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.

Indeed, our main ground for satisfaction is this--Our conscience tells us that our conduct in the world, and still more in our relations with you, was marked by a purity of motive and a sincerity that were inspired by God, and was based, not on worldly policy, but on the help of God.

And, indeed, you have already partly acknowledged it about us--that you have a right to be proud of us, as we shall be proud of you, on the Day of our Lord Jesus.

With this conviction in my mind, I planned to come to see you first, so that your pleasure might be doubled--

For my own sake, as well, I decided not to pay you another painful visit.

So I wrote as I did, for fear that, if I had come, I should have been pained by those who ought to have made me glad; for I felt sure that it was true of you all that my joy was in every case yours also.

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.

The man to whom I refer has been sufficiently punished by the penalty inflicted by the majority 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.

I had this further object, also, in what I wrote--to ascertain whether you might be relied upon to be obedient in everything.

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.

And, if that which was to pass away was attended with glory, far more will that which is to endure be surrounded with glory!

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.

Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.

No, we have renounced the secrecy prompted by shame, refusing to adopt crafty ways, or to tamper with God's Message, and commending ourselves to every man's conscience, in the sight of God, by our exhibition of the Truth.

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.

We always bear on our bodies the marks of the death that Jesus died, so that the Life also of Jesus may be exhibited in our bodies.

Indeed, we who still live are continually being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the Life also of Jesus may be exhibited in our mortal nature.

Therefore, as I said, we do not lose heart. No, even though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

For we know that if our tent--that earthly body which is now our home--is taken down, we have a house of God's building, a home not made by hands, imperishable, in Heaven.

Sure that, when we have put it on, we shall never be found discarnate.

For we who are in this 'tent' sigh under our burden, unwilling to take it off, yet wishing to put our heavenly body over it, so that all that is mortal may be absorbed in Life.

For we guide our lives by faith, and not by what we see.

Therefore, because we know the fear inspired by the Lord, it is true that we are trying to win men, but our motives are plain to God; and I hope that in your inmost hearts they are plain to you also.

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.

Him who never knew sin God made to be Sin, on our behalf; so that we, through union with him, might become the Righteousness of God.

Never do we put an obstacle in any one's way, that no fault may be found with our ministry.

By purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindliness, by holiness of spirit, by unfeigned love;

By the Message of Truth, and by the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

Amid honor and disrepute, amid slander and praise; regarded as deceivers, yet proved to be true;

Do not enter into inconsistent relations with those who reject the Faith. For what partnership can there be between righteousness and lawlessness? or what has light to do with darkness?

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?

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 I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters," says the Lord, the Ruler of all.'

But God, who encourages the downcast, has encouraged us by the arrival of Titus.

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, though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I were inclined to regret it--for I see that my letter did cause you sorrow though only for a time--

For, when sorrow is in accordance with God's will, it results in a repentance leading to Salvation, and which will never be regretted. The sure result of the sorrow that the world knows is Death.

In addition to the encouragement that this gave us, we were made far happier still by the happiness of Titus for his heart has been cheered by you all.

Although I have been boasting a little to him about you, you did not put me to shame; but, just as every thing we had said to you was true, so our boasting to Titus about you has also proved to be the truth.

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

I am not laying a command upon you, but I am making use of the earnestness shown by others to test the genuineness of your affection.

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.

For our object is not to give relief to others and bring distress on you, but, by equalizing matters, to secure that,

On the present occasion, what you can spare may supply their need, so that at another time what they can spare may supply your need, and thus matters may be equalized.

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.

What we are specially guarding against is that any fault should be found with us in regard to our administration of this charitable fund;

For we are trying to make arrangements which shall be right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men.

We are also sending with them another of our Brothers, whose earnestness we have many a time proved in many ways, and whom we now find made even more earnest by his great confidence in you.

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.

Therefore I think it necessary to urge the Brothers to go to you in advance, and to complete the arrangements for the gift, which you have already promised, so that it may be ready, as a gift, before I come, and not look as if it were being given under pressure.

God has power to shower all kinds of blessings upon you, so that, having, under all circumstances and on all occasions, all that you can need, you may be able to shower all kinds of benefits upon others.

Rich in all things yourselves, you will be able to show liberality to all, which, with our help, will cause thanksgiving to be offered to God.

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"--

I implore you not to drive me to "show my boldness," when I do come, by the confident tone which I expect to have to adopt towards some of you, who are expecting to find us influenced in our conduct by earthly motives.

Even if I boast extravagantly about our authority--which the Lord gave us for building up your faith and not for overthrowing it--still I have no reason to be ashamed.

I say this, that it may not seem as if I were trying to overawe you by my letters.

Let such a man be assured of this--that our words in our letters show us to be, when absent, just what our deeds will show us to be, when present.

We have not indeed the audacity to class or compare ourselves with some of those who indulge in self-commendation! But, when such persons measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they show a want of wisdom.

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!

Our boasting, therefore, is not unlimited, nor does it extend to the labors of others; but our hope is that, as your faith grows, our influence among you may be very greatly increased-- though still confined to our sphere--

So that we shall be able to tell the Good News in the districts beyond you, without trespassing on the sphere assigned to others, or boasting of what has been already done.

For it is not the man who commends himself that stands the test, but the man who is commended by the Lord.

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.

Perhaps you say that I did wrong in humbling myself that you might be exalted--I mean because I told you God's Good News without payment.

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

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.

It is not surprising, therefore, if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of Righteousness. But their end will be in accordance with their actions.

I must boast! It is unprofitable; but I will pass to visions and revelations given by the Lord.

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.

The marks of the true Apostle were exhibited among you in constant endurance, as well as by signs, by marvels, and by miracles.

Remember, this is the third time that I have made every preparation to come to see you, and I shall refuse to be a burden to you; I want, not your money, but you. It is not the duty of children to put by for their parents, but of parents to put by for their children.

For my part, I will most gladly spend, and be spent, for your welfare. Can it be that the more intensely I love you the less I am to be loved?

You will admit that I was not a burden to you but you say that I was "crafty" and caught you "by a trick"!

For I am afraid that perhaps, when I come, I may find that you are not what I want you to be, and, on the other hand, that you may find that I am what you do not want me to be. I am afraid that I may find quarreling, jealousy, ill-feeling, rivalry, slandering, back-biting, self-assertion, and disorder.

For the third time I am coming to see you. 'By the word of two or three witnesses each statement shall be established.'

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.

We pray God that you may do nothing wrong, not that we may be seen to stand the test, but that you may do what is right, even though we may seem not to stand the test.

And now, brothers, good-bye. Aim at perfection; take courage; agree together; live in peace. And then God, the source of all love and peace, will be with you.

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