13 This is the third time I’m coming to you. “Every charge must be substantiated at the mouth of two or three witnesses.” ² I said it before when I was with you the second time, and I say it now in advance while I’m away from you, to all those who had sinned previously, and all the others, that when I come back again I won’t spare them— ³ since you are looking for proof of the Messiah who speaks in me, the Messiah who is not weak towards you but powerful in your midst! ⁴ He was crucified in weakness, you see, but he lives by God’s power. For we too are weak in him, but we shall live with him, for your benefit, by God’s power.

Test yourselves!

⁵ Test yourselves to see if you really are in the faith! Put yourselves through the examination. Or don’t you realize that Jesus the Messiah is in you?—unless, that is, you’ve failed the test. ⁶ I hope you will discover that we didn’t fail the test. ⁷ But we pray to God that you will never, ever, do anything wrong; not so that we can be shown up as having passed the test, but so that you will do what is right, even if that means that we appear like people who’ve failed. ⁸ For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ We celebrate, you see, when we are weak but you are strong.

This is what we pray for, that you may become complete and get everything in order. ¹⁰ That’s why I’m writing this to you while I’m away, so that when I come I won’t have to use my authority to be severe with you. The Lord has given me this authority, after all, not to pull down but to build up.

Grace, love and fellowship

¹¹ All that remains, my dear family, is this: celebrate, put everything in order, strengthen one another, think in the same way, be at peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. ¹² Greet one another with the holy kiss. All God’s people send you their greetings.

¹³ The grace of Messiah Jesus the Lord, the love of God, and the fellowship of the holy spirit be with you all.