⁹I wrote to you for a special reason. I wanted to see if you could stand the test. I wanted to see if you could obey everything that was asked of you.

¹⁰Anyone you forgive I also forgive. Was there anything to forgive? If so, I have forgiven it for your benefit, knowing that Christ is watching. ¹¹We don’t want Satan to outsmart us. We know how he does his evil work.

Serving Under the New Covenant

¹²I went to Troas to preach the good news about Christ. There I found that the Lord had opened a door of opportunity for me. ¹³But I still had no peace of mind. I couldn’t find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to the believers at Troas and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴Give thanks to God! He always leads us in the winners’ parade because we belong to Christ. Through us, God spreads the knowledge of Christ everywhere like perfume. ¹⁵God considers us to be the sweet smell that Christ is spreading among people who are being saved and people who are dying. ¹⁶To the one, we are the smell of death. To the other, we are the perfume of life. Who is able to do that work?

¹⁷Unlike many people, we aren’t selling God’s word to make money. In fact, it is just the opposite. Because of Christ we speak honestly before God. We speak like people God has sent.

Read in Logos

2 Corinthians 2:14: But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.