1 Corinthians 4:17

4:17 For this reason, I have sent Timothy to you, who is my dear and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways in Christ,¹ as I teach them everywhere in every church.

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 7:12

7:12 To the rest I say – I, not the Lord² – if a brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is happy to live with him, he should not divorce her.

1 Corinthians 7:25

Remaining Unmarried

7:25 With regard to the question about people who have never married,³ I have no command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one shown mercy by the Lord to be trustworthy.

1 Corinthians 8:13

8:13 For this reason, if food causes my brother or sister to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause one of them⁴ to sin.

1 Corinthians 9:18

9:18 What then is my reward? That when I preach the gospel I may offer the gospel free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights in the gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:21

9:21 To those free from the law I became like one free from the law (though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law.

1 Corinthians 10:33

10:33 just as I also try to please everyone in all things. I do not seek my own benefit, but the benefit⁵ of many, so that they may be saved.

1 Corinthians 11:34

11:34 If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that when you assemble it does not lead to judgment. I will give directions about other matters when I come.

1 Corinthians 12:15-16

12:15 If the foot says, “Since I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,” it does not lose its membership in the body because of that. 12:16 And if the ear says, “Since I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” it does not lose its membership in the body because of that.

¹tc ‡ Several important mss read ᾿Ιησοῦ (Ihsou, “Jesus”) after Χριστῷ (Cristw, “Christ”) in v. 17 (so Ì⁴⁶ א C D¹ 33 1739 al). Western mss have κυρίῳ ᾿Ιησοῦ (kuriw Ihsou, “Lord Jesus”; D* F G), while several significant mss, as well as the majority, have only Χριστῷ here (A B D² Ψ Ï sa). Once ᾿Ιησοῦ got into the text, it would continue to be copied. There is however no easy explanation for the word lacking in so many witnesses. Thus the shorter reading appears to be original. NA²⁷ includes ᾿Ιησοῦ in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

²sn I, not the Lord. Here and in v. 10 Paul distinguishes between his own apostolic instruction and Jesus’ teaching during his earthly ministry. In vv. 12-16, Paul deals with a situation about which the Lord gave no instruction in his earthly ministry.

³tn Grk “virgins.” There are three main views as to which group of people is referred to by the word παρθένος (parqenos) here, and the stance taken here directly impacts one’s understanding of vv. 36-38. (1) The term could refer to virgin women who were not married. The central issue would then be whether or not their fathers should give them in marriage to eligible men. (This is the view which has been widely held throughout the history of the Church.) (2) A minority understand the term to refer to men and women who are married but who have chosen to live together without sexual relations. This position might have been possible in the Corinthian church, but there is no solid evidence to support it. (3) The view adopted by many modern commentators (see, e.g., Fee, Conzelmann, Barrett) is that the term refers to young, engaged women who were under the influence of various groups within the Corinthian church not to go through with their marriages. The central issue would then be whether the young men and women should continue with their plans and finalize their marriages. For further discussion, see G. D. Fee, First Corinthians (NICNT), 325-28.

⁴tn Grk “my brother.” Both “my brother or sister” earlier in the verse and “one of them” here translate the same Greek phrase. Since the same expression occurs in the previous line, a pronoun phrase is substituted here to suit English style, which is less tolerant of such repetition.

⁵tn Although the Greek word translated “benefit” occurs only once in this verse, the Greek article occurs twice. This indicates an implied repetition of the term, which has been included twice in the translation for the sake of clarity and English style.