Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

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.