Discipleship Material
2 Corinthians
The Second Epistle
of Paul
to the Corinthians
Block Diagramed
Ronald Jay Frasco
One of the pressing needs of any serious student of Scripture is an understanding of the syntax of a given passage. Syntax refers to the inter-relationships of paragraphs, sentences, phrases, clauses, and words. The purpose of Block Diagraming is to graphically illustrate the syntax of a passage of Scripture. The Block Diagraming process involves the laying out of a passage of Scripture by indenting subordinate linguistic units while maintaining the word order of the given text or translation. This allows the student of Scripture to determine the Divinely-inspired structure of the passage, its key features, and main points, so as to enhance the study and understanding of God’s Word.
Scripture taken from
the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE (R), (C)
Copyright The Lockman Foundation
1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977
Used by permission.
Chapter 1
I. Greetings
:1 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:
:2 Grace to you and peace
from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
II. God’s Comfort
:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies
and God of all comfort,
:4 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.
:5 For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance,
so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.
:6 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;
:7 and our hope for you is firmly grounded,
knowing that
as you are sharers of our sufferings,
so also you are sharers of our comfort.
:8 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;
:9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves
so that we would not trust in ourselves,
but in God who raises the dead;
:10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death,
and will deliver us,
He on whom we have set our hope.
And He will yet deliver us,
:11 you also joining in helping us through your prayers,
so that thanks may be given
by many persons
on our behalf
for the favor bestowed on us
through the prayers of many.
:12 For our proud confidence is this:
the testimony of our conscience,
that
in holiness and godly sincerity,
not in fleshly wisdom
but in the grace of God,
we have conducted ourselves
in the world,
and especially toward you.
:13 For we write nothing else to you than what you read
and understand,
and I hope you will understand until the end;
:14 just as you also partially did understand us,
that we are your reason to be proud as you also are
ours,
in the day of our Lord Jesus.
III. Paul’s intentions to visit Corinth
A. Purpose of visit
:15 In this confidence
I intended at first to come to you,
so that you might twice receive a blessing;
:16 that is, to pass your way into Macedonia,
and again from Macedonia to come to you,
and
by you
to be helped on my journey to Judea.
B. No dissimulation
:17 Therefore,
I was not vacillating when I intended to do this, was I?
Or what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh,
so that with me there will be yes, yes and no, no at the same time?
:18 But
as God is faithful,
our word to you is not yes and no.
:19 For the Son of God, Christ Jesus,
who was preached among you by us—
by me and Silvanus and Timothy—
was not yes and no,
but is yes in Him.
:20 For as many as are the promises of God,
in Him they are yes;
therefore
also through Him
is our Amen
to the glory of God through us.
C. Parenthetical?
:21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,
:22 who also sealed us
and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
D. Merciful absence
:23 But I call God as witness to my soul,
that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth.
:24 Not that we lord it over your faith,
but are workers with you for your joy;
for in your faith you are standing firm.
Chapter 2
E. Not for sorrow
:1 But I determined this
for my own sake,
that I would not come to you in sorrow again.
:2 For if I cause you sorrow,
who then makes me glad but the one whom I made sorrowful?
:3 This is the very thing I wrote you,
so that
when I came,
I would not have sorrow from those who ought to make me rejoice;
having confidence in you all
that my joy would be the joy of you all.
:4 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.
F. Causer of sorrow
:5 But if any has caused sorrow,
he has caused sorrow not to me,
but in some degree
—in order not to say too much—
to all of you.
G. Enough
:6 Sufficient for such a one is this punishment
which was inflicted by the majority,
:7 so that
on the contrary
you should rather forgive and comfort him,
otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
E. Affirmation
:8 Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.
:9 For to this end also I wrote,
so that I might put you to the test,
whether you are obedient in all things.
:10 But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also;
for indeed what I have forgiven,
if I have forgiven anything,
I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ,
:11 so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan,
for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
IV. Paul and the Gospel – Bedrock of ministry
A. God’s Sovereign Providence
:12 Now
when I came to Troas
for the gospel of Christ
and
when a door was opened for me in the Lord,
:13 I had no rest for my spirit,
not finding Titus my brother;
but
taking my leave of them,
I went on to Macedonia.
B. The Promise of Absolute Victory
:14 But thanks be to God,
who always leads us in triumph in Christ,
and manifests
through us
the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him
in every place.
C. Representation of Christ
:15 For we are a fragrance of Christ to God
among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing;
:16 to the one an aroma from death to death,
to the other an aroma from life to life.
D. Selfless Humility
And who is adequate for these things?
E. Proclamation of God’s Word
:17 For we are not like many,
peddling the word of God,
but
as from sincerity,
but
as from God,
we speak in Christ in the sight of God.
Chapter 3
Calling and equipping for ministry
Momentum in Ministry
A. The Fruit of Ministry
:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?
Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?
:2 You are our letter,
written in our hearts,
known and read by all men;
:3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ,
cared for by us,
written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God,
not on tablets of stone
but on tablets of human hearts.
B. The Optimism of Ministry
:4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
C. The Provision of Ministry
:5 Not that we are adequate
in ourselves
to consider anything as coming from ourselves,
but our adequacy is from God,
:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant,
not of the letter
but of the Spirit;
for the letter kills,
but the Spirit gives life.
The Glorious Nature of the Gospel Ministry
A. Glory Attending
:7 But if the ministry of death,
in letters engraved on stones,
came with glory,
so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses
because of the glory of his face,
fading as it was,
:8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?
B. Glory Exceeding
:9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory,
much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.
:10 For indeed what had glory,
in this case
has no glory
because of the glory that surpasses it.
C. Glory Enduring
:11 For if that which fades away was with glory,
much more that which remains is in glory.
“Unveiled Glory”
Blessings of the Gospel Ministry
1. Clarification of spiritual truth
:12 Therefore [because of the glorious nature of the Christian ministry]
having such a hope,
we use great boldness in our speech,
:13 and are not like Moses,
who used to put a veil over his face
so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the end of what
was fading away.
:14 But their minds were hardened;
for until this very day
at the reading of the old covenant
the same veil remains unlifted,
because it is removed in Christ.
:15 But to this day
whenever Moses is read,
a veil lies over their heart;
:16 but
whenever a person turns to the Lord,
the veil is taken away.
2. Liberation from a sinful condition
:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit,
and
where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty.
3. Transformation to a glorious state
:18 But we all,
with unveiled face,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord,
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory,
just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
Chapter 4
Methods / Character of Ministry
Steeled for the Gospel
Characteristics of Those Committed to Gospel Ministry
1. a battle-ready resolve
:1 Therefore,
since we have this ministry,
as we received mercy,
we do not lose heart,
2. a victory oriented strategy / a sanctified strategy
:2 but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame,
not walking in craftiness
or adulterating the word of God,
but
by the manifestation of truth
commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
“Light Divine” – The Nature of Illuminating Grace
This Light may be Obscured
:3 And even if our gospel is veiled,
it is veiled to those who are perishing,
:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the
unbelieving
so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ,
who is the image of God.
This Light must be Shone
:5 For we do not preach ourselves
but Christ Jesus as Lord,
and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.
This Light is a gift of God
:6 For God, who said,
“Light shall shine out of darkness,”
is the One who has shone in our hearts
to give the Light
of the knowledge
of the glory
of God
in the face of Christ.
“Glory … in a Jar” – The humble containers of the Gospel
Three God-honoring contrasts regarding the Vessels of Gospel Ministry
1. Heavenly and Earthly things
:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
2. the power of God and men
so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God
and not from ourselves;
:8 we are afflicted in every way,
but not crushed;
perplexed,
but not despairing;
:9 persecuted,
but not forsaken;
struck down,
but not destroyed;
3. Living and Dying
:10 always
carrying about
in the body
the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our
body.
:11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to
for Jesus’ sake,
so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in
our mortal flesh.
“Grace, to the Saints” – Blessings of Ministry enjoyed by the Church
1. Spiritual Life – The Life of the Church
:12 So death works in us, but life in you.
2. Eternal Hope – The Hope of the Church
:13 But
having the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written,
“I believed, therefore I spoke,”
we also believe,
therefore we also speak,
:14 knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.
3. Glorifying God – The Function of the Church
:15 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.
‘Ultimate Fitness’ – Spiritual Vigor in a physical frame
A. Spiritual Restoration
:16 Therefore we do not lose heart,
but
though our outer man is decaying,
yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.
1. a wealth of glory
:17 For
momentary,
light
affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory
far beyond all comparison,
:18 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.
Chapter 5
2. a glorified body
Hope of Ministry
:1 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.
3. a finality to death
:2 For indeed
in this house
we groan,
longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,
:3 inasmuch as we,
having put it on,
will not be found naked.
:4 For indeed
while we are in this tent,
we groan,
being burdened,
because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed,
so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
B. The Promise of a faithful God
:5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God,
who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
C. Preferring to be home
The Preference of Being with God
:6 Therefore,
being always of good courage,
and knowing that
while we are at home in the body
we are absent from the Lord—
:7 for we walk by faith,
not by sight—
:8 we are of good courage, I say,
and prefer rather to be absent from the body
and to be at home with the Lord.
D. Desiring to please
The Pleasing of God as our Ultimate Goal
:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition,
whether at home or absent,
to be pleasing to Him.
:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body,
according to what he has done,
whether good
or bad.
5:11-17 – Motivation for ministry / Ministry of Reconciliation
‘Soundness of the Source’ – Cultivating Genuineness in Ministry
The Ministry of Reconciliation – 5:11-6:10
1. Desire for integrity
:11 Therefore,
knowing the fear of the Lord,
we persuade men,
but we are made manifest to God;
and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.
2. Design of integrity
:12 We are not again commending ourselves to you
but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us,
so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance
and not in heart.
:13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God;
if we are of sound mind, it is for you.
3. Drive for integrity
:14 For the love of Christ controls us,
having concluded this,
that one died for all,
therefore all died;
:15 and He died for all,
so that they who live might no longer live for themselves,
but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.
:16-17 “The Condition of the Converts” – Glorious State of the Saved
A Divine Perspective of the Saints
1. The occasion of this perspective
:16 Therefore
from now on
we recognize no one according to the flesh;
2. The pattern of this perspective
even though we have known Christ according to the
flesh,
yet now we know Him in this way no longer.
3. The support for this perspective
:17 Therefore
if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creature;
the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.
:18-19 “Spiraling, Glorious Truce” – The Mobilization of the Peacemakers
5:18-19 – Specific duty of ministry
:18 Now all {these} things are from God,
who reconciled us to Himself through Christ,
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,
:19 namely, that God was
in Christ
reconciling the world to Himself,
not counting their trespasses against them,
and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
The Drive of the Peacemakers – The Nature of the Work of a Heavenly Peacemaker
In our service to God for His Kingdom …
5:20-21 – the message of the ministry!
1. We speak as those who bear a King’s message
:20 Therefore,
we are ambassadors for Christ,
as though God were entreating through us;
2. We plead as representatives of Him who made a Savior’s sacrifice
we beg you
on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
“The Message of Reconciliation: the Gospel”
Legacy of the Sin-Bearer
:21 He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus Christ]
who knew no sin
to be sin
on our behalf,
that we might become the righteousness of God
in Him.
Chapter 6
:1 And
working together with Him,
we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain –
:2 for He says,
at the acceptable time i listened to you,
and on the day of salvation i helped you;
:3 giving no cause for offense in anything,
in order that the ministry be not discredited,
:4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God,
in hardships,
in distresses,
:5 in beatings,
in imprisonments,
in tumults,
in labors,
in sleeplessness,
in hunger,
:6 in purity,
in knowledge,
in patience,
in kindness,
in the Holy Spirit,
in genuine love,
:7 in the word of truth,
in the power of God;
by the weapons of righteousness
for the right hand and the left,
:8 by glory and dishonor,
by evil report and good report;
regarded as deceivers and yet true
:9 as unknown yet well-known,
as dying yet behold, we live;
as punished yet not put to death,
:10 as sorrowful yet always rejoicing,
as poor yet making many rich,
as having nothing yet possessing all things.
:11 Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.
:12 You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections.
:13 Now in a like exchange—I speak as to children—open wide to us also.
:14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
:15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
:16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
:17 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.
:18 “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.
Chapter 7
:1 Therefore,
having these promises, beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit,
perfecting holiness
in the fear of God.
:2 Make room for us in your hearts;
we wronged no one,
we corrupted no one,
we took advantage of no one.
:3 I do not speak to condemn you,
for I have said before that you are in our hearts
to die together
and to live together.
:4 Great is my confidence in you;
great is my boasting on your behalf.
I am filled with comfort;
I am overflowing with joy
in all our affliction.
:5 For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest,
but we were afflicted on every side:
conflicts without,
fears within.
:6 But God,
who comforts the depressed,
comforted us
by the coming of Titus;
:7 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.
:8 For
though I caused you sorrow
by my letter,
I do not regret it;
though I did regret it—
for I see that that letter caused you sorrow,
though only for a while—
:9 I now rejoice,
not that you were made sorrowful,
but that you were made sorrowful to the point
of repentance;
for you were made sorrowful
according to the will of God,
so that you might not suffer loss in
anything through us.
:10 For the sorrow
that is according to the will of God
produces a repentance without regret,
leading to salvation,
but the sorrow of the world produces
death.
:11 For behold what earnestness this very
thing,
this godly sorrow,
has produced in you:
what vindication of yourselves,
what indignation,
what fear,
what longing,
what zeal,
what avenging of wrong!
In everything
you demonstrated yourselves to be
innocent in the matter.
:12 So
although I wrote to you,
it was not for the sake of the offender
nor for the sake of the one offended,
but that your earnestness
on our behalf
might be made known to you in the sight of God.
:13 For this reason we have been comforted.
And
besides our comfort,
we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus,
because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.
:14 For if in anything I have boasted to him about you,
I was not put to shame;
but as we spoke all things to you in truth,
so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth.
:15 His affection abounds all the more toward you,
as he remembers the obedience of you all,
how you received him with fear and trembling.
:16 I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.
Chapter 8
:1 Now, brethren,
we wish to make known to you the grace of God
which has been given
in the churches of Macedonia,
:2 that
in a great ordeal of affliction
their abundance of joy
and their deep poverty overflowed
in the wealth of their liberality.
:3 For I testify that
according to their ability,
and beyond their ability,
they gave of their own accord,
:4 begging us
with much urging
for the favor of participation
in the support of the saints,
:5 and this,
not as we had expected,
but they first gave themselves
to the Lord
and to us by the will of God.
:6 So we urged Titus that
as he had previously made a beginning,
so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.
:7 But
just as you abound in everything,
in faith
and utterance
and knowledge
and in all earnestness
and in the love we inspired in you,
see that you abound in this gracious work also.
:8 I am not speaking this as a command,
but as proving
through the earnestness of others
the sincerity of your love also.
:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that
though He was rich,
yet for your sake He became poor,
so that you
through His poverty
might become rich.
:10 I give my opinion in this matter,
for this is to your advantage,
who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this,
but also to desire to do it.
:11 But now finish doing it also,
so that
just as there was the readiness to desire it,
so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.
:12 For if the readiness is present,
it is acceptable according to what a person has,
not according to what he does not have.
:13 For this is not for the ease of others
and for your affliction,
but by way of equality—
:14 at this present time your abundance being a supply for
their need,
so that their abundance also may become a supply
for your need,
that there may be equality;
:15 as it is written,
“He who gathered much did not have too much,
and he who gathered little had no lack.”
:16 But thanks be to God
who puts the same earnestness
on your behalf
in the heart of Titus.
:17 For he not only accepted our appeal,
but
being himself very earnest,
he has gone to you
of his own accord.
:18 We have sent
along with him
the brother whose fame
in the things
of the gospel
has spread
through all the churches;
:19 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,
:20 taking precaution
so that no one will discredit us in our
administration of this generous gift;
:21 for we have regard for what is honorable,
not only in the sight of the Lord,
but also in the sight of men.
:22 We have sent
with them
our brother,
whom we have often tested
and found diligent in many things,
but now even more diligent
because of his great confidence in you.
:23 As for Titus,
he is my partner
and fellow worker
among you;
as for our brethren,
they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ.
:24 Therefore
openly before the churches,
show them
the proof of your love
and of our reason for boasting about you.
Chapter 9
:1 For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the
saints;
:2 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.
:3 But I have sent the brethren,
in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in
this case,
so that,
as I was saying,
you may be prepared;
:4 otherwise
if any Macedonians come with me
and find you unprepared,
we
—not to speak of you—
will be put to shame by this confidence.
:5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren
that they would go on ahead to you
and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift,
so that the same would be ready as a bountiful gift
and not affected by covetousness.
:6 Now this I say,
he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
:7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart,
not grudgingly
or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you,
so that
always
having all sufficiency
in everything,
you may have an abundance
for every good deed;
:9 as it is written,
“He scattered abroad,
he gave to the poor,
His righteousness endures forever.”
:10 Now He
who supplies
seed to the sower
and bread for food
will supply and multiply your seed
for sowing
and increase the harvest of your righteousness;
:11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality,
which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.
:12 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of
the saints,
but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.
:13 Because of the proof given by this ministry,
they will glorify God
for your obedience to your confession
of the gospel of Christ
and for the liberality of your contribution
to them
and to all,
:14 while they also,
by prayer on your behalf,
yearn for you
because of the surpassing grace of God in you.
:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
Chapter 10
:1 Now I, Paul, myself urge you
by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—
I
who am meek when face to face with you,
but bold toward you when absent!
:2 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.
:3 For though we walk in the flesh,
we do not war according to the flesh,
:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh,
but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
:5 We are destroying
speculations
and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God,
and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
:6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience,
whenever your obedience is complete.
:7 You are looking at things as they are outwardly.
If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s,
let him consider this again within himself,
that just as he is Christ’s,
so also are we.
:8 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,
:9 for I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters.
:10 For they say,
“His letters are weighty and strong,
but his personal presence is unimpressive
and his speech contemptible.”
:11 Let such a person consider this,
that what we are in word by letters when absent,
such persons we are also in deed when present.
:12 For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with
some of those who commend themselves;
but
when they measure themselves by themselves
and compare themselves with themselves,
they are without understanding.
:13 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.
:14 For we are not overextending ourselves,
as if we did not reach to you,
for we were the first to come even as far as you in
the gospel of Christ;
:15 not boasting beyond our measure,
that is, in other men’s labors,
but with the hope that
as your faith grows,
we will be,
within our sphere,
enlarged even more by you,
:16 so as to preach the gospel even to the regions
beyond you,
and not to boast in what has been accomplished
in the sphere of another.
:17 But HE WHO BOASTS IS TO BOAST IN
THE LORD.
:18 For it is not he who commends himself
that is approved,
but he whom the Lord commends.
Chapter 11
:1 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness;
but indeed you are bearing with me.
:2 For I am jealous for you
with a godly jealousy;
for I betrothed you to one husband,
so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.
:3 But I am afraid that,
as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,
your minds will be led astray
from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
:4 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.
:5 For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most
eminent apostles.
:6 But even if I am unskilled in speech,
yet I am not so in knowledge;
in fact,
in every way
we have made this evident to you in all things.
:7 Or did I commit a sin
in humbling myself
so that you might be exalted,
because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?
:8 I robbed other churches
by taking wages
from them
to serve you;
:9 and
when I was present with you
and was in need,
I was not a burden to anyone;
for
when the brethren came from Macedonia
they fully supplied my need,
and
in everything
I kept myself from being a burden to you,
and will continue to do so.
:10 As the truth of Christ is in me,
this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia.
:11 Why?
Because I do not love you?
God knows I do!
:12 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.
:13 For such men are
false apostles,
deceitful workers,
disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
:14 No wonder,
for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
:15 Therefore
it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as
servants of righteousness,
whose end will be according to their deeds.
:16 Again I say,
let no one think me foolish;
but if you do,
receive me even as foolish,
so that I also may boast a little.
:17 What I am saying,
I am not saying as the Lord would,
but as in foolishness,
in this confidence of boasting.
:18 Since many boast according to the flesh,
I will boast also.
:19 For you,
being so wise,
tolerate the foolish gladly.
:20 For you tolerate it if
anyone enslaves you,
anyone devours you,
anyone takes advantage of you,
anyone exalts himself,
anyone hits you in the face.
:21 To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison.
But in whatever respect anyone else is bold
—I speak in foolishness—
I am just as bold myself.
:22 Are they Hebrews? So am I.
Are they Israelites? So am I.
Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.
:23 Are they servants of Christ?
—I speak as if insane—
I more so;
in far more labors,
in far more imprisonments,
beaten times without number,
often in danger of death.
:24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.
:25 Three times I was beaten with rods,
once I was stoned,
three times I was shipwrecked,
a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
:26 I have been
on frequent journeys,
in
dangers from rivers,
dangers from robbers,
dangers from my countrymen,
dangers from the Gentiles,
dangers in the city,
dangers in the wilderness,
dangers on the sea,
dangers among false brethren;
:27 I have been
in labor and hardship,
through many sleepless nights,
in hunger and thirst,
often without food,
in cold and exposure.
:28 Apart from such external things,
there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.
:29 Who is weak without my being weak?
Who is led into sin without my intense concern?
:30 If I have to boast,
I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.
:31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus,
He who is blessed forever,
knows that I am not lying.
:32 In Damascus
the ethnarch
under Aretas the king
was guarding the city of the Damascenes
in order to seize me,
:33 and I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall,
and so escaped his hands.
Chapter 12
:1 Boasting is necessary,
though it is not profitable;
but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.
:2 I know a man
in Christ
who fourteen years ago
—whether in the body I do not know,
or out of the body I do not know,
God knows—
such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
:3 And I know how such a man
—whether in the body
or apart from the body I do not know,
God knows—
:4 was caught up into Paradise
and heard inexpressible words,
which a man is not permitted to speak.
:5 On behalf of such a man
I will boast;
but
on my own behalf
I will not boast,
except in regard to my weaknesses.
:6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish,
for I will be speaking the truth;
but I refrain from this,
so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me
or hears from me.
:7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations,
for this reason,
to keep me from exalting myself,
there was given me a thorn in the flesh,
a messenger of Satan
to torment me—
to keep me from exalting myself!
:8 Concerning this
I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
:9 And He has said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is perfected in weakness.”
Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
:10 Therefore
I am well content
with weaknesses,
with insults,
with distresses,
with persecutions,
with difficulties,
for Christ’s sake;
for when I am weak,
then I am strong.
:11 I have become foolish;
you yourselves compelled me.
Actually I should have been commended by you,
for in no respect was I inferior to the most eminent apostles,
even though I am a nobody.
:12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you
with all perseverance,
by signs and wonders and miracles.
:13 For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the
churches,
except that I myself did not become a burden to you?
Forgive me this wrong!
:14 Here
for this third time
I am ready to come to you,
and I will not be a burden to you;
for I do not seek what is yours,
but you;
for children are not responsible to save up for their parents,
but parents for their children.
:15 I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls.
If I love you more,
am I to be loved less?
:16 But be that as it may,
I did not burden you myself;
nevertheless, crafty fellow that I am, I took you in by deceit.
:17 Certainly I have not taken advantage of you
through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I?
:18 I urged Titus to go,
and I sent the brother with him.
Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he?
Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?
:19 All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to
you.
Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ;
and all for your upbuilding, beloved.
:20 For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not
what I wish
and may be found by you to be not what you wish;
that perhaps there will be
strife,
jealousy,
angry tempers,
disputes,
slanders,
gossip,
arrogance,
disturbances;
:21 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.
Chapter 13
:1 This is the third time I am coming to you.
EVERY FACT IS TO BE CONFIRMED
BY THE TESTIMONY OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES.
:2 I have previously said when present the second time,
and
though now absent
I say in advance
to those who have sinned
in the past
and to all the rest as well,
that if I come again
I will not spare anyone,
:3 since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me,
and who is not weak toward you,
but mighty in you.
:4 For indeed He was crucified because of weakness,
yet He lives because of the power of God.
For we also are weak in Him,
yet we will live with Him
because of the power of God directed toward you.
:5 Test yourselves
to see if you are in the faith;
examine yourselves!
Or do you not recognize this about yourselves,
that Jesus Christ is in you
—unless indeed you fail the test?
:6 But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.
:7 Now we pray to God that you do no wrong;
not that we ourselves may appear approved,
but that you may do what is right,
even though we may appear unapproved.
:8 For we can do nothing against the truth,
but only for the truth.
:9 For we rejoice when we ourselves are weak but you are strong;
this we also pray for,
that you be made complete.
:10 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.
:11 Finally, brethren,
rejoice,
be made complete,
be comforted,
be like-minded,
live in peace;
and the God of love and peace will be with you.
:12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
:13 All the saints greet you.
:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with you all.
- The word document: 2 Corinthians
