I wrote to you in sore trouble and distress of heart and with many tears, not to give you pain, but to let you see how intense a love I have for you.

Now whoever has caused the pain has not so much pained me, as he has, to some extent--not to be too severe--pained every one of you.

So that now you must take the opposite course, and forgive and encourage him, or else he may be overwhelmed by the intensity of his pain.

For we know that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with him, and will bring us, with you, into his presence.

And he who has prepared us for this change is God, who has also given us his Spirit as a pledge.

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.

And that he died for all, so that the living should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died and rose for them.

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!

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.

For he says--'At the time for acceptance I listened to thee, And on the day of deliverance I helped thee.' Now is the time for acceptance! Now is the day of deliverance!

What agreement can thee be between a temple of God and idols? And we are a temple of the Living God. That is what God meant when he said--'I will dwell among them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

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.

And his affection for you is all the greater, as he remembers the deference that you all showed him, and recalls how you received him with anxious care.

How, tired though they were by many a trouble, their overflowing happiness, and even their deep poverty, resulted in a flood of generosity.

And this led us to urge upon Titus that, as he had started the work for you, he should also see to the completion of this expression of your love.

And, remembering how you excel in everything--in faith, in teaching, in knowledge, in unfailing earnestness, and in the affection that we have awakened in you--I ask you to excel also in this expression of your love.

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.

For, where there is willingness, a man's gift is valued by its comparison with what he has, and not with what he has not.

And not only that, but he has been elected by the Churches to accompany us on our journey, in Keynesian with this expression of your love, which we are personally administering to the honor of the Lord, and to show our deep interest.

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.

Let every one give as he has determined before hand, not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves 'a cheerful giver.'

(As Scripture says--'He scattered broadcast, he gave to the poor; His righteousness continues for ever.'

And he who supplies 'seed to the sower, and bread for eating,' will supply you with seed, and cause it to increase, and will multiply 'the fruits of your righteousness').

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.

We, however, will not give way to unlimited boasting, but will confine ourselves to the limits of the sphere to which God limited us, when he permitted us to come as far as Corinth.

You tolerate a man even when he enslaves you, when he plunders you, when he gets you into his power, when he puts on airs of superiority, when he strikes you in the face!

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus--he who is for ever blessed--knows that I am speaking the truth.

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.

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.