12. They have said that some of you claim to follow me, while others claim to follow Apollos or Peter or Christ.
13. Has Christ been divided up? Was I nailed to a cross for you? Were you baptized in my name?
14. I thank God that I didn't baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius.
15. Not one of you can say that you were baptized in my name.
16. I did baptize the family of Stephanas, but I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.
17. Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to tell the good news without using big words that would make the cross of Christ lose its power.
18. The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work.
19. As God says in the Scriptures,“I will destroy the wisdomof all who claimto be wise.I will confuse thosewho think they knowso much.”
20. What happened to those wise people? What happened to those experts in the Scriptures? What happened to the ones who think they have all the answers? Didn't God show that the wisdom of this world is foolish?
21. God was wise and decided not to let the people of this world use their wisdom to learn about him.Instead, God chose to save only those who believe the foolish message we preach.
22. Jews ask for miracles, and Greeks want something that sounds wise.
23. But we preach that Christ was nailed to a cross. Most Jews have problems with this, and most Gentiles think it is foolish.
24. Our message is God's power and wisdom for the Jews and the Greeks that he has chosen.