2 Corinthians 1
1
1This letter comes from Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the will of God, and from Timothy, our brother. It is sent to the church of God in Corinth, together with all of God's people throughout Achaia. 2May you have grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Praise be to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! He is the compassionate Father and the God of all comfort. 4He comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those who are also in trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5The more we share in Christ's sufferings, the more we receive the abundant comfort of Christ. 6If we are in distress, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are being comforted, it is for your comfort, which results in you patiently bearing the same sufferings that we suffer. 7We have great confidence in you,#1:7. Literally, “our hope in you is firm.” knowing that as you share in our sufferings you also share in our comfort.
8Brothers and sisters, we won't keep you in the dark about the trouble we had in Asia. We were so overwhelmed that we were afraid we wouldn't have the strength to continue—so much so we doubted we would live through it. 9In fact it was like a death sentence inside us. This was to stop us relying on ourselves and to trust in God who raises the dead. 10He saved us from a terrible death, and he will do so again. We have total confidence in God that he will continue to save us. 11You help us by praying for us. In this way many will thank God for us because of the blessing that God will give us in response to the prayers of many.
12We take pride in the fact—and our conscience confirms it—that we have acted properly towards people, and especially to you. We have followed God's principles of holiness and sincerity, not according to worldly wisdom but through the grace of God. 13For we are not writing anything complicated that you can't read and understand. I hope you'll understand in the end, 14even if you only understand part of it now, so that when the Lord comes you will be proud of us, just as we are of you.
15Because I was so sure of your confidence in me I planned to come and visit you first. That way you could have benefited twice, 16as I would go on from you to Macedonia, and then return from Macedonia to you. Then I would have had you send me on my way to Judea. 17Why did I change my original plan? Do you think I make my decisions lightly? Do you think that when I plan I'm like some worldly person who says Yes and No at the same time? 18Just as God can be trusted, when we give you our word it's not both Yes and No. 19The truth of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was announced to you by us—me, Silvanus, and Timothy—and it wasn't both Yes and No. In Christ the answer is absolutely Yes! 20However many promises God has made, in Christ the answer is always Yes. Through him we respond, saying Yes#1:20. Literally, “Amen,” which means “Yes,” or “I agree.” to the glory of God.
21God has given both us and you the inner strength to stand firm in Christ. God has anointed us, 22placed his stamp of approval on us, and given us the guarantee of the Spirit to convince us. 23I call God as my witness that it was to avoid causing you pain that I chose not to come to Corinth. 24This isn't because we want to dictate how you relate to God, but because we want to help you have a joyful experience—for it's by trusting God that you stand firm.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
2 Corinthians 1
1
Paul gives thanks to God
1From Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and from Timothy, who is also a follower.#Ac 18.1.
To God's church in Corinth and to all God's people in Achaia.
2I pray that God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!
Paul gives thanks
3Praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! The Father is a merciful God, who always gives us comfort. 4He comforts us when we are in trouble, so that we can share that same comfort with others in trouble. 5We share in the terrible sufferings of Christ, but also in the wonderful comfort he gives. 6We suffer in the hope that you will be comforted and saved. And because we are comforted, you will also be comforted, as you patiently endure suffering like ours. 7You never disappoint us. You suffered as much as we did, and we know that you will be comforted as we were.
8My friends, I want you to know what a hard time we had in Asia. Our sufferings were so horrible and so unbearable that death seemed certain.#1 Co 15.32. 9In fact, we felt sure that we were going to die. But this made us stop trusting in ourselves and start trusting God, who raises the dead to life. 10God saved us from the threat of death,#1.10 the threat of death: Some manuscripts have “many threats of death”. and we are sure that he will do it again and again. 11Please help us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks for the blessings we receive in answer to all these prayers.
The work of an apostle for God's people
Paul's change of plans
12We can be proud of our clear conscience. We have always lived honestly and sincerely, especially when we were with you. And we were guided by God's wonderful kindness instead of by the wisdom of this world. 13I am not writing anything you cannot read and understand. I hope you will understand it completely, 14just as you already partly understand us. Then when our Lord Jesus returns, you can be as proud of us as we are of you.
15I was so sure of your pride in us that I had planned to visit you first of all. In this way you would have the blessing of two visits from me. 16Once on my way to Macedonia and again on my return from there. Then you could send me on to Judea.#Ac 19.21. 17Do you think I couldn't make up my mind about what to do? Or do I seem like someone who says “Yes” or “No” simply to please others? 18God can be trusted, and so can I, when I say that our answer to you has always been “Yes” and never “No”. 19This is because Jesus Christ the Son of God is always “Yes” and never “No”. And he is the one that Silas,#1.19 Silas: The Greek text has “Silvanus”, which is another form of the name Silas. Timothy, and I told you about.#Ac 18.5.
20Christ says “Yes” to all of God's promises. That's why we have Christ to say “Amen”#1.20 Amen: The word “amen” is used here with the meaning of “yes”. for us to the glory of God. 21And so God makes it possible for you and us to stand firmly together with Christ. God is also the one who chose us 22and put his Spirit in our hearts to show that we belong only to him.
23God is my witness that I stayed away from Corinth, just to keep from being hard on you. 24We are not bosses who tell you what to believe. We are working with you to make you glad, because your faith is strong.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012