Apostol § 131

Brethren, I think that God has shown us, the Apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle unto the world, both to Angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are despised! To the present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you. For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. Therefore I beseech you, to follow me.