Dec 5 - 2 Corinthians 1-5
2 Corinthians
1Paul, an Apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy, a brother, to the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all of Achaia2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all consolation4He consoles us in all our tribulation, so that we too may be able to console those who are in any kind of distress, through the exhortation by which we also are being exhorted by God5For just as the Passion of Christ abounds in us, so also, through Christ, does our consolation abound6So, if we are in tribulation, it is for your exhortation and salvation, or if we are in consolation, it is for your consolation, or if we are exhorted, it is for your exhortation and salvation, which results in the patient endurance of the same passion which we also endure7So may our hope for you be made firm, knowing that, just as you are participants in the suffering, so also shall you be participants in the consolation8For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, about our tribulation, which happened to us in Asia. For we were weighed down beyond measure, beyond our strength, so that we became weary, even of life itself9But we had within ourselves the response to death, so that we would not have faith in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead10He has rescued us, and he is rescuing us, from great peril. In him, we hope that he will continue to rescue us11And you are assisting, with your prayers for us, so that from many persons, by that which is a gift in us, thanks may be given through many persons, because of us12For our glory is this: the testimony of our conscience, which is found in simplicity of heart and in sincerity toward God. And it is not with worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God, that we have conversed with this world, and more abundantly toward you13For we write nothing else to you other than what you have read and understood. And I hope that you will continue to understand, even unto the end14And just as you have acknowledged us in our role, that we are your glory, so also you are ours, unto the day of our Lord Jesus Christ15And with this confidence, I wanted to come to you sooner, so that you might have a second grace16and through you to pass into Macedonia, and to return to you again from Macedonia, and so be led by you on my way to Judea17Then, although I had intended this, did I act lightly? Or in the things that I consider, do I consider according to the flesh, so that there would be, with me, both Yes and No18But God is faithful, so our word, which was set before you, was not, in him, both Yes and No19For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you through us, through myself and Sylvanus and Timothy, was not Yes, and No; but was simply Yes in him20For whatever promises are of God are, in him, Yes. For this reason, too, through him: Amen to God for our glory21Now the One who confirms us with you in Christ, and who has anointed us, is God22And he has sealed us, and he has placed the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts23But I call God as a witness to my soul, that I was lenient with you, in that I did not return to Corinth24not because we have dominion over your faith, but because we are assistants of your joy. For by faith you stand
1But I determined this within myself, not to return again to you in sorrow2For if I make you sorrowful, then who is it that can make me glad, except the one who is made sorrowful by me3And so, I wrote this same thing to you, so that I might not, when I arrive, add sorrow to sorrow for those with whom I ought to rejoice, having confidence in you in all things, so that my joy may be entirely yours4For with much tribulation and anguish of heart, I wrote to you with many tears: not so that you would be sorrowful, but so that you might know the charity that I have more abundantly toward you5But if anyone has brought sorrow, he has not sorrowed me. Yet, for my part, this is so that I might not burden all of you6Let this rebuke be sufficient for someone like this, for it has been brought by many7So then, to the contrary, you should be more forgiving and consoling, lest perhaps someone like this may be overwhelmed with excessive sorrow8Because of this, I beg you to confirm your charity toward him9It was for this reason, also, that I wrote, so that I might know, by testing you, whether you would be obedient in all things10But anyone whom you have forgiven of anything, I also forgive. And then, too, anyone I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, it was done in the person of Christ for your sakes11so that we would not be circumvented by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his intentions12And when I had arrived at Troas, because of the Gospel of Christ, and a door had opened to me in the Lord13I had no rest within my spirit, because I was not able to find Titus, my brother. So, saying goodbye to them, I set out for Macedonia14But thanks be to God, who always brings triumph to us in Christ Jesus, and who manifests the fragrance of his knowledge through us in every place15For we are the sweet fragrance of Christ for God, both with those who are being saved and with those who are perishing16To the one, certainly, the fragrance is of death unto death. But to the other, the fragrance is of life unto life. And concerning these things, who is so suitable17For we are not like many others, adulterating the Word of God. But instead, we speak with sincerity: from God, before God, and in Christ
1Must we begin again to commend ourselves? Or are we in need (as some are) of epistles of commendation for you, or from you2You are our Epistle, written in our hearts, which is known and read by all men3It has been made manifest that you are the Epistle of Christ, ministered by us, and written down, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, and not on tablets of stone, but on the fleshly tablets of the heart4And we have such faith, through Christ, toward God5It is not that we are adequate to think anything of ourselves, as if anything was from us. But our adequacy is from God6And he has made us suitable ministers of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life7But if the ministration of death, engraved with letters upon stones, was in glory, (so much so that the sons of Israel were not able to gaze intently upon the face of Moses, because of the glory of his countenance) even though this ministration was ineffective8how could the ministration of the Spirit not be in greater glory9For if the ministration of condemnation is with glory, so much more is the ministration of justice abundant in glory10And neither was it glorified by means of an excellent glory, though it was made illustrious in its own way11For if even what was temporary has its glory, then what is lasting has an even greater glory12Therefore, having such a hope, we act with much confidence13and not as Moses did, in placing a veil over his face, so that the sons of Israel would not gaze intently at his face. This was ineffective14for their minds were obtuse. And, even until this present day, the very same veil, in the readings from the Old Testament, remains not taken away (though, in Christ, it is taken away)15But even until today, when Moses is read, a veil is still set over their hearts16But when they will have been converted to the Lord, then the veil shall be taken away17Now the Spirit is Lord. And wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty18Yet truly, all of us, as we gaze upon the unveiled glory of the face of the Lord, are transfigured into the same image, from one glory to another. And this is done by the Spirit of the Lord
1Therefore, since we have this ministry, and in as much as we have obtained mercy for ourselves, we are not inadequate2For we renounce dishonorable and hidden acts, not walking by craftiness, nor by adulterating the Word of God. Instead, by the manifestation of truth, we commend ourselves to the conscience of each man before God3But if our Gospel is in some way hidden, it is hidden to those who are perishing4As for them, the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, would not shine in them5For we are not preaching about ourselves, but about Jesus Christ our Lord. We are merely your servants through Jesus6For God, who told the light to shine out of darkness, has shined a light into our hearts, to illuminate the knowledge of the splendor of God, in the person of Christ Jesus7But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, so that what is sublime may be of the power of God, and not of us8In all things, we endure tribulation, yet we are not in anguish. We are constrained, yet we are not destitute9We suffer persecution, yet we have not been abandoned. We are thrown down, yet we do not perish10We ever carry around the mortification of Jesus in our bodies, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies11For we who live are ever handed over unto death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh12Therefore, death is at work in us, and life is at work in you13But we have the same Spirit of faith. And just as it is written, "I believed, and for that reason I spoke," so we also believe, and for that reason, we also speak14For we know that the One who raised up Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and will place us with you15Thus, all is for you, so that grace, abounding through many in thanksgiving, may abound to the glory of God16For this reason, we are not insufficient. But it is as though our outer man is corrupted, while our inner man is renewed from day to day17For though our tribulation is, at the present time, brief and light, it accomplishes in us the weight of a sublime eternal glory, beyond measure18And we are contemplating, not the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are temporal, whereas the things that are not seen are eternal
1For we know that, when our earthly house of this habitation is dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven2And for this reason also, we groan, desiring to be clothed from above with our habitation from heaven3If we are so clothed, then we will not be found to be naked4Then too, we who are in this tabernacle groan under the burden, because we do not want to be stripped, but rather to be clothed from above, so that what is mortal may be absorbed by life5Now the One who accomplishes this very thing in us is God, who has given us the pledge of the Spirit6Therefore, we are ever confident, knowing that, while we are in the body, we are on a pilgrimage in the Lord7For we walk by means of faith, and not by sight8So we are confident, and we have the good will to be on a pilgrimage in the body, so as to be present to the Lord.9And thus we struggle, whether absent or present, to please him10For it is necessary for us to be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive the proper things of the body, according to his behavior, whether it was good or evil11Therefore, having knowledge of the fear of the Lord, we appeal to men, but we are made manifest before God. Yet I hope, too, that we may be made manifest in your consciences12We are not commending ourselves again to you, but rather we are presenting you with an opportunity to glory because of us, when you deal with those who glory in face, and not in heart13For if we are excessive in mind, it is for God; but if we are sober, it is for you14For the charity of Christ urges us on, in consideration of this: that if one died for all, then all have died15And Christ died for all, so that even those who live might not now live for themselves, but for him who died for them and who rose again16And so, from now on, we know no one according to the flesh. And though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him in this way no longer17So if anyone is a new creature in Christ, what is old has passed away. Behold, all things have been made new18But all is of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation19For certainly God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not charging them with their sins. And he has placed in us the Word of reconciliation20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, so that God is exhorting through us. We beseech you for Christ: be reconciled to God21For God made him who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the justice of God in him