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Paul the Apostle on fatherhood, character, and how to live

12 sourced quotes from Paul the Apostle, each with the original work, the year, and links to a primary or scholarly source you can check yourself. Selected for what they say to a man raising children.

“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”
1 Corinthians 13:11, ESV, c. 56 AD
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way... Love bears all things,…”
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV), c. 54 AD
“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an…”
1 Timothy 5:8, ESV, c. 64 AD
“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
2 Timothy 1:7, ESV, c. 64 AD
“bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Colossians 3:13, ESV, c. 61 AD
“Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”
Colossians 3:21 (ESV), c. 60 AD
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who…”
Ephesians 4:29, ESV, c. 61 AD
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Ephesians 4:32, ESV, c. 61 AD
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:4 (ESV), c. 60 AD
“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
Romans 12:18, ESV, c. 57 AD
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces…”
Romans 5:3-4, ESV, c. 57 AD
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28, ESV, c. 57 AD

The right words for exactly where you are right now.

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Works quoted here: 1 Corinthians 13:11, ESV, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV), 1 Timothy 5:8, ESV, 2 Timothy 1:7, ESV, Colossians 3:13, ESV, Colossians 3:21 (ESV), Ephesians 4:29, ESV, Ephesians 4:32, ESV, Ephesians 6:4 (ESV), Romans 12:18, ESV, Romans 5:3-4, ESV, Romans 8:28, ESV.