1 Corinthians 7:22

Plain English Version

Some of you are that sort of worker. Your boss owns you and controls you. But think about this. God picked you to join up with Jesus, and you are in his family, so now you are properly free. You are free from the bad things you used to do. They don’t control you any more. In the same way, some of you are free people, nobody owns you. But think about this. God picked you, and you are in Jesus’s family, so now Jesus owns you and you work all the time for him.

Cross References

Romans 1:1

I am Paul, and this letter is from me. I work for Jesus Christ, and God picked me to be Jesus’s special worker, to go and tell people the good news that he will save them.

1 Corinthians 7:21

Sometimes bosses own their workers. Those workers belong to their bosses and their bosses control them. They have to do what their bosses say, and they don’t get any pay. If God picked you while you were a worker like that, don’t worry. Don’t try to run away and get free. (But if your boss says you can go free, then do that.)

1 Corinthians 9:19

You know, I’m a free man and nobody can force me to work for them. But I work for everyone without pay, so that a lot of people will listen to me and believe in Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:10

I’m not trying to make people happy with me, I’m trying to make God happy with me. I work for Jesus Christ now, so it doesn’t matter to me if some people aren’t happy when I talk straight like this.

Galatians 5:1

Listen, Jesus Christ has set us free, and we are properly free. So be strong and stay free. Don’t let anyone make you follow that law again. If you do, it’s like they make you a prisoner again, because they say you have to do everything that law says.

Galatians 5:13

You see, my Christian friends, God picked you to be people that are free from the Jewish law. But you have to be free in the right way. You can’t just do anything you like, anything that makes you feel good. Instead of that, you have to love each other and do things to help each other.

Colossians 4:12

And Epafras is another one of your mob that is here with me. He says hello to you too. He works for Jesus too, and he is always praying strongly for you. He prays that you will keep on trusting God, and that you will properly know everything that God wants you to do.

Philemon 1:16

You can have him back again now, but not just as a work-man that you don’t have to pay. Now he can be something much better than your work-man. He can be like your brother, and you can love him. I love Onesimus very much, but you will love him even more than I do. You see, he is your work-man, but you will like him more than a boss likes his work-men, because he is also your brother. You and he both belong to our leader, Jesus, so he is your brother, and you will love him a lot.

1 Peter 2:16

You know that you are free from that old Jewish law, but that doesn’t mean that you can do things that are wrong. You belong to God, and you work for him, so you have to do whatever is right.

2 Peter 1:1

I am Peter, and this letter is from me. My other name is Simon. I work for Jesus Christ. I am one of his special workers. You people believe in Jesus Christ, just like I do, so I’m writing this letter to you. Jesus helps us trust him, and that is really special for us. Jesus Christ is God, and he saves us. He is always right, and he is always fair.

Jude 1:1

This letter is from me, Jude. I work for Jesus Christ. And I’m a brother of James. I’m writing this letter to you people that God loves. God is your father. He picked you to be his people. He helps you stay strong for Jesus, until he comes back.