Paul Heading for Corinth: Defending His Ministry

¹I appeal to you by the humbleness and gentleness of Christ—I, Paul, the one you think is timid when I’m face to face with you, but bold when I’m away from you.

²When I come to see you, please don’t make me be as severe as I expect I’ll need to be toward some people who think I live in the same way as the people of this world.

³I do live in the world, but I don’t fight my battles the way the people of the world do.

⁴The weapons I fight with aren’t the weapons of this world. They’re just the opposite! They use the power of God to destroy resistance—

⁵every argument and every arrogant assumption that keeps people from knowing God. They take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.

⁶We’ll be ready to punish anyone who still tries to disobey once the whole church has chosen to obey.

⁷You’re judging only by how things look on the surface. If someone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do.

⁸So even if I brag too much about the authority the Lord has given me to build you up, not to tear you down, I’m not ashamed of that kind of bragging.

⁹Don’t think that I’m trying to scare you with my letters.

¹⁰Some say, “In his letters, he sounds important and forceful, but in person he’s not very impressive, and he’s not a good speaker.”

¹¹People who say that should realize that whatever I say in my letters when I’m away from you, I will do in my actions when I’m with you.

¹²I’m not going to compare myself with those other people who praise themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they’re not being wise.

¹³But I won’t brag any more than I should. I’ll only brag about what I’ve done in the area of service that God himself assigned to me.

¹⁴That area includes you, so I’m not going too far in my bragging, as I would be if I hadn’t come to where you live. But I did get there with the good news about Christ.

¹⁵And I won’t brag about the work that others have done. If I did, I’d be bragging more than I should. I hope that my work among you will greatly increase as your faith continues to grow.

¹⁶Then I’ll be able to preach the good news in the areas beyond you. I don’t want to brag about work that’s already been done in someone else’s territory.

¹⁷Instead, “The one who brags should brag about what the Lord has done.”

¹⁸It’s not the ones who praise themselves who are accepted—it’s the ones the Lord praises.