3Brothers and sisters, I couldn’t speak to you as if you were guided by the Holy Spirit. I had to speak to you as if you were following the ways of the world. You aren’t growing as Christ wants you to. You are still like babies. ²The words I spoke to you were like milk, not like solid food. You weren’t ready for solid food yet. And you still aren’t ready for it.

³You are still following the ways of the world. Some of you are jealous. Some of you argue. So aren’t you following the ways of the world? Aren’t you acting like ordinary human beings? ⁴One of you says, “I follow Paul.” Another says, “I follow Apollos.” Aren’t you acting like ordinary human beings?

⁵After all, what is Apollos? And what is Paul? We are only people who serve. We helped you to believe. The Lord has given each of us our own work to do. ⁶I planted the seed. Apollos watered it. But God made it grow.

⁷So the one who plants is not important. The one who waters is not important. It is God who makes things grow. He is the One who is important. ⁸The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. The Lord will give each of us a reward for our work. ⁹We work together with God. You are like God’s field. You are like his building.

¹⁰God has given me the grace to lay a foundation as a master builder. Now someone else is building on it. But each one should build carefully. ¹¹No one can lay any other foundation than the one that has already been laid. That foundation is Jesus Christ.

¹²A person may build on it using gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay or straw. ¹³But each person’s work will be shown for what it is. On judgment day it will be brought to light. It will be put through fire. The fire will test how good everyone’s work is. ¹⁴If the building doesn’t burn up, God will give the builder a reward for his work. ¹⁵If the building burns up, the builder will lose everything. The builder will be saved, but only like one escaping through the flames.

¹⁶Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple? God’s Spirit lives in you. ¹⁷If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. God’s temple is holy. And you are that temple.

¹⁸Don’t fool yourselves. Suppose some of you think you are wise by the standards of the world. Then you should become a “fool” so that you can become wise.

¹⁹The wisdom of this world is foolish in God’s eyes. It is written, “God catches wise people in their own tricks.” ²⁰It is also written, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise don’t amount to anything.”

²¹So no more bragging about human beings! All things are yours. ²²That means Paul or Apollos or Peter or the world or life or death or the present or the future. All are yours. ²³You are joined to Christ and belong to him. And Christ is joined to God.

Apostles of Christ

4Here is how you should think of us. We serve Christ. We are trusted with God’s secret truth. ²Those who have been given a trust must prove that they are faithful.

³I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court. I don’t even judge myself. ⁴I don’t feel I have done anything wrong. But that doesn’t mean I’m not guilty. The Lord judges me.

⁵So don’t judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord returns. He will bring to light what is hidden in the dark. He will show the real reasons why people do what they do. At that time each person will receive praise from God.

⁶Brothers and sisters, I have used myself and Apollos as examples to help you. You can learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Don’t go beyond what is written.” Then you won’t be proud that you follow one person instead of another.

⁷Who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you brag as though you did not?

⁸You already have everything you want, don’t you? Have you already become rich? Have you begun to rule as kings? And did you do that without us? I wish that you really had begun to rule. Then we could rule with you!

⁹It seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of a parade. We are like men sentenced to die in front of a crowd. We have been made a show for the whole creation to see. Angels and people are staring at us.

¹⁰We are fools for Christ. But you are so wise in Christ! We are weak. But you are so strong! You are honored. But we are looked down on! ¹¹Up to this very hour we are hungry and thirsty. We are dressed in rags. We are being treated badly. We have no homes. ¹²We work hard with our own hands. When others call down a curse on us, we bless them. When we are attacked, we put up with it. ¹³When others say bad things about us, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the world’s garbage. We are everybody’s trash.

¹⁴I am not writing this to shame you. You are my dear children, and I want to warn you. ¹⁵You may have 10,000 believers in Christ watching over you. But you don’t have many fathers. I became your father by serving Christ Jesus and telling you the good news. ¹⁶So I’m asking you to follow my example.

¹⁷That’s the reason I’m sending Timothy to you. He is like a son to me, and I love him. He is faithful in serving the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in serving Christ Jesus. And that agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

¹⁸Some of you have become proud. You act as if I weren’t coming to you. ¹⁹But I will come very soon, if that’s what the Lord wants. Then I will find out how those proud people are talking. I will also find out what power they have. ²⁰The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk. It is a matter of power.

²¹Which do you want? Should I come to you with a whip? Or should I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

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