Beginning
Paul Is Like the Other Apostles
9 I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus our Lord. You people are all an example of my work in the Lord. 2 Others may not accept me as an apostle, but surely you accept me. You are proof that I am an apostle in the Lord.
3 Some people want to judge me. So this is the answer I give them: 4 Do we not have the right to eat and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to bring a believing wife with us when we travel? The other apostles, the Lord’s brothers, and Peter all do this. 6 And are Barnabas and I the only ones who must work to earn our living? 7 No soldier ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. No one ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes himself. No person takes care of a flock of sheep without drinking some of the milk himself.
8 This is not only what men think. God’s law says the same thing. 9 Yes, it is written in the law of Moses: “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth and keep it from eating.”[a] When God said this, was he thinking only about oxen? No. 10 He was really talking about us. Yes, that Scripture was written for us. The one who plows and the one who works in the grain should hope to get some of the grain for their work. 11 We planted spiritual seed among you. So we should be able to harvest from you some things for this life. Surely this is not asking too much. 12 Other men have the right to get something from you. So surely we have this right, too. But we do not use this right. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not stop anyone from obeying the Good News of Christ. 13 Surely you know that those who work at the Temple get their food from the Temple. And those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar. 14 It is the same with those who tell the Good News. The Lord has commanded that those who tell the Good News should get their living from this work.
15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for bragging taken away. 16 Telling the Good News is not my reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And how bad it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News. 17 If I preach because it is my own choice, I should get a reward. But I have no choice. I must tell the Good News. I am only doing the duty that was given to me. 18 So what reward do I get? This is my reward: that when I tell the Good News I can offer it freely. In this way I do not use my right to be paid in my work for the Good News.
19 I am free. I belong to no man. But I make myself a slave to all people. I do this to help save as many people as I can. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew. I did this to help save the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to help save those who are ruled by the law. 21 To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to help save those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.) 22 To those who are weak, I became weak so that I could help save them. I have become all things to all people. I did this so that I could save some of them in any way possible. 23 I do all this because of the Good News. I do it so that I can share in the blessings of the Good News.
24 You know that in a race all the runners run. But only one gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win! 25 All those who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time. But our crown will continue forever. 26 So I do not run without a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something—not just the air. 27 It is my own body that I hit. I make it my slave. I do this so that I myself will not be rejected after I have preached to others.
Don’t Be Like the Jews
10 Brothers, I want you to know what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the cloud, and they all went through the sea. 2 They were all baptized as followers of Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food. 4 And they all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from that spiritual rock that was with them. That rock was Christ. 5 But God was not pleased with most of them. They died in the desert.
6 And these things that happened are examples for us. They should stop us from wanting evil things as those people did. 7 Do not worship idols, as some of them did. It is written in the Scriptures: “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had wild parties.”[b] 8 We should not take part in sexual sin, as some of them did. In one day 23,000 of them died because of their sins. 9 We should not test the Lord as some of them did. They were killed by snakes. 10 And do not complain as some of them did. They were killed by the angel that destroys.
11 The things that happened to those people are examples. And they were written down to be warnings for us. For we live in a time when all these things of the past have reached their goal. 12 So anyone who thinks he is standing strong should be careful not to fall. 13 The only temptations that you have are the temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to stand it.
14 So, my dear friends, stay away from worshiping idols. 15 I am speaking to you, as to reasonable people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 We give thanks for the cup of blessing.[c] It is a sharing in the blood of Christ’s death. And the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ. 17 There is one loaf of bread. And we are many people. But we all share from that one loaf. So we are really one body.
18 Think about the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices share in the altar? 19 I do not mean that the food sacrificed to an idol is something important. And I do not mean that an idol is anything at all. 20 But I say that what is sacrificed to idols is offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to share anything with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons, too. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons, too. 22 Do we want to make the Lord jealous? We are not stronger than he is, are we?
How to Use Christian Freedom
23 “We are allowed to do all things.” Yes. But not all things are good for us to do. “We are allowed to do all things.” Yes. But not all things help others grow stronger. 24 No one should try to do what will help only himself. He should try to do what is good for others.
25 Eat any meat that is sold in the meat market. Do not ask questions about the meat to see if it is something you think is wrong to eat. 26 You can eat it, “because the earth and everything on it belong to the Lord.”[d]
27 Someone who is not a believer may invite you to eat with him. If you want to go, eat anything that is put before you. Do not ask questions about it. 28 But if anyone says to you, “That food was offered to idols,” then do not eat it. Do not eat it because of that person who told you and because eating it would be something that might be thought wrong. 29 I don’t mean that you think it is wrong. But the other person might think it is wrong. My own freedom should not be judged by what someone else thinks. 30 I eat the meal with thankfulness. And I do not want to be criticized because of something I thank God for.
31 So if you eat, or if you drink, or if you do anything, do everything for the glory of God. 32 Never do anything that might make others do wrong—Jews, Greeks, or God’s church. 33 I do the same thing. I try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me. I try to do what is good for the most people. I do this so that they can be saved.
11 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Being Under Authority
2 I praise you because you remember me in everything. You follow closely the teachings that I gave you. 3 But I want you to understand this: The head of every man is Christ. And the head of a woman is the man.[e] And the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man who prophesies or prays with his head covered brings shame to his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies should have her head covered. If her head is not covered, she brings shame to her head. She is the same as a woman who has her head shaved. 6 If a woman does not cover her head, it is the same as cutting off all her hair. But it is shameful for a woman to cut off her hair or to shave her head. So she should cover her head. 7 But a man should not cover his head, because he is made like God and is God’s glory. But woman is man’s glory. 8 Man did not come from woman, but woman came from man. 9 And man was not made for woman. Woman was made for man. 10 So that is why a woman should have her head covered with something to show that she is under authority. And also she should do this because of the angels.
11 But in the Lord the woman is important to the man, and the man is important to the woman. 12 This is true because woman came from man, but also man is born from woman. Really, everything comes from God. 13 Decide this for yourselves: Is it right for a woman to pray to God without something on her head? 14 Even nature itself teaches you that wearing long hair is shameful for a man. 15 But wearing long hair is a woman’s honor. Long hair is given to the woman to cover her head. 16 Some people may still want to argue about this. But I would add that neither we nor the churches of God accept any other practice.
The Lord’s Supper
17 In the things I tell you now I do not praise you. Your meetings hurt you more than they help you. 18 First, I hear that when you meet together as a church you are divided. And I believe some of this. 19 (It is necessary for there to be differences among you. That is the way to make it clear which of you are really doing right.) 20 When you all come together, you are not really eating the Lord’s Supper.[f] 21 This is because when you eat, each person eats without waiting for the others. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others have too much to drink. 22 You can eat and drink in your own homes! It seems that you think God’s church is not important. You embarrass those who are poor. What should I tell you? Should I praise you for doing this? I do not praise you.
23 The teaching that I gave you is the same teaching that I received from the Lord: On the night when Jesus was handed over to be killed, he took bread 24 and gave thanks for it. Then he broke the bread and said, “This is my body; it is[g] for you. Do this to remember me.” 25 In the same way, after they ate, Jesus took the cup. He said, “This cup shows the new agreement from God to his people. This new agreement begins with the blood of my death. When you drink this, do it to remember me.” 26 Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show others about the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So a person should not eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in a way that is not worthy of it. If he does he is sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone should look into his own heart before he eats the bread and drinks the cup. 29 If someone eats the bread and drinks the cup without recognizing the body, then he is judged guilty by eating and drinking. 30 That is why many in your group are sick and weak. And some of you have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves in the right way, then God would not judge us. 32 But when the Lord judges us, he disciplines us to show us the right way. He does this so that we will not be destroyed along with the world.
33 So my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34 If anyone is too hungry, he should eat at home. Do this so that your meeting together will not bring God’s judgment on you. I will tell you what to do about the other things when I come.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.