The Holy Spirit of Truth asks: What will you wear on that day?

Around 3am the watchman woke and when he asked the Lord to reveal to him His words for the following meeting (at 5am) with the Lord, he was shown the vision of the prophet Zechariah in the following Bible verses: Vision of the High Priest, the essential clothing that each Christian must wear on that day when Jesus comes for the churches: the white robe. He was also shown what an overcomer means, what testimony the overcomer give to the world and what an overcomer needs to overcome the world.

Zech3:3Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. ⁴ Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” ⁵ And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.
⁶ Then the Angel of the Lord admonished Joshua, saying, ⁷ “Thus says the Lord of hosts:‘If you will walk in My ways, And if you will keep My command, Then you shall also judge My house, And likewise have charge of My courts; I will give you places to walk Among these who stand here. ⁸ ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you,For they are a wondrous sign;

After that, he was shown today’s theme is ‘be overcomer’. The song as follows is sung in his spirit.
Revelation 3: ¹⁰ Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.¹¹ Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.¹² He who overcomes, I will make him… ¹³ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’
More about white robes in Revelation 7: A Multitude from the Great Tribulation ⁹ After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands…¹³ Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” ¹⁴ And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb...”
But who are the overcomer? Revelation 12:11 has given the answer: ¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
A further revelation on the testimony of the sons of God, the overcomer:

1 John 5: 4-9 (NLT) ⁴ For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. ⁵ And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony.  So we have these three witnesses— the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son.

The word of testimony of an overcomer must agree with the testimony of God. God has testified His Son. Surely there is no other testimony greater than that of God. What testimony can an overcomer give that is worthy of mention? The same testimony: The Son of God -Jesus Christ.

The Spirit of Life says, “Beware of depression spirit and burnt chicken!”

YUMMY BURNT CHICKEN

Dear Junior: (a watchman/intercessor who started young):

Yesterday your uncle watchman learned a lesson from the Lord Holy Spirit. He did not obey the lord’s command to watch and pray. Instead he spent a lot of quality time driving and waiting for spiritually unproductive administrative procedures in banks. By the time he returned to his abode, it was already afternoon and he made further unproductive decisions without asking the Holy Spirit.
Someone turned up for urgent ministering by his co-worker and he had to rush to finish laundry and cooking so they would not be distracted. However, rain waters poured like waterfall from above and strong wind brought the water right into his first floor home-office and whilst he rushed upstairs to close the windows, the bed sheets and kneeling pads which were earlier hanging out under the bright sun in the garden were soaked.
Whilst he was feeling upset and went up to ‘sulk’ in the third floor attic the chicken on the stove in the ground floor kitchen was burnt. The whole house was full of smoke. While he wondered where the smoke came from, someone came to his door and knocked and told him the bad news -instead of switching off the stove he turned to full power and it continued for at least fifteen minutes!
So the uncle felt self-pity and grumbled loudly to the Lord. He was a watchman and not a servant to the cares of this world. When he wallowed in self-pity he forgot that he was supposed to be sons of God and led by the Holy Spirit. He felt depressed and oppressed. He thought he was being neglected by all loved ones as the the smoke was swarming the whole house and no one paid any attention. These include those in the kitchen blissfully taking their tea, and those in the living room engrossed in talking. The rain poured into the house causing the beginning of a flood and yet the inhabitants were in blissful oblivion in their rooms doing their own things.
While moping, the Lord reminded him that he was to be led by the Spirit and not by flesh. He then discerned that the spirit of death, spirit of deception, and spirit of depression came into his mind through the ‘open window’ (or open-door) from the ‘patient’ and her mom downstairs. So he used the name of Jesus to bind and cast out the unclean spirits, using the same authority Jesus gave to His disciples and all who believe.

Matthew 16:19 (NKJV) ¹⁹ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed^[a] in heaven. [”Footnotes: a. Matthew 16:19 Or will have been bound . . . will have been loosed.]

He also used the power of the Son of God -Jesus, to destroy the works of the devil as in

1John3:8b “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

The depression lifted instantly at the name of Jesus. The Spirit of the Lord Jesus refreshed him as he prayed in tongue. He took a refreshing bath and felt bright and sunny by the time he took his dinner. The chicken miraculously tasted good and juicy too. The burnt ginger was edible. The vegetables were extra delicious. So the smoke did not damage anything. He even had a treat of chocolate from Manila.
Summary of lesson learned:

1. Obey the Lord Jesus who urged us to watch and pray always.
2. Walk in the Spirit.
3. Do not assume that feelings and thoughts are the truth.
4. Always be alert of the spiritual realm. Look at the unseen.
5. Pray in the Spirit without ceasing.
6. Be always prepared to use the authority and power of the sons of God.
7. Be equipped and ready to use the sword of the Spirit -the word of God.

Be intercessors/watchmen after the heart of God!

Dear Junior: (a watchman/intercessor who started young)
Today aunt E joined us. we were all being trained and raised as intercessors/watchmen after the heart of God!
I woke around 4:30am and managed to bath, open the doors and waited for the arrival. I prayed in the spirit and cleansed the compound not knowing why I did that. I normally did not do that early in the morning binding and casting. However, when they arrived the dogs were quiet and calm and still. Your cousin was so fed up with all the recent 5am daily commotion (e.g. attic door opening, footsteps on staircases, keys turning, dogs barking, and of course loud Bible reading and praying!) that she went and complained to aunt E last night about her not sleeping enough. Anyway, today the Lord led me to do the spiritual cleansing in the garden.
Now we have aunt Priscilla, uncle Aquila,  uncle Mil (his son Z sleeping in the car), uncle MW, aunt E and me.
Today we received the same song in the spirit, Philippians 3:7-8. “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ .”
So we decided to read the verses. The Lord then led us to look at Jesus in 2:7-8 “but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
After that we knew we were to continue looking at the Son of God and learn to be sons of God which was the main theme yesterday in the song 1John 3:8b. We prayed and asked the Lord to help us be aligned with His heart, having the mind of Christ. (1 Cor.2:16)
We looked forward to a Bible Study led by the Lord, but after our Holy Communion, the Lord Holy Spirit led us to burst forth in tongues and we prayed in tongue for a long time, until the Lord gave us the burden of His heart to weep and intercede for churches (naming all the Chinese pastors we know and crying for them)! There was no dry eyes or faces.
We experienced the reality of the Bible verse that we have prayed daily as we meet and partake Holy Communion in the name of the Lord Jesus, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” (1 Cor.6:17)
Then the Lord led us to pray for the children in Sunday schools churches, Christian organizations, orphanages, youth homes and other Christian training programs and education activities, seeing in our spirit how they copy the unbelievers’ worldly customs and traditions, leading the children to pagan altars and offer them as sacrifices to pagan gods, trying to please man and not God, bringing the children up the worldly secular way and not God’s way.
They do not heed the Lord’s clear warning in Deut12:4 “Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods”.

²⁸ Be careful to obey all my commands, so that all will go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the Lord your God. ²⁹ “When the Lord your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, ³⁰ do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ ³¹ You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. ^32 [a]“So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.

After that those among us who are parents repented too for wrong values and negligence and not taking up spiritual authority and parent the children to fear God, resulting that there is no godliness and holiness in the second generation. All pledged to re-build our family altars.
So today we have the Lord as the Spirit of intercession in our midst. We were all elated and felt refreshed after all the tearful prayers (including bind and cast too). By the time we broke off reluctantly, aunt E was amazed to discover that it was already almost 9am! Four hours (5am-9am) swept past us without anyone knowing as we were soaked in the joy of the Lord Holy Spirit!

love in Christ from uncle watchman.

Your pattern of worship will change, the watchman heard

A new pattern of worship has birthed, just as the Lord has foretold the watchman one morning in June when the Lord showed him the verse, “Your pattern of worship will change.” (Deu12:8)
In the micro house church the members from a few families range from seniors in their 70s and 60s to a junior of 5-6 years old. There is a representative variety of ages in between, including, 10s, 20s, 40s and 50s. the only missing age group is the 30s. The watchman observed.
Today’s gathering consisted of the older groups, as the younger ones are elsewhere. The worship, prayers in the Spirit and in understanding, and words went on for five hours. There was not one sick and not one feeble. (The oldest member who used to receive ‘infirm’ report, now walks about without support and she also raises her hands and says Amen and Amen as the Spirit of the Lord leads her when others pray. It is a weekly miracle as she sits through at least three hours and more of worship!)
The singing in the Spirit went supernaturally for a long time until there was a heavenly choir in training. The sound blended like the blowing of a gentle wind, rustling the leaves in poetic rhythm. The Bible verse, “He who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit with Him” came to reality to each of the participants.
As there was no fixed sequence or program, the Spirit led them to listen to the words of God first, followed by Holy Communion, and worship. By the time they listened to the message, they were merely continuing what the Lord had communicated to them through a pastor who was prompted to send some verses to the watchman on the previous day’s afternoon after the watchman had interceded and asked the Lord for the baptism with the Holy Spirit for the group who had earnestly sought the Lord daily now for a week. The pastor did not know this group. He was just led to send the verses to the watchman. After midnight he sent a third verse too. The three verses formed the basis of the day’s message. Amazing and awesome. They were all convicted by the verses and repented one by one.
After the five hours of worship, the group proceeded to watch the book of Acts in another brethren’s house for another two hours. As the young ones were elsewhere, the grown ups decided to eat up all the snacks of ice cream, fruits, chips and nuts. it was a wonderful Lord’s day, living the Holy Spirit way!
___________________Deuteronomy 12 (NLT)

The Lord’s Chosen Place for Worship

12 “These are the decrees and regulations you must be careful to obey when you live in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must obey them as long as you live.
² “When you drive out the nations that live there, you must destroy all the places where they worship their gods—high on the mountains, up on the hills, and under every green tree. ³ Break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Burn their Asherah poles and cut down their carved idols. Completely erase the names of their gods!
⁴ “Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. ⁵ Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored. ⁶ There you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, your offerings to fulfill a vow, your voluntary offerings, and your offerings of the firstborn animals of your herds and flocks. ⁷ There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you.
⁸ “Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please, ⁹ because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. ¹⁰ But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you. When he gives you rest from all your enemies and you’re living safely in the land, ¹¹ you must bring everything I command you—your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, and your offerings to fulfill a vow—to the designated place of worship, the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored.
¹² “You must celebrate there in the presence of the Lord your God with your sons and daughters and all your servants. And remember to include the Levites who live in your towns, for they will receive no allotment of land among you. ¹³ Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings just anywhere you like. ¹⁴ You may do so only at the place the Lord will choose within one of your tribal territories. There you must offer your burnt offerings and do everything I command you.
¹⁵ “But you may butcher your animals and eat their meat in any town whenever you want. You may freely eat the animals with which the Lord your God blesses you. All of you, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you now eat gazelle and deer. ¹⁶ But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water.
¹⁷ “But you may not eat your offerings in your hometown—neither the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, nor the firstborn of your flocks and herds, nor any offering to fulfill a vow, nor your voluntary offerings, nor your sacred offerings. ¹⁸ You must eat these in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose. Eat them there with your children, your servants, and the Levites who live in your towns, celebrating in the presence of the Lord your God in all you do. ¹⁹ And be very careful never to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
²⁰ “When the Lord your God expands your territory as he has promised, and you have the urge to eat meat, you may freely eat meat whenever you want. ²¹ It might happen that the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—is a long way from your home. If so, you may butcher any of the cattle, sheep, or goats the Lord has given you, and you may freely eat the meat in your hometown, as I have commanded you. ²² Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you do now with gazelle and deer. ²³ But never consume the blood, for the blood is the life, and you must not consume the lifeblood with the meat. ²⁴ Instead, pour out the blood on the ground like water. ²⁵ Do not consume the blood, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what pleases the Lord.
²⁶ “Take your sacred gifts and your offerings given to fulfill a vow to the place the Lord chooses. ²⁷ You must offer the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your other sacrifices must be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat. ²⁸ Be careful to obey all my commands, so that all will go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the Lord your God.
²⁹ “When the Lord your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, ³⁰ do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ ³¹ You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.
^32 [a]“So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.

Footnotes:

1. Deuteronomy 12:32 Verse 12:32 is numbered 13:1 in Hebrew text.

Pray with Gospel For Asia online

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The Holy Spirit says: Be Free! And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”

 Today’s prayer from the watchman to the Lord is “O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.Be our arm every morning,our salvation in the time of trouble.” Then the Lord answered, “And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”. ““But where is this wonderful place Lord?” The watchman asked further. Then he knew. How did he know? Just by following the faith people, living in the Spirit, walking by faith and not by sight.

Lately he was led to renovate his abode by throwing out the stuff that hinder his spiritual journey by faith (worldly books and stuff of no value in the kingdom of God). He just obeyed. He saw in his spirit that some disciples looking persons sitting on the floor waiting upon the Lord. He asked the Lord and received the prompting that the place would be put to use as an intensive training ground for those who want to learn to hear God and be led by the Spirit. About three years back he first heard in his spirit the term “prophet-disciple school”. He put it aside as he had no other leading. Then a few months back the Lord prompted him again. He asked the Lord from where and how such ‘disciple trainees’ would come? He was told that the Lord would bring them and they would come from unexpected sources. He needed not do anything. They would self-sustain themselves. So he obeyed and free up the place by throwing away two lorry loads of unwanted stuff.
As it is spacious and empty he loves to sit there alone and waits upon the Lord. The early morning and evening time is the best. The garden is just a glass door away, with some trees and patches of grass and stone pavement. Mature red palms, an unnamed tree, a fir tree, and a young thriving avocado tree are all doing well.
One day he received a phone call. A brethren in Christ who had not contacted him for many years suddenly called him. The man had been fasting for 28 days and had encountered the baptism of the Holy Spirit. He was filled with joy and tears. He wanted to talk to someone and no one was willing to hear him out from his circle of brethren and friends, including his own wife, pastors and elders. They come from one of the most traditional churches in this region. They do not want to know his experience of baptism of the Holy Spirit and are also against praying in tongues (in the church or anything to do with the church ministry).
The pastor has even warned sternly that he should never speak or pray in tongue when he is at the pulpit (as a worship leader //deacon), leading worship or prayer meetings, or as a cell group leader, or anywhere around the church or where the church members gather. He was stunned. He has served the Lord for years and become bone dry. He has observed that others too have the same dryness in their souls and spirits. Their bodies too suffer sicknesses which warrant constant medicine intake. After he was filled with the Holy Spirit he was overjoyed and nourished by the Lord, feeding on the word of God like never before. The brethren also testified that he decided to stop his medicine during his fasting and he was healed of a chronic pain at the back of his neck!

So the watchman was contacted when this Spirit-filled brethren suddenly recalled his name! The watchman agreed to meet with him as the brethren indicated that he wanted to know more about Holy Spirit-filled living. At first they met around 10am. Then the Lord prompted that the brethren should join the watchman waiting upon the Lord early to learn hands-on. So they decided to meet at the newly renovated space at 5am daily Monday to Friday.

After the first meeting, they were joined by a couple who lived nearby. They decided to wait upon the Lord too in the early hours before going to work. So the 5am-8am/9am morning ‘wait-upon-the-Lord’ faith in action training had birthed. No agenda. No planning. No program. No schedule. No fixed message. No fixed time frame. They just learned to listen to the Lord Holy Spirit and obeyed.
The Bible verses flowed as the Spirit of the Lord led them. The Lord Jesus had promised, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
Indeed, the watchman and the earnest seekers of God, daily encounter the reality of these verses, “Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar.”
“But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams,”
“And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”; the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.”
________________________________Bible verses for today:
Isaiah 33 (ESV)
² O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for you.
    Be our arm every morning,
    our salvation in the time of trouble.
³ At the tumultuous noise peoples flee;
when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,
⁴ and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;
as locusts leap, it is leapt upon.
⁵ The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;
    he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,
⁶ and he will be the stability of your times,
    abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;
    the fear of the Lord is Zion’s^[a] treasure.
⁷ Behold, their heroes cry in the streets;
the envoys of peace weep bitterly.
⁸ The highways lie waste;
the traveler ceases.
Covenants are broken;
cities^[b] are despised;
there is no regard for man.
⁹ The land mourns and languishes;
Lebanon is confounded and withers away;
Sharon is like a desert,
and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
¹⁰ “Now I will arise,” says the Lord,
    “now I will lift myself up;
    now I will be exalted.
¹¹ You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble;
your breath is a fire that will consume you.
¹² And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,
like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”
¹³ Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;
and you who are near, acknowledge my might.
¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are afraid;
trembling has seized the godless:
“Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?
    Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”
¹⁵ He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,
who despises the gain of oppressions,
who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,
who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed
and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,
¹⁶ he will dwell on the heights;
    his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;
    his bread will be given him; his water will be sure.
¹⁷ Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;
    they will see a land that stretches afar.
¹⁸ Your heart will muse on the terror:
“Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute?
Where is he who counted the towers?”
¹⁹ You will see no more the insolent people,
the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,
stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.
²⁰ Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!
Your eyes will see Jerusalem,
an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent,
whose stakes will never be plucked up,
nor will any of its cords be broken.
²¹ But there the Lord in majesty will be for us
a place of broad rivers and streams,
where no galley with oars can go,
nor majestic ship can pass.
²² For the Lord is our judge; the Lord is our lawgiver;
    the Lord is our king; he will save us.
²³ Your cords hang loose;
they cannot hold the mast firm in its place
or keep the sail spread out.
Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;
even the lame will take the prey.
²⁴ And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;
    the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.
Footnotes:

1. Isaiah 33:6 Hebrew his
2. Isaiah 33:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll witnesses

today's message: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1

English Standard Version (ESV) Greeting

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Thanksgiving
⁴ I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸ who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Divisions in the Church
¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers,^[a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. ¹² What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” ¹³ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

²⁰ Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach^[b] to save those who believe. ²² For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[c] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no human being^[d] might boast in the presence of God.  
³⁰ And because of him^[e] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Footnotes:

1. 1 Corinthians 1:10 Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God's family, the church; also verses 11, 26
2. 1 Corinthians 1:21 Or the folly of preaching
3. 1 Corinthians 1:26 Greek according to the flesh
4. 1 Corinthians 1:29 Greek no flesh
5. 1 Corinthians 1:30 Greek And from him