Paul's Change of Plans

¹² For our boast is this, ^(A)the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity^[a] and ^(B)godly sincerity, ^(C)not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. ¹³ For we are not writing to you anything other than what you read and understand and I hope you will fully understand— ¹⁴ just as you did ^(D)partially understand us—that ^(E)on the day of our Lord Jesus ^(F)you will boast of us as ^(G)we will boast of you.

¹⁵ Because I was sure of this, ^(H)I wanted to come to you first, so that you might have ^(I)a second ^(J)experience of grace. ¹⁶ I wanted to visit you ^(K)on my way to Macedonia, and to come back to you from Macedonia and have you send me on my way to Judea. ¹⁷ Was I vacillating when I wanted to do this? Do I make my plans ^(L)according to the flesh, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? ¹⁸ As surely as ^(M)God is faithful, ^(N)our word to you has not been Yes and No. ¹⁹ For ^(O)the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, ^(P)Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but ^(Q)in him it is always Yes. ²⁰ For ^(R)all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our ^(S)Amen to God for his glory. ²¹ And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and ^(T)has anointed us, ²² and who has also ^(U)put his seal on us and ^(V)given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.^[b]

²³ But ^(W)I call God to witness against me—it was ^(X)to spare you that I refrained from coming again to Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we ^(Y)lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm ^(Z)in your faith.

Triumph in Christ

¹² When ^(A)I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though ^(B)a door was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³ my spirit ^(C)was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴ But ^(D)thanks be to God, who in Christ always ^(E)leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads ^(F)the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵ For we are the aroma of Christ to God among ^(G)those who are being saved and among ^(H)those who are perishing, ^16 (I)to one a fragrance from death to death, ^(J)to the other a fragrance from life to life. ^(K)Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Ministers of the New Covenant

3 ^(L)Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, ^(M)as some do, ^(N)letters of recommendation to you, or from you? ^2 (O)You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our^[a] hearts, to be known and read by all. ³ And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of ^(P)the living God, not on ^(Q)tablets of stone but on ^(R)tablets of ^(S)human hearts.^[b]

^4 (T)Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. ^5 (U)Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but ^(V)our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who has made us sufficient to be ^(W)ministers of ^(X)a new covenant, not of ^(Y)the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but ^(Z)the Spirit gives life.