The Unmarried and the Widows

²⁵ Now concerning virgins, I have no command of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.^(A)

⁶ This I say by way of concession, not of command.^(A)

² Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.

⁴⁰ But in my opinion she is more blessed if she remains as she is. And I think that I, too, have the Spirit of God.

⁸ I do not say this as a command, but I am, by mentioning the eagerness of others, testing the genuineness of your love.^{(A) 9} For you know the generous act^[a] of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.^{(B) 10} And in this matter I am giving my opinion: it is beneficial for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something.^(C)

¹² To the rest I say—I and not the Lord—that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.^(A)

¹⁷ What I am saying in regard to this boastful undertaking, I am saying not with the Lord’s authority but as a fool;^(A)

Treasure in Clay Jars

4 Therefore, since it is by God’s mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.^{(A) 2} We have renounced the shameful, underhanded ways; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.^(B)

¹⁷ For we are not peddlers of God’s word like so many,^[a] but as persons of sincerity, as persons sent from God, we are speaking in Christ before God.^(A)

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me.^(A)