Other people might be your guardians in Christ, but even if there were 10,000 of them, you still wouldn’t have many fathers. I became your father in Christ Jesus by telling you the good news.
You’ve been born again through the living word of God, which lasts forever. You haven’t been born again from a seed that will die, but from one that can’t die.
because the time will come when they won’t put up with good teaching. Instead, they’ll try to satisfy their own desires. They’ll gather a large number of teachers around them who will tell them what they want to hear.
So what reward do I get? Here’s my reward: being able to offer the good news free of charge, without claiming all my rights as a person who preaches the good news.
If others have the right to receive support from you, don’t we have an even greater right? But we haven’t used that right. No, we’re prepared to make any sacrifice we have to, rather than let anything get in the way of the good news of Christ.
Because of what God has done, you belong to Christ Jesus. He has become God’s wisdom for us. He makes us right with God, he makes us holy, and he sets us free.