who has placed his seal on us and has given us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

who has also qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, which is not written but spiritual, because the written text brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus the Messiah.

All this is for your sake so that, as his grace spreads, more and more people will give thanks and glorify God.

God has prepared us for this and has given us his Spirit as a guarantee.

All of this comes from God, who has reconciled us to himself through the Messiah and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,

We want you to know, brothers, about God's grace that was given to the churches of Macedonia.

I can testify that by their own free will they have given to the utmost of their ability, yes, even beyond their ability.

Therefore, I thought it necessary to urge these brothers to visit you ahead of me, to make arrangements in advance for this gift you promised, and to have it ready as something given generously and not forced.

Each of you must give what you have decided in your heart, not with regret or under compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.

As it is written, "He scatters everywhere and gives to the poor; his righteousness lasts forever."

In every way you will grow richer and become even more generous, and this will cause others to give thanks to God because of us,

To keep me from becoming conceited because of the exceptional nature of these revelations, a thorn was given to me and placed in my body. It was Satan's messenger to keep on tormenting me so that I would not become conceited.