1 Corinthians 4:15-21

English Standard Version

¹⁵ For ^(A)though you have countless^[a] guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For ^(B)I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶ I urge you, then, ^(C)be imitators of me. ¹⁷ That is why ^(D)I sent^[b] you Timothy, ^(E)my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,^{[c] (F)}as I teach them everywhere in every church. ¹⁸ Some are ^(G)arrogant, ^(H)as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹ But ^(I)I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. ²⁰ For ^(J)the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. ²¹ What do you wish? ^(K)Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?