PeacePage
2 Corinthians
Chapter
1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the
will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the church of God that is in Corinth,
including all the saints throughout Achaia: 2 Grace to you
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all
consolation, 4 who consoles us in all our affliction, so
that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the
consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. 5 For
just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation
is abundant through Christ. 6 If we are being afflicted, it
is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your
consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings
that we are also suffering.
7 Our hope for you
is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share
in our consolation. 8 We do not want you to be unaware,
brothers and sisters, of the affliction we experienced in Asia; for we were so
utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed,
we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on
ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He who rescued
us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our
hope that he will rescue us again, 11 as you also join in
helping us by your prayers, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the
blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
12 Indeed, this is
our boast, the testimony of our conscience: we have behaved in the world with
frankness and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of
God—and all the more toward you. 13 For we write you nothing
other than what you can read and also understand; I hope you will understand
until the end— 14 as you have already understood us in
part—that on the day of the Lord Jesus we are your boast even as you are our
boast.
15 Since I was sure
of this, I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have a double favor; 16 I
wanted to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from
Macedonia and have you send me on to Judea. 17 Was I
vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans according to ordinary
human standards, ready to say "Yes, yes" and "No, no" at
the same time? 18 As surely as God is faithful, our word to
you has not been "Yes and No." 19 For the Son of
God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I,
was not "Yes and No"; but in him it is always "Yes." 20 For
in him every one of God's promises is a "Yes." For this reason it is
through him that we say the "Amen," to the glory of God. 21 But
it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, 22 by
putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first
installment. 23 But I call on God as witness against me: it
was to spare you that I did not come again to Corinth. 24 I
do not mean to imply that we lord it over your faith; rather, we are workers
with you for your joy, because you stand firm in the faith.
Chapter
2
1 So I made up my
mind not to make you another painful visit. 2 For if I cause
you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 3 And
I wrote as I did, so that when I came, I might not suffer pain from those who
should have made me rejoice; for I am confident about all of you, that my joy
would be the joy of all of you. 4 For I wrote you out of
much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain,
but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you.
5 But if anyone has caused
pain, he has caused it not to me, but to some extent—not to exaggerate it—to
all of you. 6 This punishment by the majority is enough for
such a person; 7 so now instead you should forgive and
console him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So
I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 I wrote for this
reason: to test you and to know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone
whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven
anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ. 11 And
we do this so that we may not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of
his designs.
12 When I came to
Troas to proclaim the good news of Christ, a door was opened for me in the
Lord; 13 but my mind could not rest because I did not find
my brother Titus there. So I said farewell to them and went on to Macedonia. 14 But
thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and
through us spreads in every place the fragrance that comes from knowing him. 15 For
we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among
those who are perishing; 16 to the one a fragrance from
death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient
for these things? 17 For we are not peddlers of God's word
like so many; but in Christ we speak as persons of sincerity, as persons sent
from God and standing in his presence.
Chapter
3
1 Are we beginning
to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of
recommendation to you or from you, do we? 2 You yourselves
are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; 3 and
you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink
but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets
of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence that we have
through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are competent of
ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God,
6 who has made us
competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for
the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 Now if the
ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stone tablets, came in glory so that
the people of Israel could not gaze at Moses' face because of the glory of his
face, a glory now set aside, 8 how much more will the
ministry of the Spirit come in glory? 9 For if there was
glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of
justification abound in glory! 10 Indeed, what once had
glory has lost its glory because of the greater glory; 11 for
if what was set aside came through glory, much more has the permanent come in
glory!
12 Since, then, we
have such a hope, we act with great boldness, 13 not like
Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at
the end of the glory that F9 was being set aside. 14 But their minds
were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old
covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. 15 Indeed,
to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; 16 but
when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the
Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And
all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though
reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one
degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
Chapter
4
1 Therefore, since
it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose
heart. 2 We have renounced the shameful things that one
hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open
statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in
the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is
veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god
of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from
seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ
as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus' sake. 6 For
it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has
shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in
clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs
to God and does not come from us.
8 We are afflicted in
every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted,
but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be
made visible in our bodies. 11 For while we live, we are
always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may
be made visible in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work
in us, but life in you. 13 But just as we have the same spirit
of faith that is in accordance with scripture—"I believed, and so I
spoke"—we also believe, and so we speak, 14 because we
know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and
will bring us with you into his presence. 15 Yes, everything
is for your sake, so that grace, as it extends to more and more people, may
increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. 16 So we do not
lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is
being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary
affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because
we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be
seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
Chapter
5
1 For we know that
if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in
this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling— 3 if
indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. 4 For
while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not
to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be
swallowed up by life. 5 He who has prepared us for this very
thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 6 So
we are always confident; even though we know that while we are at home in the
body we are away from the Lord— 7 for we walk by faith, not
by sight. 8 Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather
be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So
whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. 10 For
all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may
receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil. 11 Therefore,
knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; but we ourselves are
well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences.
12 We are not
commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to boast about
us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and
not in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is
for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For
the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for
all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, so
that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died
and was raised for them.
16 From now on,
therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once
knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 17 So
if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed
away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from
God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry
of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling
the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and
entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are
ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat
you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our
sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.
Chapter
6
1 As we work
together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain. 2 For
he says, "At an acceptable time I have listened to you, and on a day of
salvation I have helped you." See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is
the day of salvation! 3 We are putting no obstacle in
anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but
as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great
endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings,
imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by
purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7 truthful
speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right
hand and for the left; 8 in honor and dishonor, in ill
repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as
unknown, and yet are well known; as dying, and see—we are alive; as punished,
and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;
as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing
everything.
11 We have spoken
frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. 12 There
is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. 13 In
return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also. 14 Do
not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between
righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and
darkness? 15 What agreement does Christ have with Beliar? Or
what does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What
agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living
God; as God said, "I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be
their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Therefore come
out from them, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch nothing
unclean; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be your
father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."
Chapter
7
1 Since we have
these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body
and of spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God. 2 Make
room in your hearts for us; we have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one,
we have taken advantage of no one. 3 I do not say this to
condemn you, for I said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and
to live together. 4 I often boast about you; I have great
pride in you; I am filled with consolation; I am overjoyed in all our
affliction.
5 For even when we
came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted in every
way—disputes without and fears within. 6 But God, who
consoles the downcast, consoled us by the arrival of Titus, 7 and
not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was consoled
about you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so
that I rejoiced still more. 8 For even if I made you sorry
with my letter, I do not regret it (though I did regret it, for I see that I
grieved you with that letter, though only briefly). 9 Now I
rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to
repentance; for you felt a godly grief, so that you were not harmed in any way
by us. 10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads
to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death. 11 For
see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, what eagerness to
clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what
punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves guiltless in the matter.
12 So although I
wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did the wrong, nor on
account of the one who was wronged, but in order that your zeal for us might be
made known to you before God. 13 In this
we find comfort.
In addition to our own consolation, we rejoiced
still more at the joy of Titus, because his mind has been set at rest by all of
you. 14 For if I have been somewhat boastful about you to
him, I was not disgraced; but just as everything we said to you was true, so
our boasting to Titus has proved true as well. 15 And his
heart goes out all the more to you, as he remembers the obedience of all of
you, and how you welcomed him with fear and trembling. 16 I
rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you.
Chapter
8
1 We want you to
know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the
churches of Macedonia; 2 for during a severe ordeal of
affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth
of generosity on their part. 3 For, as I can testify, they
voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, 4 begging
us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints— 5 and
this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by
the will of God, to us, 6 so that we might urge Titus that,
as he had already made a beginning, so he should also complete this generous
undertaking among you.
7 Now as you excel
in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in
our love for you —so we want you to
excel also in this generous undertaking. 8 I do not say this
as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the
earnestness of others. 9 For you know the generous act of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became
poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 10 And
in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last
year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— 11 now
finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it
according to your means. 12 For if the eagerness is there,
the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does
not have. 13 I do not mean that there should be relief for
others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14 your
present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need,
in order that there may be a fair balance. 15 As it is
written, "The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had
little did not have too little."
16 But thanks be to
God who put in the heart of Titus the same eagerness for you that I myself
have. 17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but since he
is more eager than ever, he is going to you of his own accord. 18 With
him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his
proclaiming the good news; 19 and
not only that, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us
while we are administering this generous undertaking for the glory of the Lord
himself and to show our goodwill. 20 We intend that no one
should blame us about this generous gift that we are administering, 21 for
we intend to do what is right not only in the Lord's sight but also in the
sight of others. 22 And with them we are sending our brother
whom we have often tested and found eager in many matters, but who is now more
eager than ever because of his great confidence in you. 23 As
for Titus, he is my partner and co-worker in your service; as for our brothers,
they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore
openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason
for boasting about you.
Chapter
9
1 Now it is not
necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints, 2 for
I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the
people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and
your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 But I am sending
the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been
empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be; 4 otherwise,
if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be
humiliated—to say nothing of you—in this undertaking. 5 So I
thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in
advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready
as a voluntary gift and not as an extortion.
6 The point is this:
the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows
bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must
give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you
with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of
everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As
it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his
righteousness endures forever." 10 He who supplies seed
to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing
and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will
be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce
thanksgiving to God through us; 12 for the rendering of this
ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many
thanksgivings to God. 13 Through the testing of this
ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of
Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14 while
they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that
he has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable
gift!
Chapter
10
1 I myself, Paul,
appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when
face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— 2 I
ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those
who think we are acting according to human standards. 3 Indeed,
we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; 4 for
the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to
destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments 5 and every proud
obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought
captive to obey Christ. 6 We are ready to punish every
disobedience when your obedience is complete.
7 Look at what is
before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind
yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we. 8 Now,
even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for
building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9 I
do not want to seem as though I am trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For
they say, "His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is
weak, and his speech contemptible." 11 Let such people
understand that what we say by letter when absent, we will also do when
present.
12 We do not dare to
classify or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But
when they measure themselves by one another, and compare themselves with one
another, they do not show good sense. 13 We, however, will
not boast beyond limits, but will keep within the field that God has assigned
to us, to reach out even as far as you. 14 For we were not
overstepping our limits when we reached you; we were the first to come all the
way to you with the good news of Christ. 15 We do not boast
beyond limits, that is, in the labors of others; but our hope is that, as your
faith increases, our sphere of action among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so
that we may proclaim the good news in lands beyond you, without boasting of
work already done in someone else's sphere of action. 17 "Let
the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." 18 For it is
not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends.
Chapter
11
1 I wish you would
bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 I
feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband,
to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid
that as the serpent deceived Eve by its cunning, your thoughts will be led
astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if
someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you
receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel
from the one you accepted, you submit to it readily enough.
5 I think that I am
not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 6 I may
be untrained in speech, but not in knowledge; certainly in every way and in all
things we have made this evident to you. 7 Did I commit a
sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I proclaimed God's
good news to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches
by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 9 And
when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for my needs were
supplied by the friends who came from Macedonia. So I refrained and will
continue to refrain from burdening you in any way. 10 As the
truth of Christ is in me, this boast of mine will not be silenced in the
regions of Achaia. 11 And why? Because I do not love you?
God knows I do! 12 And what I do I will also continue to do,
in order to deny an opportunity to those who want an opportunity to be
recognized as our equals in what they boast about. 13 For
such boasters are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as
apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! Even Satan disguises
himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is not strange if his
ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end
will match their deeds.
16 I repeat, let no
one think that I am a fool; but if you do, then accept me as a fool, so that I
too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying in regard to
this boastful confidence, I am saying not with the Lord's authority, but as a
fool; 18 since many boast according to human standards, I
will also boast. 19 For you gladly put up with fools, being
wise yourselves! 20 For you put up with it when someone
makes slaves of you, or preys upon you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on
airs, or gives you a slap in the face. 21 To my shame, I
must say, we were too weak for that!
But whatever anyone dares to boast of—I am
speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.
22 Are they Hebrews? So
am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are
they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with
far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often
near death. 24 Five times I have received from the Jews the
forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with
rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and
a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in
danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from
Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger
from false brothers and sisters; 27 in toil and hardship,
through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold
and naked. 28 And, besides other things, I am under daily
pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who
is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant? 30 If
I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The
God and Father of the Lord Jesus (blessed be he forever!) knows that I do not
lie. 32 In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded
the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 but I was let
down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.
Chapter
12
1 It is necessary to
boast; nothing is to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and
revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a person in Christ who
fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out
of the body I do not know; God knows. 3 And I know that such
a person—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows— 4 was
caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal
is permitted to repeat. 5 On behalf of such a one I will
boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. 6 But
if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But
I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in
me or heard from me, 7 even considering the exceptional
character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a
thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me
from being too elated. 8 Three times I appealed to the Lord
about this, that it would leave me, 9 but he said to me,
"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in
weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that
the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am
content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for
the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
11 I have been a fool!
You forced me to it. Indeed you should have been the ones commending me, for I
am not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The
signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, signs
and wonders and mighty works. 13 How have you been worse off
than the other churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me
this wrong! 14 Here I am, ready to come to you this third
time. And I will not be a burden, because I do not want what is yours but you;
for children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for their
children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for you.
If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 Let it be
assumed that I did not burden you. Nevertheless (you say) since I was crafty, I
took you in by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you
through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to
go, and sent the brother with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he?
Did we not conduct ourselves with the same spirit? Did we not take the same
steps? 19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been
defending ourselves before you? We are speaking in Christ before God.
Everything we do, beloved, is for the sake of building you up. 20 For
I fear that when I come, I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me
not as you wish; I fear that there may perhaps be quarreling, jealousy, anger,
selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I
fear that when I come again, my God may humble me before you, and that I may
have to mourn over many who previously sinned and have not repented of the
impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.
Chapter
13
1 This is the third
time I am coming to you. "Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of
two or three witnesses." 2 I warned those who sinned
previously and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when
present on my second visit, that if I come again, I will not be lenient— 3 since
you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with
you, but is powerful in you. 4 For he was crucified in
weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing
with you we will live with him by the power of God. 5 Examine
yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you
not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the
test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed.
7 But we pray to God
that you may not do anything wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test,
but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For
we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For
we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. This is what we pray for, that
you may become perfect. 10 So I write these things while I
am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be severe in using the
authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.
11 Finally, brothers
and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one
another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet
one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. 13 The
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit be with all of you. 14
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Last revised: February 8, 2003