1 Corinthians 4
4
1 Accordingly, let man consider us to be ministers of Christ and attendants of the mysteries of God.
2 Here and now, it is required of attendants that each one be found to be faithful.
3 But as for me, it is such a small thing to be judged by you, or by the age of mankind. And neither do I judge myself.
4 For I have nothing on my conscience. But I am not justified by this. For the Lord is the One who judges me.
5 And so, do not choose to judge before the time, until the Lord returns. He will illuminate the hidden things of the darkness, and he will make manifest the decisions of hearts. And then each one shall have praise from God.
6 And so, brothers, I have presented these things in myself and in Apollo, for your sakes, so that you may learn, through us, that no one should be inflated against one person and for another, not beyond what has been written.
7 For what distinguishes you from another? And what do you have that you have not received? But if you have received it, why do you glory, as if you had not received it?
8 So, now you have been filled, and now you have been made wealthy, as if to reign without us? But I wish that you would reign, so that we, too, might reign with you!
9 For I think that God has presented us as the last Apostles, as those destined for death. For we have been made into a spectacle for the world, and for Angels, and for men.
10 So we are fools because of Christ, but you are discerning in Christ? We are weak, but you are strong? You are noble, but we are ignoble?
11 Even to this very hour, we hunger and thirst, and we are naked and repeatedly beaten, and we are unsteady.
12 And we labor, working with our own hands. We are slandered, and so we bless. We suffer and endure persecution.
13 We are cursed, and so we pray. We have become like the refuse of this world, like the reside of everything, even until now.
14 I am not writing these things in order to confound you, but in order to admonish you, as my dearest sons.
15 For you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, but not so many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, through the Gospel, I have begotten you.
16 Therefore, I beg you, be imitators of me, just as I am of Christ.
17 For this reason, I have sent you Timothy, who is my dearest son, and who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my ways, which are in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere, in every church.
18 Certain persons have become inflated in thinking that I would not return to you.
19 But I will return to you soon, if the Lord is willing. And I will consider, not the words of those who are inflated, but the virtue.
20 For the kingdom of God is not in words, but in virtue.
21 What would you prefer? Should I return to you with a rod, or with charity and a spirit of meekness?
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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