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Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia:
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who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.
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Paul’s Change of Plans
Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.
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set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
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Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.
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For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
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Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.
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You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
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He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
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The Greater Glory of the New Covenant
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, transitory though it was,
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will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
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For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.
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And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
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Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
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And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
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It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,
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because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself.
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Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,
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For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
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Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
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We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
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in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;
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in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;
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We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us.
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Warning Against Idolatry
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
