I don't affiliate with any religion Tom... only Jesus... religion's are men following men... but as for me Jesus is my only teacher... He's my only foundation... I don't follow men... men can't increase me... only God adds increase... as Paul understood...
and Nomad...
You do the same thing to me that you do to Paul.. you take one sentence out of context and then respond to what isn't even written... and then ignore what is...
I quote Paul exactly word for word talking about himself and take him at his word... and it's simple... he says he just lays the foundation.... that he's nothing... that it's only God that adds the increase... and you wont even recognize what he says about himself because his self opinion doesn't agree with what your religion says about him... instead you take some sentence out of Peter's letter and then ignore what Paul says about himself based on something you twist Peter's letter to mean...
I've noticed a pattern... people who do this with the peoples writings in the bible also do this with peoples writings on this board...
You say something and then the person says, "So what you're saying is..." and it's nothing even close to what you actually said... haha... and then you hear the same person when they read the bible and it says something simple and then the person says, "What the bible is really saying is..." and it once again is nothing close to what was actually said...
Here's what Paul wrote about himself...
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
I take it simply... neither Paul nor Appolos are anything... they laid the foundation of Christ and now it's only God that adds the increase... if you disagree with that you're the one disagreeing with Paul... so yeah.. like I said... I might not believe what you say about Paul but I believe what Paul says about himself... I just don't think beyond what he wrote...
And Paul himself has a reason why we shouldn't
Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other.
He's obviouslly right... and I thank the Lord for teaching me so...
I'm done using my energy in this discussion... hopefully something good will come out of it so I don't feel like it was a waste...