Bible in 90 Days

The Resurrection of Christ

15 Now, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which you have received, and in which you stand. ² Through it you are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached to you, unless you have believed in vain.

³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: how Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ was buried, rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and was seen by Cephas, and then by the twelve. ⁶ Then He was seen by over five hundred brothers at once, of whom the greater part remain to this present time, though some have passed away. ⁷ Then He was seen by James and then by all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, He was seen by me also, as by one born at the wrong time.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am. And His grace toward me was not in vain. I labored more abundantly than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. ¹¹ Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

The Resurrection of the Dead

¹² Now if Christ is preached that He rose from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen. ¹⁴ If Christ has not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain. ¹⁵ Yes, and we would then be found false witnesses of God, because we have testified that God raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not rise. ¹⁶ For if the dead do not rise, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷ If Christ is not raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then they also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

²⁰ But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came by man, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward, those who are Christ’s at His coming. ²⁴ Then comes the end when He will deliver up the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵ For He will reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. ²⁶ The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷ For He “has put all things under His feet.”^[a] But when He says, “all things are put under Him,” it is revealed that He, who has put all things under Him, is the exception. ²⁸ When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.

²⁹ Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead? ³⁰ And why do we stand in danger every hour? ³¹ I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. ³² If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me if the dead do not rise?

³³ Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” ³⁴ Awake to righteousness and do not sin, for some do not have the knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

The Resurrection Body

³⁵ But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? With what body do they come?” ³⁶ You fool! What you sow is not made alive unless it dies. ³⁷ When you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. ³⁸ Then God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. ³⁹ All flesh is not the same flesh. There is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fish, and another of birds. ⁴⁰ There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies. The glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. ⁴¹ There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars. One star differs from another star in glory.

⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. ⁴³ It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ So it is written, “The first man Adam was made a living soul.”^[c] The last Adam was made a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ However, that which is spiritual is not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second man was the Lord from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the man of dust, so are those who are of dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. ⁴⁹ As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.

⁵⁰ Now this I say, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. ⁵² In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. ⁵³ For this corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal will put on immortality. ⁵⁴ When this corruptible will have put on incorruption, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then the saying that is written shall come to pass: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”^[d]

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The Contribution for the Saints

16 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given instruction to the churches of Galatia, so even you must do. ² On the first day of the week let every one of you lay in store, as God has prospered him, so that no collections be made when I come. ³ And when I come, I will send whomever you approve with your letters to take your generous gifts to Jerusalem. ⁴ If it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.

Paul’s Plans for Travel

⁵ Now I will come to you after I pass through Macedonia. For I will pass through Macedonia. ⁶ It may be that I will remain, of course, and spend the winter with you, that you may send me on my journey wherever I go. ⁷ For I do not wish to see you now in passing. Instead, I trust to remain a while with you, if the Lord permits. ⁸ But I will remain at Ephesus until Pentecost. ⁹ For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

¹⁰ Now if Timothy comes, see that he may remain with you without fear, for he does the work of the Lord, as I also do. ¹¹ Therefore let no one despise him. But send him on his way in peace, that he may come to me. I am expecting him with the brothers.

¹² As for our brother Apollos, I greatly wanted him to come to you with the brothers. But he was not willing at all to come at this time. However, he will come when he has a convenient time.

¹³ Watch, stand fast in the faith, be bold like men, and be strong. ¹⁴ Let all that you do be done with love.

¹⁵ You know the house of Stephanas, that it is the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves to the ministry of the saints. So I ask you, brothers, ¹⁶ that you submit yourselves to such people, and to everyone who helps and labors with us. ¹⁷ I am happy about the arrival of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, for they supplied what was lacking on your part. ¹⁸ They have refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge these men.

Final Request and Greetings

¹⁹ The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house. ²⁰ All the brothers greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

²¹ I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand.

²² If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Come, O Lord!

²³ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

²⁴ My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Salutation

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia:

² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Thanksgiving After Affliction

³ Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble by the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. ⁵ As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective in enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. ⁷ Our hope for you is steadfast, knowing that as you partake in the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.

⁸ For we would not, brothers, have you ignorant of our troubles which came to us in Asia. We were pressured beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ We had the sentence of death in ourselves, so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He delivered us from so great a death and does deliver us. In Him we trust that He will still deliver us, ¹¹ as you help together by praying for us, so that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many persons.

Paul’s Travel Plans Change

¹² For our rejoicing is this: The testimony of our conscience is that we conducted ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you, in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God. ¹³ For we write nothing else to you than what you read or understand. And I trust you will understand even to the end, ¹⁴ as you have understood us in part, that we are yours, boasting even as you are ours on the day of the Lord Jesus.

¹⁵ In this confidence I planned to come to you before, that you might have a second benefit: ¹⁶ to visit you while going to Macedonia, and to come again to you from Macedonia, and then be sent by you on my way to Judea. ¹⁷ Therefore, when I was planning this, did I do this lightly? Or the things that I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, so that I would tell you “Yes, yes” and “No, no”?

¹⁸ But as God is true, we did not tell you “Yes” and “No.” ¹⁹ For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by Silas, Timothy, and me, was not “Yes” and “No.” In Him it was “Yes.” ²⁰ For all the promises of God in Him are “Yes,” and in Him “Amen,” to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, ²² who also has sealed us and established the guarantee with the Spirit in our hearts.

²³ Moreover I call God as a witness upon my soul, that it is to spare you that I have not yet gone to Corinth. ²⁴ Not that we have dominion over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, for by faith you stand.

2 But I determined this for myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. ² For if I make you sorrowful, who then will there be to make me rejoice, but the one whom I have made sorrowful? ³ I wrote concerning this matter to you, so that when I came, I would not be grieved by those in whom I ought to rejoice, having confidence in you all, that my joy is your joy. ⁴ For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have more abundantly for you.

Forgiveness for the Offender

⁵ But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but to some extent all of you, not to put it too severely. ⁶ This punishment which was inflicted by many on such a man is sufficient. ⁷ So on the contrary, you ought to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps he might be swallowed up with excessive sorrow. ⁸ Therefore I ask you to confirm your love toward him. ⁹ For to this end I also wrote, so that I might know that you are proving yourselves by whether you are being obedient in all things. ¹⁰ Whomever you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if I forgave someone anything, for your sakes I forgave it in Christ, ¹¹ lest Satan should take advantage of us. For we are not ignorant of his devices.

Paul’s Anxiety in Troas

¹² Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, ¹³ I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother. So taking my leave of them, I went from there into Macedonia.

¹⁴ Now thanks be to God who always causes us to triumph in Christ and through us reveals the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God a sweet fragrance of Christ among those who are saved and among those who perish. ¹⁶ To the one we are the fragrance of death, which brings death, and to the other the fragrance of life, which brings life. Who is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷ For we are not as many are who peddle the word of God. Instead, being sent by God, we sincerely speak in Christ in the sight of God.

Ministers of the New Covenant

3 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, letters of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? ² You are our letter written in our hearts, known and read by all men. ³ For you are prominently declared to be the letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on human tablets of the heart.

⁴ We have such trust through Christ toward God, ⁵ not that we are sufficient in ourselves to take credit for anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who has made us able ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷ If the ministry that brought death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, the glory which was to fade away, ⁸ how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? ⁹ For if the ministry of condemnation is glorious, the ministry of righteousness much more exceeds it in glory. ¹⁰ Even that which was made glorious had no glory in comparison to the glory that excels. ¹¹ For if that which fades was glorious, that which remains is much more glorious.

¹² Seeing then that we have such hope, we speak with great boldness, ¹³ not as Moses, who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not look intently at the end of what was fading away. ¹⁴ Instead, their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the old covenant, the veil which was done away with in Christ. ¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, the veil is in their hearts. ¹⁶ Nevertheless when anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ¹⁸ But we all, seeing the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.

Treasure in Earthen Vessels

4 Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy we have received, we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced the secret things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by expressing the truth and commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ But if our gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are lost. ⁴ The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. ⁵ For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, the excellency of the power being from God and not from ourselves. ⁸ We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰ and always carrying around in the body the death of the Lord Jesus, that also the life of Jesus might be expressed in our bodies. ¹¹ For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that also the life of Jesus might be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So then, death works in us, but life in you.

¹³ We have the same spirit of faith. As it is written, “I believed, and therefore I have spoken.”^[f] So we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us through Jesus and will present us with you. ¹⁵ All these things are for your sakes, so that the abundant grace through the thanksgiving of many might overflow to the glory of God.

Living by Faith

¹⁶ For this reason we do not lose heart: Even though our outward man is perishing, yet our inward man is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ Our light affliction, which lasts but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, ¹⁸ while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

5 We know that if our earthly house, this tent, were to be destroyed, we have an eternal building of God in the heavens, a house not made with hands. ² In this one we groan, earnestly desiring to be sheltered with our house which is from heaven. ³ Thus being sheltered, we shall not be found unsheltered. ⁴ For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we wish to be unclothed, but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal might be swallowed up by life. ⁵ Now He who has created us for this very thing is God, who also has given to us the guarantee of the Spirit.

⁶ Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. ⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ Instead, I say that we are confident and willing to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. ⁹ So whether present or absent, we labor that we may be accepted by Him. ¹⁰ For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his recompense in the body, according to what he has done, whether it was good or bad.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

¹¹ Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. But we are revealed to God, and I trust we are also revealed in your consciences. ¹² For we are not commending ourselves again to you. Instead, we give you occasion to boast on our behalf, that you may have something to answer those who boast in appearance and not in heart. ¹³ If we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ constrains us, because we thus judge: that if one died for all, then all have died. ¹⁵ And He died for all, that those who live should not from now on live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

¹⁶ So from now on we do not regard anyone according to the flesh. Yes, though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet we do not regard Him as such from now on. ¹⁷ Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away. Look, all things have become new. ¹⁸ All this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them, and has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ So we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you in Christ’s stead: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

6 As workers together with God, we ask you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ² For He says:

Look, now is the accepted time; look, now is the day of salvation.

³ We give no offense in anything, that our service may not be blamed. ⁴ But in all things we commend ourselves as servants of God: in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distress, ⁵ in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, and in hunger; ⁶ by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by genuine love, ⁷ by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ⁸ by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; ⁹ as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and look, we live; as punished, but not killed; ¹⁰ as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; and as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

¹¹ O Corinthians, we have spoken frankly to you; our heart is opened wide. ¹² You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections. ¹³ In return (I speak as to my children) you also be open.

The Temple of the Living God

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion has light with darkness? ¹⁵ What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what part has he who believes with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

¹⁷ Therefore,

7 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Paul’s Joy at the Church’s Repentance

² Accept us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, and we have defrauded no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts, so that we would die or live with you. ⁴ Great is my boldness of speech toward you; great is my boasting of you. I am filled with comfort, and I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.

⁵ For when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, and we were troubled on every side. On the outside were conflicts; on the inside were fears. ⁶ Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us through the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, when he told us about your sincere desire, your mourning, and your zeal toward me, so that I rejoiced even more.

⁸ Though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I perceive that this same letter has caused you sorrow, though only for a while. ⁹ Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorrowful in a godly way, that you might not suffer loss in any way through us. ¹⁰ Godly sorrow produces repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹ For observe this very thing, which you sorrowed in a godly way: What carefulness it produced in you, what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what intense desire, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In all things you have proven yourselves to be innocent in this matter. ¹² So though I wrote to you, I did it not because of him who had done the wrong, nor because of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might be evident to you. ¹³ Therefore we were comforted in your comfort.

Yes, and we were exceedingly the more joyful for the sake of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. ¹⁴ So I am not ashamed if I have boasted of anything to him regarding you. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even our boasting in the presence of Titus is found to be true. ¹⁵ Now his affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. ¹⁶ Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything.

Liberal Giving

8 Moreover, brothers, we want you to experience the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, ² how in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty overflowed toward the riches of their generous giving. ³ For I bear record that according to their means, and beyond their means, they freely gave, ⁴ begging us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of ministering to the saints. ⁵ This they did, not as we expected. First, they gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. ⁶ So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this gracious deed for you. ⁷ But as you abound in everything—in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love to us—see that you abound in this grace also.

⁸ I say this not as a command, but to prove through the authenticity of others, the sincerity also of your love. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that through His poverty you might be rich.

¹⁰ And in this matter I give my advice. It is appropriate for you, who began last year not only to give, but also to willingly give. ¹¹ Now therefore complete the task, so that, as there was a willingness to do so, there may be a performance of it according to your means. ¹² For if there is a willing mind first, the gift is accepted according to what a man possesses and not according to what he does not possess.

¹³ I do not mean that other men have relief, and you be burdened, ¹⁴ but for equality, that your abundance now at this time may supply their need, and their abundance may supply your need—that there may be equality. ¹⁵ As it is written, “He who gathered much had no excess. And he who gathered little had no lack.”^[k]

¹⁶ But thanks be to God, who placed the same sincere care in the heart of Titus for you. ¹⁷ For indeed he accepted the exhortation. But being more zealous, he went to you of his own accord. ¹⁸ And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches. ¹⁹ And not only that, but he was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which we administer to the glory of the same Lord, and to declare your willing mind, ²⁰ to prevent any man from blaming us in administering this abundant gift, ²¹ providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men.

²² Furthermore, we have sent with them our brother whom we have frequently proved diligent in many things, but now is much more diligent, due to the great confidence which he has in you. ²³ If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow helper concerning you. Or if our brothers are inquired about, they are the messengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ. ²⁴ Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.

The Offering for the Saints

9 It is redundant for me to write to you concerning the ministry to the saints. ² I know your willingness, for which I boast of you to those in Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. ³ Yet I have sent the brothers, lest our boasting of you might be in vain in this case, that, as I said, you may be ready; ⁴ and lest if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we (not to mention you) should be ashamed of this confident boasting. ⁵ Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brothers to go ahead to you and arrange beforehand your bountiful gift you previously promised, that it might be prepared as a gift, not as a matter of greed.

⁶ But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ Let every man give according to the purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ God is able to make all grace abound toward you, so that you, always having enough of everything, may abound to every good work. ⁹ As it is written:

¹⁰ Now He who supplies seed to the sower and supplies bread for your food will also multiply your seed sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness. ¹¹ So you will be enriched in everything to all bountifulness, which makes us give thanks to God.

¹² For the administration of this service not only supplies the need of the saints, but is abundant also through many thanksgivings to God. ¹³ Meanwhile, through the performance of this ministry, they glorify God for the profession of your faith in the gospel of Christ and for your liberal sharing with them and with all others. ¹⁴ And in their prayer for you, they long for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. ¹⁵ Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.

Paul Defends His Ministry

10 Now I, Paul, who am lowly in presence among you but bold toward you while absent, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. ² I beg you that when I am present, I might not have to be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, ⁵ casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is complete.

⁷ Do you look at things from the outward appearance? If any man trusts that he is Christ’s, let him consider again that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s. ⁸ For even if I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord has given us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed, ⁹ lest I appear to frighten you by my letters. ¹⁰ “For his letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.” ¹¹ Let such a person consider this: that as we are in word by letters when we are absent, we will also be in deed when we are present.

¹² For we dare not count or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. They who measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another are not wise. ¹³ But we will not boast beyond measure, but within the boundaries which God has appointed us, which reach even you. ¹⁴ For we are not overextending ourselves as though we did not reach you, since we have come to you, preaching the gospel of Christ. ¹⁵ We are not boasting of things beyond our measure in other men’s labors. But we have hope that when your faith is increased, our region shall be greatly enlarged by you, ¹⁶ to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you and not to boast in another man’s accomplishments. ¹⁷ But, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”^{[m] 18} For it is not he who commends himself who is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.

Paul and the False Apostles

11 I would to God you could bear with me a little in my folly. Indeed, bear with me. ² For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. ³ But I fear that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve through his trickery, so your minds might be led astray from the simplicity that is in Christ. ⁴ For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might submit to it readily enough.

⁵ For I think I am not in any way inferior to the most eminent of the apostles. ⁶ Even though I am unpolished in speech, yet I am not in knowledge. All things about us have been thoroughly revealed to you. ⁷ Did I commit a sin in abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you the gospel of God free of charge? ⁸ I robbed other churches by accepting wages from them to serve you. ⁹ Furthermore, when I was present with you and was lacking, I was a burden to no one. For the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I lacked. In all things I have kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so will I keep myself. ¹⁰ As the truth of Christ is in me, no one shall stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia. ¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows.

¹² And I will continue doing what I am doing, that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be found equal to us in what they boast about. ¹³ For such are false apostles and deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder! For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Paul’s Sufferings as an Apostle

¹⁶ I say again, let no one think that I am a fool. Otherwise, at least receive me as a fool, so that I also may boast a little. ¹⁷ What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. ¹⁸ Seeing that many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast. ¹⁹ For you tolerate fools gladly, seeing you yourselves are wise. ²⁰ For you permit it if a man brings you into bondage, if a man devours you, if a man takes from you, if a man exalts himself, or if a man strikes you on the face. ²¹ I say to my reproach that we were too weak for that.

But whenever anyone is bold (I speak foolishly), I am bold also. ²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Are they servants of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. ²⁴ Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day I have been in the deep; ²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brothers; ²⁷ in weariness and painfulness, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness. ²⁸ Beside the external things, the care of all the churches pressures me daily. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I am not distressed?

³⁰ If I must boast, I will boast of the things which concern my weakness. ³¹ The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forevermore, knows that I am not lying. ³² In Damascus the governor under King Aretas secured the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me. ³³ But I was let down by the wall through a window in a basket and escaped his hands.

Visions and Revelations

12 Doubtless it is not profitable for me to boast. So I will move on to visions and revelations of the Lord. ² I knew a man in Christ over fourteen years ago—whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. ³ And I knew that such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell, God knows— ⁴ was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words not permitted for a man to say. ⁵ Of such a person, I will boast. Yet of myself I will not boast, except in my weaknesses. ⁶ For if I desire to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But now I resist, lest anyone should think of me above that which he sees me to be or hears from me. ⁷ And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me, lest I be exalted above measure. ⁸ I asked the Lord three times that this thing might depart from me. ⁹ But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ So I take pleasure in weaknesses, in reproaches, in hardships, in persecutions, and in distresses for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul’s Concern for the Corinthian Church

¹¹ I have become a fool in boasting. You have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for I am in no way inferior to the leading apostles, though I am nothing. ¹² Truly the signs of an apostle were performed among you in all patience, in signs and wonders, and mighty deeds. ¹³ For in what respect were you inferior to other churches, unless it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong!

¹⁴ I am ready to come to you this third time. And I will not be burdensome to you, for I do not seek what is yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. ¹⁵ And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? ¹⁶ But be that as it may. I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with deceit. ¹⁷ Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? ¹⁸ I urged Titus to go, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?

¹⁹ Again, do you think that we are defending ourselves to you? We speak before God in Christ. We do all things, beloved, for your edifying. ²⁰ For I fear that when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish. I fear there are debates, envying, wrath, strife, backbiting, whispering, arrogance, and disorder. ²¹ And I fear that when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall mourn for many who have sinned already, who have not repented of uncleanness, sexual immorality, and lasciviousness which they have committed.

Final Warnings and Greetings

13 This is the third time I am coming to you. “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.”^{[n] 2} I told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time. And being absent now, I write to those who have sinned before, and to all the others, that if I come again, I will not spare anyone, ³ since you seek proof of Christ speaking through me, who toward you is not weak, but is mighty in you. ⁴ For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. So also we are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God serving you.

⁵ Examine yourselves, seeing whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified. ⁶ I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified. ⁷ Now I pray to God that you do no evil, not that we should appear approved, but that you should do that which is honorable, whether or not we may seem disqualified. ⁸ For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth. ⁹ For we are glad when we are weak, and you are strong. We wish even your perfection. ¹⁰ Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should be sharp, according to the authority which the Lord has given me for edification and not for destruction.

¹¹ Finally, brothers, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, and live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

¹² Greet one another with a holy kiss. ¹³ All the saints greet you.

¹⁴ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.

Salutation

1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), ² and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

There Is No Other Gospel

⁶ I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, ⁷ which is not a gospel. But there are some who trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸ Although if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than the one we have preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹ As we said before, so I say now again: If anyone preaches any other gospel to you than the one you have received, let him be accursed.

¹⁰ For am I now seeking the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? For if I were still trying to please men, I would not be the servant of Christ.

How Paul Became an Apostle

¹¹ But I reveal to you, brothers, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. ¹² For I neither received it from man, neither was I taught it, except by a revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, ¹⁴ and progressed in Judaism above many of my equals in my own heritage, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when it pleased God, who set me apart since I was in my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the nations, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. But I went into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

¹⁸ After three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and stayed with him for fifteen days. ¹⁹ I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!

²¹ Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia ²² and was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. ²³ They had heard only, “He who persecuted us in times past now preaches the faith which he once destroyed.” ²⁴ And they glorified God because of me.

Paul Accepted by the Other Apostles

2 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and also took Titus with me. ² I went up in response to a revelation and communicated to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles. But privately I communicated to those who were of reputation, in case I might be running, or had run, in vain. ³ But even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised. ⁴ This happened because false brothers were secretly brought in, who sneaked in to spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage. ⁵ We did not yield to subjection to them, not for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

⁶ But of these who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality to anyone—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. ⁷ On the contrary, they saw that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, as the gospel to the circumcised was to Peter. ⁸ For He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles. ⁹ When James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, understood the grace that was given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ Only they requested that we should remember the poor, which I also was eager to do.

Paul Rebukes Peter in Antioch

¹¹ But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him face to face, because he stood condemned. ¹² Before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. ¹³ And the other Jews, likewise, joined together in hypocrisy with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.

¹⁴ But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, why do you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”^[o]

Jews, Like Gentiles, Are Saved by Faith

¹⁵ We are Jews by nature, and not Gentile sinners, ¹⁶ yet we know that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, rather than by the works of the law. For by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

¹⁷ If, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found to be sinners, is Christ therefore the minister of sin? God forbid! ¹⁸ For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

¹⁹ For through the law I am dead to the law, that I might live for God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God,^[p] who loved me and gave Himself for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God. For if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ died in vain.

Law or Faith

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified. ² I want to learn only this from you: Did you receive the Spirit through the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Have you endured so many things for nothing, if indeed it was for nothing? ⁵ Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith? ⁶ Even Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”^{[q] 7} Therefore know that those who are of faith are the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel in advance to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”^{[r] 9} So then those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the Book of the Law, to do them.”^{[s] 11} Now it is evident that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, for “The just shall live by faith.”^{[t] 12} But the law is not of faith, for “The man who does them shall live by them.”^{[u] 13} Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by being made a curse for us—as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”^[v]— ¹⁴ so that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵ Brothers, I am speaking in human terms: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is ratified, no one annuls or adds to it. ¹⁶ Now the promises were made to Abraham and his Seed. He does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your Seed,”^[w] meaning one, who is Christ. ¹⁷ And this I say, that the law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not annul the covenant that was ratified by God in Christ, so as to nullify the promise. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise. But God gave it to Abraham through a promise.

¹⁹ What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, until the Seed should come to whom the promise was made. And it was ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. ²⁰ Now a mediator is not a mediator for only one party, but God is one.

Slaves and Sons

²¹ Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? God forbid! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, righteousness would indeed come through the law. ²² But the Scripture has confined all things under sin, that the promise through faith in Jesus Christ^[x] might be given to those who believe.

²³ But before faith came, we were imprisoned under the law, kept for the faith which was later to be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.