1 Corinthians 4
4
1Let a man so account of us, as of ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2Here, moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 3But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgement: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4For I know nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 5Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God. 6Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other.
7For who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? but if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? 8Already are ye filled, already ye are become rich, ye have reigned without us: yea and I would that ye did reign, that we also might reign with you. 9For, I think, God hath set forth us the apostles last of all, as men doomed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 10We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye have glory, but we have dishonour. 11Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place; 12and we toil, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things, even until now.
14I write not these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. 15For though ye should have ten thousand tutors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I begat you through the gospel. 16I beseech you therefore, be ye imitators of me.
17For this cause have I sent unto you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, who shall put you in remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, even as I teach everywhere in every church. 18Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. 19But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will; and I will know, not the word of them which are puffed up, but the power. 20For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. 21What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of meekness?
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1 Corinthians 4: RV1895
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historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
1 Corinthians 4
4
The work of the apostles
1Think of us as servants of Christ who have been given the work of explaining God's mysterious ways. 2And since our first duty is to be faithful to the one we work for, 3it doesn't matter to me if I am judged by you or even by a court of law. In fact, I don't judge myself. 4I don't know of anything against me, but that doesn't prove that I am right. The Lord is my judge. 5So don't judge anyone until the Lord returns. He will show what is hidden in the dark and what is in everyone's heart. Then God will be the one who praises each of us.
6Friends, I have used Apollos and myself as examples to teach you the meaning of the saying, “Follow the rules.” I want you to stop saying that one of us is better than the other. 7What is so special about you? What do you have that you were not given? And if it was given to you, how can you boast? 8Are you already satisfied? Are you now rich? Have you become kings while we are still nobodies? I wish you were kings. Then we could have a share in your kingdom.
9It seems to me that God has put us apostles in the worst possible place. We are like prisoners on their way to death. Angels and the people of this world just laugh at us. 10Because of Christ we are thought of as fools, but Christ has made you wise. We are weak and hated, but you are powerful and respected. 11Even today we go hungry and thirsty and don't have anything to wear except rags. We are ill-treated and don't have a place to live. 12We work hard with our own hands, and when people abuse us, we wish them well. When we suffer, we are patient.#Ac 18.3. 13When someone curses us, we answer with kind words. Until now we are thought of as nothing more than the trash and rubbish of this world.
14I am not writing to embarrass you. I want to help you, just as parents help their own dear children. 15Ten thousand people may teach you about Christ, but I am your only father. You became my children when I told you about Christ Jesus, 16and I want you to be like me.#1 Co 11.1; Phil 3.17. 17That's why I sent Timothy to you. I love him like a son, and he is a faithful servant of the Lord. Timothy will tell you what I do to follow Christ and how it agrees with what I always teach about Christ in every church.
18Some of you think I am not coming for a visit, and so you are boasting. 19But if the Lord lets me come, I will soon be there. Then I will find out if the ones who are doing all this boasting really have any power. 20God's kingdom isn't just a lot of words. It is power. 21What do you want me to do when I arrive? Do you want me to be hard on you or to be kind and gentle?
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012