1 Corinthians 1:26

1:26 Think about the circumstances of your call, ¹  brothers and sisters. ²  Not many were wise by human standards, ³  not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. ⁴ 

1 Corinthians 2:4

2:4 My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power,

1 Corinthians 4:19

4:19 But I will come to you soon, if the Lord is willing, and I will find out not only the talk of these arrogant people, but also their power.

1 Corinthians 6:1

Lawsuits

6:1 When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints?

1 Corinthians 7:18

7:18 Was anyone called after he had been circumcised? He should not try to undo his circumcision. ⁵  Was anyone called who is uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised.

1 Corinthians 10:4

10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.

1 Corinthians 12:2

12:2 You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led.

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¹ tn Grk “Think about your calling.” “Calling” in Paul’s writings usually refers to God’s work of drawing people to faith in Christ. The following verses show that “calling” here stands by metonymy for their circumstances when they became Christians, leading to the translation “the circumstances of your call.”

² tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:10.

³ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

⁴ tn The Greek word ευγενής (eugenh") refers to the status of being born into nobility, wealth, or power with an emphasis on the privileges and benefits that come with that position.

⁵ tn Grk “Let him not pull over the foreskin,” that is, attempt to reverse the appearance of circumcision by a surgical procedure. This was sometimes done by Hellenistic Jews to hide the embarrassment of circumcision (1 Macc 1:15; Josephus, Ant. 12.5.1 [12.241]). Cf. BDAG 380 s.v. ἐπισπάω 3.