It was because I was sure of this that I wanted to come to see you before going anywhere else, to give you a double pleasure;

This is what I said in my letter, so that I might avoid coming and having my feelings hurt by the very people who might have been expected to make me happy, for I felt sure about you all, that what made me happy would make you all happy.

For that individual, this censure by the majority of you is punishment enough,

to the one, a deathly, deadly odor, to the other a vital, life-giving one. Who is qualified for this task? I am!

Their minds were dulled. For to this day, that same veil remains unlifted, when they read the old agreement, for only through union with Christ is it removed.

Why, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil hangs over their minds,

And all of us, reflecting the splendor of the Lord in our unveiled faces, are being changed into likeness to him, from one degree of splendor to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

So since by the mercy of God I am engaged in this service, I never lose heart.

In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep the light of the good news of the glorious Christ, the likeness of God, from dawning upon them.

But I have this treasure in a mere ear then jar, to show that its amazing power belongs to God and not to me.

For this slight, momentary trouble is piling up for me an eternal blessedness beyond all comparison,

For I know that if this earthly tent that I live in is taken down, God will provide me a building in heaven to live in, not built by human hands but eternal.

This makes me sigh with longing to put on my heavenly dwelling,

It is God himself who has prepared me for this change, and he has given me the Spirit as his guaranty.

It is with this knowledge of what the fear of the Lord means that I appeal to men. My true character is perfectly plain to God, and I hope to your consciences too.

All this comes from God, who through Christ has reconciled me to himself, and has commissioned me to proclaim this reconciliation??19 how God through Christ reconciled the world to himself, refusing to count men's offenses against them, and intrusted me with the message of reconciliation.

For he says, "I have listened to you at a welcome time, And helped you on a day of deliverance!" Now the welcome time has come! This is the day of deliverance!

I do not mean this as a reflection upon you, for as I said before, you will always have a place in my heart whether I live or die.

See how earnest this God-given pain has made you! how eager to clear yourselves, how indignant, how alarmed, how eager to see me, how zealous, how avenging! At every point you have proved that you are clear of this matter.

This has led me to urge Titus to complete the arrangements he had formerly begun among you for this gracious undertaking.

Just as you excel in everything else??aith, expression, knowledge, perfect devotion, and the love we have awakened in you??ou must excel in this generous undertaking too.

I do not mean this as a command. I only want to test the genuineness of your love by the devotion of others.

But I will tell you what I think about it. For this is the best way to deal with you, for you were the first not only to do anything about this, but to want to do anything, and that was last year.

What is more, he has been appointed by the churches to travel with me in the interests of this generous undertaking, which I am superintending to honor the Lord and to show our readiness to help.

I mean to have no one able to find any fault with the way I handle this munificence.

It is really unnecessary for me to write to you about this fund for your fellow-Christians,

But I send the brothers so that our pride in you may not have a fall in this matter, but you may be all ready as I have told them you will;

So I have thought it necessary to ask these brothers to go on to you ahead of me, to arrange in advance for this gift you have promised, so as to have it ready, like an expression of your good will, not of your avarice.

Remember this: The man who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and the man who sows generously will reap generously.

For the rendering of this service does more than supply the wants of God's people; it results in a wealth of thanksgiving to God.

The way you stand the test of this service must do honor to God, through your fidelity to what you profess as to the good news of Christ, and through the liberality of your contributions for them and for all others;

It is no strain for me to do this, as it might be for people who had never got so far, for I was the first to come all the way to you with the good news of the Christ.

By the truth of Christ that is in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced anywhere in Greece.

When I boast in this reckless way, I do not say what I am saying for the Lord, but as a fool would talk.

And I know that this man?? do not know whether it was in the body or out of it, God knows??4 was caught up into Paradise, and heard things that must not be told, which no human being can repeat.

On this man's account I am ready to boast, but about myself I will boast only of my weaknesses.

Three times I have prayed to the Lord about this, begging that it might leave me,

This will be my third visit to you. Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

That is why I write this while I am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be harsh in my use of the authority the Lord has given me, for it was to build you up, not to pull you down.