1 Corinthians 4
1 So, people ought to consider us [apostles] (OR, Apollos and me) to be [merely] servants of Christ. God has given to us [(exc) the work of] telling others the message that God has now revealed to us.
Let people look on us as Christ’s servants, and as stewards of the hidden truths of God.
2 With respect to doing that, those who are given work are required {give others some work to do require them} to do that work faithfully.
Now what we look for in stewards is that they should be trustworthy.
3 I am not concerned whether you or [the judges in] some court decide whether I have done my work faithfully or not. I do not even judge myself [about that].
But it weighs very little with me that I am judged by you or by any human tribunal. No, I do not even judge myself;
4 I do not think that I have done anything wrong, but that does not prove that I have done nothing wrong. The Lord is the one who judges me.
for, though I am conscious of nothing against myself, that does not prove me innocent. It is the Lord who is my judge.
5 So, stop evaluating any of us [(exc)] before the time [when God judges everyone] [MTY]! Do not judge us before the Lord comes. He is the one who will reveal the sinful things that people have done secretly. He will even reveal what people have thought. At that time God will praise each person as [each one of them deserves].
Therefore do not pass judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes. He will throw light on what is now dark and obscure, and will reveal the motives in people’s minds; and then everyone will receive due praise from God.
6 My fellow believers, I have [told you] all these things as illustrations of myself and Apollos. I have done this for your sake, in order that you may learn [to live according to] the saying, “Do not act contrary to what is {what they have} written [in the Scriptures].” If you follow that rule, you will not be proud of one [spiritual leader] and despise another.
All this, friends, I have, for your sakes, applied to Apollos and myself, so that, from our example, you may learn to observe the precept – “Keep to what is written,” that none of you may speak boastfully of one teacher to the disparagement of another.
7 (No one has made any of you superior to others!/Why do any of you think that you are superior to others?) [RHQ] [All the abilities] that you have, you received [from God]. [RHQ] So if you received them all [from God], (you should not boast [thinking], “I got these abilities [from myself], [not from God]!”/why do you boast [thinking], “I got these abilities [from myself], [not from God]?”) [RHQ]
For who makes any one of you superior to others? And what have you that was not given you? But if you received it as a gift, why do you boast as if you had not?
8 [It is disgusting that you act as though] [IRO] you have already received everything that you need [spiritually]. You act as though [IRO] you were [spiritually] rich (OR, you had received all [the spiritual gifts you need]). You act as though [IRO] you had already begun to rule as kings with Christ. Well, I wish that you really were ruling [with him], in order that we [apostles] might also rule with you!
Are you all so soon satisfied? Are you so soon rich? Have you begun to reign without us? Would indeed that you had, so that we also might reign with you!
9 But it seems as though God has put us [apostles] on display, [like prisoners] at the end [of the victor’s parade]. We [(exc)] are like men who have been condemned to die, who have been put in the arena where everyone can see [the wild animals] killing them. And not only people, but even angels all over the world [are watching us, as people] watch those who are performing a play [in a theater].
For, as it seems to me, God has exhibited us, the apostles, last of all, as people doomed to death. We are made a spectacle to the universe, both to angels and to people!
10 Many people consider us to be [IRO] fools because [we preach about] Christ, but you proudly [think [IRO] that] you are wise because (of your close relationship with/you belong to) Christ. Many people [consider us] [IRO] to be unimpressive, but you [proudly think that you] impress others. People respect you, but they do not respect us.
We, for Christ’s sake, are fools, but you, by your union with Christ, are people of discernment. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honoured, but we are despised.
11 Up to this present time we have often been hungry. We have often been thirsty. We have ragged clothes. Often we have been beaten {others have beaten us}. We [have traveled so much that we] have no regular homes to live in.
To this very hour we go hungry, thirsty, and naked; we are beaten; we are homeless;
12 We work very hard [to earn a living]. When we are cursed [by people] {When [people] curse us}, we [ask God to] bless them. When we are persecuted {When [people] cause us to suffer}, we endure it.
we work hard, toiling with our own hands. We meet abuse with blessings, we meet persecution with endurance,
13 When we are slandered [by people] {When [people] slander us}, we reply kindly to them. Up to now, [unbelievers consider us to be worthless] [MET], [as though we were] just garbage.
we meet slander with gentle appeals. We have been treated as the scum of the earth, the vilest of the vile, to this very hour.
14 I am writing this to you, not to make you feel ashamed, but instead to warn you as [though you were] my own dear children.
It is with no wish to shame you that I am writing like this; but to warn you as my own dear children.
15 I say that because as [an apostle of] Christ Jesus I [was the first one who] proclaimed the good message to you. As a result, I was the one who enabled you to have eternal life. So even if there were thousands of Christians who instruct you [MET], I am the only one who became [like] a father to you.
Though you may have thousands of instructors in the faith of Christ, yet you have not many fathers. It was I who, through union with Christ Jesus, became your father by means of the good news.
16 So I urge you to [live for Christ] the way I do.
Therefore I entreat you – Follow my example.
17 In order to [help you do that], I have sent/will be sending Timothy to you. I love him [as though he were] my son. He serves the Lord faithfully. He will remind you of the way I conduct my life [as one who] (has a close relationship with/belongs to) the Lord. The way I conduct my life is the same as how I teach [others to live] in all the congregations [to whom I have spoken].
This is my reason for sending Timothy to you. He is my own dear faithful child in the Master’s service, and he will remind you of my methods of teaching the faith of Christ Jesus – methods which I follow everywhere in every church.
18 Some of you have become proud, thinking that I will not come there [to rebuke your congregation about what they are doing].
Some, I hear, are puffed up with pride, thinking that I am not coming to you.
19 But if the Lord wants me to come, I will come to you soon. Then I will not [pay any attention to] what those proud people say. Instead, I will find out [whether they have God’s] power.
But come to you I will, and that soon, if it please the Lord; and then I will find out, not what words these people use who are so puffed up, but what power they possess;
20 Remember that God [judges whether or not we are letting him] rule [our lives], not by [listening to how we] talk, but [by seeing whether his] power [is present] ([among us/in our lives]).
for the kingdom of God is based, not on words, but on power.
21 So which do you prefer? Do you want me to come to you and punish you [because you have not changed your ways], or shall I come to you and act lovingly and gently toward you [because you have done what I told you to do]?
What do you wish? Am I to come to you with a rod, or in a loving and gentle spirit?
