ministry

¹¹And the same one granted that some would be Apostles, and some Prophets, yet truly others evangelists, and others pastors and teachers, ¹²for the sake of the perfection of the saints, by the work of the ministry, in the edification of the body of Christ, ¹³until we all meet in the unity of faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God, as a perfect man, in the measure of the age of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁵Be solicitous in the task of presenting yourself before God as a proven and unashamed worker who has handled the Word of Truth correctly.

³May we never give offense to anyone, so that our ministry may not be disparaged. ⁴But in all things, let us exhibit ourselves as ministers of God with great patience: through tribulation, difficulties, and distress; ⁵despite wounds, imprisonment, and rebellion; with hard work, vigilance, and fasting; ⁶by chastity, knowledge, and longsuffering; in pleasantness, in the Holy Spirit, and in unfeigned charity; ⁷with the Word of truth, with the power of God, and with the armor of justice to the right and to the left; ⁸through honor and dishonor, despite good reports and bad, whether seen as deceivers or truth-tellers, whether ignored or acknowledged;

¹³For all those who have called upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. ¹⁴Then in what way will those who have not believed in him call upon him? Or in what way will those who have not heard of him believe in him? And in what way will they hear of him without preaching? ¹⁵And truly, in what way will they preach, unless they have been sent, just as it has been written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who evangelize peace, of those who evangelize what is good!”

¹²Let no one despise your youth, but be an example among the faithful in word, in behavior, in charity, in faith, in chastity.

²⁴But I dread none of these things. Neither do I consider my life to be more precious because it is my own, provided that in some way I may complete my own course and that of the ministry of the Word, which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God.

⁷Remember your leaders, who have spoken the Word of God to you, whose faith you imitate, by observing the goal of their way of life:

¹Therefore, since we have this ministry, and in as much as we have obtained mercy for ourselves, we are not inadequate. ²For we renounce dishonorable and hidden acts, not walking by craftiness, nor by adulterating the Word of God. Instead, by the manifestation of truth, we commend ourselves to the conscience of each man before God. ³But if our Gospel is in some way hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing. ⁴As for them, the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, would not shine in them. ⁵For we are not preaching about ourselves, but about Jesus Christ our Lord. We are merely your servants through Jesus. ⁶For God, who told the light to shine out of darkness, has shined a light into our hearts, to illuminate the knowledge of the splendor of God, in the person of Christ Jesus.

⁶And he has made us suitable ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

¹I testify before God, and before Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead through his return and his kingdom: ²that you should preach the word urgently, in season and out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke, with all patience and doctrine. ³For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but instead, according to their own desires, they will gather to themselves teachers, with itching ears, ⁴and certainly, they will turn their hearing away from the truth, and they will be turned toward fables. ⁵But as for you, truly, be vigilant, laboring in all things. Do the work of an Evangelist, fulfilling your ministry. Show self-restraint.