¹In this way let a man consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. ²Moreover it is required in stewards that a person is found to be faithful. ³And it is the least of my concerns that I should be examined by you or by the probings of the day of man. But neither do I examine myself. ⁴For I am not conscious of anything against myself, but I do not stand justified by that. And he who examines me is the Lord. ⁵As a result, do not judge anything before its time, until the Lord comes, who will also bring the hidden things of darkness to light, and he will make the motives of people's hearts manifest, and then each one will have praise from God. ⁶And, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos on your account, so that you who are among us might learn not to speculate beyond what stands written, so that you aren't self-opinionated – one person above another to the detriment of someone else. ⁷For who gives you distinct characteristics? And what do you possess that you did not receive? But if you received it, why do you boast as if you didn't receive it? ⁸You have already become satiated, you have already become rich, you have started reigning without us – and if only you really had started reigning, so that we too might reign with you. ⁹For I consider that God has exhibited us, the apostles, last, as people under sentence of death, because we have become a spectacle to the world and to angels and to men. ¹⁰We are foolish for the sake of Christ, whereas you are wise in Christ. We are weak, whereas you are strong. You are esteemed, whereas we are without honour. ¹¹Up to the present hour we have been hungry and thirsty and been poorly clothed and have been knocked about and have been without a fixed address, ¹²and we have been toiling, working with our own hands. When railed at, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; ¹³when slandered, we speak in good cheer. We have become like the scum of the world – the offscouring of all sorts – up to the present time. ¹⁴I do not write these things to put you to shame, but I warn you about it as my beloved children. ¹⁵For even if you had ten thousand tutors in Christ, you still would not have many fathers. For I have begotten you in Christ Jesus through the gospel. ¹⁶So I exhort you: be imitators of me. ¹⁷For this reason I have sent you Timothy, who is a beloved child of mine, and faithful in the Lord, and who will remind you of my ways in Christ – how I teach everywhere in every church. ¹⁸Some of you are complacent, as though I were not coming to you. ¹⁹And I will come to you quickly, if the Lord wishes it, and get to know not the talk of those who are complacent, but the power, ²⁰for the kingdom of God is not in talk but in power. ²¹What do you want? For me to come to you with a rod, or in love and a spirit of meekness?