1So when you think about us, remember that we just work for Jesus Christ. God gave us a special job. He told us his secret message and now we have to tell it to other people.
2And, you know, if a boss gives his worker an important job, the worker has to be careful to do it properly.
3I reckon you mob are deciding about me, like maybe I’m doing a good job, or maybe not. Well, I don’t care what you decide. I don’t care what anybody decides about me. I don’t even think that I can decide that about myself.
4I don’t think I have done anything wrong, but that doesn’t make me right. You see, God is my judge, and I only care about what he decides about me.
5So, I’m telling you, don’t judge people before the right time comes. You have to wait until our leader Jesus comes back again from heaven. He knows every secret. He will show everyone the secret things that people plan to do. And at that time God will praise each of his good workers and say good things about them.
6My friends, I’ve been talking about Apollos and me, to help you to understand things better. You know that wise people say this, “Don’t do anything more than what God wrote in his book.” We want to help you learn what that means. You see, nobody can say that one person is better than another person.
7You yourselves are no better than other people. God gave you everything that you have. So you can’t reckon you are so smart you got it for yourselves.
8You think you know everything and don’t need to learn anything more, but you are wrong. You think that you are spiritually rich, but you are not. You think you have a lot of power, like big bosses, and you think that we have no power at all, but you are wrong again. You know, I wish you could have God’s power to be big bosses for him, so that Apollos and me can be bosses with you.
9But I see it this way. God sent us special workers to tell people his message. But I reckon he makes us look weak. You know that soldiers take prisoners out and kill them, where everybody can watch them die. I reckon God makes us look weak like those prisoners, and everyone, even the spirits, can look at us.
10People see that we work for Jesus Christ, and they think we are fools. But you mob reckon you are different. You know Jesus Christ, so you reckon you are really smart. Yes, everyone thinks we are weak, but you reckon you are strong. You reckon everyone has to respect you, but you don’t care if they respect us or not.
11You see, the bad people of this world always treated us special workers rough, and they are still doing it right up to now. We go hungry, and thirsty, and our clothes are old rags. We haven’t got anywhere to live.
12We have to work hard all the time to get money for food. Some people swear at us and ask the devil to hurt us, but we just ask God to be good to them. If people are rough on us, we just put up with it.
13If people say bad things about us, we answer with good words. People keep on treating us like we are the world’s worst rubbish.
14I’m telling you all this to help you see what you are doing wrong. I’m not trying to shame you. You see, I love you like you are my own kids, and I want you to live the right way.
15I’m like a father to you. You see, I was the first one to tell you the good news about Jesus Christ, and he gave your spirits life, so I’m your spiritual father on this earth. And even if you have 10,000 other people teaching you about God, I was the first one to teach you, so I’m your only spiritual father.
16So I ask you to live the way I live, and do the things I do.
17Now I’m sending Timothy to help you do that. He is like a son to me, and I love him very much. He always keeps on working properly for Jesus. He will help you remember the way I live for Jesus Christ. He will teach you the same things that I teach in every church everywhere.
18You see, some of you reckon you are really great, and you say, “Paul is frightened to come back here.”
19But you are wrong. I will come soon, if our leader Jesus wants me to, and then I will find out if you really have God’s power or if you are just talking.
20You see, if people are really in God’s family they have his power. They don’t just talk and do nothing.
21So think about this. Will you keep on doing bad things, so that I will come and I will be angry with you, and I will punish you? Is that what you want? Or will you stop doing bad things, so that I will come and love you and I will be good to you?
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