Hello Again
1From: Paul, picked by God to work as an apostle [1] of Jesus the Messiah. And from our dear colleague Timothy. [2]To: God’s church in Corinth [3] and to all God’s people scattered throughout the Roman province of Achaia. [4] 2I hope you experience the kindness [5] and peace of God our Father and of our leader [6], Jesus the Messiah.
God Shows Us How to Comfort Others
3We owe thanks to God. He’s the Father of our leader, Jesus the Messiah. He’s the Father of mercy too. And he’s the God of comfort. 4When troubles come, God is already there to comfort us. He does it to show us how to comfort others in trouble. That way, we can comfort others the same way God comforted us.5It’s our fault the Messiah suffered. If we poured our guilt into a bucket, it would fill up and run over. Yet in return the Messiah gave us a gift: comfort. If we poured all the comfort he gives us into a bucket, it would fill up and run over. 6When my colleagues and I face tough times, it’s for your sake. It’s because we want you to get in on this comfort, along with salvation. When we’re comforted, it’s for your sake. We want you to see that when you face tough times like we’ve experienced—and you do it with patience and endurance—you’ll be comforted too. 7We have high hopes for you, and we’re confident about them. I’ll tell you why. It’s because even though you share in our sufferings, you also share in the comfort that the Messiah gives us.
Paul’s Great Escape
8Dear family, I don’t want to keep you in the dark about how I suffered [7] in Asia. [8] The pressure there was too much for me. I couldn’t handle it. I thought it would kill me.9I kid you not, I felt like someone had sentenced me to death. That’s when I decided to let go. I stopped trusting in myself. I started trusting in the God who can raise the dead. 10He saved us from the brink of death. He’ll keep on rescuing us. We’re counting on him to save us once again. 11You have a role to play too: pray. If you pray, a lot of people will have good reason to celebrate. They’ll know that their prayers encouraged God to treat us kindly.
Paul: “Honestly, I’m Honest”
12I want to tell you about how we conducted ourselves in the world, and especially with you. We kept it simple [9] and sincere, like God does. I take pride in knowing I can say that with a clear conscience. We didn’t need to borrow any philosophy or wisdom from this world. God kindly gave us everything we needed.13There’s nothing in the letters I write you that’s over your head. No need to read between the lines, either. What I write is simple enough to read and understand. I can only hope that someday you’ll understand it fully. 14For now, you may only partly understand what I tell you. But when our leader, Jesus, comes back, I’m sure you’ll be as proud of us as we are of you.
Why I Didn’t Come to See You
15I’m so confident of this that I decided to double dip you in a visit. I was going to spend time with you twice on my next mission trip. 16I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia, [10] and then again on my way back. After that second visit, you could have sent me on my way to Judea. [11]17You don’t think I made these plans lightly, do you? When I plan a mission trip, do you really think I put together an itinerary the way people of the world do, saying, “Yes, yes. Let’s go here,” when you know that later you’ll find an excuse to say, “No, no. That doesn’t sound like a good idea”? 18As surely as you can trust God, trust this. When I tell you “Yes,” I don’t mean “No.” 19Silas, [12] Timothy, and I taught you about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus wasn’t a person who said “Yes” when he meant “No.” He is and always has been God’s “Yes” to the world. [13] 20All God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus, as God’s “Yes” to everyone. Can I get an amen? That’s an appropriate way for us to express some gratitude for what our wonderful God has done through Jesus.
21It is God who gives me and my colleagues the strength we need to stand with Christ. He does the same for you too. He personally chose each one of us. 22We belong to God now. He paid us a deposit as a guarantee: he gave us his Spirit to guide our hearts as we make decisions. 23As God is my witness, I decided not to visit you again because I wanted to spare you. 24I don’t mean to imply that we’re in charge of your faith. Our job is to help you find joy in your faith. You’re already doing great at standing firm in the faith.
