21Now he that confirmeth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22who also hath put his seal upon us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
23But I appeal to God as a witness unto my soul, that to spare you I have not yet come to Corinth: 24not that we have dominion over your faith, but are fellow-helpers of your joy; for by faith ye stand.
[CHAP. II.]
BUT I prescribed to myself this rule, not to come again to you with sorrow. 2For if I make you sorry, who is he that maketh me glad, but he that is made sorrowful by me? 3And I have written unto you for this very purpose, that I might not, when I come to you, have sorrow from those in whom I ought to rejoice, having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. 4For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears, not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly towards you.
5Now if any person hath given cause for grief, he hath not grieved me merely, but partly all of you; that I may add no farther burden. 6Sufficient for such person is that chastisement which hath been inflicted by the majority of you. 7Wherefore, on the contrary, ye rather ought to forgive and comfort him, lest such a one be swallowed up with excess of sorrow. 8Wherefore I exhort you to confirm your love towards him. 9For to this end also have I written, that I may know by this proof of you if ye are obedient in all things. 10But to whomsoever ye forgive any thing, so do I; and if I forgive any thing, to whom I forgive, for your sakes I do it, in the person of Jesus Christ, 11that no advantage be gained over us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his devices.
12But when I came to Troas to preach the Gospel of Christ, though a door was opened unto me by the Lord, 13I had no test in my spirit on my not finding there Titus my brother: so taking my leave of them I went forth unto Macedonia. 14But thanks be to God, who causeth us always to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 15For we are a sweet odour of Christ to God in those who are saved, and in those who perish. 16To the one we are the odour of death unto death, to the other the odour of life unto life: and who is sufficient for these things? 17For we are not as the many, adulterating the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ.
[CHAP. III.]
DO we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some, commendatory letters to you, or commendatory letters from you? 2Ye are our letter written in our hearts, acknowledged and read of all men: 3because ye are manifestly seen to be the letter of Christ, of which we have been the secretaries, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tables of stone, but on the fleshly tables of the heart. 4And such confidence have we through Christ towards God: 5not that we are sufficient of ourselves to account any thing of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. 6Who hath made us also able ministers of the new testament, not of the letter but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
7For if the ministry of death in letters graven on stone, was attended with glory, so that the children of Israel could not keep their eyes fixed upon the countenance of Moses, because of the glory of his countenance, though soon evanescent; 8how much more will not the ministry of the Spirit be attended with glory? 9For if the ministry of condemnation is glory, much more doth the ministry of righteousness excel in glory. 10For that which was glorious hath no glory, comparatively, because of the glory which excelleth. 11For if that which was abolished came in a glorious manner, much more is that which remaineth glorious.
12Having therefore such a hope, we use much freedom of speech. 13And act not as Moses who spread a veil over his face, in order that the children of Israel might not look stedfastly to the end of that which should be abolished. 14But their understandings were darkened: for unto this day the same veil in their reading the old testament abideth unremoved; which veil is taken away by Christ. 15For unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is spread over their hearts. 16Nevertheless, when Israel shall turn unto the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.