1 Corinthians 9; 1
Corinthians 10; 1 Corinthians 11
1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus
our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even
though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the
seal of my apostleship in the Lord. 3 This is my defense to
those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don't we have the right to
food and drink? 5 Don't we have the right to take a believing
wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas
? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? 7 Who
serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat
of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? 8 Do
I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same
thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not
muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Is it about oxen that God
is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes,
this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher
threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If
we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material
harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from
you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the
contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. 13 Don't
you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and
those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In
the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should
receive their living from the gospel. 15 But I have not used
any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do
such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this
boast. 16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I
am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If
I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply
discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my
reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge,
and so not make use of my rights in preaching it. 19 Though I
am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many
as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the
Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself
am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To
those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not
free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having
the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have
become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I
do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 24 Do
you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who
competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that
will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore
I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating
the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that
after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the
prize.
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact,
brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all
passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in
the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual
food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from
the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless,
God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the
desert. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us
from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not
be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down
to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8 We
should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day
twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the
Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. 10 And
do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel.11 These
things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us,
on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you
think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No
temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he
will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,
he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. 14 Therefore,
my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible
people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of
thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ?
And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because
there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the
one loaf. 18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who
eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?19 Do I mean then that
a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No,
but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not
want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink
the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both
the Lord's table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse
the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 23 "Everything
is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is
permissible"--but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody
should seek his own good, but the good of others. 25 Eat
anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for,
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." 27 If
some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put
before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if
anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not
eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake-- 29 the
other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged
by another's conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with
thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for? 31 So
whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do
not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God-- 33 even
as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but
the good of many, so that they may be saved.
1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. 2 I
praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings,
just as I passed them on to you. 3 Now I want you to realize
that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the
head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prays or prophesies
with his head covered dishonors his head. 5 And every woman
who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is just
as though her head were shaved. 6 If a woman does not cover
her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman
to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. 7 A
man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but
the woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from
woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for
woman, but woman for man. 10 For this reason, and because of
the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. 11 In
the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of
woman. 12 For as woman came from man, so also man is born of
woman. But everything comes from God. 13 Judge for yourselves:
Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does
not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a
disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is
her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. 16 If
anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice--nor do
the churches of God. 17 In the following directives I have no
praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. 18 In
the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are
divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. 19 No
doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's
approval. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord's
Supper you eat, 21 for as you eat, each of you goes ahead
without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. 22 Don't
you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and
humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you
for this? Certainly not! 23 For I received from the Lord what
I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took
bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,
"This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In
the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new
covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of
me." 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this
cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 27 Therefore,
whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will
be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 A
man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For
anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and
drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are
weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But
if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When
we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be
condemned with the world. 33 So then, my brothers, when you
come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is
hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result
in judgment. And when I come I will give further directions.
