I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;

and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:

who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;

For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;

For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.

Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority,

For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.

while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.

Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,

and not only this, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness,

for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.

I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh.

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,

But we will not boast beyond our measure, but within the measure of the sphere which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even as far as you.

For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.

But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.

was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.

I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced.

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.

which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.

I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ;

but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.”

It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.

But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise.

Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law.

But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.

However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?

and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,

envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight

He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints,

which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands—

by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,

if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;

which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;

of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.

and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;

This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,

and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,

and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret.

Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),

in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose.

in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too, from God.

experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,

as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account.

since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints;

because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel

which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth;

if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.

that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints,

to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

(which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?

These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.