Study Desk

So none of you should refuse to accept Timothy. Help him continue on his trip in peace so that he can come back to me. I am expecting him to come back with the other brothers.

He comforts us every time we have trouble so that when others have trouble, we can comfort them with the same comfort God gives us.

If we have troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we are comforted, it is so that we can comfort you. And this helps you patiently accept the same sufferings we have.

In fact, it seems like God has been telling us we are going to die. But this is so that we will not trust in ourselves but in God, who raises people from death.

I wrote you a letter so that when I came to you I would not be made sad by those who should make me happy. I felt sure that all of you would share my joy.

I did this so that Satan would not win anything from us. We know very well what his plans are.

We are not like Moses, who put a covering over his face. He covered his face so that the people of Israel would not see it. The glory was disappearing, and Moses did not want them to see it end.

So we constantly experience the death of Jesus in our own bodies, but this is so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies.

We are alive, but for Jesus we are always in danger of death, so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die.

He died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from death so that they would live for him.

Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.

The main reason I wrote that letter was not because of the one who did the wrong or the one who was hurt. I wrote so that you would realize, before God, how very much you care for us.

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know that he gave up his heavenly riches for you. He gave up everything so that you could be richly blessed.

We are being careful so that no one will criticize us about the way we are caring for this large gift.

God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will make people give thanks to God.

I accepted pay from other churches. I took their money so that I could serve you.

But I must not be too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me. So a painful problem was given to me—an angel from Satan, sent to make me suffer, so that I would not think that I am better than anyone else.

I'm writing this before I come so that when I am there I will not have to use my authority to punish you. The Lord gave me that authority to make you stronger, not to destroy you.

Final Warnings and Greetings This will be my third time to visit you. And remember, "For every complaint there must be two or three people to say that they know it is true." When I was with you the second time, I gave a warning to those who had sinned. I am not there now, but I am giving another warning to them and to anyone else who has sinned: When I come to you again, I will punish you. You want proof that Christ is speaking through me. My proof is that he is not weak in dealing with you but is showing his power among you. It is true that Christ was weak when he was killed on the cross, but he lives now by God's power. It is also true that we share his weakness, but in dealing with you, we will be alive in him by God's power. Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. Don't you realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Of course, if you fail the test, he is not in you. But I hope you will see that we have not failed the test. We pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. Our concern here is not for people to see that we have passed the test in our work with you. Our main concern is that you do what is right, even if it looks as if we have failed the test. We cannot do anything that is against the truth but only what promotes the truth. We are happy to be weak if you are strong. And this is what we pray—that your lives will be made completely right again. I'm writing this before I come so that when I am there I will not have to use my authority to punish you. The Lord gave me that authority to make you stronger, not to destroy you. Now, brothers and sisters, be filled with joy. Try to make everything right, and do what I have asked you to do. Agree with each other, and live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. Give each other the special greeting of God's people. All of God's holy people here send you their greetings. I pray that you will enjoy the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

It pleased him to let me see and know his Son so that I could tell the Good News about him to the non-Jewish people. I immediately prepared to do this work without asking for advice or help from anyone.