who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord,

and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

as it is written,
“He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor,
His righteousness endures forever.”

For even if I boast somewhat further about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame,

For this reason I am writing these things while absent, so that when present I need not use severity, in accordance with the authority which the Lord gave me for building up and not for tearing down.