1 Corinthians 1:3-12

1:3 Grace and peace to you ¹  from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Thanksgiving

1:4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus. 1:5 For you were made rich ²  in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge ³  – 1:6 just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you – 1:7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation ⁴  of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:8 He ⁵  will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

1:10 I urge you, brothers and sisters, ⁶  by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree together, ⁷  to end your divisions, ⁸  and to be united by the same mind and purpose. ⁹  1:11 For members of Chloe’s household have made it clear to me, my brothers and sisters, ¹⁰  that there are quarrels ¹¹  among you. 1:12 Now I mean this, that ¹²  each of you is saying, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” or “I am with Cephas,” or “I am with Christ.”

[1:3]  ¹ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:5]  ² sn Made rich refers to how God richly blessed the Corinthians with an abundance of spiritual gifts (cf. v. 7).

[1:5]  ³ sn Speech and knowledge refer to the spiritual gifts God had blessed them with (as v. 7 confirms). Paul will discuss certain abuses of their gifts in chapters 12-14, but he thanks God for their giftedness.

[1:7]  ³ sn The revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ refers to the Lord’s return, when he will be revealed (cf. the reference to the day of our Lord Jesus Christ in v. 8).

[1:8]  ⁴ tn Grk “who,” referring to Christ. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:10]  ⁶ tn Grk “that you all say the same thing.”

[1:10]  ⁷ tn Grk “that there be no divisions among you.”

[1:10]  ⁸ tn Grk “that you be united in/by the same mind and in/by the same purpose.”

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

[1:11]  ⁷ tn Or “rivalries, disputes.”

[1:12]  ⁷ tn Or “And I say this because.”