Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.

He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.

For we must all appear before the tribunal of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless.

We have this kind of confidence toward God through Christ.

I wrote this very thing so that when I came I wouldn’t have pain from those who ought to give me joy, because I am confident about all of you that my joy will also be yours.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich.

Now the One who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Remember this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.

Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Such a person should consider this: What we are in the words of our letters when absent, we will be in actions when present.

For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all, then all died.

and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.

That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us.

But I will continue to do what I am doing, in order to deny the opportunity of those who want an opportunity to be regarded just as our equals in what they boast about.

For even if I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it—even though I did regret it since I saw that the letter grieved you, yet only for a little while.

For we know that if our temporary, earthly dwelling is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal dwelling in the heavens, not made with hands.

especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself.

Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God.

And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

For we walk by faith, not by sight,

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.”

Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test.

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God granted to the churches of Macedonia:

For we don’t dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding.

For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way,

But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a complete and pure devotion to Christ.

For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.

by the message of truth,
by the power of God;
through weapons of righteousness
on the right hand and the left,

since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments

For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

But thanks be to God, who always puts us on display in Christ and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.

For He says:

I heard you in an acceptable time,
and I helped you in the day of salvation.

Look, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.

For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death.

So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit produces life.

For as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so through Christ our comfort also overflows.

Now I am giving an opinion on this because it is profitable for you, who a year ago began not only to do something but also to desire it.

So in what way were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I personally did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!

and we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord.

Therefore, come out from among them
and be separate, says the Lord;
do not touch any unclean thing,
and I will welcome you.

But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband—to present a pure virgin to Christ.

Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us.

Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, we do not give up.

And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will share in the comfort.

And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is experienced in your endurance of the same sufferings that we suffer.

From now on, then, we do not know anyone in a purely human way. Even if we have known Christ in a purely human way, yet now we no longer know Him in this way.

For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory.

I know a man in Christ who was caught up into the third heaven 14 years ago. Whether he was in the body or out of the body, I don’t know, God knows.

Boasting is necessary. It is not profitable, but I will move on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

Now I am ready to come to you this third time. I will not burden you, for I am not seeking what is yours, but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.

while you join in helping us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gift that came to us through the prayers of many.

For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, since we have come to you with the gospel of Christ.

He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and He will deliver us. We have put our hope in Him that He will deliver us again

I repeat: No one should consider me a fool. But if you do, at least accept me as a fool, so I too may boast a little.

through glory and dishonor,
through slander and good report;
as deceivers yet true;

Now we are writing nothing to you other than what you can read and also understand. I hope you will understand completely—

so that we may proclaim the good news to the regions beyond you, not boasting about what has already been done in someone else’s area of ministry.

But now finish the task as well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have.

For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends.

For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many acts of thanksgiving to God.

So it is no great thing if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their destiny will be according to their works.

Indeed, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

So the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

As God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes and no.”

They will glorify God for your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with others through the proof provided by this service.

For consider how much diligence this very thing—this grieving as God wills—has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure in this matter.

and to go on to Macedonia with your help, then come to you again from Macedonia and be given a start by you on my journey to Judea.

Thanks be to God who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus.

as you have partially understood us—that we are your reason for pride, as you are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.

It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality—

For if we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we have a sound mind, it is for you.

Now if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stones, came with glory, so that the Israelites were not able to look directly at Moses’ face because of the glory from his face—a fading glory—

For I wrote to you with many tears out of an extremely troubled and anguished heart—not that you should be hurt, but that you should know the abundant love I have for you.

I planned with this confidence to come to you first, so you could have a double benefit,

He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment in our hearts.

as unknown yet recognized;
as dying and look—we live;
as being disciplined yet not killed;

As it has been written:

The person who gathered much
did not have too much,
and the person who gathered little
did not have too little.

We are not bragging beyond measure about other people’s labors. But we have the hope that as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged,

So even though I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong, or because of the one who was wronged, but in order that your diligence for us might be made plain to you in the sight of God.

So when I planned this, was I irresponsible? Or what I plan, do I plan in a purely human way so that I say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” simultaneously?

at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality.

how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious?

Did I take advantage of you by anyone I sent you?

For if I have made any boast to him about you, I have not been embarrassed; but as I have spoken everything to you in truth, so our boasting to Titus has also turned out to be the truth.

What I say in this matter of boasting, I don’t speak as the Lord would, but foolishly.

We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearance rather than in the heart.

And they will have deep affection for you in their prayers on your behalf because of the surpassing grace of God in you.

I call on God as a witness, on my life, that it was to spare you that I did not come to Corinth.

We always carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed.

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—did not become “Yes and no”; on the contrary, a final “Yes” has come in Him.

For this reason we have been comforted.

In addition to our comfort, we rejoiced even more over the joy Titus had, because his spirit was refreshed by all of you.

If anyone has caused pain, he has caused pain not so much to me but to some degree—not to exaggerate—to all of you.

I do not mean that we have control of your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because you stand by faith.

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I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

We have sent with him the brother who is praised throughout the churches for his gospel ministry.

For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness overflows with even more glory.

Now granted, I have not burdened you; yet sly as I am, I took you in by deceit!

For if what was fading away was glorious, what endures will be even more glorious.

I say this to our shame: We have been weak.

But in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am talking foolishly—I also dare:

For you, being so wise, gladly put up with fools!

as grieving yet always rejoicing;
as poor yet enriching many;
as having nothing yet possessing everything.

You have thought all along that we were defending ourselves to you. No, in the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and everything, dear friends, is for building you up.

Since many boast in an unspiritual way, I will also boast.

For we who live are always given over to death because of Jesus, so that Jesus’ life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh.

Now I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ—I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent.

I urged Titus to come, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit and in the same footsteps?

In fact, what had been glorious is not glorious now by comparison because of the glory that surpasses it.

Indeed, we groan in this body, desiring to put on our dwelling from heaven,

For I fear that perhaps when I come I will not find you to be what I want, and I may not be found by you to be what you want; there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.

We have spoken openly to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide.

I fear that when I come my God will again humiliate me in your presence, and I will grieve for many who sinned before and have not repented of the moral impurity, sexual immorality, and promiscuity they practiced.

In fact, you put up with it if someone enslaves you, if someone devours you, if someone captures you, if someone dominates you, or if someone hits you in the face.

We have also sent with them our brother. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent—and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you.

Five times I received 39 lashes from Jews.

Are they Hebrews? So am I.
Are they Israelites? So am I.
Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.

but their minds were closed. For to this day, at the reading of the old covenant, the same veil remains; it is not lifted, because it is set aside only in Christ.

The punishment inflicted by the majority is sufficient for that person.

I speak as to my children. As a proper response, you should also be open to us.

And his affection toward you is even greater as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you received him with fear and trembling.

And the One who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.

Indeed, we groan while we are in this tent, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life.

What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with this gift that is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help.

Therefore, show them proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you.

labor and hardship,
many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst,
often without food, cold, and lacking clothing.

On frequent journeys, I faced
dangers from rivers,
dangers from robbers,
dangers from my own people,
dangers from the Gentiles,
dangers in the city,
dangers in the open country,
dangers on the sea,
and dangers among false brothers;

We are taking this precaution so no one can criticize us about this large sum administered by us.

I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.

We are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not stare at the end of what was fading away,

For he accepted our urging and, being very diligent, went out to you by his own choice.

You are not limited by us, but you are limited by your own affections.

In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas guarded the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me,

since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.

Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my care for all the churches.

Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him.

We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and present us with you.

For we are making provision for what is right, not only before the Lord but also before men.

If you forgive anyone, I do too. For what I have forgiven—if I have forgiven anything—it is for you in the presence of Christ.

So death works in us, but life in you.

During a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity.

As for Titus, he is my partner and coworker serving you; as for our brothers, they are the messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable.”

Accept us. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, defrauded no one.

For I know your eagerness, and I brag about you to the Macedonians: “Achaia has been prepared since last year,” and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

Even to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts,

I beg you that when I am present I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who think we are behaving in an unspiritual way.

When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, the Lord opened a door for me.

but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

In fact, when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts on the outside, fears inside.

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, recognized and read by everyone.

I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overcome with joy in all our afflictions.

Therefore I considered it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift you promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.

and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves especially to the Lord, then to us by God’s will.

I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love.

Indeed, everything is for your benefit, so that grace, extended through more and more people, may cause thanksgiving to increase to God’s glory.

As a result, you should instead forgive and comfort him. Otherwise, this one may be overwhelmed by excessive grief.

In fact, I made up my mind about this: I would not come to you on another painful visit.

they begged us insistently for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints,

But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,

So we urged Titus that just as he had begun, so he should also complete this grace to you.

I testify that, on their own, according to their ability and beyond their ability,

I have become a fool; you forced it on me. I should have been endorsed by you, since I am not in any way inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing.

As it is written:

He scattered;
He gave to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.

But I sent the brothers so our boasting about you in the matter would not prove empty, and so you would be prepared just as I said.

Look at what is obvious. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we.

And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience has been confirmed.

and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

I don’t say this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to live together and to die together.

I wrote for this purpose: to test your character to see if you are obedient in everything.

For if I boast some more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I am not ashamed.

I don’t want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters.

For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, would be embarrassed in that situation.

was caught up into paradise. He heard inexpressible words, which a man is not allowed to speak.

We give no opportunity for stumbling to anyone, so that the ministry will not be blamed.

And what agreement does God’s sanctuary have with idols? For we are the sanctuary of the living God, as God said:

I will dwell among them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be My people.

I know that this man—whether in the body or out of the body I don’t know, God knows—

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother:

To God’s church at Corinth, with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.

To some we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life. And who is competent for this?

For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves because of Jesus.

Three times I was beaten with rods by the Romans.
Once I was stoned by my enemies.
Three times I was shipwrecked.
I have spent a night and a day
in the open sea.

Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me.

For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Him. Therefore, the “Amen” is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory.

We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair;

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

For if I cause you pain, then who will cheer me other than the one being hurt by me?

But as God’s ministers, we commend ourselves in everything:

by great endurance, by afflictions,
by hardship, by difficulties,

I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus, but I said good-bye to them and left for Macedonia.

Now it is God who strengthens us, with you, in Christ and has anointed us.

Working together with Him, we also appeal to you, “Don’t receive God’s grace in vain.”

Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we seek to persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well.

And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we also believe, and therefore speak.

Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness.

I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes.

Now as you excel in everything—faith, speech, knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love for us—excel also in this grace.

Or did I commit a sin by humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?

For we don’t want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction that took place in Asia: we were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life.

It is not that we are competent in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our competence is from God.

And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.

For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you had not received, or a different gospel, which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly!

If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses.

Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him.

I will boast about this person, but not about myself, except of my weaknesses.

As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia.

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

So, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.

Are they servants of Christ?
I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one:
with far more labors,
many more imprisonments,
far worse beatings, near death many times.

For this is our confidence: The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with God-given sincerity and purity, not by fleshly wisdom but by God’s grace.

So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

For if I want to boast, I will not be a fool, because I will be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me,

Now I consider myself in no way inferior to the “super-apostles.”

He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

For we are not like the many who market God’s message for profit. On the contrary, we speak with sincerity in Christ, as from God and before God.

Though untrained in public speaking, I am certainly not untrained in knowledge. Indeed, we have always made that clear to you in everything.

by purity, by knowledge,
by patience, by kindness,
by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,

We, however, will not boast beyond measure but according to the measure of the area of ministry that God has assigned to us, which reaches even to you.

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is praised forever, knows I am not lying.

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?

Instead, we have renounced shameful secret things, not walking in deceit or distorting God’s message, but commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in God’s sight by an open display of the truth.

by beatings, by imprisonments,
by riots, by labors,
by sleepless nights, by times of hunger,

It is clear that you are Christ’s letter, produced by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God—not on stone tablets but on tablets that are hearts of flesh.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows I do!

I wish you would put up with a little foolishness from me. Yes, do put up with me.

The signs of an apostle were performed with great endurance among you—not only signs but also wonders and miracles.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

In fact, He was crucified in weakness, but He lives by God’s power. For we also are weak in Him, yet toward you we will live with Him by God’s power.

Now concerning the ministry to the saints, it is unnecessary for me to write to you.

I will be a Father to you,
and you will be sons and daughters to Me,
says the Lord Almighty.

I robbed other churches by taking pay from them to minister to you.

When I was present with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have kept myself, and will keep myself, from burdening you in any way.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you.

since you seek proof of Christ speaking in me. He is not weak toward you, but powerful among you.

I gave a warning when I was present the second time, and now I give a warning while I am absent to those who sinned before and to all the rest: If I come again, I will not be lenient,

Now we pray to God that you do nothing wrong—not that we may appear to pass the test, but that you may do what is right, even though we may appear to fail.

This is why I am writing these things while absent, that when I am there I will not use severity, in keeping with the authority the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.

For we are not able to do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.

In fact, we rejoice when we are weak and you are strong. We also pray that you become fully mature.

And I hope you will recognize that we do not fail the test.

so I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.