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.

Who consoles us in all our troubles, so that we may be able to console those who are in any trouble with the consolation that we ourselves receive from him.

And from so imminent a death God delivered us, and will deliver us again; for in him we have placed our hopes of future deliverance, while you, also, help us by your prayers.

To visit you both on my way to Macedonia, and to come to you again on my return from Macedonia, and then to get you to send me on my way into Judea.

I do not mean that we are to dictate to you with regard to your faith; on the contrary, we work with you for your true happiness; indeed, it is through your faith that you are standing firm.

So as to prevent Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

To the latter we are an odor which arises from death and tells of Death; to the former an odor which arises from life and tells of Life. But who is equal to such a task?

Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or are we like some who need letters of commendation to you, or from you?

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.'

I do not mean that we are fit to form any judgment by ourselves, as if on our own authority;

Our fitness comes from God, who himself made us fit to be ministers of a New Covenant, of which the substance is, not a written Law, but a Spirit. For the written Law means Death, but the Spirit gives Life.

Unlike Moses, who covered his face with a veil, to prevent the Israelites from gazing at the disappearance of what was passing away.

And all of us, with faces from which the veil is lifted, seeing, as if reflected in a mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into his likeness, from glory to glory, as it is given by the Lord, the Spirit.

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.

This treasure we have in these earthen vessels, that its all- prevailing power may be seen to come from God, and not to be our own.

For all this is for your sakes, that the loving-kindness of God, spreading from heart to heart, may cause yet more hearts to overflow with thanksgiving, to his glory.

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, while our home is in the body, we are absent from our home with the Lord.

Therefore, whether in our home or absent from our home, our one ambition is to please him.

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 "Come out from among the nations, and separate yourselves from them," says the Lord, "and touch nothing impure; And I will welcome you;

With these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that pollutes either body or spirit, and, in deepest reverence for God, aim at perfect holiness.

And it is not only by his arrival that we are encouraged, but also by the encouragement which he received from you; for he tells us of your strong affection, your penitence, and your zeal on my behalf--so that I am happier still.

For see what results that other sorrow--sorrow in accordance with God's will--has had in your case. What earnestness it produced! what explanations! what strong feeling! what alarm! what longing! what eagerness! what readiness to punish! You have proved yourselves altogether free from guilt in that matter.

So my reason for sending our Brothers is to prevent what we said about you from proving, in this particular matter, an empty boast, and to enable you to be as well prepared as I have been saying that you are.

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.

For, if some new-comer is proclaiming a Jesus other than him whom we proclaimed, or if you are receiving a Spirit different from the Spirit which you received, or a Good News different from that which you welcomed, then you are marvelously tolerant!

I robbed other churches by taking pay from them, so that I might serve you!

And, when I was with you in need, I did not become a burden to any of you; for our Brothers, on coming from Macedonia, supplied my needs. I kept myself, and will keep myself from being an expense to you in any way.

What I am doing now I shall continue to do, that I may cut away the ground from under those who are wishing for some ground for attacking me, so that as regards the thing of which they boast they may appear in their true characters, just as we do.

My journeys have been many. I have been through dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in towns, dangers in the country, dangers on the sea, dangers among false Brothers.

And I know that this man--whether in the body or separated from the body I do not know; God knows--

Yet if I choose to boast, I shall not be a fool; for I shall be speaking no more than the truth. But I refrain, lest any one should credit me with more than he can see in me or hear from me, and because of the marvelous character of the revelations.

This is my reason for writing as I am now doing, while I am away from you, so that, when I am with you, I may not act harshly in the exercise of the authority which the Lord gave me--and gave me for building up and not for pulling down.