This is why I am writing this while far away from you, that when I do come, I may not have to deal harshly with you in accordance with the authority which the Lord has given me, for building you up, not for tearing you down.

For if I do boast a little too much about my authority, which the Lord gave me for building you up and not for tearing you down, I shall never have to blush for doing so.

For none of them was in want, for as many of them as were owners of farms or houses proceeded to sell them, one by one, and continued to bring the money received for the things sold and to put it at the disposal of the apostles; then distribution was continuously made to everyone in proportion to his need.

So the Twelve called together the whole body of the disciples, and said, "It is not desirable that we should leave off preaching the word of God to wait on tables. So, brothers, you must select from your number seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit, and of good practical sense, and we will assign them to this business, while we will go on devoting ourselves to prayer and the word of God."read more.
This suggestion was approved by the whole body, and so they selected Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, Philip, Procorus, Nikanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas of Antioch, who was a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, and after they had prayed, they laid their hands upon them.

As they journeyed on from town to town, they delivered to the brothers to keep the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem.

For you are aware of the instructions which we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

For I tell you, brothers, the good news which was preached by me is not a human message, for I did not get it from any man; I was not taught it, but I got it through a revelation given by Jesus Christ.

for since we have been so approved by God as to be entrusted with the good news, we are now telling it, not to please men but God, who proves and finds approved our hearts.

So whoever rejects this teaching is rejecting not man but God who continues to put His Spirit in you.

They helped them select elders in each church, and after praying and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

And Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan so completely possessed your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and kept back for yourselves a part of the money received for the land? As long as it was unsold, was it not yours, and when it was sold, was not the money at your disposal? How could you have the heart to do such a thing! You did not lie to men but to God!"

For my part, though I have been absent from you in person, I have been present with you in spirit, and so as really present, by the authority of our Lord Jesus, I have already passed judgment upon the man who has done this -- for when you met I too met with you in spirit by the power of our Lord Jesus -- to turn such a man as this over to Satan for the destruction of his lower nature, in order that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

We never sought praise from men, either from you or from anyone else; although as apostles we could have stood on our official dignity.

You remember, brothers, our hard labor and toil. We kept up our habit of working night and day, in order not to be a burden to any of you when we preached to you.

Did I do wrong in taking a lowly place to let you have an exalted one, in that I preached the good news about God to you without accepting any pay? I sponged on other churches by taking pay from them to render service to you, and when I was with you and needed money, I never burdened a single one of you for a cent, for the brothers came from Macedonia and supplied what I needed. And so I kept myself, as I shall always do, from being a burden to you in any way.