9 Bible Verses about Authority, Responsibilities Of

but Jesus called them to him and said: "You know how the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. "Not so shall it be among you. But whoever among you wishes to become great, shall be your minister, "and whoever wishes to be first among you, shall be your slave;read more.
"just as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

"You know that those who are regarded as rulers among the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make them feel their authority. Not so shall it be among you. On the contrary whoever would become great among you shall be your servant; and whoever among you would be first, shall be slave of all,read more.
and justly, for even the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life, a ransom for many."

and was now going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his upper garments, and took a towel and girded himself. Then he poured water into the basin, and began to wash the feet of his disciples and to wipe them with the towel with which he had girded himself. Then he came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?"read more.
Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will understand it later." Peter answered, "No, never shall you wash my feet." "If I do not wash you," said Jesus, "you have no part in me." "Lord," said Simon Peter, "not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." Jesus said: "He who has bathed needs only to have his feet washed, and he is altogether clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." (For he knew who should betray him, for that reason he said that they were not every one of them clean.) So after he had washed their feet, and had put on his upper garments again, and taken his place, he said to them. "Do you understand what I have been doing to you? You call me 'Teacher' and 'Master', and you say well, for such I am. If then I have washed your feet, I the 'Master' and the 'Teacher', you also ought to wash one another's feet, for I have given you an example, that you also should do what I have done to you.

If, however, I were to boast more loudly concerning the authority which the Lord gave me (not to cast you down, but to build you up), I should have no cause for shame.

For this reason I am writing thus while absent, so that when I come, I may not have to deal sharply, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for pulling down.

Have I no right to claim food and drink? Have I no right to take a believing wife with me on my journey, as the rest of the apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter do? Are we the only ones, Barnabas and I, who have no right to give up manual labor?read more.
What soldier ever serves at his own expense? What farmer ever plants a vineyard and his flock and does not taste the milk? Am I saying this on human authority only, or does not the Law also say the same? Yea, in the Law of Moses it is written, Thou shalt not muzzle an ox while he is treading out the grain. Is it the oxen that God is thinking about, or is it really said for our sakes? It was written for us; because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher in hope of getting a share of the crop. If I have sown for you the seeds of spiritual good, is it a great thing if I reap from you temporal goods? If others share this authority over you, do not I far more? Yet I have not availed myself of it, but am patiently enduring; so that I may not in any way hinder the progress of Christ's gospel. You know, do you not, that those who minister in the temple, and those who serve at the altar, get their portion of the sacrifices? Even so the Lord ordained that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. But for my part, I have never availed myself of any of these rights. I do not say this to bring it about in my own case. I would rather die than let any one make void this boast of mine. Proclaiming the gospel gives me no ground of boasting; for necessity is laid upon me; woe is me if I preach not the gospel. For if I do this of my own accord, I have my pay; but if unwilling, I have at least discharged my stewardship. What then is my wage? This, that I can make the gospel free where I carry it; and that I can refrain from using my rights as a preacher of the gospel.

Dare any one of you who has a grievance against his neighbor go to law before heathen judges, instead of before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be tried by you, are you unfit to try such trifling cases? Do you not know that we are to try angels? How much more, then, the affairs of life.read more.
Why then, if you have cases relating to earthly affairs which need to be decided, is it men who are absolutely nothing in the church whom you make your judges? I say this to shame you. Is it so that there is not among you a single wise man, capable of deciding between a man and his brother? Must brother go to law with brother, and that, too, before unbelievers? Indeed, to say nothing more, the fact that you have lawsuits with one another is altogether a defect in you. Why not rather suffer injustice? Why not rather endure being cheated?

Now food does not bring us nearness to God. Neither if we eat do we gain any advantage, nor if we eat not, do we lose any. But see to it lest this right of yours become a stumbling-block to the weak. For if any one should see you, the possessor of "knowledge," reclining at table in an idol's temple, would not his conscience, if he were weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols?read more.
So he is lost, this weak man, lost by your "knowledge." this brother for whom Christ died. In so sinning against your brothers, and in ever and again wounding their weak consciences, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat makes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, lest I make my brother to stumble.

"All things are lawful," you say? But not all things are expedient; "all things are lawful"; but not all build up. Let not each one be always seeking his own, but rather his neighbor's good.