Dual Panel1FROM Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and our colleague Timothy, to God's church at Corinth, together with all God's people throughout the whole of Achaia.
2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the all-merciful Father, the God whose consolation never fails us!
4He consoles us in all our troubles, so that we in turn may be able to console others in any trouble of theirs and to share with them the consolation we ourselves receive from God.
5As Christ's suffering exceeds all measure and extends to us, so too it is through Christ that our consolation has no limit.
6If distress is our lot, it is the price we pay for your consolation and your salvation; if our lot is consolation, it is to help us to bring you consolation, and strength to face with fortitude the same sufferings we now endure.
7And our hope for you is firmly grounded; for we know that if you share in the suffering, you share also in the consolation.
8In saying this, my friends, we should like you to know how serious was the trouble that came upon us in the province of Asia. The burden of it was far too heavy for us to bear, so heavy that we even despaired of life.
9Indeed, we felt in our hearts that we had received a death sentence. This was meant to teach us to place reliance not on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead.
10From such mortal peril God delivered us; and he will deliver us again, he on whom our hope is fixed. Yes, he will continue to deliver us,
11while you co-operate by praying for us. Then, with so many people praying for our deliverance, there will be many to give thanks on our behalf for God's gracious favour towards us.
Paul's concern for the church at Corinth
12THERE is one thing we are proud of: our conscience shows us that in our dealings with others, and above all in our dealings with you, our conduct has been governed by a devout and godly sincerity, by the grace of God and not by worldly wisdom.
13There is nothing in our letters to you but what you can read and understand. You do understand us in some measure, but I hope you will come to understand fully that you have as much reason to be proud of us, as we of you, on the day of our Lord Jesus.
14(1:13)
15It was because I felt so confident about all this that I had intended to come first of all to you and give you the benefit of a double visit:
16I meant to visit you on my way to Macedonia and, after leaving Macedonia, to return to you, and you could then have sent me on my way to Judaea.
17That was my intention; did I lightly change my mind? Or do I, when framing my plans, frame them as a worldly man might, first saying “Yes, yes” and then “No, no”?
18God is to be trusted, and therefore what we tell you is not a mixture of Yes and No.
19The Son of God, Christ Jesus, proclaimed among you by us (by Silvanus and Timothy, I mean, as well as myself), was not a mixture of Yes and No. With him it is always Yes;
20for all the promises of God have their Yes in him. That is why, when we give glory to God, it is through Christ Jesus that we say “Amen”.
21And if you and we belong to Christ, guaranteed as his and anointed, it is all God's doing;
22it is God also who has set his seal upon us and, as a pledge of what is to come, has given the Spirit to dwell in our hearts.
23I appeal to God as my witness and stake my life upon it: it was out of consideration for you that I did not after all come to Corinth.
24It is not that we have control of your faith; rather we are working with you for your happiness. For it is by that faith that you stand.