I am thankful that I never baptized any of you except Crispus and Gaius,

For since in accordance with the wisdom of God the world had never in reality, by means of its wisdom, come to know God, God chose through the nonsense of the message proclaimed, to save the people who put their faith in Him.

None of the rulers of this age recognized and understood this wisdom; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

But as it is written:

What eye did not see and ear did not hear,
and what never entered the human mind—
God prepared this for those who love Him.

Now, brothers, for your benefit I have applied all this only to Apollos and myself, by using us as illustrations to teach you the old lesson, "Never go beyond the letter," and to keep any of you from boasting of one teacher at the expense of another.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Am I therefore to take the members of Christ and make them part of a prostitute? Certainly not!

But I, not the Lord, say this to the rest of you [Note: Paul now addresses the matter of mixed marriages, a circumstance Jesus never taught about]: If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she agrees to continue living with him [Note: In these verses Paul addresses a situation where one marriage partner is converted after they are married], he should not divorce her.

You were a slave when you were called? Never mind. Of course, if you do find it possible to get free, you had better avail yourself of the opportunity.

With regard to the question about people who have never married, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one shown mercy by the Lord to be trustworthy.

Are you tied to a wife? Never try to untie the knot. Are you free? Never try to get married.

Food will never bring us near to God. We are no worse if we do not eat it; we are no better if we do.

Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat {forever}, in order that I may not cause my brother to sin.

If others share in this rightful claim over you, do not we even more? However, we did not exercise this right, but we put up with everything so that we will not hinder [the spread of] the good news of Christ.

But for my part, I have never availed myself of any of these rights. I do not say this to bring it about in my own case. I would rather die than let any one make void this boast of mine.

What, then, is my reward? It is to be able to preach the gospel free of charge, and so I never resort to demanding my rights when I'm preaching the gospel.

Everyone who enters an athletic contest practices self-control in everything. They do it to win a wreath that withers away, but we run to win a prize that never fades.

No temptation has waylaid you that is beyond man's power; trust God, he will never let you be tempted beyond what you can stand, but when temptation comes, he will provide the way out of it, so that you can bear up under it.

I praise you, indeed, because you never forget me, and are keeping my injunctions in mind, exactly as I laid them upon you.

Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.

and she is never rude; she never thinks just of herself or ever gets annoyed. She never is resentful;

is never glad with sin; she's always glad to side with truth, and pleased that truth will win.

She bears up under everything; believes the best in all; there is no limit to her hope, and never will she fall.

Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

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.

For if dead men never rise, Christ did not rise either;

Otherwise, what do those people mean who submit to being baptized on behalf of their dead? If the dead are never raised at all, why do they submit to being baptized on their behalf?

If from merely human motives I have fought wild beasts here in Ephesus, what profit will it be to me? If the dead are never raised at all, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall be dead."

Foolish man! What you sow never comes to life unless it dies.

It is the same way with the resurrection of dead people. [A person's body] is buried [only] to decay; it is raised up never to decay again.

So, it is also written [Gen. 2:7], "The first man, Adam, became a living being." The last Adam [i.e., Christ], became the Spirit who gives [never ending] life. [See John 5:21].

But this I tell you, brothers: Our physical bodies cannot take part in the kingdom of God; what is decaying will never take part in what is immortal.

in a moment, faster than an eye can blink, at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will be raised never to decay, and we will be changed.

For this decaying part of us must put on the body that can never decay, and this part once capable of dying must put on the body that can never die.

And when this part once capable of dying puts on the body that can never die, then what the Scripture says will come true, "Death has been swallowed up in victory.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord [always doing your best and doing more than is needed], being continually aware that your labor [even to the point of exhaustion] in the Lord is not futile nor wasted [it is never without purpose].