1 Corinthians 4
4
1Let a man so thinke of vs, as of the ministers of Christ, and disposers of the secrets of God: 2And as for the rest, it is required of the disposers, that euery man be found faithfull. 3As touching me, I passe very litle to be iudged of you, or of mans iudgement: no, I iudge not mine owne selfe. 4For I know nothing by my selfe, yet am I not thereby iustified: but he that iudgeth me, is the Lord. 5Therefore iudge nothing before the time, vntill the Lord come, who will lighten things that are hid in darkenesse, and make the counsels of the hearts manifest: and then shall euery man haue praise of God. 6Nowe these things, brethren, I haue figuratiuely applied vnto mine owne selfe and Apollos, for your sakes, that ye might learne by vs, that no man presume aboue that which is written, that one swell not against another for any mans cause. 7For who separateth thee? and what hast thou, that thou hast not receiued? if thou hast receiued it, why reioycest thou, as though thou haddest not receiued it? 8Nowe ye are full: nowe ye are made rich: ye reigne as kings without vs, and would to God ye did reigne, that we also might reigne with you. 9For I thinke that God hath set forth vs the last Apostles, as men appointed to death: for we are made a gasing stocke vnto the worlde, and to the Angels, and to men. 10We are fooles for Christes sake, and ye are wise in Christ: we are weake, and ye are strong: ye are honourable, and we are despised. 11Vnto this houre we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and haue no certaine dwelling place, 12And labour, working with our owne handes: we are reuiled, and yet we blesse: we are persecuted, and suffer it. 13We are euill spoken of, and we pray: we are made as the filth of the world, the offskowring of all things, vnto this time. 14I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloued children I admonish you. 15For though ye haue tenne thousand instructours in Christ, yet haue ye not many fathers: for in Christ Iesus I haue begotten you through the Gospel. 16Wherefore, I pray you, be ye folowers of me. 17For this cause haue I sent vnto you Timotheus, which is my beloued sonne, and faithfull in the Lord, which shall put you in remembrance of my wayes in Christ as I teache euery where in euery Church. 18Some are puffed vp as though I woulde not come vnto you. 19But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will knowe, not the wordes of them which are puffed vp, but the power. 20For the kingdome of God is not in worde, but in power. 21What will ye? shall I come vnto you with a rod, or in loue, and in ye spirite of meekenes?
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1 Corinthians 4
4
True Apostles of Christ
1So here’s how you should think of us. We’re servants of Christ who’ve been trusted with the mysteries God has shown us. 2Those who’ve been trusted with something must show that they’re dependable. 3I really don’t care if you judge me, or if any human court judges me. I don’t even judge myself. 4I don’t feel I have done anything wrong, but that doesn’t mean I’m not guilty. It’s the Lord who judges me. 5So don’t judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord returns, and he will bring what’s now hidden in the dark out into the light. He’ll show the real reasons why people do what they do. At that time God will give each person the praise they deserve.
6Brothers and sisters, I’ve used myself and Apollos as examples. I want to help you learn from us what the saying means, “Don’t go beyond what’s written.” If you understand that, you won’t feel proud that you follow one of us instead of the other. 7Who thinks you’re different from anyone else? What do you have that wasn’t given to you? And if it was given to you, why do you brag as though it came from you?
8You think you already have everything you need. You think you’ve already become rich and that you’ve begun to rule, even though we haven’t. I wish that you really had begun to rule. Then we’d be ruling with you! 9It feels as if God has put us apostles on display like the people who are put at the end of the procession to the arena because they’re going to die there. And it feels as if the whole universe is watching, both angels and humans. 10We’re fools for Christ, but you’re so wise in Christ! We’re weak, but you’re so strong! You are honored, but we’re looked down on! 11We’re still hungry and thirsty, dressed in rags, homeless, and treated badly. 12We work hard with our own hands. When others curse us, we bless them. When we’re attacked, we don’t fight back. 13When others say bad things about us, we answer with kind words. We’ve become the world’s garbage, and we’re still everybody’s trash even now.
Paul Warns Against Pride
14I’m not writing this to make you ashamed, but to warn you as my dear children. 15Other people might be your guardians in Christ, but even if there were 10,000 of them, you still wouldn’t have many fathers. I became your father in Christ Jesus by telling you the good news. 16So I’m asking you to follow my example. 17That’s the reason why I’ve sent Timothy to you. He’s like a son to me, and I love him. He’s faithful in serving the Lord. He’ll remind you of the way I live as a servant of Christ Jesus. I myself follow what I teach everywhere in all the churches.
18Some of you have become proud. You act as if I weren’t coming to you. 19But I am going to come very soon, if that’s the Lord’s will. Then I’ll find out if there’s actually any power behind what these proud people are saying. 20The kingdom of God isn’t a matter of talk but a matter of power. 21Which would you prefer? Do you want me to come and punish you? Or do you want me to come in love, with a gentle spirit?
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