Moffatt(i)
18 First of all, in your church-meetings I am told that cliques prevail. And I partly believe it.
19 There must be parties among you, if genuine Christians are to be recognized.
20 But this makes it impossible for you to eat the 'Lord's' supper when you hold your gatherings.
21 As you eat, everyone takes his own supper; one goes hungry while another gets drunk.
22 What! have you no houses to eat and drink in? Do you think you can show disrespect to the church of God and put the poor to shame? What can I say to you? Commend you? Not for this.
23 I passed on to you what I received from the Lord himself, namely, that on the night he was betrayed the Lord Jesus took a loaf,
24 and after thanking God he broke it, saying, 'This means my body broken for you; do this in memory of me.'
25 In the same way he took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup means the new covenant ratified by my blood; as often as you drink it, do it in memory of me.'
26 For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
27 Hence anyone who eats the loaf or drinks the cup of the Lord carelessly, will have to answer for a sin against the body and the blood of the Lord.
28 Let a man test himself; then he can eat from the loaf and drink from the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks without a proper sense of the Body, eats and drinks to his own condemnation.
30 That is why many of you are ill and infirm, and a number even dead.
31 If we only judged our own lives truly, we would not come under the Lord's judgment.
32 As it is, we are chastened when we are judged by him, so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 Well then, my brothers, when you gather for a meal, wait for one another;
34 and if anyone is hungry let him eat at home. You must not gather, only to incur condemnation. I will give you my instructions upon the other matters when I come.
12 1 But I want you to understand about spiritual gifts, brothers.
2 You know when you were pagans, how your impulses led you to dumb idols;
3 so I tell you now, that no one is speaking in the Spirit of God when he cries, 'Cursed be Jesus,' and that no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except in the holy Spirit.
4 There are varieties of talents, but the same Spirit;
5 varieties of service, but the same Lord;
6 varieties of effects, but the same God who effects everything in everyone.
7 Each receives his manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 One man is granted words of wisdom by the Spirit, another words of knowledge by the same Spirit;
9 one man in the same Spirit has the gift of faith, another in the one Spirit has gifts of healing;
10 one has prophecy, another the gift of distinguishing spirits, another the gift of 'tongues' in their variety, another the gift of interpreting 'tongues.'
11 But all these effects are produced by one and the same Spirit, apportioning them severally to each individual as he pleases.
12 As the human body is one and has many members, all the members of the body forming one body for all their number, so is it with Christ.
13 For by one Spirit we have all been baptized into one Body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or freemen; we have all been imbued with one Spirit.
14 Why, even the body consists not of one member but of many.
15 If the foot were to say, 'Because I am not the hand, I do not belong to the body,' that does not make it no part of the body.
16 If the ear were to say, 'Because I am not the eye, I do not belong to the body,' that does not make it no part of the body.
17 If the body were all eye, where would hearing be? If the body were all ear, where would smell be?
18 As it is, God has set the members in the body, each as it pleased him.
19 If they all made up one member, what would become of the body?
20 As it is, there are many members and one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'
22 Quite the contrary. We cannot do without those very members of the body which are considered rather delicate,
23 just as the parts we consider rather dishonourable are the very parts we invest with special honour; our indecorous parts get a special care and attention
24 which does not need to be paid to our more decorous parts. Yes, God has tempered the body together, with a special dignity for the inferior parts,
25 so that there may be no disunion in the body, but that the various members should have a common concern for one another.
26 Thus if one member suffers, all the members share its suffering; if one member is honoured, all the members share its honour.
27 Now you are Christ's Body, and severally members of it.
28 That is to say, God has set people within the church to be first of all apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, and speakers in 'tongues' of various kinds.
29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?
30 Are all endowed with the gifts of healing? Are all able to speak in 'tongues'? Are all able to interpret?
31 Set your hearts on the higher talents. And yet I will go on to show you a still higher path.
13 1 Thus, I may speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but if I have no love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal;
2 I may prophesy, fathom all mysteries and secret lore, I may have such absolute faith that I can move hills from their place, but if I have no love, I count for nothing;
3 I may distribute all I possess in charity, I may give up my body to be burnt, but if I have no love, I make nothing of it.
4 Love is very patient, very kind. Love knows no jealousy; love makes no parade, gives itself no airs,
5 is never rude, never selfish, never irritated, never resentful;
6 love is never glad when others go wrong, love is gladdened by goodness,
7 always slow to expose, always eager to believe the best, always hopeful, always patient.
8 Love never disappears. As for prophesying, it will be superseded; as for 'tongues,' they will cease; as for knowledge, it will be superseded.
9 For we only know bit by bit, and we only prophesy bit by bit;
10 but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will be superseded.
11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I argued like a child; now that I am a man, I am done with childish ways.
12 At present we only see the baffling reflections in a mirror, but then it will be face to face; at present I am learning bit by bit, but then I shall understand, as all along I have myself been understood.
13 Thus 'faith and hope and love last on, these three,' but the greatest of all is love.
14 1 Make love your aim, and then set your heart on the spiritual gifts — especially upon prophecy.
2 For he who speaks in a 'tongue' addresses God not men; no one understands him; he is talking of divine secrets in the Spirit.
3 On the other hand, he who prophesies addresses men in words that edify, encourage, and console them.
4 He who speaks in a 'tongue' edifies himself, whereas he who prophesies edifies the church.
5 Now I would like you all to speak with 'tongues,' but I would prefer you to prophesy. The man who prophesies is higher than the man who speaks with 'tongues' — unless indeed the latter interprets, so that the church may get edification.
6 Suppose now I were to come to you speaking with 'tongues,' my brothers; what good could I do you, unless I had some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching to lay before you?
7 Inanimate instruments, such as the flute or the harp, may give a sound, but if no intervals occur in their music, how can one make out the air that is being played either on flute or on harp?
8 If the trumpet sounds indistinct, who will get ready for the fray?
9 Well, it is the same with yourselves. Unless your tongue utters language that is readily understood, how can people make out what you say? You will be pouring words into the empty air!
10 There are ever so many kinds of language in the world, everyone of them meaning something.
11 Well, unless I understand the meaning of what is said to me, I shall appear to the speaker to be talking gibberish, and to my mind he will be talking gibberish himself.
12 So with yourselves; since your heart is set on possessing 'spirits,' make the edification of the church your aim in this desire to excel.
13 Thus a man who speaks in a 'tongue' must pray for the gift of interpreting it.
14 For if I pray with a 'tongue,' my spirit prays, no doubt, but my mind is no use to anyone.
15 Very well then, I will pray in the Spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing praise in the Spirit, but I will also sing praise with my mind.
16 Otherwise, suppose you are blessing God in the Spirit, how is the outsider to say 'Amen' to your thanksgiving? The man does not understand what you are saying!
17 Your thanksgiving may be all right, but then — the other man is not edified!
18 Thank God, I speak in 'tongues' more than any of you;
19 but in church I would rather say five words with my own mind for the instruction of other people than ten thousand words in a 'tongue.'
20 Brothers, do not be children in the sphere of intelligence; in evil be mere infants, but be mature in your intelligence.
21 It is written in the Law, By men of alien tongues and by the lips of aliens I will speak to this People; but even so, they will not listen to me, saith the Lord.
22 Thus 'tongues' are intended as a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; whereas prophesying is meant for believers, not for unbelievers.
23 Hence if at a gathering of the whole church everybody speaks with 'tongues,' and if outsiders or un believers come in, will they not say you are insane?
24 Whereas, if everybody prophesies, and some unbeliever or outsider comes in, he is exposed by all, brought to book by all;
25 the secrets of his heart are brought to light, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God, declaring, 'God is really among you.'
26 Very well then, brothers; when you meet together, each contributes something — a song of praise, a lesson, a revelation, a 'tongue,' an interpretation? Good, but let every thing be for edification.
27 As for speaking in a 'tongue,' let only two or at most three speak at one meeting, and that in turn. Also, let someone interpret;
28 if there is no interpreter, let the speaker keep quiet in church and address himself and God.
29 Let only two or three prophets speak, while the rest exercise their judgment upon what is said.
30 Should a revelation come to one who is seated, the first speaker must be quiet.
31 You can all prophesy quite well, one after another, so as to let all learn and all be encouraged.
32 Prophets can control their own prophetic spirits,
33 for God is a God not of disorder but of harmony. [Move 33b-36 to follow vs 40] As is the rule in all churches of the saints,
34 women must keep quiet at gatherings of the church. They are not allowed to speak; they must take a subordinate place, as the Law enjoins.
35 If they want any information, let them ask their husbands at home; it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church.
36 You challenge this rule? Pray, did God's word start from you? Are you the only people it has reached?
37 If anyone considers himself a prophet or gifted with the Spirit, let him understand that what I write to you is a command of the Lord.
38 Anyone who disregards this will be himself disregarded.
39 To sum up, my brothers. Set your heart on the prophetic gift, and do not put any check upon speaking in 'tongues';
40 but let everything be done decorously and in order.
15 1 Now, brothers, I would have you know the gospel I once preached to you, the gospel you received, the gospel in which you have your footing,
2 the gospel by which you are saved — provided you adhere to my statement of it — unless indeed your faith was all haphazard.
3 First and foremost, I passed on to you what I had myself received, namely, that Christ died for our sins as the scriptures had said,
4 that he was buried, that he rose on the third day as the scriptures had said,
5 and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve;
6 after that, he was seen by over five hundred brothers all at once, the majority of whom survive to this day, though some have died;
7 after that, he was seen by James, then by all the apostles,
8 and finally he was seen by myself, by this so-called 'abortion' of an apostle.
9 For I am the very least of the apostles, unfit to bear the name of apostle, since I persecuted the church of God.
10 But by God's grace I am what I am. The grace he showed me did not go for nothing; no, I have done far more work than all of them — though it was not I but God's grace at my side.
11 At any rate, whether I or they have done most, such is what we preach, such is what you believed.
12 Now if we preach that Christ rose from the dead, how can certain individuals among you assert that 'there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead'?
13 If 'there is no such thing as a resurrection from the dead,' then even Christ did not rise;
14 and if Christ did not rise, then our preaching has gone for nothing, and your faith has gone for nothing too.
15 Besides, we are detected bearing false witness to God by affirming of him that he raised Christ — whom he did not raise, if after all dead men never rise.
16 For if dead men never rise, Christ did not rise either;
17 and if Christ did not rise, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins.
18 More than that: those who have slept the sleep of death in Christ have perished after all.
19 Ah, if in this life we have nothing but a mere hope in Christ, we are of all men to be pitied most!
20 But it is not so! Christ did rise from the dead, he was the first to be reaped of those who sleep in death.
21 For since death came by man, by man came also resurrection from the dead;
22 as all die in Adam, so shall all be made alive in Christ.
23 But each in his own division: — Christ the first to be reaped; after that, all who belong to Christ, at his arrival.
24 Then comes the end, when he hands over his royal power to God the Father, after putting down all other rulers, all other authorities and powers.
25 For he must reign until all his foes are put under his feet.
26 (Death is the last foe to be put down.)
27 For God has put everything under his feet. When it is said that everything has been put under him, plainly that excludes Him who put everything under him;
28 and when everything is put under him, then the Son himself will be put under Him who put everything under him, so that God may be everything to everyone.
29 Otherwise, if there is no such thing as a resurrection, what is the meaning of people getting baptized on behalf of their dead? If dead men do not rise at all, why do people get baptized on their behalf?
30 Yes, and why am I myself in danger every hour?
31 (Not a day but I am at death's door! I swear it by my pride in you, brothers, through Christ Jesus our Lord.)
32 What would it avail me that, humanly speaking, I 'fought with wild beasts' at Ephesus? If dead men do not rise, let us eat and drink, for we will be dead to-morrow!
33 Make no mistake about this: 'bad company is the ruin of good character.'
34 Get back to your sober senses and avoid sin, for some of you — and I say this to your shame — some of you are insensible to God.
35 But, someone will ask, 'how do the dead rise? What kind of body have they when they come?'
36 Foolish man! What you sow never comes to life unless it dies.
37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be; it is a mere grain of wheat, for example, or some other seed.
38 God gives it a body as he pleases, gives each kind of seed a body of its own.
39 Flesh is not all the same; there is human flesh, there is flesh of beasts, flesh of birds, and flesh of fish.
40 There are heavenly bodies and also earthly bodies, but the splendour of the heavenly is one thing and the splendour of the earthly is another.
41 There is a splendour of the sun and a splendour of the moon and a splendour of the stars — for one star differs from another in splendour.
42 So with the resurrection of the dead: what is sown is mortal, what rises is immortal;
43 sown inglorious, it rises in glory; sown in weakness, it rises in power;
44 sown an animate body, it rises a spiritual body. As there is an animate body, so there is a spiritual body.
45 Thus it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became an animate being, the last Adam a life-giving Spirit';
46 but the animate, not the spiritual, comes first, and only then the spiritual.
47 Man the first is from the earth, material; Man the second is from heaven.
48 As Man the material is, so are the material; as Man the heavenly is, so are the heavenly.
49 Thus, as we have borne the likeness of material Man, so we are to bear the likeness of the heavenly Man.
50 I tell you this, my brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the Realm of God, nor can the perishing inherit the imperishable.
51 Here is a secret truth for you: not all of us are to die, but all of us are to be changed —
52 changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet-call. The trumpet will sound, the dead will rise imperishable, and we shall be changed.
53 For this perishing body must be invested with the imperishable, and this mortal body invested with immortality;
54 and when this mortal body has been invested with immortality, then the saying of Scripture will be realized, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O Death, where is your victory? O Death, where is your sting?
56 --
57 The victory is ours, thank God! He makes it ours by our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Well then, my beloved brothers, hold your ground, immovable; abound in work for the Lord at all times, for you may be sure that in the Lord your labour is never thrown away.
16 1 With regard to the collection for the saints, you must carry out the same arrangements as I made for the churches of Galatia.
2 On the first day of the week let each of you put aside a sum from his weekly gains, so that the money may not have to be collected when I come.
3 On my arrival I will furnish credentials for those whom you select, and send them to convey your bounty to Jerusalem;
4 if the sum makes it worth my while to go too, they shall accompany me.
5 I mean to visit you after my tour in Macedonia, for I am going to make a tour through Macedonia.
6 The chances are, I shall spend some time with you, possibly even pass the winter with you, so that you may speed me forward on any journey that lies before me.
7 I do not care about seeing you at this moment merely in the by-going; my hope is to stay among you for some time, with the Lord's permission.
8 I am staying on for the present at Ephesus till Pentecost,
9 for I have wide opportunities here for active service — and there are many to thwart me.
10 When Timotheus arrives, see that you make him feel quite at home with you; he carries on the work of the Lord as I do.
11 So let no one disparage him. When he leaves to rejoin me, speed him cordially on his journey, for I am expecting him along with the other brothers.
12 As for our brother Apollos, I urged him to accompany the other brothers on a visit to you; he will come as soon as he has time, but for the present it is not the will of God that he should visit you.
13 Watch, stand firm in the faith, play the man, be strong!
14 Let all you do be done in love.
15 I ask this favour of you, my brothers. The household of Stephanas, you know, was the first to be reaped in Achaia, and they have laid themselves out to serve the saints.
16 Well, I want you to put yourselves under people like that, under everyone who sets his hand to the work.
17 I am glad that Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus have arrived, for they have made up for your absence.
18 They refresh my spirit as they do your own. You should appreciate men like that.
19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Prisca, with the church that meets in their house, salute you warmly in the Lord.
20 All the brotherhood salutes you. Salute one another with a holy kiss.
21 I Paul write this salutation with my own hand.
22 'If any one has no love for the Lord, God's curse be on him! Maran atha!
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus.' [Amen.]