2 Corinthians 7–10

7Therefore, ^ahaving these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The Corinthians’ Repentance

²Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, ^bwe have cheated no one. ³I do not say this to condemn; for ^cI have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ^4dGreat is my boldness of speech toward you, ^egreat is my boasting on your behalf. ^fI am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.

⁵For indeed, ^gwhen we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but ^hwe were troubled on every side. ⁱOutside were conflicts, inside were fears. ⁶Nevertheless ^jGod, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by ^kthe coming of Titus, ⁷and not only by his coming, but also by the ¹consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

⁸For even if I made you ^lsorry with my letter, I do not regret it; ^mthough I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. ⁹Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰For ⁿgodly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; ^obut the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what ^pclearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be ^qclear in this matter. ¹²Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, ^rbut that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.

The Joy of Titus

¹³Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit ^shas been refreshed by you all. ¹⁴For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. ¹⁵And his affections are greater for you as he remembers ^tthe obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. ¹⁶Therefore I rejoice that ^uI have confidence in you in everything.

Excel in Giving

8Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: ²that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and ^atheir deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. ³For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, ⁴imploring us with much urgency ¹that we would receive the gift and ^bthe fellowship of the ministering to the saints. ⁵And not only as we had hoped, but they first ^cgave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the ^dwill of God. ⁶So ^ewe urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. ⁷But as ^fyou abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see ^gthat you abound in this grace also.

Christ Our Pattern

^8hI speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. ⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁱthat though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become ^jrich.

¹⁰And in this ^kI give advice: ^lIt is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and ^mwere desiring to do a year ago; ¹¹but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. ¹²For ⁿif there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.

¹³For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; ¹⁴but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. ¹⁵As it is written, ^o“He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

Collection for the Judean Saints

¹⁶But thanks be to God who ²puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. ¹⁷For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. ¹⁸And we have sent with him ^pthe brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, ¹⁹and not only that, but who was also ^qchosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us ^rto the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, ²⁰avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us—^21sproviding honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

²²And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you. ²³If anyone inquires about ^tTitus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are ^umessengers ³of the churches, the glory of Christ. ²⁴Therefore show to them, ⁴and before the churches the proof of your love and of our ^vboasting on your behalf.

Administering the Gift

9Now concerning ^athe ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you; ²for I know your willingness, about which I boast of you to the Macedonians, that Achaia was ready a ^byear ago; and your zeal has stirred up the majority. ^3cYet I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this respect, that, as I said, you may be ready; ⁴lest if some Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you!) should be ashamed of this ¹confident boasting. ⁵Therefore I thought it necessary to ²exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a ³grudging obligation.

The Cheerful Giver

^6dBut this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows ⁴bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, ^enot grudgingly or of ⁵necessity; for ^fGod loves a cheerful giver. ^8gAnd God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. ⁹As it is written:

^h“He has dispersed abroad,

He has given to the poor;

His righteousness endures forever.”

¹⁰Now ⁶may He who ⁱsupplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, ⁷supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your ^jrighteousness, ¹¹while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, ^kwhich causes thanksgiving through us to God. ¹²For the administration of this service not only ^lsupplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, ¹³while, through the proof of this ministry, they ^mglorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal ⁿsharing with them and all men, ¹⁴and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding ^ograce of God in you. ¹⁵Thanks be to God ^pfor His indescribable gift!

The Spiritual War

10Now ^aI, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—^bwho in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. ²But I beg you ^cthat when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. ³For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ^4dFor the weapons ^eof our warfare are not ¹carnal but ^fmighty in God ^gfor pulling down strongholds, ^5hcasting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ⁱand being ready to punish all disobedience when ^jyour obedience is fulfilled.

Reality of Paul’s Authority

^7kDo you look at things according to the outward appearance? ^lIf anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even ²so ^mwe are Christ’s. ⁸For even if I should boast somewhat more ⁿabout our authority, which the Lord gave ³us for ⁴edification and not for your destruction, ^oI shall not be ashamed—⁹lest I seem to terrify you by letters. ¹⁰“For his letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but ^phis bodily presence is weak, and his ^qspeech contemptible.” ¹¹Let such a person consider this, that what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such we will also be in deed when we are present.

Limits of Paul’s Authority

^12rFor we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. ^13sWe, however, will not boast beyond measure, but within the limits of the sphere which God appointed us—a sphere which especially includes you. ¹⁴For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), ^tfor it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ; ¹⁵not boasting of things beyond measure, that is, ^uin other men’s labors, but having hope, that as your faith is increased, we shall be greatly enlarged by you in our sphere, ¹⁶to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s sphere of accomplishment.

¹⁷But ^v“he who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” ¹⁸For ^wnot he who commends himself is approved, but ^xwhom the Lord commends.