And I want you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.

Now I want to make clear for you, ¹  brothers and sisters, ²  the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand,

And if I have prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.

What do you want? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline ¹  or with love and a spirit of gentleness?

With regard to spiritual gifts, ¹  brothers and sisters, ²  I do not want you to be uninformed. ³ 

So, brothers and sisters, ¹  I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, ²  as infants in Christ.

For though you may have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, because I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

I wish that everyone was as I am. But each has his own gift from God, one this way, another that.

For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward. But if I do it unwillingly, I am entrusted with a responsibility.

For I do not want you to be unaware, ¹  brothers and sisters, ²  that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea,

No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice ¹  is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.

But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, ¹  and God is the head of Christ.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I give away everything I own, and if I give over my body in order to boast, ¹  but do not have love, I receive no benefit.

For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching.

If others receive this right from you, are we not more deserving? But we have not made use of this right. Instead we endure everything so that we may not be a hindrance to the gospel of Christ.

Now, brothers and sisters, ¹  if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I help you unless I speak to you with a revelation or with knowledge or prophecy or teaching?

Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised.

If from a human point of view I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, ¹  what did it benefit me? If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. ² 

Do not deprive each other, except by mutual agreement for a specified time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. ¹  Then resume your relationship, ²  so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.