2 Corinthians
From Paul, an Apostle of Messiah Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy
our brother, to the church of God in Corinth, and all the saints living in the
whole of Achaia:
Grace and peace to you from God who is our Father and from the lord
Jesus Messiah.
Blessed be the God and Father of our lord Jesus Messiah, the Father of
compassion and God of all comfort.
He comforts us in all our trials, so that we
may be able to comfort those experiencing any trial with the comfort with
which we ourselves are comforted by God.
For as we share abundantly in the sufferings of the Messiah, in the same way we share abundantly in comfort through Messiah.
If
we are troubled, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is
for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same
sufferings which we are also undergoing.
Our hope for you is well-founded, since we know that as you share in our sufferings you will also share in our comfort.
For we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the trouble we had in the province of Asia. We were extremely weighed down beyond our
strength, so much that we despaired even of life.
We felt as if a sentence of
death was on us; this was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God, the One who resurrects the dead.
He rescued us from such a great risk of death, and He will
rescue us. On Him we have set our hope that He will yet again
rescue us,
as you join in helping us by praying. Then many people
will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor given to us through
many people’s prayers.
For our confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and
sincerity from God, not in worldly wisdom but in the grace of God, we
have behaved in the world, and especially toward you.
For we write to you only what
you can read and understand.
And I hope you will understand completely,
as you have partially understood us, so that we will be your reason for pride, as you will be ours, on the Day of our lord Jesus.
In this confidence I was determined at first to come to you so that you
might have the blessing of two visits,
as I wanted to visit you on my way to
Macedonia, and then return from Macedonia to you, and be helped by you on
our way to Judea.
Since I was originally intending to do this but changed my plan, was I being indecisive? Or do you think I make plans like a worldly person, saying yes and no at the same time?
But as God is faithful, our Gospel-word to you has not been yes and no.
For the Son of God, Messiah Jesus, the one who was preached among you by us — me, Silvanus, and Timothy — was not yes and no, but it is always yes in him!
For every one of God’s promises has its “yes” in him. That is why it is through him that we say “Amen” to the glory of God.
God is the One who establishes us with you in Messiah and anointed
us.
He is also the One who sealed us and gave us the spirit in our hearts as a
down-payment.
God is my witness: the reason I did not come to Corinth again was to spare you.
It is not that we are trying to control your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy,
because you stand firm in the faith.
2 Corinthians