2 Corinthians 7
7
1 Therefore, since these promises belong to us, beloved, let us purify ourselves from every form of defilement, both bodily and spiritual, bringing holiness to completion in reverent fear before God.
Paul’s Joy Over Genuine Repentance
2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, corrupted no one, and taken advantage of no one.
3 I am not saying this to accuse you, for I have already said that you are so deeply in our hearts that we share life and death together.
4 Great is my confidence in speaking openly to you, and great is my pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; in the midst of all our affliction, my joy overflows beyond measure.
5 For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies found no rest. Instead, we were afflicted on every side, with conflicts on the outside and fears within.
6 But God, who comforts the downcast, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus,
7 and not only by his arrival, but also by the encouragement he received from you. He reported to us your deep concern, your sorrow, and your zeal on my behalf, so that my joy increased all the more.
8 For even if my letter caused you sorrow, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it for a time, since I see that the letter caused you pain, even if only briefly,
9 I now rejoice, not because you were distressed, but because your distress led to repentance. You were grieved in a way that accorded with the purpose of God, so that you suffered no harm from us in any respect.
10 For sorrow that accords with the purpose of God produces repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow produces death.
11 For consider what this very sorrow in accordance with God’s purpose has produced in you: such determination to clear yourselves, such righteous indignation, such reverent fear, such longing, such zeal, such readiness to see justice done. In every respect, you have shown yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
12 Therefore, even though I wrote to you, it was not primarily for the sake of the one who committed the wrong, nor for the one who suffered it, but so that your earnest devotion to us might be made evident to you in the sight of God.
13 For this reason, we have been encouraged. And beyond this encouragement, we rejoiced even more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by all of you.
14 For if I have spoken proudly to him about you, I was not put to shame. Just as everything we said to you was spoken truthfully, so our boasting to Titus about you proved to be true.
15 And his affection for you has grown even deeper as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you welcomed him with reverence and humility.
16 I rejoice because I have complete confidence in you.
Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
