What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Now I mean this, that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,” and, “I follow Christ.”
- KJV Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
- NKJV Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.”
- NASB Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am with Paul,” or “I am with Apollos,” or “I am with Cephas,” or “I am with Christ.”
- NLT Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul.” Others are saying, “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Peter,” or “I follow only Christ.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Corinthians had splintered into rival camps loyal to different leaders. Even claiming to follow Christ had become a party slogan rather than true devotion.
Overview
Paul exposes the factions: groups boasting 'I follow Paul,' 'Apollos,' 'Cephas (Peter),' or 'Christ.' This party spirit elevated human leaders into rival figureheads, fracturing the body. Even the 'I follow Christ' group may have used his name divisively, showing how spiritual pride twists even good loyalties into instruments of strife.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Matt 23:9–10And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
- John 1:42Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated as Peter).
- 1 Cor 3:21–23Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours,
- 1 Cor 3:4–6For when one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
- 1 Cor 15:50Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
- 1 Cor 16:12Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was not at all inclined to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.
- 1 Cor 4:6Brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us not to go beyond what is written. Then you will not take pride in one man over another.
- 2 Cor 9:6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
- 1 Cor 9:5Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
- Gal 2:9And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas, and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
- 1 Cor 15:5and that He appeared to Cephas and then to the Twelve.
- 1 Cor 7:29What I am saying, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none;
- Gal 3:17What I mean is this: The law that came 430 years later does not revoke the covenant previously established by God, so as to nullify the promise.
- Acts 18:24Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 1:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.