Chapter 2

008:008 I am not saying this by way of command, but to test by the standard of other men's earnestness the genuineness of your love also.

008:009 For you know the condescending goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ-- how for your sakes He became poor, though He was rich, in order that you through His poverty might grow rich.

008:010 But in this matter I give you an opinion; for my doing this helps forward your own intentions, seeing that not only have you begun operations, but a year ago you already had the desire to do so.

008:011 And now complete the doing also, in order that, just as there was then the eagerness in desiring, there may now be the accomplishment in proportion to your means.

008:012 For, assuming the earnest willingness, the gift is acceptable according to whatever a man has, and not according to what he has not.

008:013 I do not urge you to give in order that others may have relief while you are unduly pressed,

008:014 but that, by equalization of burdens, your superfluity having in the present emergency supplied their deficiency, their superfluity may in turn be a supply for your deficiency later on, so that there may be equalization of burdens.

008:015 Even as it is written, "He who gathered much had not too much, and he who gathered little had not too little."

008:016 But thanks be to God that He inspires the heart of Titus with the same deep interest in you;

008:017 for Titus welcomed our request, and, being thoroughly in earnest, comes to you of his own free will.

008:018 And we send with him the brother whose praises for his earnestness in proclaiming the Good News are heard throughout all the Churches.

008:019 And more than that, he is the one who was chosen by the vote of the Churches to travel with us, sharing our commission in the administration of this generous gift to promote the Lord's glory and gratify our own strong desire.

008:020 For against one thing we are on our guard--I mean against blame being thrown upon us in respect to these large and liberal contributions which are under our charge.

008:021 For we seek not only God's approval of our integrity, but man's also.

008:022 And we send with them our brother, of whose zeal we have had frequent proof in many matters, and who is now more zealous than ever through the strong confidence which he has in you.

008:023 As for Titus, remember that he is a partner with me, and is my comrade in my labours for you. And as for our brethren, remember that they are delegates from the Churches, and are men in whom Christ is glorified.

008:024 Exhibit therefore to the Churches a proof of your love, and a justification of our boasting to these brethren about you.

009:001 As to the services which are being rendered to God's people, it is really unnecessary for me to write to you.

009:002 For I know your earnest willingness, on account of which I habitually boast of you to the Macedonians, pointing out to them that for a whole year you in Greece have been ready; and the greater number of them have been spurred on by your ardour.

009:003 Still I send the brethren in order that in this matter our boast about you may not turn out to have been an idle one; so that, as I have said, you may be ready;

009:004 for fear that, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we--not to say you yourselves--should be put to the blush in respect to this confidence.

009:005 I have thought it absolutely necessary therefore to request these brethren to visit you before I myself come, and to make sure beforehand that the gift of love which you have already promised may be ready as a gift of love, and may not seem to have been something which I have extorted from you.

009:006 But do not forget that he who sows with a niggardly hand will also reap a niggardly crop, and that he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

009:007 Let each contribute what he has decided upon in his own mind, and not do it reluctantly or under compulsion. "It is a cheerful giver that God loves."

009:008 And God is able to bestow every blessing on you in abundance, so that richly enjoying all sufficiency at all times, you may have ample means for all good works.

009:009 As it is written, "He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor, his almsgiving remains for ever."

009:010 And God who continually supplies seed for the sower and bread for eating, will supply you with seed and multiply it, and will cause your almsgiving to yield a plentiful harvest.

009:011 May you be abundantly enriched so as to show all liberality, such as through our instrumentality brings thanksgiving to God.

009:012 For the service rendered in this sacred gift not only helps to relieve the wants of God's people, but it is also rich in its results and awakens a chorus of thanksgiving to God.

009:013 For, by the practical proof of it which you exhibit in this service, you cause God to be extolled for your fidelity to your professed adherence to the Good News of the Christ, and for the liberality of your contributions for them and for all who are in need,

009:014 while they themselves also in supplications on your behalf pour out their longing love towards you because of God's surpassing grace which is resting upon you.

009:015 Thanks be to God for His unspeakably precious gift!

010:001 But as for me Paul, I entreat you by the gentleness and self-forgetfulness of Christ--I who when among you have not an imposing personal presence, but when absent am fearlessly outspoken in dealing with you.

010:002 I beseech you not to compel me when present to make a bold display of the confidence with which I reckon I shall show my `courage' against some who reckon that we are guided by worldly principles.

010:003 For, though we are still living in the world, it is no worldly warfare that we are waging.

010:004 The weapons with which we fight are not human weapons, but are mighty for God in overthrowing strong fortresses.

010:005 For we overthrow arrogant `reckonings,' and every stronghold that towers high in defiance of the knowledge of God, and we carry off every thought as if into slavery-- into subjection to Christ;

010:006 while we hold ourselves in readiness to punish every act of disobedience, as soon as ever you as a Church have fully shown your obedience.

010:007 Is it outward appearances you look to? If any man is confident as regards himself that he specially belongs to Christ, let him consider again and reflect that just as he belongs to Christ, so also do we.

010:008 If, however, I were to boast more loudly of our Apostolic authority, which the Lord has given us that we may build you up, not pull you down, I should have no reason to feel ashamed.

010:009 Let it not seem as if I wanted to frighten you by my letters.

010:010 For they say "His letters are authoritative and forcible, but his personal presence is unimpressive, and as for eloquence, he has none."

010:011 Let such people take this into their reckoning, that whatever we are in word by our letters when absent, the same are we also in act when present.

010:012 For we have not the `courage' to rank ourselves among, or compare ourselves with, certain persons distinguished by their self-commendation. Yet they are not wise, measuring themselves, as they do, by one another and comparing themselves with one another.

010:013 We, however, will not exceed due limits in our boasting, but will keep within the limits of the sphere which God has assigned to us as a limit, which reaches even to you.

010:014 For there is no undue stretch of authority on our part, as though it did not extend to you. We pressed on even to Corinth, and were the first to proclaim to you the Good News of the Christ.

010:015 We do not exceed our due limits, and take credit for other men's labours; but we entertain the hope that, as your faith grows, we shall gain promotion among you-- still keeping within our own sphere--promotion to a larger field of labour,

010:016 and shall tell the Good News in the districts beyond you, not boasting in another man's sphere about work already done by him.

010:017 But "whoever boasts, let his boast be in the Lord."

010:018 For it is not the man that commends himself who is really approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

011:001 I wish you could have borne with a little foolish boasting on my part. Nay, do bear with me.

011:002 I am jealous over you with God's own jealousy. For I have betrothed you to Christ to present you to Him like a faithful bride to her one husband.

011:003 But I am afraid that, as the serpent in his craftiness deceived Eve, so your minds may be led astray from their single-heartedness and their fidelity to Christ.

011:004 If indeed some visitor is proclaiming among you another Jesus whom we did not proclaim, or if you are receiving a Spirit different from the One you have already received or a Good News different from that which you have already welcomed, your toleration is admirable!

011:005 Why, I reckon myself in no respect inferior to those superlatively great Apostles.

011:006 And if in the matter of speech I am no orator, yet in knowledge I am not deficient. Nay, we have in every way made that fully evident to you.

011:007 Is it a sin that I abased myself in order for you to be exalted, in that I proclaimed God's Good News to you without fee or reward?

011:008 Other Churches I robbed, receiving pay from them in order to do you service.

011:009 And when I was with you and my resources failed, there was no one to whom I became a burden--for the brethren when they came from Macedonia fully supplied my wants-- and I kept myself from being in the least a burden to you, and will do so still.

011:010 Christ knows that it is true when I say that I will not be stopped from boasting of this anywhere in Greece.

011:011 And why? Because I do not love you? God knows that I do.

011:012 But I will persist in the same line of conduct in order to cut the ground from under the feet of those who desire an opportunity of getting themselves recognized as being on a level with us in the matters about which they boast.

011:013 For men of this stamp are sham apostles, dishonest workmen, assuming the garb of Apostles of Christ.

011:014 And no wonder. Satan, their master, can disguise himself as an angel of light.

011:015 It is therefore no great thing for his servants also to disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be in accordance with their actions.

011:016 To return to what I was saying. Let no one suppose that I am foolish. Or if you must, at any rate make allowance for me as being foolish, in order that I, as well as they, may boast a little.

011:017 What I am now saying, I do not say by the Lord's command, but as a fool in his folly might, in this reckless boasting.

011:018 Since many boast for merely human reasons, I too will boast.

011:019 Wise as you yourselves are, you find pleasure in tolerating fools.

011:020 For you tolerate it, if any one enslaves you, lives at your expense, makes off with your property, gives himself airs, or strikes you on the face.

011:021 I use the language of self-disparagement, as though I were admitting our own feebleness. Yet for whatever reason any one is `courageous'--I speak in mere folly-- I also am courageous.

011:022 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

011:023 Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if I were out of my mind.) Much more am I His servant; serving Him more thoroughly than they by my labours, and more thoroughly also by my imprisonments, by excessively cruel floggings, and with risk of life many a time.

011:024 From the Jews I five times have received forty lashes all but one.

011:025 Three times I have been beaten with Roman rods, once I have been stoned, three times I have been shipwrecked, once for full four and twenty hours I was floating on the open sea.

011:026 I have served Him by frequent travelling, amid dangers in crossing rivers, dangers from robbers; dangers from my own countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles; dangers in the city, dangers in the Desert, dangers by sea, dangers from spies in our midst;

011:027 with labour and toil, with many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, in frequent fastings, in cold, and with insufficient clothing.

011:028 And besides other things, which I pass over, there is that which presses on me daily--my anxiety for all the Churches.

011:029 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led astray into sin, and I am not aflame with indignation?

011:030 If boast I must, it shall be of things which display my weakness.

011:031 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ--He who is blessed throughout the Ages--knows that I am speaking the truth.

011:032 In Damascus the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the gates of the city in order to apprehend me,

011:033 but through an opening in the wall I was let down in a basket, and so escaped his hands.

012:001 I am compelled to boast. It is not a profitable employment, but I will proceed to visions and revelations granted me by the Lord.

012:002 I know a Christian man who fourteen years ago--whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know; God knows--was caught up (this man of whom I am speaking) even to the highest Heaven.

012:003 And I know that this man--whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know;

012:004 God knows--was caught up into Paradise and heard unspeakable things which no human being is permitted to repeat.

012:005 Of such a one I will boast; but of myself I will not boast, except in my weaknesses.

012:006 If however I should choose to boast, I should not be a fool for so doing, for I should be speaking the truth. But I forbear, lest any one should be led to estimate me more highly than what his own eyes attest, or more highly than what he hears from my lips.

012:007 And judging by the stupendous grandeur of the revelations-- therefore lest I should be over-elated there has been sent to me, like the agony of impalement, Satan's angel dealing blow after blow, lest I should be over-elated.

012:008 As for this, three times have I besought the Lord to rid me of him;

012:009 but His reply has been, "My grace suffices for you, for power matures in weakness." Most gladly therefore will I boast of my infirmities rather than complain of them-- in order that Christ's power may overshadow me.

012:010 In fact I take pleasure in infirmities, in the bearing of insults, in distress, in persecutions, in grievous difficulties-- for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

012:011 It is foolish of me to write all this, but you have compelled me to do so. Why, you ought to have been my vindicators; for in no respect have I been inferior to these superlatively great Apostles, even though in myself I am nothing.

012:012 The signs that characterize the true Apostle have been done among you, accompanied by unwearied fortitude, and by tokens and marvels and displays of power.

012:013 In what respect, therefore, have you been worse dealt with than other Churches, except that I myself never hung as a dead weight upon you? Forgive the injustice I thus did you!

012:014 See, I am now for the third time prepared to visit you, but I will not be a dead weight to you. I desire not your money, but yourselves; for children ought not to put by for their parents, but parents for their children.

012:015 And as for me, most gladly will I spend all I have and be utterly spent for your salvation.

012:016 If I love you so intensely, am I the less to be loved? Be that as it may: I was not a burden to you. But being by no means scrupulous, I entrapped you, they say!

012:017 Have I gained any selfish advantage over you through any one of the messengers I have sent to you?

012:018 I begged Titus to visit you, and sent our other brother with him. Did Titus gain any selfish advantage over you? Were not he and I guided by one and the same Spirit, and did we not walk in the same steps?

012:019 You are imagining, all this time, that we are making our defense at your bar. In reality it is as in God's presence and in communion with Christ that we speak; but, dear friends, it is all with a view to your progress in goodness.

012:020 For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may not find you to be what I desire, and that you may find me to be what you do not desire; that perhaps there may be contention, jealousy, bitter feeling, party spirit, ill-natured talk, backbiting, undue eulogy, unrest;

012:021 and that upon re-visiting you I may be humbled by my God in your presence, and may have to mourn over many whose hearts still cling to their old sins, and who have not repented of the impurity, fornication, and gross sensuality, of which they have been guilty.

013:001 This intended visit of mine is my third visit to you. "On the evidence of two or three witnesses every charge shall be sustained."

013:002 Those who cling to their old sins, and indeed all of you, I have forewarned and still forewarn (as I did on my second visit when present, so I do now, though absent) that, when I come again, I shall not spare you;

013:003 since you want a practical proof of the fact that Christ speaks by my lips--He who is not feeble towards you, but powerful among you.

013:004 For though it is true that He was crucified through weakness, yet He now lives through the power of God. We also are weak, sharing His weakness, but with Him we shall be full of life to deal with you through the power of God.

013:005 Test yourselves to discover whether you are true believers: put your own selves under examination. Or do you not know that Jesus Christ is within you, unless you are insincere?

013:006 But I trust that you will recognize that we are not insincere.

013:007 And our prayer to God is that you may do nothing wrong; not in order that our sincerity may be demonstrated, but that you may do what is right, even though our sincerity may seem to be doubtful.

013:008 For we have no power against the truth, but only for the furtherance of the truth;

013:009 and it is a joy to us when we are powerless, but you are strong. This we also pray for--the perfecting of your characters.

013:010 For this reason I write thus while absent, that when present I may not have to act severely in the exercise of the authority which the Lord has given me for building up, and not for pulling down.

013:011 Finally, brethren, be joyful, secure perfection of character, take courage, be of one mind, live in peace. And then God who gives love and peace will be with you.

013:012 Salute one another with a holy kiss.

013:013 All God's people here send greetings to you.

013:014 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.