15 Bible Verses about Ministers

*You* are the light of the world; a town cannot be hid if built on a hill-top. Nor is a lamp lighted to be put under a bushel, but on the lampstand; and then it gives light to all in the house. Just so let your light shine before all men, in order that they may see your holy lives and may give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.

that they may turn from darkness to light and from the obedience to Satan to God, in order to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified through faith in Me.'

For when others speak of us they report the reception we had from you, and how you turned from your idols to God, to be bondservants of the true and ever-living God,

O Timothy, guard the truths entrusted to you, shunning irreligious and frivolous talk, and controversy with what is falsely called 'knowledge';

and the attention they bestow on mere fables and endless pedigrees, such as lead to controversy rather than to a true stewardship for God, which only exists where there is faith. And I make the same request now.

This being so, it follows that fidelity is what is required in stewards.

All that you have been taught by me in the hearing of many witnesses, you must hand on to trusty men who shall themselves, in turn, be competent to instruct others also.

*You* are the light of the world; a town cannot be hid if built on a hill-top.

He was the lamp that burned and shone, and for a time you were willing to be gladdened by his light.

and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

Therefore, being engaged in this service and being mindful of the mercy which has been shown us, we are not cowards.

in which I have been appointed to serve, in virtue of the work which God, in the exercise of His power within me, has graciously entrusted to me.

if, indeed, you are still firmly holding to faith as your foundation, without ever shifting from your hope that rests on the Good News that you have heard, which has been proclaimed in the whole creation under Heaven, and in which I Paul have been appointed to serve.

It is He also who has made us competent to serve Him in connexion with a new Covenant, which is not a written code but a Spirit; for the written code inflicts death, but the Spirit gives Life.

of which I have been appointed a preacher, Apostle and teacher, to the Gentiles.

For it is with this end in view that the Good News was proclaimed even to some who were dead, that they may be judged, as all mankind will be judged, in the body, but may be living a godly life in the spirit.

He announced the coming of the Kingdom of God, and taught concerning the Lord Jesus Christ without let or hindrance.

But they went out and made proclamation everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming their Message by the signs which accompanied it.

About this time John the Baptist made his appearance, preaching in the Desert of Judaea.

And I saw another angel flying across the sky, carrying the Good News of the Ages to tell to every nation, tribe, language and people, among those who live on the earth.

And judging by the stupendous grandeur of the revelations--therefore lest I should be over-elated there has been sent to me, like the agony of impalement, Satan's angel dealing blow after blow, lest I should be over-elated.

To this very moment we endure both hunger and thirst, with scanty clothing and many a blow.

by floggings, by imprisonments; by facing riots, by toil, by sleepless watching, by hunger and thirst;

Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if I were out of my mind.)

Therefore be on the alert; and remember that, night and day, for three years, I never ceased admonishing every one, even with tears.

Therefore, though I wrote to you, it was not to punish the offender, nor to secure justice for him who had suffered the wrong, but it was chiefly in order that your earnest feeling on our behalf might become manifest to yourselves in the sight of God.

And besides other things, which I pass over, there is that which presses on me daily--my anxiety for all the Churches.

For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may not find you to be what I desire, and that you may find me to be what you do not desire; that perhaps there may be contention, jealousy, bitter feeling, party spirit, ill-natured talk, backbiting, undue eulogy, unrest;

I am alarmed about you, and am afraid that I have perhaps bestowed labour upon you to no purpose.

highly incensed at their teaching the people and proclaiming in the case of Jesus the Resurrection from among the dead.

while Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed Christ there.

Then Philip began to speak, and, commencing with that same portion of Scripture, told him the Good News about Jesus.

And in the synagogues he began at once to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God;

The Message which He sent to the descendants of Israel, when He announced the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ--He is Lord of all--that Message you cannot but know;

highly incensed at their teaching the people and proclaiming in the case of Jesus the Resurrection from among the dead.

while Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed Christ there.

Then Philip began to speak, and, commencing with that same portion of Scripture, told him the Good News about Jesus.

And in the synagogues he began at once to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God;

The Message which He sent to the descendants of Israel, when He announced the Good News of peace through Jesus Christ--He is Lord of all--that Message you cannot but know;

These men they brought to the Apostles, and, after prayer, they laid their hands upon them.

Do not be careless about the gifts with which you are endowed, which were conferred on you through a divine revelation when the hands of the elders were placed upon you.

Do not ordain any one hastily; and do not be a partaker in the sins of others; keep *yourself* pure.

For this reason let me remind you to rekindle God's gift which is yours through the laying on of my hands.

For God is not unjust so that He is unmindful of your labour and of the love which you have manifested towards Himself in having rendered services to His people and in still rendering them.

Therefore, my dear brethren, be firm, unmovable, busily occupied at all times in the Lord's work, knowing that your toil is not fruitless in the Lord.

But he who looks closely into the perfect Law--the Law of freedom--and continues looking, he, being not a hearer who forgets, but an obedient doer, will as the result of his obedience be blessed.

and whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, I solemnly tell you that he will certainly not lose his reward.

Then He said to them, "Go the whole world over, and proclaim the Good News to all mankind.

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what is whispered into your ear, proclaim upon the roofs of the houses.

And as you go, preach and say, 'The Kingdom of the Heavens is close at hand.'

proclaim God's message, be zealous in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, encourage, with the utmost patience as a teacher.

"Leave the dead," Jesus rejoined, "to bury their own dead; but you must go and announce far and wide the coming of the Kingdom of God."

Then He said to them, "Go the whole world over, and proclaim the Good News to all mankind.

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what is whispered into your ear, proclaim upon the roofs of the houses.

And as you go, preach and say, 'The Kingdom of the Heavens is close at hand.'

proclaim God's message, be zealous in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, encourage, with the utmost patience as a teacher.

"Leave the dead," Jesus rejoined, "to bury their own dead; but you must go and announce far and wide the coming of the Kingdom of God."

For the Scripture says, "You are not to muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain;" and the workman deserves his pay.

no bag for your journey, nor change of linen, nor shoes, nor stick; for the labourer deserves his food.

In the same way the Lord also directed those who proclaim the Good News to maintain themselves by the Good News.

But let those who receive instruction in Christian truth share with their instructors all temporal blessings.

Yet I thank you for taking your share in my troubles.

For the Scripture says, "You are not to muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain;" and the workman deserves his pay.

no bag for your journey, nor change of linen, nor shoes, nor stick; for the labourer deserves his food.

In the same way the Lord also directed those who proclaim the Good News to maintain themselves by the Good News.

But let those who receive instruction in Christian truth share with their instructors all temporal blessings.

Yet I thank you for taking your share in my troubles.

She must have been true to her one husband, and well reported of for good deeds, as having brought up children, received strangers hospitably, washed the feet of God's people, given relief to the distressed, and devoted herself to good works of every kind.

A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching;

Relieve the necessities of God's people; always practise hospitality.

but hospitable to strangers, a lover of goodness, sober-minded, upright, saintly, self-controlled;

Do not neglect to show kindness to strangers; for, in this way, some, without knowing it, have had angels as their guests.

"Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has placed you to take the oversight for Him and act as shepherds to the Church of God, which He has bought with His own blood.

A third time Jesus put the question: "Simon, son of John, am I dear to you?" It grieved Peter that Jesus asked him the third time, "Am I dear to you?" "Master," he replied, "you know everything, you can see that you are dear to me." "Then feed my much-loved sheep," said Jesus.

"Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has placed you to take the oversight for Him and act as shepherds to the Church of God, which He has bought with His own blood.

A third time Jesus put the question: "Simon, son of John, am I dear to you?" It grieved Peter that Jesus asked him the third time, "Am I dear to you?" "Master," he replied, "you know everything, you can see that you are dear to me." "Then feed my much-loved sheep," said Jesus.

We are; for, unlike most teachers, we are not fraudulent hucksters of God's Message; but with transparent motives, as commissioned by God, in God's presence and in communion with Christ, so we speak.

For, as you are well aware, we have never used the language of flattery nor have we found pretexts for enriching ourselves--God is our witness;

Nay, we have renounced the secrecy which marks a feeling of shame. We practice no cunning tricks, nor do we adulterate God's Message. But by a full clear statement of the truth we strive to commend ourselves in the presence of God to every human conscience.

For our preaching was not grounded on a delusion, nor prompted by mingled motives, nor was there fraud in it.

and teach them to obey every command which I have given you. And remember, I am with you always, day by day, until the Close of the Age."

A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching;

And those who have believing masters should not be wanting in respect towards them because they are their brethren, but should serve them all the more willingly because those who profit by the faithful service rendered are believers and are friends.

Command this and teach this.

He must speak in a gentle tone when correcting the errors of opponents, in the hope that God will at last give them repentance, for them to come to a full knowledge of the truth

and teach them to obey every command which I have given you. And remember, I am with you always, day by day, until the Close of the Age."

A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching;

And those who have believing masters should not be wanting in respect towards them because they are their brethren, but should serve them all the more willingly because those who profit by the faithful service rendered are believers and are friends.

Command this and teach this.

He must speak in a gentle tone when correcting the errors of opponents, in the hope that God will at last give them repentance, for them to come to a full knowledge of the truth

Obey your leaders and be submissive to them. For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give account; that they may do this with joy and not with lamentation. For that would be of no advantage to you.

to the last-named an odor of death predictive of death, and to the others an odor of life predictive of life. And for such service as this who is competent?

Do not be eager, my brethren, for many among you to become teachers; for you know that we teachers shall undergo severer judgement.

And then, when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the never-withering wreath of glory.

If any one's work--the building which he has erected--stands the test, he will be rewarded.

In solemn truth I tell you that he will give him the management of all his wealth.

And if I preach willingly, I receive my wages; but if against my will, a stewardship has nevertheless been entrusted to me. What are my wages then? The very fact that the Good News which I preach will cost my hearers nothing, so that I cannot be charged with abuse of my privileges as a Christian preacher.

Receive him therefore with heartfelt Christian joy, and hold in honour men like him;

Let the Elders who perform their duties wisely and well be held worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching.

Remember your former leaders--it was they who brought you God's Message. Bear in mind how they ended their lives, and imitate their faith.

and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

Brethren, vie with one another in imitating me, and carefully observe those who follow the example which we have set you.

This was not because we had not a claim upon you, but it arose from a desire to set you an example--for you to imitate us.

Let no one think slightingly of you because you are a young man; but in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, be an example for your fellow Christians to imitate.

not lording it over your Churches but proving yourselves patterns for the flock to imitate.

while you on your part lend us your aid in entreaty for us, so that from many lips thanksgivings may rise on our behalf for the boon granted to us at the intercession of many.

Keep on praying for us; for we are sure that we have clear consciences, and we desire to live nobly in every respect.

and ask on my behalf that words may be given to me so that, outspoken and fearless, I may make known the truths (hitherto kept secret)

But I entreat you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love which His Spirit inspires, to help me by wrestling in prayer to God on my behalf,

Seeing that we were thus drawn affectionately towards you, it would have been a joy to us to have imparted to you not only God's Good News, but to have given our very lives also, because you had become very dear to us.

And I am justified in having this confidence about you all, because, both during my imprisonment and when I stand up in defence of the Good News or to confirm its truth, I have you in my heart, sharers as you all are in the same grace as myself.

For you know that we acted towards every one of you as a father does towards his own children, encouraging and cheering you,

Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the Good News; and not in merely wise words--lest the Cross of Christ should be deprived of its power.

And my language and the Message that I proclaimed were not adorned with persuasive words of earthly wisdom, but depended upon truths which the Spirit taught and mightily carried home;

And as for myself, brethren, when I came to you, it was not with surpassing power of eloquence or earthly wisdom that I came, announcing to you that which God had commanded me to bear witness to.

Obey your leaders and be submissive to them. For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give account; that they may do this with joy and not with lamentation. For that would be of no advantage to you.

I thank my God at my every remembrance of you--

I thank my God continually on your behalf for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus--

For what thanksgiving on your behalf can we possibly offer to God in return for all the joy which fills our souls before our God for you,

Receive him therefore with heartfelt Christian joy, and hold in honour men like him;

Let the Elders who perform their duties wisely and well be held worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching.

and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

But let those who receive instruction in Christian truth share with their instructors all temporal blessings.

What soldier ever serves at his own cost? Who plants a vineyard and yet does not eat any of the grapes? Or who tends a herd of cattle and yet does not taste their milk? Am I making use of merely worldly illustrations? Does not the Law speak in the same tone? For in the Law of Moses it is written, "Thou shalt not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." read more.
Is God simply thinking about the oxen? Or is it really in our interest that He speaks? Of course, it was written in our interest, because it is His will that when a plough-man ploughs, and a thresher threshes, it should be in the hope of sharing that which comes as the result. If it is we who sowed the spiritual grain in you, is it a great thing that we should reap a temporal harvest from you?

Be shepherds of God's flock which is among you. Exercise the oversight not reluctantly but eagerly, in accordance with the will of God; not for base gain but with cheerful minds;

Deacons, in the same way, must be men of serious demeanour, not double-tongued, nor addicted to much wine, nor greedy of base gain,

No one's silver or gold or clothing have I coveted.

not a hard drinker nor given to blows; not selfish or quarrelsome or covetous;

"Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has placed you to take the oversight for Him and act as shepherds to the Church of God, which He has bought with His own blood.

Be shepherds of God's flock which is among you. Exercise the oversight not reluctantly but eagerly, in accordance with the will of God; not for base gain but with cheerful minds;

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these others do?" "Yes, Master," was his answer; "you know that you are dear to me." "Then feed my lambs," replied Jesus. Again a second time He asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" "Yes, Master," he said, "you know that you are dear to me." "Then be a shepherd to my sheep," He said. A third time Jesus put the question: "Simon, son of John, am I dear to you?" It grieved Peter that Jesus asked him the third time, "Am I dear to you?" "Master," he replied, "you know everything, you can see that you are dear to me." "Then feed my much-loved sheep," said Jesus.

For what is our hope or joy, or the crown of which we boast? Is it not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His Coming?

But now that Timothy has recently come back to us from you, and has brought us the happy tidings of your faith and love, and has told us how you still cherish a constant and affectionate recollection of us, and are longing to see us as we also long to see you-- for this reason in our distress and trouble we have been comforted about you, brethren, by your faith. For now life is for us life indeed, since you are standing fast in the Lord. read more.
For what thanksgiving on your behalf can we possibly offer to God in return for all the joy which fills our souls before our God for you,

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what is whispered into your ear, proclaim upon the roofs of the houses. "And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

We endeavour to give people no cause for stumbling in anything, lest the work we are doing should fall into discredit.

Do not be causes of stumbling either to Jews or to Gentiles, nor to the Church of God. That is the way that I also seek in everything the approval of all men, not aiming at my own profit, but at that of the many, in the hope that they may be saved.

See, I am now for the third time prepared to visit you, but I will not be a dead weight to you. I desire not your money, but yourselves; for children ought not to put by for their parents, but parents for their children.

nor did we seek glory either from you or from any other mere men, although we might have stood on our dignity as Christ's Apostles.

For you remember, brethren, our labour and toil: how, working night and day so as not to become a burden to any one of you, we came and proclaimed among you God's Good News.

What are my wages then? The very fact that the Good News which I preach will cost my hearers nothing, so that I cannot be charged with abuse of my privileges as a Christian preacher.

but hospitable to strangers, a lover of goodness, sober-minded, upright, saintly, self-controlled;

If, however, I were to boast more loudly of our Apostolic authority, which the Lord has given us that we may build you up, not pull you down, I should have no reason to feel ashamed.

For this reason I write thus while absent, that when present I may not have to act severely in the exercise of the authority which the Lord has given me for building up, and not for pulling down.

If, however, I were to boast more loudly of our Apostolic authority, which the Lord has given us that we may build you up, not pull you down, I should have no reason to feel ashamed.

For this reason I write thus while absent, that when present I may not have to act severely in the exercise of the authority which the Lord has given me for building up, and not for pulling down.

Yes, just as you are already very rich in faith, readiness of speech, knowledge, unwearied zeal, and in the love that is in you, implanted by us, see to it that this grace of liberal giving also flourishes in you.

But now that Timothy has recently come back to us from you, and has brought us the happy tidings of your faith and love, and has told us how you still cherish a constant and affectionate recollection of us, and are longing to see us as we also long to see you--

while Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed Christ there.

Then Philip began to speak, and, commencing with that same portion of Scripture, told him the Good News about Jesus.

For I determined to be utterly ignorant, when among you, of everything except of Jesus Christ, and of Him as having been crucified.

But what I am I am by the grace of God, and His grace bestowed upon me did not prove ineffectual. But I labored more strenuously than all the rest--yet it was not I, but God's grace working with me.

So that neither the planter nor the waterer is of any importance. God who gives the increase is all in all.

just as some few of you have recognized us as your reason for boasting, even as you will be ours, on the day of Jesus our Lord.

And I write this to you in order that when I come I may not receive pain from those who ought to give me joy, confident as I am as to all of you that my joy is the joy of you all.

We are hard pressed, yet never in absolute distress; perplexed, yet never utterly baffled;

as sad, but we are always joyful; as poor, but we bestow wealth on many; as having nothing, and yet we securely possess all things.

Brethren, vie with one another in imitating me, and carefully observe those who follow the example which we have set you.

Be imitators of me, in so far as I in turn am an imitator of Christ.

in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving--for the building up of Christ's body--

You are imagining, all this time, that we are making our defense at your bar. In reality it is as in God's presence and in communion with Christ that we speak; but, dear friends, it is all with a view to your progress in goodness.

For is it man's favour or God's that I aspire to? Or am I seeking to please men? If I were still a man-pleaser, I should not be Christ's bondservant.

But as God tested and approved us before entrusting us with His Good News, so in what we say we are seeking not to please men but to please God, who tests and approves our motives.

and a bondservant of the Lord must not quarrel, but must be inoffensive towards all men, a skilful teacher, and patient under wrongs.

On the contrary, in our relations to you we showed ourselves as gentle as a mother is when she tenderly nurses her own children.

Obey your leaders and be submissive to them. For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give account; that they may do this with joy and not with lamentation. For that would be of no advantage to you.

I beseech you, on your part, to show deference to such men, and to every one who participates in their work and toils hard.

and yet the bodily infirmity which was such a trial to you, you did not regard with contempt or loathing, but you received me as if I had been an angel of God or Christ Jesus Himself!

As for us Apostles, let any one take this view of us--we are Christ's officers, and stewards of God's secret truths.

For I have not shrunk from declaring to you God's whole truth.

and that I never shrank from declaring to you anything that was profitable, or from teaching you in public and in your homes,

"Go and stand in the Temple, and go on proclaiming to the people all this Message of Life."

On the contrary, as God's servants, we seek their full approval--by unwearied endurance, by afflictions, by distress, by helplessness;

and a bondservant of the Lord must not quarrel, but must be inoffensive towards all men, a skilful teacher, and patient under wrongs.

not that of ourselves we are competent to decide anything by our own reasonings, but our competency comes from God. It is He also who has made us competent to serve Him in connexion with a new Covenant, which is not a written code but a Spirit; for the written code inflicts death, but the Spirit gives Life.

But if the man, being a bad servant, should say in his heart, 'My master is a long time in coming,' and should begin to beat his fellow servants, while he eats and drinks with drunkards; the master of that servant will arrive on a day when he is not expecting him and at an hour of which he has not been informed; read more.
he will treat him with the utmost severity and assign him a place among the hypocrites: there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

If you warn the brethren of these dangers you will be a good and faithful servant of Christ Jesus, inwardly feeding on the lessons of the faith and of the sound teaching of which you have been, and are, so close a follower.

while the others proclaim Him from motives of rivalry, and insincerely, supposing that by this they are embittering my imprisonment.

But even the sacrifice of my life I count as nothing, if only I may perfect my earthly course, and be faithful to the duty which the Lord Jesus has entrusted to me of proclaiming, as of supreme importance, the Good News of God's grace.

in fulfilment of my eager expectation and hope that I shall never have reason to feel ashamed, but that by my perfect freedom of speech Christ will be glorified in me, now as always, either by my life or by my death. For, with me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

For this reason, on bended knee I beseech the Father,

always when offering any prayer on behalf of you all, finding a joy in offering it.

For there are many that spurn authority--idle, talkative and deceitful persons, who, for the most part, are adherents of the Circumcision. You must stop the mouths of such men, for they overthrow the faith of whole families, teaching what they ought not, just for the sake of making money.

He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who disbelieves will be condemned.

Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the Good News; and not in merely wise words--lest the Cross of Christ should be deprived of its power.

Till I come, bestow your attention on reading, exhortation and teaching.

Habitually practise these duties, and be absorbed in them; so that your growing proficiency in them may be evident to all.

I have gone through the glorious contest; I have run the race; I have guarded the faith.

This is the charge which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, in accordance with the inspired instructions concerning you which were given me long ago, that being equipped with them as your armour you may be continually fighting the good fight,

but ruling his own household wisely and well, with children kept under control with true dignity.

A deacon must be true to his one wife, and rule his children and his own household wisely and well.

A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching;

and a bondservant of the Lord must not quarrel, but must be inoffensive towards all men, a skilful teacher, and patient under wrongs.

Yes, and I beg you also, my faithful yoke-fellow, to help these women who have shared my toil in connection with the Good News, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow labourers, whose names are recorded in the Book of Life.

to Urban, our fellow labourer in Christ, and to my dear Stachys.

Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind; and if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into some pit."

but holding the secret truths of the faith with a clear conscience.

"He who listens to you listens to me; and he who disregards you disregards me, and he who disregards me disregards Him who sent me."

Let no one think slightingly of you because you are a young man; but in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, be an example for your fellow Christians to imitate.

Therefore do and observe everything that they command you; but do not imitate their lives, for though they tell others what to do, they do not do it themselves.

For this reason we also, from the day we first received these tidings, have never ceased to pray for you and to entreat that you may be filled with a clear knowledge of His will accompanied by thorough wisdom and discernment in spiritual things;

but hospitable to strangers, a lover of goodness, sober-minded, upright, saintly, self-controlled;

Every one who serves as a soldier keeps himself from becoming entangled in the world's business--so that he may satisfy the officer who enlisted him.

"Leave the dead," Jesus rejoined, "to bury their own dead; but you must go and announce far and wide the coming of the Kingdom of God."

For, as God's steward, a minister must be of blameless life, not over-fond of having his own way, not a man of a passionate temper nor a hard drinker, not given to blows nor greedy of gain,

not a hard drinker nor given to blows; not selfish or quarrelsome or covetous;

For, as God's steward, a minister must be of blameless life, not over-fond of having his own way, not a man of a passionate temper nor a hard drinker, not given to blows nor greedy of gain,

A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching;

A minister then must be a man of irreproachable character, true to his one wife, temperate, sober-minded, well-behaved, hospitable to strangers, and with a gift for teaching;

but hospitable to strangers, a lover of goodness, sober-minded, upright, saintly, self-controlled;

For, as God's steward, a minister must be of blameless life, not over-fond of having his own way, not a man of a passionate temper nor a hard drinker, not given to blows nor greedy of gain,

not a hard drinker nor given to blows; not selfish or quarrelsome or covetous;

And no one takes this honourable office upon himself, but only accepts it when called to it by God, as Aaron was.

Thirsting for riches, they will trade on you with their canting talk. From of old their judgement has been working itself out, and their destruction has not been slumbering.

But, as for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the delivery of the Message."

proclaim God's message, be zealous in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, encourage, with the utmost patience as a teacher.

Be shepherds of God's flock which is among you. Exercise the oversight not reluctantly but eagerly, in accordance with the will of God; not for base gain but with cheerful minds;

Everywhere they strengthened the disciples by encouraging them to hold fast to the faith, and warned them saying, "It is through many afflictions that we must make our way into the Kingdom of God."

But *I* have prayed for *you* that your faith may not fail, and you, when at last you have come back to your true self, must strengthen your brethren."

This testimony is true. Therefore sternly denounce them, that they may be robust in their faith,

Thus speak, exhort, reprove, with all impressiveness. Let no one make light of your authority.

As certainly as God is faithful, our language to you is not now "Yes" and now "No." For Jesus Christ the Son of God--He who was proclaimed among you by us, that is by Silas and Timothy and myself--did not show Himself a waverer between "Yes" and "No." But it was and always is "Yes" with Him.

holding fast to the faithful Message which he has received, so that he may be well qualified both to encourage others with sound teaching and to reply successfully to opponents.

Thus speak, exhort, reprove, with all impressiveness. Let no one make light of your authority.

But they went out and made proclamation everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming their Message by the signs which accompanied it.

Those, however, who were scattered abroad went from place to place spreading the Good News of God's Message;

While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me, now at once, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them."

They therefore, being thus sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleuceia, and from there sailed to Cyprus.

Some indeed actually preach Christ out of envy and contentiousness but there are also others who do it from good will. These latter preach Him from love to me, knowing that I am here for the defence of the Good News; while the others proclaim Him from motives of rivalry, and insincerely, supposing that by this they are embittering my imprisonment.

Seeing that we were thus drawn affectionately towards you, it would have been a joy to us to have imparted to you not only God's Good News, but to have given our very lives also, because you had become very dear to us.

He comforts us in our every affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction by means of the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as we have more than our share of suffering for the Christ, so also through the Christ we have more than our share of comfort. But if, on the one hand, we are enduring affliction, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if, on the other hand, we are receiving comfort, it is for your comfort which is produced within you through your patient fortitude under the same sufferings as those which we also are enduring.

That is the way that I also seek in everything the approval of all men, not aiming at my own profit, but at that of the many, in the hope that they may be saved.

But as God tested and approved us before entrusting us with His Good News, so in what we say we are seeking not to please men but to please God, who tests and approves our motives.

Therefore, cherishing a hope like this, we speak without reserve, and we do not imitate Moses,

On Christ's behalf therefore we come as ambassadors, God, as it were, making entreaty through our lips: we, on Christ's behalf, beseech men to be reconciled to God.

but I hit hard and straight at my own body and lead it off into slavery, lest possibly, after I have been a herald to others, I should myself be rejected.

If I go on preaching the Good News, that is nothing for me to boast of; for the necessity is imposed upon me; and alas for me, if I fail to preach it!

He it is who rescued us from so imminent a death, and will do so again; and we have a firm hope in Him that He will also rescue us in all the future,

Nay, we have renounced the secrecy which marks a feeling of shame. We practice no cunning tricks, nor do we adulterate God's Message. But by a full clear statement of the truth we strive to commend ourselves in the presence of God to every human conscience.

On the contrary, as God's servants, we seek their full approval--by unwearied endurance, by afflictions, by distress, by helplessness;

(For we do not proclaim ourselves, but we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for the sake of Jesus.)

I have great confidence in you: very loudly do I boast of you. I am filled with comfort: my heart overflows with joy amid all our affliction.

Nay, we have renounced the secrecy which marks a feeling of shame. We practice no cunning tricks, nor do we adulterate God's Message. But by a full clear statement of the truth we strive to commend ourselves in the presence of God to every human conscience.

(For we do not proclaim ourselves, but we proclaim Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for the sake of Jesus.)

As for us Apostles, let any one take this view of us--we are Christ's officers, and stewards of God's secret truths.

As for us Apostles, let any one take this view of us--we are Christ's officers, and stewards of God's secret truths.

But we have this treasure in a fragile vase of clay, in order that the surpassing greatness of the power may be seen to belong to God, and not to originate in us.

As for the eleven disciples, they proceeded into Galilee, to the hill where Jesus had arranged to meet them. There they saw Him and prostrated themselves before Him. Yet some doubted. Jesus however came near and said to them, "All power in Heaven and over the earth has been given to me. read more.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations; baptize them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit;

Yet I deem it important to send Epaphroditus to you now--he is my brother and comrade both in labour and in arms, and is your messenger who has ministered to my needs.

But you know Timothy's approved worth--how, like a child working with his father, he has served with me in furtherance of the Good News.

And I am justified in having this confidence about you all, because, both during my imprisonment and when I stand up in defence of the Good News or to confirm its truth, I have you in my heart, sharers as you all are in the same grace as myself.

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is abundant, but the reapers are few; therefore entreat the Owner of the Harvest to send out reapers into His fields."

Be on your guard as to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things; for by doing this you will make certain your own salvation and that of your hearers.

I solemnly call upon you, in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, to carry out these instructions of mine without prejudice, and to do nothing from partiality.

As a good soldier of Christ Jesus accept your share of suffering.

Obey your leaders and be submissive to them. For they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give account; that they may do this with joy and not with lamentation. For that would be of no advantage to you.