Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Apostles Are Servants of Christ

4 People should think of us as servants of Christ, the ones God has trusted with his secrets. ² Now in this way those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are worthy of that trust. ³ As for myself, I do not care if I am judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. ⁴ I know of no wrong I have done, but this does not make me right before the Lord. The Lord is the One who judges me. ⁵ So do not judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light things that are now hidden in darkness, and will make known the secret purposes of people’s hearts. Then God will praise each one of them.

⁶ Brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself as examples so you could learn through us the meaning of the saying, “Follow only what is written in the Scriptures.” Then you will not be more proud of one person than another. ⁷ Who says you are better than others? What do you have that was not given to you? And if it was given to you, why do you brag as if you did not receive it as a gift?

⁸ You think you already have everything you need. You think you are rich. You think you have become kings without us. I wish you really were kings so we could be kings together with you. ⁹ But it seems to me that God has put us apostles in last place, like those sentenced to die. We are like a show for the whole world to see—angels and people. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are very wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You receive honor, but we are shamed. ¹¹ Even to this very hour we do not have enough to eat or drink or to wear. We are often beaten, and we have no homes in which to live. ¹² We work hard with our own hands for our food. When people curse us, we bless them. When they hurt us, we put up with it. ¹³ When they tell evil lies about us, we speak nice words about them. Even today, we are treated as though we were the garbage of the world—the filth of the earth.

¹⁴ I am not trying to make you feel ashamed. I am writing this to give you a warning as my own dear children. ¹⁵ For though you may have ten thousand teachers in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Through the Good News I became your father in Christ Jesus, ¹⁶ so I beg you, please follow my example. ¹⁷ That is why I am sending to you Timothy, my son in the Lord. I love Timothy, and he is faithful. He will help you remember my way of life in Christ Jesus, just as I teach it in all the churches everywhere.

¹⁸ Some of you have become proud, thinking that I will not come to you again. ¹⁹ But I will come to you very soon if the Lord wishes. Then I will know what the proud ones do, not what they say, ²⁰ because the kingdom of God is present not in talk but in power. ²¹ Which do you want: that I come to you with punishment or with love and gentleness?

Wickedness in the Church

5 It is actually being said that there is sexual sin among you. And it is a kind that does not happen even among people who do not know God. A man there has his father’s wife. ² And you are proud! You should have been filled with sadness so that the man who did this should be put out of your group. ³ I am not there with you in person, but I am with you in spirit. And I have already judged the man who did that sin as if I were really there. ⁴ When you meet together in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I meet with you in spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus, ⁵ then hand this man over to Satan. So his sinful self^[a] will be destroyed, and his spirit will be saved on the day of the Lord.

⁶ Your bragging is not good. You know the saying, “Just a little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise.” ⁷ Take out all the old yeast so that you will be a new batch of dough without yeast, which you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸ So let us celebrate this feast, but not with the bread that has the old yeast—the yeast of sin and wickedness. Let us celebrate this feast with the bread that has no yeast—the bread of goodness and truth.

⁹ I wrote you in my earlier letter not to associate with those who sin sexually. ¹⁰ But I did not mean you should not associate with those of this world who sin sexually, or with the greedy, or robbers, or those who worship idols. To get away from them you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ I am writing to tell you that you must not associate with those who call themselves believers in Christ but who sin sexually, or are greedy, or worship idols, or abuse others with words, or get drunk, or cheat people. Do not even eat with people like that.

^12-13 It is not my business to judge those who are not part of the church. God will judge them. But you must judge the people who are part of the church. The Scripture says, “You must get rid of the evil person among you.”^[b]

Judging Problems Among Christians

6 When you have something against another Christian, how can you bring yourself to go before judges who are not right with God? Why do you not let God’s people decide who is right? ² Surely you know that God’s people will judge the world. So if you are to judge the world, are you not able to judge small cases as well? ³ You know that in the future we will judge angels, so surely we can judge the ordinary things of this life. ⁴ If you have ordinary cases that must be judged, are you going to appoint people as judges who mean nothing to the church? ⁵ I say this to shame you. Surely there is someone among you wise enough to judge a complaint between believers. ⁶ But now one believer goes to court against another believer—and you do this in front of unbelievers!

⁷ The fact that you have lawsuits against each other shows that you are already defeated. Why not let yourselves be wronged? Why not let yourselves be cheated? ⁸ But you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do this to other believers!

⁹ - ¹⁰ Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit God’s kingdom. Do not be fooled. Those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, those who are male prostitutes, or men who have sexual relations with other men, those who steal, are greedy, get drunk, lie about others, or rob—these people will not inherit God’s kingdom. ¹¹ In the past, some of you were like that, but you were washed clean. You were made holy, and you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Use Your Bodies for God’s Glory

¹² “I am allowed to do all things,” but not all things are good for me to do. “I am allowed to do all things,” but I will not let anything make me its slave. ¹³ “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food,” but God will destroy them both. The body is not for sexual sin but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. ¹⁴ By his power God has raised the Lord from the dead and will also raise us from the dead. ¹⁵ Surely you know that your bodies are parts of Christ himself. So I must never take the parts of Christ and join them to a prostitute! ¹⁶ It is written in the Scriptures, “The two will become one body.”^[c] So you should know that anyone who joins with a prostitute becomes one body with the prostitute. ¹⁷ But the one who joins with the Lord is one spirit with the Lord.

¹⁸ So run away from sexual sin. Every other sin people do is outside their bodies, but those who sin sexually sin against their own bodies. ¹⁹ You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit who is in you. You have received the Holy Spirit from God. So you do not belong to yourselves, ²⁰ because you were bought by God for a price. So honor God with your bodies.