To the Church of God in Corinth, and to all Christ's People throughout Greece, from Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, and from Timothy, a Brother.

May God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you and give you peace.

Blessed is the God and Father of Jesus Christ our Lord, the all-merciful Father, the God ever ready to console,

It is true that we have our full share of the sufferings of the Christ, but through the Christ we have also our full share of consolation.

The Son of God, Christ Jesus, whom we--Silas, Timothy, and I- -proclaimed among you, never wavered between 'Yes' and 'No.' With him it has always been 'Yes.'

For, many as were the promises of God, in Christ is the 'Yes' that fulfils them. Therefore, through Christ again, let the 'Amen' rise, through us, to the glory of God.

God who brings us, with you, into close union with Christ, and who consecrated us,

When you forgive a man anything, I forgive him, too. Indeed, for my part, whatever I have forgiven (if I have had to forgive anything), I have forgiven for your sakes, in the presence of Christ,

When I went to the district round Troas to tell the Good News of the Christ, even though there was an opening for serving the Master,

All thanks to God, who, through our union with the Christ, leads us in one continual triumph, and uses us to spread the sweet odor of the knowledge of him in every place.

For we are the fragrance of Christ ascending to God--both among those who are in the path of Salvation and among those who are in the path to Ruin.

Unlike many people, we are not in the habit of making profit out of God's Message; but in all sincerity, and bearing God's commission, we speak before him in union with Christ.

All can see that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, a letter written, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on 'tablets of stone,' but on 'tablets of human hearts.'

This, then, is the confidence in regard to God that we have gained through the Christ.

But their minds were slow to learn. Indeed, to this very day, at the public reading of the Old Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted; only for those who are in union with Christ does it pass away.

Men whose minds have been blinded by the God of this Age, unbelievers as they are, so that the light from the Good News of the glory of the Christ, who is the very incarnation of God, should not shine for them.

(For it is not ourselves that we proclaim, but Christ Jesus, as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.)

Indeed, the same God who said 'Out of darkness light shall shine,' has shone in upon our hearts, so that we should bring out into the light the knowledge of the glory of God, seen in the face of Christ.

For at the Bar of the Christ we must all appear in our true characters, that each may reap the results of the life which he has lived in the body, in accordance with his actions--whether good or worthless.

It is the love of the Christ which compels us, when we reflect that, as one died for all, therefore all died;

For ourselves, then, from this time forward, we refuse to regard any one from the world's standpoint. Even if we once thought of Christ from the standpoint of the world, yet now we do so no longer.

Therefore, if any one is in union with Christ, he is a new being! His old life has passed away; a new life has begun!

But all this is the work of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and gave us the Ministry of Reconciliation--

To proclaim that God, in Christ, was reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning men's offenses against them, and that he had entrusted us with the Message of this reconciliation.

It is, then, on Christ's behalf that we are acting as ambassadors, God, as it were, appealing to you through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf--Be reconciled to God.

What harmony can there be between Christ and Belial? or what can those who accept the Faith have in common with those who reject it?

For you do not forget the loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ--how that for your sakes, although he was rich, he became poor, so that you also might become rich through his poverty.

If I must say anything about Titus, he is my intimate companion, and he shares my work for you; if it is our Brothers, they are delegates of the Churches, an honor to Christ.

Through the evidence afforded by the service thus rendered, you cause men to praise God for your fidelity to your profession of faith in the Good News of the Christ, as well as for the liberality of your contributions for them and for all others.

Now, I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of the Christ--I who, "in your presence, am humble in my bearing towards you, but, when absent, am bold in my language to you"--

We are engaged in confuting arguments and pulling down every barrier raised against the knowledge of God. We are taking captive every hostile thought, to bring it into submission to the Christ,

You look at the outward appearance of things! Let any one, who is confident that he belongs to Christ, reflect, for himself, again upon the fact--that we belong to Christ no less than he does.

For it is not the case, as it would be if we were not in the habit of coming to you, that we are exceeding our bounds! Why, we were the very first to reach you with the Good News of the Christ!

I am jealous over you with the jealousy of God. For I betrothed you to one husband, that I might present you to the Christ a pure bride.

Yet I fear that it may turn out that, just as the Serpent by his craftiness deceived Eve, so your minds may have lost the loyalty and purity due from you to the Christ.

As surely as I know anything of the Truth of Christ, this boast, as far as I am concerned, shall not be stopped in any part of Greece.

Men of this stamp are false apostles, treacherous workers, disguising themselves as Apostles of Christ!

Are they 'Servants of Christ'? Though it is madness to talk like this, I am more so than they! I have had more of toil, more of imprisonment! I have been flogged times without number. I have been often at death's door.

I know a man in union with Christ, who, fourteen years ago-- whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows-- was caught up (this man of whom I am speaking) to the third Heaven.

But his reply has been-- 'My help is enough for you; for my strength attains its perfection in the midst of weakness.' Most gladly, then, will I boast all the more of my weaknesses, so that the strength of the Christ may overshadow me.

That is why I delight in weakness, ill-treatment, hardship, persecution, and difficulties, when borne for Christ. For, when I am weak, then it is that I am strong!

Have you all this time been fancying that it is to you that we are making our defense? No, it is in the sight of God, and in union with Christ, that we are speaking. And all this, dear friends, is to build up your characters;

And that will be the proof, which you are looking for, that the Christ speaks through me. There is no weakness in his dealings with you. No, he shows his power among you.

Put yourselves to the proof, to see whether you are holding to the Faith. Test yourselves. Surely you recognize this fact about yourselves--that Jesus Christ is in you! Unless indeed you cannot stand the test!

All Christ's people here send you their greetings.

May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion with the Holy Spirit, be with you all.