002:026 I send him because he is longing to see you all and is distressed at your having heard of his illness.
002:027 For it is true that he has been ill, and was apparently at
the point of death; but God had pity on him, and not only on him,
but also on me, to save me from having sorrow upon sorrow.
002:028 I am therefore all the more eager to send him, in the hope
that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have
the less sorrow.
002:029 Receive him therefore with heartfelt Christian joy, and hold in honour men like him;
002:030 because it was for the sake of Christ's work that he came so near death, hazarding, as he did, his very life in endeavouring to make good any deficiency that there might be in your gifts to me.
003:001 In conclusion, my brethren, be joyful in the Lord. For me to give you the same warnings as before is not irksome to me, while so far as you are concerned it is a safe precaution.
003:002 Beware of `the dogs,' the bad workmen, the self-mutilators.
003:003 For we are the true circumcision—we who render to God
a spiritual worship and make our boast in Christ Jesus
and have no confidence in outward ceremonies:
003:004 although I myself might have some excuse for confidence in
outward ceremonies. If any one else claims a right to trust
in them, far more may I:
003:005 circumcised, as I was, on the eighth day, a member of the race
of Israel and of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew sprung
from Hebrews; as to the Law a Pharisee;