Paul’s Ministry and Mission

¹Now I Paul, myself, appeal to y’all by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with y’all, but bold toward y’all when away!

²I ask that when I am present, I will not have to be as boldly confident as when I plan to be bold against those who consider us to be walking according to the flesh.

³For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh,

⁴for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for tearing down fortresses.

⁵We tear down arguments and every lofty thing that is elevated against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

⁶And we are prepared to retaliate for every act of disobedience when y’all’s obedience is complete.

⁷Y’all are looking at what’s in front of your face. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider this again from within: we belong to Christ just as much as they do.

⁸For even if I boast a bit much about our authority, which the Lord gave for building y’all up and not tearing y’all down, I will not be ashamed.

⁹I don’t want to seem as though I am trying to terrify y’all with my letters.

¹⁰For some say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speaking is forgettable.”

¹¹Let such a person consider this, that what we are in the words of our letters when we are absent, we will also be in our actions when we are present.

¹²For we don’t classify or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.

¹³We, however, will not boast beyond certain limits, but within the boundaries God has appointed to us, which also comes around y’all.

¹⁴For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we hadn’t come to y’all. For we were the first to come to y’all with the gospel of Christ,

¹⁵so we are not boasting beyond our limits in other people’s labors. But we have hope that as y’all’s faith grows, the boundaries of our ministry will be expanded through y’all,

¹⁶so that we might preach the gospel in the regions beyond y’all, not boasting about what has been done in someone else’s area.

¹⁷But “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord [YHWH].”[#Jeremiah 9:24]

¹⁸For it is not the one who commends themselves who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.