Chronological Plan

¹For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.

²For indeed, in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,

³since in fact after putting it on, we will not be found naked.

⁴For indeed, we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.

⁵Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave us the Spirit as a pledge.

⁶Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord—

⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight—

⁸but we are of good courage and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

⁹Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.

¹¹Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade people, but we are well known to God; and I hope that we are also well known in your consciences.

¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.

¹³For if we have lost our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.

¹⁴For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;

¹⁵and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.

¹⁶Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

¹⁷Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

¹⁸Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

¹⁹namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

²⁰Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

²¹He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

¹And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—

²for He says, “AT A FAVORABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON A DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “A FAVORABLE TIME,” behold, now is “A DAY OF SALVATION”—

³giving no reason for taking offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited,

⁴but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in difficulties,

⁵in beatings, in imprisonments, in mob attacks, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger,

⁶in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love,

⁷in the word of truth, and in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left,

⁸by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true;

⁹as unknown and yet well known, as dying and yet behold, we are alive; as punished and yet not put to death,

¹⁰as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

¹¹Our mouth has spoken freely to you, you Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.

¹²You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections.

¹³Now in the same way in exchange—I am speaking as to children—open wide your hearts to us, you as well.

¹⁴Do not be mismatched with unbelievers; for what do righteousness and lawlessness share together, or what does light have in common with darkness?

¹⁵Or what harmony does Christ have with Belial, or what does a believer share with an unbeliever?

¹⁶Or what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL AMONG THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

¹⁷Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.

¹⁸And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty.

¹Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

²Make room for us in your hearts; we have wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one.

³I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together.

⁴My confidence in you is great; my boasting in your behalf is great. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.

⁵For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts on the outside, fears inside.

⁶But God, who comforts the discouraged, comforted us by the arrival of Titus;

⁷and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted among you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more.

⁸For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while—

⁹I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.

¹⁰For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

¹¹For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

¹²So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness in our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God.

¹³Because of this, we have been comforted. And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.

¹⁴For if I have boasted to him about you regarding anything, I was not put to shame. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth.

¹⁵His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.

¹⁶I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.

¹Now, brothers and sisters, we make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia,

²that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.

³For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave voluntarily,

⁴begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints,

⁵and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.

⁶So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well.

⁷But just as you excel in everything, in faith, speaking, knowledge, and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you also excel in this gracious work.

⁸I am not saying this as a command, but as proving, through the earnestness of others, the sincerity of your love as well.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.

¹⁰I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it.

¹¹But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the willingness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability.

¹²For if the willingness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.

¹³For this is not for the relief of others and for your hardship, but by way of equality—

¹⁴at this present time your abundance will serve as assistance for their need, so that their abundance also may serve as assistance for your need, so that there may be equality;

¹⁵as it is written: “THE ONE WHO had gathered much did not have too much, AND THE ONE WHO had gathered little did not have too little.”

¹⁶But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness in your behalf in the heart of Titus.

¹⁷For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord.

¹⁸We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches;

¹⁹and not only that, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness,

²⁰taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift;

²¹for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of other people.

²²We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you.

²³As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ.

²⁴Therefore, openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you.

¹For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints;

²for I know your willingness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, namely, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.

³But I have sent the brothers, in order that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this case, so that, as I was saying, you will be prepared;

⁴otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to mention you—would be put to shame by this confidence.

⁵So I considered it necessary to urge the brothers that they go on ahead to you and arrange in advance your previously promised generous gift, that the same would be ready as a generous gift, and not as one grudgingly given due to greediness.

⁶Now I say this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows generously will also reap generously.

⁷Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

⁸And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

⁹as it is written: “HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER.”

¹⁰Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;

¹¹you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.

¹²For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.

¹³Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all,

¹⁴while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.

¹⁵Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!