For as the sufferings of Christ are abundant in my case, so my comfort is also abundant through Christ.

Hence my hope for you is well-founded, since I know that as you share the sufferings you share the comfort also.

Now I would like you to know about the distress which befell me in Asia, brothers. I was crushed, crushed far more than I could stand, so much so that I despaired even of life;

he rescued me from so terrible a death, he rescues still, and I rely upon him for the hope that he will continue to rescue me.

Let me have your cooperation in prayer, so that many a soul may render thanks to him on my behalf for the boon which many have been the means of him bestowing on myself.

for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed among you by us (by myself and Silvanus and Timotheus) was not 'yes and no' ??the divine 'yes' has at last sounded in him,

for in him is the 'yes' that affirms all the promises of God. Hence it is through him that we affirm our 'amen' in worship, to the glory of God.

(Not that we lord it over your faith ??no, we co-operate for your joy: you have a standing of your own in the faith.)

For if I pain you, then who is to give me pleasure? None but the very people I am paining!

So the very reason I wrote was that I might not come only to be pained by those who ought to give me joy; I relied on you all, I felt sure that my joy would be a joy for everyone of you.

For I wrote you in sore distress and misery of heart, with many a tear ??not to pain you but to convince you of my love, my special love for you.

If a certain individual has been causing pain, he has been causing pain not so much to me as to all of you ??at anyrate (for I am not going to overstate the case) to a section of you.

This censure from the majority is severe enough for the individual in question,

For my aim in writing was simply to test you, to see if you were absolutely obedient.

If you forgive the man, I forgive him too; anything I had to forgive him has been forgiven in the presence of Christ for your sakes,

in case Satan should take advantage of our position ??for I know his man?uvres!

I live for God as the fragrance of Christ breathed alike on those who are being saved and on those who are perishing,

to the one a deadly fragrance that makes for death, to the other a vital fragrance that makes for life. And who is qualified for this career?

I am, for I am not like most, adulterating the word of God; like a man of sincerity, like a man of God, I speak the word in Christ before the very presence of God.

and he has further qualified me to be the minister of a new covenant ??a covenant not of written law but of spirit; for the written law kills but the Spirit makes alive.

If there was glory in the administration that condemned, then the administration that acquits abounds far more in glory

if what faded had its glory, then what lasts will be invested with far greater glory.

Besides, their minds were dulled, for to this very day, when the Old Testament is read aloud, the same veil hangs. Veiled from them the fact that the glory fades in Christ!

But we all mirror the glory of the Lord with face unveiled, and so we are being transformed into the same likeness as himself, passing from one glory to another ??for this comes of the Lord the Spirit.

(It is Christ Jesus as Lord, not myself, that I proclaim; I am simply a servant of yours for Jesus' sake.)

For God who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," has shone within my heart to illuminate men with the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Christ.

every day of my life I am being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may come out within my mortal flesh.

for those of us whose eyes are on the unseen, not on the seen; for the seen is transient, the unseen eternal.

I am prepared for this change by God, who has given me the Spirit as its pledge and instalment.

(for I have to lead my life in faith, without seeing him):

for we have all to appear without disguise before the tribunal of Christ, each to be requited for what he has done with his body, well or ill.

If I 'appeal to the interests of men,' then, it is with the fear of the Lord before my mind. What I am is plain to God without disguise, plain also, I trust, to your own conscience.

for I am controlled by the love of Christ, convinced that as One has died for all, then all have died,

and that he died for all in order to have the living live no longer for themselves but for him who died and rose for them.

For in Christ God reconciled the world to himself instead of counting men's trespasses against them; and he entrusted me with the message of his reconciliation.

So I am an envoy for Christ, God appealing by me, as it were ??be reconciled to God, I entreat you on behalf of Christ.

For our sakes He made him to be sin who himself knew nothing of sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

true words, the power of God; with the weapons of integrity for attack or for defence,

O Corinthians, I am keeping nothing back from you; my heart is wide open for you.

A fair exchange now, as the children say! Open your hearts wide to me.

What compact can there be between God's temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God ??as God has said, I will dwell and move among them, I will be their God and they shall be my people.

As these great promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates either flesh or spirit; let us be fully consecrated by reverence for God].

Make a place for me in your hearts; I have wronged no one, ruined no one, taken advantage of no one.

I have absolute confidence in you, I am indeed proud of you, you are a perfect comfort to me, I am overflowing with delight, for all the trouble I have to bear.

For I got no relief from the strain of things, even when I reached Macedonia; it was trouble at every turn, wrangling all round me, fears in my own mind.

Yes, and by more than his arrival, by the comfort which you had been to him; for he gave me such a report of how you longed for me, how sorry you were, and how eagerly you took my part, that it added to my delight.

In fact, if I did pain you by that letter, I do not regret it. I did regret it when I discovered that my letter had pained you even for the time being,

but I am glad now ??not glad that you were pained but glad that your pain induced you to repent. For you were pained as God meant you to be pained, and so you got no harm from what I did;

See what this pain divine has done for you, how serious it has made you, how keen to clear yourselves, how indignant, how alarmed, how eager for me, how determined, how relentless! You have shown in every way that you were honest in the business.

So my letter was written to you, not on account of the offender nor for the sake of the injured party, but in order to let you realize before God how seriously you do care for me.

I can testify that up to their means, aye and beyond their means, they have given ??4 begging me of their own accord, most urgently, for the favour of contributing to the support of the saints.

They have done more than I expected; they gave themselves to the Lord, to begin with, and then (for so God willed it) they put themselves at my disposal.

This has led me to ask Titus to complete the arrangements for the same gracious contribution among yourselves, as it was he who started it.

Now then, you are to the front in everything, in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all zeal, and in love for us ??do come to the front in this gracious enterprise as well.

(You know how gracious our Lord Jesus Christ was; rich though he was, he became poor for the sake of you, that by his poverty you might be rich.)

But I will tell you what I think about it; it is to your interest to go on with this enterprise, for you started it last year, you were the first not merely to do anything but to want to do anything.

Now, carry it through, so that your readiness to take it up may be equalled by the way you carry it through ??so far as your means allow.

for I want to take precautions against any risk of suspicion in connection with the administration of this charity;

Titus is my colleague, he shares my work for you, and these brothers of mine are apostles of the church, a credit to Christ.

So let them have proof of how you can love, and of my reasons for being proud of you; it will be a proof read by the churches.

Indeed it is quite superfluous for me to be writing to you about this charitable service to the saints;

Everyone is to give what he has made up his mind to give; there is to be no grudging or compulsion about it, for God loves the giver who gives cheerfully.

God is able to bless you with ample means, so that you may always have quite enough for any emergency of your own and ample besides for any kind act to others;

as it is written, He scatters his gifts to the poor broadcast, his charity lasts for ever.

He who furnishes the sower with seed and with bread to eat will supply seed for you and multiply it; he will increase the crop of your charities ??11 you will be enriched on all hands, so that you can be generous on all occasions, and your generosity, of which I am the agent, will make men give thanks to God;

for the service rendered by this fund does more than supply the wants of the saints, it overflows with many a cry of thanks to God.

This service shows what you are, it makes men praise God for the way you have come under the gospel of Christ which you confess, and for the generosity of your contributions to themselves and to all;

they are drawn to you and pray for you, on account of the surpassing grace which God has shown to you.

Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!

Even supposing I were to boast somewhat freely of my authority (and the Lord gave it to me for building you up, not for demolishing you), I would feel quite justified.

and so my boasting never goes beyond the limit ??it is determined by the limits of the sphere marked out for me by God. That sphere stretches to include yourselves;

for it is not the self-praiser with his own recommendations who is accepted, it is the man whom the Lord recommends.

for I feel a divine jealousy on your behalf; I betrothed you as a chaste maiden to present you to your one husband Christ,

But perhaps I did wrong in taking a humble place that you might have a high one ??I mean, in preaching the gospel of God to you for nothing!

even when I ran short, during my stay with you, I was no encumbrance to anybody, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my wants. Thus I kept myself, as I intend to keep myself, from being a burden to you in any way.

No wonder they do, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

Ministers of Christ? yes perhaps, but not as much as I am (I am mad to talk like this!), with all my labours, with all my lashes, with all my time in prison ??a record longer far than theirs. I have been often at the point of death;

three times I have been beaten by the Romans, once pelted with stones, three times shipwrecked, adrift at sea for a whole night and day;

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed for ever, He knows I am telling the truth!

(If I did care to boast of other things, I would be no 'fool,' for I would have a true tale to tell; however, I abstain from that ??I want no one to take me for more than he can see in me or make out from me.)

but he told me, "It is enough for you to have my grace: it is in weakness that [my] power is fully felt." So I am proud to boast of all my weakness, and thus to have the power of Christ resting on my life.

It makes me satisfied, for Christ's sake, with weakness, insults, trouble, persecution, and calamity; for I am strong just when I am weak.

Now this is playing the fool! But you forced me to it, instead of coming forward yourselves and vouching for me. That was what I deserved; for, 'nobody' as I am, I am not one whit inferior to these precious 'apostles.'

You had all the miracles that mark an apostle done for you fully and patiently ??miracles, wonders, and deeds of power.

Here am I all ready to pay you my third visit. And I will not be a burden to you; I want yourselves and not your money. Children have not to put money by for their parents; that is what parents do for their children.

And for your souls I will gladly spend my all and be spent myself. Am I to be loved the less because I love you more than others?

For I am afraid I may perhaps come and find you are not what I could wish, while you may find I am not what you could wish; I am afraid of finding quarrels, jealousy, temper, rivalry, slanders, gossiping, arrogance, and disorder ??21 afraid that when I come back to you, my God may humiliate me before you, and I may have to mourn for many who sinned some time ago and yet have never repented of the impurity, the sexual vice, and the sensuality which they have practised.

For though he was crucified in his weakness, he lives by the power of God; and though I am weak as he was weak, you will find I am alive as he is alive by the power of God.

(Fail or succeed, I cannot work against the truth but for it!)

I am writing thus to you in absence, so that when I do come I may not have to deal sharply with you; I have the Lord's authority for that, but he gave it to me for building you up, not for demolishing you.