{I}29_{/}As for the prophets, let two or three speak, with the others 
commenting on what has been said. {I}30_{/}If a revelation comes to 
one of those sitting by, let the first be silent. {I}31_{/}Even all of 
you could prophesy, one by one, for the instruction and 
encouragement of all. {R}_{I}32_{/}The spirits speaking through prophets 
are submitted to prophets, {R}_{I}33_{/}because God is not a God of 
confusion, but of peace.
[=]_{R}_{I}34_{/}(Let women be silent in the assemblies, as in all the 
churches of the saints. They are not allowed to speak. Let them be 
submissive as the Law commands. {I}35_{/}If there is anything they 
desire to know, let them consult their husbands at home. For it is 
shameful for a woman to speak in Church.)
{R}_{I}36_{/}Did the word of God, perhaps, come from you? or did it come 
only to you? [=]_{R}_{I}37_{/}Anyone among you who claims to be a prophet 
or a spiritual person, should acknowledge that what I am writing 
to you is the Lord's command. {R}_{I}38_{/}If he does not recognize that, 
God will not recognize him.
{I}39_{/}So, my friends, set your hearts on the gift of prophecy, and 
do not forbid speaking in tongues. {I}40_{/}However, everything should 
be done in a fitting and orderly way. 

{N}RESURRECTION IS A FACT{/}

{1}15{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Let me remind you,  brothers and sisters, of the Good 
News that I preached to you and which you received and on which 
you stand firm. {I}2_{/}By that Gospel you are saved, provided that 
you hold to it as I preached it. Otherwise, you will have believed 
in vain.
[=]_{I}3_{/}In the first place, I have passed on to you what I myself 
received: that Christ died for our sins, as Scripture says; 
[=]_{I}4_{/}that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day, 
according to the Scriptures; {I}5_{/}that he appeared to Cephas and 
then to the Twelve. [=]_{I}6_{/}Afterwards he appeared to more than 
five hundred brothers and sisters together; most of them are still 
alive, although some have already gone to rest. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}Then he 
appeared to James and after that to all the apostles. [=]_{I}8_{/}And 
last of all, he appeared the most despicable of them, this is to 
me. {R}_{I}9_{/}For I am the last of the apostles, and I do not even 
deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church 
of God. [=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I 
am, and his grace towards me has not been without fruit. Far from 
it, I have toiled more than all of them, although not I, rather 
the grace of God in me.
{I}11_{/}Now, whether it was I or they, this we preach and this you 
have believed. [=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}Well, then, if Christ is preached as 
risen from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no 
resurrection of the dead? {R}_{I}13_{/}If there is no resurrection of the 
dead, then Christ has not been raised. {I}14_{/}And if Christ has not 
been raised, our preaching is empty and our belief comes to 
nothing. [=]_{I}15{/}And we become false witnesses of God, attesting 
that he raised Christ, whereas he could not raise him if indeed 
the dead are not raised. {R}_{I}16_{/}If the dead are not raised, neither 
has Christ been raised. [=]_{I}17_{/}And if Christ has not been 
raised, your faith gives you nothing, and you are still in sin. 
{I}18_{/}Also those who fall asleep in Christ are lost. {I}19_{/}If it is 
only for this life that we hope in Christ, we are the most 
unfortunate of all people.

{N}CHRIST GAVE US THE WAY{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}But no, Christ has been raised from the dead and he 
comes before all those who have fallen asleep. {R}_{I}21_{/}A human being 
brought death; a human being also brings resurrection of the dead. 
[=]_{I}22_{/}All die for being Adam's, and in Christ all will receive 
life. [=]_{I}23_{/}However, each one in his own time: first Christ, 
then Christ's people, when he visits them.
[=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}Then the end will come, when Christ delivers the Kingdom 
to God the Father, after having destroyed every rule, authority 
and power. [=]_{I}25_{/}For he must reign and put all enemies under 
his feet. {R}_{I}26_{/}The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. 
[=]_{R}_{I}27_{/}As Scripture says: God has subjected everything under 
his feet.
When we say that everything is put under his feet, we exclude, of 
course, the Father who subjects everything to him. [=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}When 
the Father has subjected everything to him, the Son will place 
himself under the One who subjected everything to him. From then 
on, God will be all in all.
{R}_{I}29_{/}Tell me: what are these people doing who are baptized on 
behalf of the dead? If the dead cannot be raised, why do they want 
to be baptized for the dead?
{R}_{I}30_{/}As for us, why do we constantly risk our life? For death is 
my daily companion. [=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}I say that, brothers and sisters, 
before you who are my pride in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
[=]_{R}_{I}32_{/}Was it for human interest that I fought in Ephesus like 
a lion tamer? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, 
for tomorrow we shall die!
{I}33_{/}Do not be deceived; bad theories corrupt good morals. Wake 
up, and do not sin, {R}_{I}34_{/}because some of you are outstandingly 
ignorant about God; I say this to your shame.

{N}THE BODY AFTER THE RESURRECTION{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}35_{/}Some of you will ask: How will the dead be raised? With 
what kind of body will they come?
[=]_{I}36_{/}You fools! What you sow cannot sprout unless it dies. 
{I}37_{/}And what you sow is not the body of the future plant but a 
bare grain of wheat or any other seed, {R}_{I}38_{/}and God will give the 
appropriate body, as he gives to each seed its own body. {I}39_{/}Now 
look: not all flesh is the same; one is the flesh of human beings; 
another the flesh of animals, and still others the flesh of birds 
and of fish.{I} 40_{/}There are, likewise, heavenly bodies and earthly 
bodies, but the earthly bodies do not shine as do the heavenly 
ones. {I}41_{/}The brightness of the sun differs from the brightness 
of the moon and the stars, and the stars differ from one another 
in brightness.
[=]_{R}_{I}42_{/}It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. The 
body is sown in decomposition; it will be raised never more to 
die. {I}43_{/}It is sown in humiliation, and it will be raised for 
Glory. It is buried in weakness, but the resurrection shall be 
with power. When buried it is a natural body, but it will be 
raised as a spiritual body. {I}44_{/}For there shall be a spiritual 
body as there is at present a living body. [=]_{R}_{I}45_{/}Scripture 
says that Adam, the first human being, was given natural life; but 
the last Adam has become spirit that gives life.
[=]_{R}_{I}46_{/}The spirit does not appear first, but the natural life, 
and afterwards comes the spirit. [=]_{R}_{I}47_{/}The first man comes 
from the earth and is earthly, while the second one comes from 
heaven. {I}48_{/}As it was with the earthly one, so is it with the 
earthly people. As it is with Christ, so with the heavenly. 
[=]_{I}49_{/}This is why, after bearing the image of the earthly one, 
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

{N}THE DAY OF RESURRECTION{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}50_{/}This I say, brothers: Flesh and blood cannot share the 
kingdom of God; nothing of us that is to decay can reach 
imperishable life. [=]_{I}51_{/}So I want to teach you this mystery: 
although not all of us will die, all of us have to be transformed, 
[=]_{R}_{I}52_{/}in an instant, at the sound of the trumpet. You have 
heard of the last trumpet; then in the twinkling of an eye, the 
dead will be raised imperishable, while we shall be transformed. 
{R}_{I}53_{/}For it is necessary that our mortal and perishable being put 
on the life that knows neither death nor decay.
[=]_{R}_{I}54_{/}When our perishable being puts on imperishable life, 
when our mortal being puts on immortality, the word of Scripture 
will be fulfilled: Death has{I}_{/}been swallowed up by victory. 
[=]_{R}_{I}55_{/}Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your 
sting?
[=]_{R}_{I}56_{/}Sin is the sting of death to kill, and the Law is what 
gives force to sin. [=]_{R}_{I}57_{/}But give thanks to God who gives us 
the victory through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
[=]_{I}58_{/}So then, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast and 
do not be moved. Improve constantly in the work of the Lord, 
knowing that with him your labor is not without fruit.

{N}COMMENDATIONS AND GREETINGS{/}

{1}16{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{I}1_{/}With regard to the  collection in favor of the saints, 
follow the rules that I gave to the churches of Galatia. 
[=]_{I}2_{/}Every Sunday, let each of you put aside what you are able 
to spare, so that no collection need be made when I come. 
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}Once I am with you, you will choose the persons whom I 
may accredit with letters to take your gifts to Jerusalem. {I}4_{/}And 
if it seems better for me to go, they will go with me.
[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I 
want to go only through Macedonia. {I}6_{/}I would like to stay with 
you for a while, and perhaps I will spend the winter so that you 
may help me on my way wherever I go. {I}7_{/}I do not want to see you 
now just in passing, for I really hope to stay with you, if the 
Lord permits. {I}8_{/}But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, 
{I}9_{/}because I have a door wide open here, even though there are 
many opponents.
[=]_{I}10_{/}When Timothy comes, make him feel at ease with you. 
Consider that, like me, he is working for the Lord. [=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Let 
no one look down on him. Help him continue his journey so that he 
may return to me without difficulties. I am expecting him with the 
brothers.
[=]_{I}12_{/}With respect to our brother Apollos, I have strongly 
urged him to visit you with the brothers, but he did not want to 
go at all; he will visit you at his first opportunity.
{I}13_{/}Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. 
{I}14_{/}Let love be in all. [=]_{I}15_{/}Now, brothers and sisters, you 
know that in Achaia, there is none better than Stephanas and his 
family and that they have devoted themselves to the service of the 
holy ones. [=]_{I}16_{/}I urge you to be subject to such persons and 
to anyone who works and toils with them.
{I}17_{/}I am glad about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus and 
Achaicus who were able to represent you. {R}_{I}18_{/}In fact, they 
appeased my spirit and yours. Appreciate persons like them.
[=]_{I}19_{/}The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet 
you in the Lord, as does the church that gathers in their house. 
[=]_{I}20_{/}All the brothers and sisters greet you. Greet one another 
with a holy kiss.
{R}_{I}21_{/}The greeting is from me, Paul, in my own hand. {I}22_{/}A curse 
on anyone who does not love the Lord! Maranatha! Come, Lord!
{R}_{I}23_{/}The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. {R}_{I}24_{/}My love to 
all in Christ Jesus.

