1 Corinthians 4:10-16

The Ministry of Apostles

10 y We are fools for Christ's sake, but z you are wise in Christ. a We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. 11 To the present hour b we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and c buffeted and d homeless, 12 and we e labor, working with our own hands. f When reviled, we bless; g when persecuted, we endure; 13 when slandered, we entreat. h We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, i the refuse of all things.

14 I do not write these things j to make you ashamed, but to admonish you k as my beloved children. 15 For l though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For m I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. 16 I urge you, then, n be imitators of me.

  1. Cross References
    Acts 17:18
    Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, "What does this babbler wish to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities" - because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
    1 Corinthians 1:18
    For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
    Acts 26:24
    And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, "Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.
  2. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 11:19
    For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!
  3. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 2:3
    And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling.
    2 Corinthians 13:9
    For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.
  4. Cross References
    Romans 8:35
    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
    2 Corinthians 11:27
    In toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
    Philippians 4:12
    I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
  5. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 11:20
    For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face.
    2 Corinthians 11:23
    Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one - I am talking like a madman - with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.
  6. Cross References
    Matthew 8:20
    And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
  7. Cross References
    Acts 18:3
    And because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.
  8. Cross References
    1 Peter 3:9
    Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
  9. Cross References
    John 15:20
    Remember the word that I said to you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 30:22
    Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, "Be gone!
    Isaiah 64:6
    We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
  11. Cross References
    Lamentations 3:45
    You have made us scum and garbage among the peoples.
  12. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 6:5
    I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers.
    1 Corinthians 15:34
    Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.
  13. Cross References
    2 Corinthians 6:13
    In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.
    1 Thessalonians 2:11
    For you know how, like a father with his children.
    3 John 1:4
    I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
  14. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 3:10
    According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
  15. Cross References
    Philemon 1:10
    I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.
    Galatians 4:19
    My little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
  16. Cross References
    1 Corinthians 11:1
    Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
    Philippians 3:17
    Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us.
    1 Thessalonians 1:6
    And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
    Philippians 4:9
    What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me - practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
    2 Thessalonians 3:9
    It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.