PAUL an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and brother Timotheus, to the church of God at Corinth as well as to all the saints throughout the whole of Achaia:
Paul a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and for their knowledge of the Truth that goes with a religious life,
Symeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have been allotted a faith of equal privilege with ours, by the equity of our God and saviour Jesus Christ:
Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock of which the holy Spirit has appointed you guardians; shepherd the church of the Lord which he has purchased with his own blood.
A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God granted him for his servants, to show them what must come to pass very soon; he disclosed it by sending it through his angel to his servant John,
[For a bishop must be above reproach — he is a steward of God's house — he must not be presumptuous or hot-tempered or a drunkard or violent or addicted to pilfering;
At Philippi, as you know, we had been ill-treated and insulted, but we took courage and confidence in our God to tell you the gospel of God in spite of all the strain.
Then I fell before his feet to worship him; but he said to me, "No, not that! I am but a servant like yourself and your brothers, who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God" (for the testimony borne by Jesus is the breath of all prophecy).
But he said to me, "No, not that! I am but a servant like yourself and your brothers the prophets, who lay to heart the words of this book. Worship God."
As for the secret symbol of the seven stars which you have seen in my right hand, and of the seven golden lamp stands — the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Now is that 'appealing to the interests of men' or of God? Trying to 'satisfy men'? Why, if I still tried to give satisfaction to human masters, I would be no servant of Christ.
indeed I count anything a loss, compared to the supreme value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have lost everything (I count it all the veriest refuse) in order to gain Christ
Not that I have already attained this or am already perfect, but I press forward to appropriate it, because I have been appropriated myself by Christ Jesus.