1 Corinthians 4:6

Plain English Version

My Christian friends, I’ve been talking about Apollos and me, to help you to understand the things we teach you. You know that wise people say this, “Don’t do anything more than what is in God’s book.” We want to help you learn what that means. You see, nobody can say that one person is better than another person.

Cross References

Acts 18:24

At that time, there was a Jewish man living in a town called Alexandria. His name was Apollos. Somebody there taught him some things about Jesus. He could talk really good, and he knew God’s book properly, and he liked to teach people about Jesus. He taught them the things he knew, but he didn’t know the whole story about Jesus. He only knew the message John the Baptiser taught to people. Apollos went to Ephesus, and he went to the Jewish meeting house there, and he talked strongly to everyone, and he told them all the things that he knew about Jesus. Priscilla and Aquila heard him talk, and they said to him, “Come with us, and we will tell you more about Jesus.” So he went with them, and they told him the rest of the story about Jesus, and they told him how God saves people.

Acts 19:1

At that time, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul was visiting places in Frigia country and Galatia country. Then Paul left those places and went through Asia country, then he went on to the town called Ephesus. He met some men there that reckoned they were Christians.

Romans 12:3

God wants me to tell you this, and he helps me to say it. Don’t think that you are better than you really are, but think properly about yourself. God himself makes it possible for you to believe in him, so think about how much you trust him. That is the important thing.

1 Corinthians 1:12

They reckon some of you say, “Paul is our leader,” and others say, “That other man, Apollos, he is our leader,” and others say, “No, not them. Our leader is Peter,” and others say, “Jesus Christ is our leader.”

1 Corinthians 1:19

It is like God says in his book, “People might think they are smart, and they might reckon they know everything, but God shows them that they are not wise, and he will stop them from doing what they are thinking about.”

1 Corinthians 1:31

So we have to talk the way God tells us to. He says this in his book, “If you want to talk about great things, don’t talk about yourself, but talk about God, and tell everyone about the great things that he does.”

1 Corinthians 13:4

If we love people, we will be good to them, and we will not get angry with people that give us trouble. If we love people, we will not be jealous of them. If we love people, we will not reckon we are better than they are, and we will not think we are really good when we are not good.

1 Corinthians 3:19

The people of this world think they are very smart, but God knows they are fools. We can read this in God’s book, “People reckon they are smart, but God uses their own smart ideas like a trap, and he catches them.”

1 Corinthians 3:21

So don’t think that any human person is the important leader. You see, Jesus is your leader, and God gives you everything you need.

1 Corinthians 5:2

But you mob don’t seem to care, and instead, you think you are great. But listen, you really have to feel shame and be sad, not happy. That man is doing a very bad thing, so you can’t let him stay in your church family.

1 Corinthians 5:6

So stop telling everyone that you are properly good. It’s not true. Let me tell you a picture story about baking powder. We put a little bit of baking powder into the flour when we make damper. And that little bit of baking powder goes into all the flour in the bowl and makes all the dough swell up.

1 Corinthians 8:1

I will answer your next question now, about those statues that some people make, and they think those statues are gods. They give food to those statues, and they reckon the statues give that food power. Then those people eat that food, or they sell it to other people. And you Christians asked me, “Can we eat that food that they gave to those statues?” That’s what you asked me. Well, before I answer your question, I want you to remember this. All of us know something, but if we think we know more than other people, we start thinking wrong, like we reckon we are really smart. No, we can’t try to be smart. Instead, we have to love people. If we love other people, it helps them to get strong.

1 Corinthians 9:23

I do all these things so that I can help more people hear the good news about Jesus Christ, so that I can be happy, together with all the people that believe in Jesus.

Colossians 2:18

There are some people that tell lies and say, “God has shown us special things.” Those people think up their own ideas, and that makes them feel smart. But they tell you that they are not smart, and then they tell you to show respect to God’s angel messengers, as if those angels are God. But they are trying to trick you. Don’t take any notice of those people, and don’t believe those lies.

1 Thessalonians 1:5

Remember the time when we told you the good news about Jesus. We told you the message with our words, but the Holy Spirit made us sure that we were telling the true story, and he gave us his power to show you that God was with us. And remember the sort of people we were at the time when we were with you there. We showed you the good way to live.

2 Timothy 2:10

So I reckon it’s all right for me to stay here in jail so that other people will hear that message and believe in Jesus. They are the people that God picked out. He will save them and make them great, and they will live happy with him for ever.