2 Corinthians 7–10

7Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, ^blet us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, ^ccompleting our sanctification ^din the fear of God. ^e

Joy and Repentance

²Accept us. ^fWe have wronged no one, corrupted ^gno one, defrauded no one. ³I don’t say this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to live together and to die together. ⁴I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overcome with joy in all our afflictions.

⁵In fact, when we came into Macedonia, ^hwe ⁱhad no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts ^jon the outside, fears ^kinside. ⁶But God, who comforts the humble, ^lcomforted us by the arrival of Titus, ⁷and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, ^mand your zeal ⁿfor me, so that I rejoiced even more. ⁸For even if I grieved you with my letter, ^oI do not regret it—even though I did regret it since I saw that the letter grieved you, yet only for a little while. ⁹Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us. ¹⁰For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death. ^p11For consider how much diligence this very thing—this grieving as God wills—has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure ^qin this matter. ¹²So even though I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong, or because of the one who was wronged, but in order that your diligence for us might be made plain to you in the sight of God. ¹³For this reason we have been comforted.

In addition to our comfort, we rejoiced even more over the joy Titus ^rhad, ^sbecause his spirit was refreshed by all of you. ¹⁴For if I have made any boast to him about you, I have not been embarrassed; but as I have spoken everything to you in truth, ^tso our boasting to Titus has also turned out to be the truth. ¹⁵And his affection toward you is even greater as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you received him with fear and trembling. ¹⁶I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.

Appeal to Complete the Collection

8We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God granted to the churches ^uof Macedonia: ^v2During a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity. ^w3I testify that, on their own, according to their ability and beyond their ability, ⁴they begged us insistently for the privilege of sharing ^xin the ministry to the saints, ⁵and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves especially to the Lord, then to us by God’s will. ^y6So we urged Titus that just as he had begun, so he should also complete this grace to you. ⁷Now as you excel in everything—faith, speech, knowledge, ^zand in all diligence, and in your love for us ^a—excel also in this grace.

⁸I am not saying this as a command. Rather, by means of the diligence of others, I am testing the genuineness of your love. ⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though He was rich, ^bfor your sake He became poor, ^cso that by His poverty you might become rich. ¹⁰Now I am giving an opinion on this because it is profitable for you, who a year ago began not only to do something but also to desire it. ^de11But now finish the task ^fas well, that just as there was eagerness to desire it, so there may also be a completion from what you have. ¹²For if the eagerness is there, it is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. ^g13It is not that there may be relief for others and hardship for you, but it is a question of equality ^h— ¹⁴at the present time your surplus is available for their need, so their abundance may also become available for our need, so there may be equality. ¹⁵As it has been written:

The person who gathered much

did not have too much,

and the person who gathered little

did not have too little. ^ij

Administration of the Collection

¹⁶Thanks be to God who put the same concern for you into the heart of Titus. ¹⁷For he accepted our urging and, being very diligent, went out to you by his own choice. ¹⁸We have sent with him the brother ^kwho is praised throughout the churches for his gospel ministry. ^l19And not only that, but he was also appointed by the churches to accompany us with this gift ^mthat is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help. ²⁰We are taking this precaution so no one can criticize us about this large sum administered by us. ²¹For we are making provision ⁿfor what is right, ^onot only before the Lord but also before men. ²²We have also sent with them our brother. We have often tested him in many circumstances and found him to be diligent—and now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. ²³As for Titus, he is my partner ^pand coworker ^qserving you; as for our brothers, they are the messengers ^rof the churches, the glory of Christ. ^s24Therefore, show them proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting ^tabout you.

Motivations for Giving

9Now concerning the ministry to the saints, it is unnecessary for me to write to you. ²For I know your eagerness, and I brag about you to the Macedonians: ^uv“Achaia ^wxhas been prepared since last year,” and your zeal ^yhas stirred up most of them. ^z3But I sent the brothers so our boasting about you in the matter would not prove empty, and so you would be prepared just as I said. ⁴For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to mention you, would be embarrassed in that situation. ^a5Therefore I considered it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance the generous gift ^byou promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion. ^c

⁶Remember this: ^dThe person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of necessity, for God loves ^ea cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able ^fto make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. ⁹As it is written:

He scattered; ^g

He gave to the poor;

His righteousness endures forever. ^hi

¹⁰Now the One who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. ^j11You will be enriched ^kin every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. ¹²For the ministry of this service ^lis not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many acts of thanksgiving to God. ¹³They will glorify God for your obedience to the confession of ^mthe gospel of Christ, and for your generosity ⁿin sharing with them and with others through the proof provided by this service. ¹⁴And they will have deep affection for ^oyou in their prayers on your behalf because of the surpassing grace of God in you. ¹⁵Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

Paul’s Apostolic Authority

10Now I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ—I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent. ²I beg you that when I am present I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who think we are behaving in an unspiritual way. ^pq3For though we live in the body, ^rwe do not wage war in an unspiritual way, ^s4since the weapons of our warfare ^tare not worldly, ^ubut are powerful ^vthrough God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments ⁵and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge ^wof God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ. ⁶And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience has been confirmed.

⁷Look at what is obvious. ^xIf anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, ^yhe should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we. ⁸For if I boast some more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up ^zand not for tearing you down, I am not ashamed. ⁹I don’t want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters. ¹⁰For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable.” ¹¹Such a person should consider this: What we are in the words of our letters when absent, we will be in actions when present.

¹²For we don’t dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend ^athemselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, ^bthey lack understanding. ^c13We, however, will not boast beyond measure but according to the measure of the area of ministry that God has assigned ^dto us, which reaches even to you. ¹⁴For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, since we have come to you with the gospel of Christ. ¹⁵We are not bragging beyond measure about other people’s labors. But we have the hope ^ethat as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged, ¹⁶so that we may proclaim the good news to the regions beyond you, ^fnot boasting about what has already been done in someone else’s area of ministry. ^g17So the one who boasts must boast in the Lord. ^hi18For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends. ^j