Appeal to Unity

1 Paul, ^(A)called as an apostle of Jesus Christ ^[a]by ^(B)the will of God, and our ^(C)brother ^(D)Sosthenes,

² To ^(E)the church of God which is in ^(F)Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^[b]saints ^(G)by calling, with all who in every place ^(H)call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

^3 (I)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

^4 (J)I thank ^[c]my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in everything you were ^(K)enriched in Him, in all ^(L)speech and ^(M)all knowledge, ⁶ just as ^(N)the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed ^[d]in you, ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you eagerly ^(O)await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^8 (P)who will also ^[e]confirm you to the end, blameless on ^(Q)the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^9 (R)God is faithful, through whom you were ^(S)called into ^(T)fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹⁰ Now ^(U)I urge you, ^(V)brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all ^[f]agree and that there be no ^[g](W)divisions among you, but that you be ^[h]made complete in ^(X)the same mind and in the same judgment. ¹¹ For I have been informed concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. ¹² Now I mean this, that ^(Y)each one of you is saying, “I am ^[i]with Paul,” ^[j]or “I am ^[k]with ^(Z)Apollos,” ^[l]or “I am ^[m]with ^[n](AA)Cephas,” ^[o]or “I am ^[p]with Christ.” ^13 [q]Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you ^(AB)baptized ^[r]in the name of Paul?

¹⁷ And if he refuses to listen to them, ^(A)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(B)he is to be to you as ^[a]a Gentile and ^[b]a tax collector.

¹¹ And ^(A)great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things.

Saul Persecutes the Church

8 ^(A)Now Saul approved of putting ^[a]Stephen to death.

And on that day a great persecution ^[b]began against ^(B)the church in Jerusalem, and they were all ^(C)scattered throughout the regions of Judea and ^(D)Samaria, except for the apostles.

¹⁷ For this reason I ^(A)have sent to you ^(B)Timothy, who is my ^(C)beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, ^(D)just as I teach everywhere in every church.

²³ Therefore if the whole church gathers together and all the people speak in tongues, and ^[a]outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that ^(A)you are insane?

⁹ I wrote something to the church; but Diotrephes, who loves to ^(A)be first among them, does not accept ^[a]what we say.

⁵ (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of ^(A)the church of God?),