Christian Basics Bible - Flipbook - Page 42
2 Corinthians 10 • page 1332
Their good deeds will be remembered
forever.”*
For God is the one who provides seed for
the farmer and then bread to eat. In the
same way, he will provide and increase your
resources and then produce a great harvest
of generosity* in you.
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Yes, you will be enriched in every way so
that you can always be generous. And when
we take your gifts to those who need them,
they will thank God. 12 So two good things
will result from this ministry of giving—the
needs of the believers in Jerusalem* will
be met, and they will joyfully express their
thanks to God.
13
As a result of your ministry, they will
give glory to God. For your generosity to
them and to all believers will prove that you
are obedient to the Good News of Christ.
14
And they will pray for you with deep affection because of the overflowing grace God
has given to you. 15 Thank God for this gift*
too wonderful for words!
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Paul Defends His Authority
Now I, Paul, appeal to you with the
gentleness and kindness of Christ—
though I realize you think I am timid in
person and bold only when I write from
far away. 2 Well, I am begging you now so
that when I come I won’t have to be bold
with those who think we act from human
motives.
3
We are human, but we don’t wage war
as humans do. 4*We use God’s mighty
weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock
down the strongholds of human reasoning
and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy
every proud obstacle that keeps people from
knowing God. We capture their rebellious
thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
6
And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains
disobedient.
7
Look at the obvious facts.* Those who
say they belong to Christ must recognize
that we belong to Christ as much as they do.
8
I may seem to be boasting too much about
the authority given to us by the Lord. But
our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear
you down. So I will not be ashamed of using
my authority.
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I’m not trying to frighten you by my
letters. 10 For some say, “Paul’s letters are
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demanding and forceful, but in person he
is weak, and his speeches are worthless!”
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Those people should realize that our
actions when we arrive in person will be as
forceful as what we say in our letters from
far away.
12
Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say
that we are as wonderful as these other men
who tell you how important they are! But
they are only comparing themselves with
each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant!
13
We will not boast about things done
outside our area of authority. We will boast
only about what has happened within the
boundaries of the work God has given us,
which includes our working with you. 14 We
are not reaching beyond these boundaries
when we claim authority over you, as if
we had never visited you. For we were the
first to travel all the way to Corinth with the
Good News of Christ.
15
Nor do we boast and claim credit for the
work someone else has done. Instead, we
hope that your faith will grow so that the
boundaries of our work among you will be
extended. 16 Then we will be able to go and
preach the Good News in other places far
beyond you, where no one else is working.
Then there will be no question of our boasting about work done in someone else’s territory. 17 As the Scriptures say, “If you want to
boast, boast only about the Lord.”*
18
When people commend themselves,
it doesn’t count for much. The important
thing is for the Lord to commend them.
Paul and the False Apostles
I hope you will put up with a little
more of my foolishness. Please bear
with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with the
jealousy of God himself. I promised you as
a pure bride* to one husband—Christ. 3 But I
fear that somehow your pure and undivided
devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as
Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of
the serpent. 4 You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a
different Jesus than the one we preach, or
a different kind of Spirit than the one you
received, or a different kind of gospel than
the one you believed.
5
But I don’t consider myself inferior in
any way to these “super apostles” who
teach such things. 6 I may be unskilled as a
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