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.

It is true that we have our full share of the sufferings of the Christ, but through the Christ we have also our full share of consolation.

If we meet with trouble, it is for the sake of your consolation and salvation; and, if we find consolation, it is for the sake of the consolation that you will experience when you are called to endure the very sufferings that we ourselves are enduring;

And our hope for you remains unshaken. We know that, as you are sharing our sufferings, you will also share our consolation.

We want you, Brothers, to know that, in the troubles which befell us in Roman Asia, we were burdened altogether beyond our strength, so much so that we even despaired of life.

Indeed, we had the presentiment that we must die, so that we might rely, not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead.

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--

As this was my plan, where, pray, did I show any fickleness of purpose? Or do you think that my plans are formed on mere impulse, so that in the same breath I say 'Yes' and 'No'?

As God is true, the Message that we brought you does not waver between 'Yes' and 'No'!

For, many as were the promises of God, in Christ is the 'Yes' that fulfils them. Therefore, through Christ again, let the 'Amen' rise, through us, to the glory of God.

But, as my life shall answer for it, I call God to witness that it was to spare you that I deferred my visit to Corinth.

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 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.

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.

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.'

This, then, is the confidence in regard to God that we have gained through the Christ.

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

If the system of religion which involved Death, embodied in a written Law and engraved on stones, began amid such glory, that the Israelites were unable to gaze at the face of Moses on account of its glory, though it was but a passing glory,

Will not the religion that confers the Spirit have still greater glory?

For, if there was a glory in the religion that involved condemnation, far greater is the glory of the religion that confers righteousness!

Indeed, that which then had glory has lost its glory, because of the glory which surpasses it.

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

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

And, even if the Good News that we bring is veiled, it is veiled only in the case of those who are on the path to Ruin--

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.

(For it is not ourselves that we proclaim, but Christ Jesus, as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.)

Indeed, the same God who said 'Out of darkness light shall shine,' has shone in upon our hearts, so that we should bring out into the light the knowledge of the glory of God, seen in the face of Christ.

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.

But, in the same spirit of faith as that expressed in the words--'I believed, and therefore I spoke,' we, also believe, and therefore speak.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

We are not "commending ourselves" again to you, but rather are giving you cause for pride in us, so that you may have an answer ready for those who pride themselves on appearances and not on character.

It is the love of the Christ which compels us, when we reflect that, as one died for all, therefore all died;

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I am not saying this to condemn you. Indeed, I have already said that you are in our very heart, to live and die together.

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--

I am glad now; not because of the sorrow it caused you, but because your sorrow brought you to repentance. For it was God's will that you should feel sorrow, in order that you should not suffer loss in any way at our hands.

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.

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, then, even though I did write to you, it was not for the sake of the wrong-doer, or of the man who was wronged, but to make you conscious, in the sight of God, of your own earnest care for us. And it is this that has encouraged us.

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.

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.

I am glad that I can feel perfect confidence in you.

We would remind you, Brothers, of the love that God has shown to the Churches in Macedonia--

I can bear witness that to the full extent of their power, and even beyond their power, spontaneously,

And that, not only in the way we had expected; but first they gave themselves to the Lord, and to us also, in accordance with God's will.

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.

And now I want you to complete the work, so that its completion may correspond with your willing readiness--in proportion, of course, to your means.

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.

I thank God for inspiring Titus with the same keen interest in your welfare that I have;

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;

Show them, therefore--so that the Churches may see it-- the proof of your affection, and the ground for our boasting to them about you.

I know, of course, your willingness to help, and I am always boasting of it to the Macedonians. I tell them that you in Greece have been ready for a year past; and it was really your zeal that stimulated most of them.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I could wish that you would tolerate a little folly in me! But indeed you do tolerate me.

I am jealous over you with the jealousy of God. For I betrothed you to one husband, that I might present you to the Christ a pure bride.

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!

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!

Why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do!

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.

I say again--Let no one think me a fool! Yet, if you do, at least welcome me as you would a fool, that I, too may indulge in a little boasting.

I admit, to my shame, that we have been weak. But whatever the subject on which others are not afraid to boast--though it is foolish to say so--I am not afraid either!

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

When I was in Damascus, the Governor under King Aretas had the gates of that city guarded, so as to arrest me,

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

It was for this reason, and to prevent my thinking too highly of myself, that a thorn was sent to pierce my flesh--an instrument of Satan to discipline me--so that I should not think too highly of myself.

About this I three times entreated the Lord, praying that it might leave me.

But his reply has been-- 'My help is enough for you; for my strength attains its perfection in the midst of weakness.' Most gladly, then, will I boast all the more of my weaknesses, so that the strength of the Christ may overshadow me.