¹³ I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles.

²¹ Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit^[a] to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!”

¹⁸ We wanted very much to come to you, and I, Paul, tried again and again, but Satan prevented us.

¹⁷ I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness.

¹⁷ But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.^[a]

The Hope of the Resurrection

¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died^[a] so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.

⁶ This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

⁸ We think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.

Spiritual Gifts

12 Now, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this.

Lessons from Israel’s Idolatry

10 I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground.