^6 (A)Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when ^(B)we might have ^(C)made demands ^(D)as apostles of Christ.

¹⁰ For ^(A)do I now ^(B)persuade men, or God? Or ^(C)do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

The Plea for Onesimus

⁸ Therefore, though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting, ⁹ yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you—being such a one as Paul, the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ—

⁹ For you remember, brethren, our ^(A)labor and toil; for laboring night and day, ^(B)that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

^44 (A)How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek ^(B)the honor that comes from the only God?

^41 (A)“I do not receive honor from men.

Honor the Elders

¹⁷ Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

^26 (A)Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

The Spiritual War

10 Now ^(A)I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—^(B)who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. ² But I beg you ^(C)that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

A Pattern of Self-Denial

9 Am ^(A)I not an apostle? Am I not free? ^(B)Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? ^(C)Are you not my work in the Lord? ² If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are ^(D)the ^[a]seal of my apostleship in the Lord.