Romans 13 - 1 Corinthians 4

English Standard Version

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^(A)be subject to the governing authorities. For ^(B)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^(C)will receive his approval, ⁴ for ^(D)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^(E)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also ^(F)for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ^7 (G)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

^8 (H)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(I)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ^(J)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^(K)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(L)love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹ Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(M)to wake from sleep. ^(N)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ^12 (O)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(P)cast off ^(Q)the works of darkness and ^(R)put on the armor of light. ^13 (S)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(T)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(U)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ But ^(V)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(W)to gratify its desires.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for ^(X)the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ^2 (Y)One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³ Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^(Z)let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ^4 (AA)Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master^[a] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

^5 (AB)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^(AC)Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^(AD)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For ^(AE)none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^(AF)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. ⁹ For to this end Christ ^(AG)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^(AH)of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^(AI)we will all stand before ^(AJ)the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

¹² So then ^(AL)each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

^13 (AM)Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^(AN)never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^(AO)that nothing is unclean in itself, ^(AP)but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. ¹⁵ For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^(AQ)you are no longer walking in love. ^(AR)By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. ^16 (AS)So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. ^17 (AT)For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ^(AU)of righteousness and ^(AV)peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Whoever thus serves Christ is ^(AW)acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹ So then let us ^(AX)pursue what makes for peace and for ^(AY)mutual upbuilding.

^20 (AZ)Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^(BA)Everything is indeed clean, but ^(BB)it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. ^21 (BC)It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.^{[c] 22} The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^(BD)Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.^[d]

The Example of Christ

15 ^(BE)We who are strong ^(BF)have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ^2 (BG)Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³ For ^(BH)Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ^(BI)“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” ⁴ For ^(BJ)whatever was written in former days was written for our ^(BK)instruction, that through endurance and through ^(BL)the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ^(BM)to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶ that together you may with one voice glorify ^(BN)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷ Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

⁸ For I tell you that Christ ^(BO)became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order ^(BP)to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹ and in order ^(BQ)that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

¹⁰ And again it is said,

¹¹ And again,

¹² And again Isaiah says,

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all ^(BX)joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

^14 (BY)I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,^[e] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with ^(BZ)all knowledge and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵ But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, ^(CA)because of the grace given me by God ¹⁶ to be ^(CB)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ^(CC)in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that ^(CD)the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ In Christ Jesus, then, I have ^(CE)reason to be proud of ^(CF)my work for God. ¹⁸ For I will not venture to speak of anything except ^(CG)what Christ has accomplished through me ^(CH)to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, ^19 (CI)by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that ^(CJ)from Jerusalem and all the way around ^(CK)to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; ²⁰ and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, ^(CL)lest I build on someone else's foundation, ²¹ but as it is written,

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

²² This is the reason why ^(CN)I have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³ But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^(CO)since I have longed for many years to come to you, ²⁴ I hope to see you in passing as I go ^(CP)to Spain, and ^(CQ)to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. ²⁵ At present, however, ^(CR)I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. ²⁶ For ^(CS)Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷ For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^(CT)they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. ²⁸ When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,^[f] I will leave ^(CU)for Spain by way of you. ²⁹ I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing^[g] of Christ.

³⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^(CV)the love of the Spirit, ^(CW)to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, ^31 (CX)that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^(CY)my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³² so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and ^(CZ)be refreshed in your company. ³³ May ^(DA)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Personal Greetings

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant^[h] of the church at ^(DB)Cenchreae, ² that you ^(DC)may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

³ Greet ^(DD)Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. ⁵ Greet also ^(DE)the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was ^(DF)the first convert^[i] to Christ in Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia,^[j] my kinsmen and my ^(DG)fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles,^[k] and they were in Christ before me. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those ^(DH)who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. ¹² Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers^[l] who are with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ^16 (DI)Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Final Instructions and Greetings

¹⁷ I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles ^(DJ)contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; ^(DK)avoid them. ¹⁸ For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but ^(DL)their own appetites,^[m] and ^(DM)by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. ¹⁹ For ^(DN)your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you ^(DO)to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. ^20 (DP)The God of peace ^(DQ)will soon crush Satan under your feet. ^(DR)The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

^21 (DS)Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

²² I Tertius, ^(DT)who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

^23 (DU)Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.^[n]

Doxology

^25 (DV)Now to him who is able to strengthen you ^(DW)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, ^(DX)according to the revelation of the mystery ^(DY)that was kept secret for ^(DZ)long ages ²⁶ but ^(EA)has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, ^(EB)to bring about the obedience of faith— ²⁷ to ^(EC)the only wise God ^(ED)be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Greeting

1 Paul, ^(EE)called ^(EF)by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those ^(EG)sanctified in Christ Jesus, ^(EH)called to be saints together with all those who in every place ^(EI)call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

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

Thanksgiving

⁴ I ^(EK)give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, ⁵ that in every way ^(EL)you were enriched in him in all ^(EM)speech and all knowledge— ⁶ even as ^(EN)the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— ⁷ so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you ^(EO)wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^8 (EP)who will sustain you to the end, ^(EQ)guiltless ^(ER)in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ^9 (ES)God is faithful, by whom you were called into the ^(ET)fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Divisions in the Church

¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers,^[o] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no ^(EU)divisions among you, but that you be united ^(EV)in the same mind and the same judgment. ¹¹ For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is ^(EW)quarreling among you, my brothers. ¹² What I mean is that ^(EX)each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow ^(EY)Apollos,” or “I follow ^(EZ)Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” ^13 (FA)Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you ^(FB)baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴ I thank God that I baptized none of you except ^(FC)Crispus and ^(FD)Gaius, ¹⁵ so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶ (I did baptize also ^(FE)the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and ^(FF)not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

¹⁸ For the word of the cross is ^(FG)folly to ^(FH)those who are perishing, but to us ^(FI)who are being saved it is ^(FJ)the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written,

^20 (FL)Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? ^(FM)Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach^[p] to save those who believe. ²² For ^(FN)Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³ but we preach Christ ^(FO)crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ ^(FP)the power of God and ^(FQ)the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: ^(FR)not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[q] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But ^(FS)God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^(FT)God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(FU)things that are not, to ^(FV)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so ^(FW)that no human being^[r] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him^[s] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(FX)wisdom from God, ^(FY)righteousness and ^(FZ)sanctification and ^(GA)redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, ^(GB)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^{[t] (GC)}did not come proclaiming to you ^(GD)the testimony^[u] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ² For I decided to know nothing among you except ^(GE)Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ And ^(GF)I was with you ^(GG)in weakness and in fear and much trembling, ⁴ and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of ^(GH)the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men^[v] but ^(GI)in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

⁶ Yet among ^(GJ)the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not ^(GK)a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, ^(GL)who are doomed to pass away. ⁷ But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, ^(GM)which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸ None of ^(GN)the rulers of this age understood this, for ^(GO)if they had, they would not have crucified ^(GP)the Lord of glory. ⁹ But, as it is written,

¹⁰ these things ^(GT)God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^(GU)the depths of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person's thoughts ^(GV)except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now ^(GW)we have received not ^(GX)the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³ And we impart this ^(GY)in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^(GZ)interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^[w]

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^(HA)folly to him, and ^(HB)he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The ^(HC)spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ^16 (HD)“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But ^(HE)we have the mind of Christ.

Divisions in the Church

3 But I, brothers,^[x] could not address you as ^(HF)spiritual people, but as ^(HG)people of the flesh, as ^(HH)infants in Christ. ^2 (HI)I fed you with milk, not solid food, for ^(HJ)you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, ³ for you are still of the flesh. For while there is ^(HK)jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? ⁴ For ^(HL)when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” ^(HM)are you not being merely human?

⁵ What then is Apollos? What is Paul? ^(HN)Servants through whom you believed, ^(HO)as the Lord assigned to each. ^6 (HP)I planted, ^(HQ)Apollos watered, ^(HR)but God gave the growth. ⁷ So ^(HS)neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸ He who plants and he who waters are one, and each ^(HT)will receive his wages according to his labor. ⁹ For we are ^(HU)God's fellow workers. You are God's field, ^(HV)God's building.

^10 (HW)According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled^[y] master builder I laid a ^(HX)foundation, and ^(HY)someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a ^(HZ)foundation other ^(IA)than that which is laid, ^(IB)which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ^13 (IC)each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed ^(ID)by fire, and ^(IE)the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, ^(IF)he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, ^(IG)but only as through fire.

^16 (IH)Do you not know that you^[z] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For ^(II)God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

^18 (IJ)Let no one deceive himself. ^(IK)If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹ For ^(IL)the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ^(IM)“He catches the wise in their craftiness,” ²⁰ and again, ^(IN)“The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” ²¹ So ^(IO)let no one boast in men. For ^(IP)all things are yours, ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³ and ^(IQ)you are Christ's, and ^(IR)Christ is God's.

The Ministry of Apostles

4 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and ^(IS)stewards of the mysteries of God. ² Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³ But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. ^4 (IT)For I am not aware of anything against myself, ^(IU)but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore ^(IV)do not pronounce judgment before the time, ^(IW)before the Lord comes, ^(IX)who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. ^(IY)Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

⁶ I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers,^[aa] that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may ^(IZ)be puffed up in favor of one against another. ⁷ For who sees anything different in you? ^(JA)What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?

⁸ Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! ⁹ For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, ^(JB)like men sentenced to death, because we ^(JC)have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. ^10 (JD)We are fools for Christ's sake, but ^(JE)you are wise in Christ. ^(JF)We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. ¹¹ To the present hour ^(JG)we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and ^(JH)buffeted and ^(JI)homeless, ¹² and we ^(JJ)labor, working with our own hands. ^(JK)When reviled, we bless; ^(JL)when persecuted, we endure; ¹³ when slandered, we entreat. ^(JM)We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, ^(JN)the refuse of all things.

¹⁴ I do not write these things ^(JO)to make you ashamed, but to admonish you ^(JP)as my beloved children. ¹⁵ For ^(JQ)though you have countless^[ab] guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For ^(JR)I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶ I urge you, then, ^(JS)be imitators of me. ¹⁷ That is why ^(JT)I sent^[ac] you Timothy, ^(JU)my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ,^{[ad] (JV)}as I teach them everywhere in every church. ¹⁸ Some are ^(JW)arrogant, ^(JX)as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹ But ^(JY)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 ^(JZ)the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. ²¹ What do you wish? ^(KA)Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?