After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God's servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do:

But by God's grace I am what I am, and the grace that he gave me was not without effect. On the contrary, I have worked harder than any of the other apostles, although it was not really my own doing, but God's grace working with me.

Through him God gave me the privilege of being an apostle for the sake of Christ, in order to lead people of all nations to believe and obey.

And because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you.

But in this letter I have been quite bold about certain subjects of which I have reminded you. I have been bold because of the privilege God has given me

Surely you have heard that God in his grace has given me this work to do for your good.

and if you will read what I have written, you can learn about my understanding of the secret of Christ.)

The secret is that by means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God's blessings; they are members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Christ Jesus.

I am less than the least of all God's people; yet God gave me this privilege of taking to the Gentiles the Good News about the infinite riches of Christ,

To get this done I toil and struggle, using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me.

That teaching is found in the gospel that was entrusted to me to announce, the Good News from the glorious and blessed God.

even though in the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet have faith and so did not know what I was doing.

Those who preach must preach God's messages; those who serve must serve with the strength that God gives them, so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

So give me the wisdom I need to rule your people with justice and to know the difference between good and evil. Otherwise, how would I ever be able to rule this great people of yours?"

and so he said to him, "Because you have asked for the wisdom to rule justly, instead of long life for yourself or riches or the death of your enemies,

Praise the LORD God of Israel, Creator of heaven and earth! He has given King David a wise son, full of understanding and skill, who now plans to build a temple for the LORD and a palace for himself.

The wise leaders will shine with all the brightness of the sky. And those who have taught many people to do what is right will shine like the stars forever."

"So then, anyone who hears these words of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.

"Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant? It is the one that his master has placed in charge of the other servants to give them their food at the proper time.

Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow.

For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid.

Even if others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do! Because of your life in union with the Lord you yourselves are proof of the fact that I am an apostle.

He said, "Zerubbabel has laid the foundation of the Temple, and he will finish the building. When this happens, my people will know that it is I who sent you to them.

My ambition has always been to proclaim the Good News in places where Christ has not been heard of, so as not to build on a foundation laid by someone else.

You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself.

The city's wall was built on twelve foundation stones, on which were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation stone was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,

So then, whether it came from me or from them, this is what we all preach, and this is what you believe.

Now, since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life?

Apollos then decided to go to Achaia, so the believers in Ephesus helped him by writing to the believers in Achaia, urging them to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who through God's grace had become believers.

So we do not boast about the work that others have done beyond the limits God set for us. Instead, we hope that your faith may grow and that we may be able to do a much greater work among you, always within the limits that God has set.

Those men are not true apostles---they are false apostles, who lie about their work and disguise themselves to look like real apostles of Christ.

So it is no great thing if his servants disguise themselves to look like servants of righteousness. In the end they will get exactly what their actions deserve.

But because the Philosopher was wise, he kept on teaching the people what he knew. He studied proverbs and honestly tested their truth.

Make certain, then, that the light in you is not darkness.

Jesus said, "Watch out; don't be fooled. Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time has come!' But don't follow them.

And tell Archippus, "Be sure to finish the task you were given in the Lord's service."

Watch yourself and watch your teaching. Keep on doing these things, because if you do, you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

My friends, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others.

Those who preach must preach God's messages; those who serve must serve with the strength that God gives them, so that in all things praise may be given to God through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction.

In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake!