The Suffering of the Apostles
1 Corinthians 4:8-13
8
You are glutted already? You are rich already? You have become kings, even though we are not? Well, I wish you really were kings, so that we might share the kingship with you!
9
For I think God has been placing us emissaries on display at the tail of the parade, like men condemned to die in the public arena: we have become a spectacle before the whole universe, angels as well as men.
10
For the Messiah’s sake we are fools, but united with the Messiah you are wise! We are weak, but you are strong; you are honored, but we are dishonored.
11
Till this very moment we go hungry and thirsty, we are dressed in rags, we are treated roughly, we wander from place to place,
12
we exhaust ourselves working with our own hands for our living. When we are cursed, we keep on blessing; when we are persecuted, we go on putting up with it;
13
when we are slandered, we continue making our appeal. We are the world’s garbage, the scum of the earth — yes, to this moment!
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