Dec 6 - 2 Corinthians 6-10
2 Corinthians
1But, as a help to you, we exhort you not to receive the grace of God in vain2For he says: "In a favorable time, I heeded you; and on the day of salvation, I helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation3May we never give offense to anyone, so that our ministry may not be disparaged4But in all things, let us exhibit ourselves as ministers of God with great patience: through tribulation, difficulties, and distress5despite wounds, imprisonment, and rebellion; with hard work, vigilance, and fasting6by chastity, knowledge, and longsuffering; in pleasantness, in the Holy Spirit, and in unfeigned charity7with the Word of truth, with the power of God, and with the armor of justice to the right and to the left8through honor and dishonor, despite good reports and bad, whether seen as deceivers or truth-tellers, whether ignored or acknowledged9as if dying and yet truly alive; as if chastised and yet not subdued10as if sorrowful and yet always rejoicing; as if needy and yet enriching many; as if having nothing and possessing everything11Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians; our heart is enlarged12You are not narrowed by us, but it is by your own inner selves that you are narrowed13But since we have the same recompense, (I am speaking as if to my own sons), you, too, should be enlarged14Do not choose to bear the yoke with unbelievers. For how can justice be a participant with iniquity? Or how can the fellowship of light be a participant with darkness15And how can Christ join together with Belial? Or what part do the faithful have with the unfaithful16And what consensus does the temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, just as God says: "I will dwell with them, and I will walk among them. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people17Because of this, you must depart from their midst and be separate, says the Lord. And do not touch what is unclean18Then I will accept you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.
1Therefore, having these promises, most beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God2Consider us. We have injured no one; we have corrupted no one; we have defrauded no one3I am not saying this to your condemnation. For we have told you before that you are in our hearts: to die together and to live together4Great is my confidence in you. Great is my glorying over you. I have been filled with consolation. I have a superabundant joy throughout all our tribulation5Then, too, when we had arrived in Macedonia, our flesh had no rest. Instead, we suffered every tribulation: exterior conflicts, interior fears6But God, who consoles the humble, consoled us by the arrival of Titus7and not only by his arrival, but also by the consolation with which he was consoled among you. For he brought to us your desire, your weeping, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more8For though I made you sorrowful by my epistle, I do not repent. And if I did repent, but only for a time, having realized that the same epistle made you sorrowful9now I am glad: not because you were sorrowful, but because you were sorrowful unto repentance. For you became sorrowful for God, so that you might not suffer any harm from us10For the sorrow that is according to God accomplishes a repentance which is steadfast unto salvation. But the sorrow that is of the world accomplishes death11So consider this same idea, being sorrowful according to God, and what great solicitude it accomplishes in you: including protection, and indignation, and fear, and desire, and zeal, and vindication. In all things, you have shown yourselves to be uncorrupted by this sorrow12And so, though I wrote to you, it was not because of him who caused the injury, nor because of him who suffered from it, but so as to manifest our solicitude, which we have for you before God13Therefore, we have been consoled. But in our consolation, we have rejoiced even more abundantly over the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by all of you14And if I have gloried in anything to him about you, I have not been put to shame. But, just as we have spoken all things to you in truth, so also our glorying before Titus has been the truth15And his feelings are now more abundant toward you, since he remembers the obedience of you all, and how you received him with fear and trembling16I rejoice that in all things I have confidence in you
1And so we are making known to you, brothers, the grace of God that has been given in the churches of Macedonia2For within a great experience of tribulation, they have had an abundance of joy, and their profound poverty has only increased the richness of their simplicity3And I bear witness to them, that they were willing to accept what was in accord with their ability, and even what was beyond their ability4For they were begging us, with great exhortation, for the grace and the communication of the ministry that is with the saints5And this is beyond what we had hoped, since they gave themselves, first of all to the Lord, and then also to us, through the will of God6so much so that we petitioned Titus, that in the same manner as he had begun, he would also complete in you this same grace7But, just as in all things you abound in faith and in word and in knowledge and in all solicitude, and even more so in your charity toward us, so also may you abound in this grace8I am speaking, not commanding. But through the solicitude of others, I approve of the good character of your charity9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that through his poverty, you might become rich10And about this, I give my counsel. For this is useful to those of you who, only a year earlier, had just begun to act, or even to be willing to act11So, truly now, accomplish this in deed, so that, in the same manner as your willing mind is prompted, you may also act, out of that which you have12For when the will is prompted, it receives according to what that person has, not according to what that person does not have13And it is not that others should be relieved, while you are troubled, but that there should be an equality14In this present time, let your abundance supply their need, so that their abundance may also supply your need, in order that there may be an equality, just as it was written15"He with more did not have too much; and he with less did not have too little.16But thanks be to God, who has granted to the heart of Titus, this same solicitude for you17For certainly, he accepted the exhortation. But since he was more solicitous, he went to you of his own free will18And we have even sent with him a brother whose praise accompanies the Gospel throughout all the churches19And not only that, but he was also chosen by the churches to be a companion for our sojourn in this grace, which is ministered by us with our determined will, to the glory of the Lord20So let us avoid this, lest anyone disparage us over the abundance that is ministered by us21For we provide for what is good, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of men22And we have also sent with them our brother, whom we have proven to be frequently solicitous in many matters. But now there is a greater solicitousness, which is greatly entrusted to you23and whether it concerns Titus, who is a companion to me and a helper to you, or whether it concerns our brothers, the Apostles of the churches, it is to the glory of Christ24Therefore, in the sight of the churches, show them the proof of your charity and of our glorying about you
1Now, concerning the ministry that is done toward the saints, it is not necessary for me to write to you2For I know your willing mind. I glory about you, concerning this, to the Macedonians. For Achaia has also been prepared, for the past year. And your example has inspired very many others3Now I have sent the brothers, so that what we glory about concerning you might not be empty in this matter, in order that (as I have explained) you may be prepared4Otherwise, if the Macedonians arrive with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you) would be ashamed in this matter5Therefore, I considered it necessary to ask the brothers to go to you in advance and to prepare this blessing as promised, and in this way, you may be ready as a blessing, not as an excess6But I say this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And whoever sows with blessings shall also reap from blessings7each one giving, just as he has determined in his heart, neither out of sadness, nor out of obligation. For God loves a cheerful giver8And God is able to make every grace abound in you, so that, always having what you need in all things, you may abound unto every good work9just as it was written: "He has distributed widely, he has given to the poor; his justice remains from age to age.10And he who ministers seed to the sower will offer you bread to eat, and will multiply your seed, and will increase the growth of the fruits of your justice11So then, having been enriched in all things, you may abound in all simplicity, which works thanksgiving to God through us12For the ministration of this office not only supplies whatever the saints need, but also abounds through many thanksgivings in the Lord13And so, through the evidence of this ministry, you glorify God by the obedience of your confession in the Gospel of Christ, and by the simplicity of your communion with them and with everyone14and they offer prayers for you, being solicitous about you, because of the excellent grace of God within you15Thanks be to God for his ineffable gift
1But I myself, Paul, am begging you, through the meekness and modesty of Christ. I am certainly, by appearances, lowly among you, yet I have confidence in you, even while I am absent2So I am petitioning you, lest I be bold, when present, with that bold confidence that I am considered to have by certain ones who judge us as if we were walking according to the flesh3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh4For the weapons of our battles are not carnal, yet still they are powerful with God, unto the destruction of fortifications: tearing down every counse5and height that extols itself contrary to the wisdom of God, and leading every intellect into the captivity of obedience to Christ6and standing ready to repudiate every disobedience, when your own obedience has been fulfilled7Consider the things that are in accord with appearances. If anyone trusts that by these things he belongs to Christ, let him reconsider this within himself. For just as he belongs to Christ, so also do we8And if I were even to glory somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord has given to us for your edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed9But let it not be said that I am scaring you by means of epistles10For they say: "His epistles, indeed, are weighty and strong. But his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is contemptible.11Let someone like this realize that whatever we are in word through epistles, while absent: we are much the same in deed, while present12For we would not dare to interpose or compare ourselves with certain ones who commend themselves. But we measure ourselves by ourselves, and we compare ourselves with ourselves13Thus, we will not glory beyond our measure, but rather according to the measure of the limit which God has measured out to us, a measure which extends even to you14For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we are not able to reach as far as you are able. For we have gone even as far as you have in the Gospel of Christ15We are not glorying immeasurably over the labors of others. Instead, we hold on to the hope of your growing faith, so as to be magnified in you, according to our own limits, but in abundance16and even so as to evangelize in those places that are beyond you, not in order to glory in the measure of others, but rather in those things which have already been prepared17But whoever glories, let him glory in the Lord18For it is not he who commends himself who is approved, but rather he whom God commends