2 Corinthians Chapter 1

Salutation

¹ Paul, apostle of Christ^Messiah Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God in Corinth with the saints everywhere in Achaia. ² Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.                     

2 Cor 1:1-2

God’s Comfort in Sufferings

            ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He’s our merciful Father and comforting God. ⁴ He comforts us in every hardship so we can comfort other people in any hardship with the comfort he gave us. ⁵ As sufferings for Christ increase in us, our comfort through Christ also increases. ⁶ If we experience hardship, it’s for your comfort and salvation. If we’re comforted, it’s for your comfort to endure the same sufferings we have. ⁷ Our hope for you is unmovable because we know that as you share our sufferings, you share our comfort too.                         

⁸ Fellow Christians, we want you to know about our hardships in Asia. It was a burden so much beyond our own power to handle that we weren’t sure we’d even live through it. ⁹ We had the death sentence in us so we weren’t trusting in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He rescued us from a great threat of death, and we’ve put our hope in him to keep rescuing us. ¹¹ You worked for us by praying so lots of people could be grateful for the grace we’ve received.     

2 Cor 1:3-11

Paul’s Sincerity

¹² We’re proud of how clear our conscience feels, especially toward you. We’ve conducted ourselves in godly holiness and sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in divine grace. ¹³ We’re writing what you can understand, and I hope you’ll understand it completely. ¹⁴ You understand to some extent how proud we are of you—like you will be of us when the Lord Jesus comes.    

2 Cor 1:12-14

¹⁵ In this confidence I was intending at first to come so you could have a second grace. ¹⁶ I meant to go through you on to Macedonia and back to you, and to have you send me forward to Judaea. ¹⁷ With this plan I wasn’t being fickle, was I? Do I make fickle plans—“Yes, I will”; “No, I won’t.” ¹⁸ As God keeps his word, we don’t tell you, “Yes, I will” and then say, “No, I won’t.” ¹⁹ God’s Son, Christ Jesus, the One Silvanus, Timothy, and I presented among you, wasn’t, “Yes, I will”; “No, I won’t.” He’s been “Yes, I will.” ²⁰ However many promises God has made, in Christ is “Yes.” He’s our Amen, to God’s honor. ²¹ In Christ, God has established us, anointed us and you, ²² sealed us, and given us the Spirit as a pledge in our hearts.                                                                                                        2 Cor 1:15-22

Paul’s Delayed Visit

²³ God’s my witness: it was to spare you that I changed my mind and didn’t come to Corinth. ²⁴ We aren’t trying to lord it over your faith; we’re fellow workers for your joy. You stand firm in your own faith. ¹ I was determined not to come again with sadness. ² If I make you feel bad, who’s going to make me feel good except the ones I made feel bad? ³ I’ve written this so when I come, I won’t be saddened by the ones I need to make me happy. I’m confident that my joy would mean your joy. ⁴ Out of hardship and anxiety, I wrote to you through many tears, not to make you sad, but to let you know how much I care about you.                                                  

2 Cor 1:23-2:4

Forgiving the Offender in Corinth

            ⁵ If somebody has caused sadness, he hasn’t caused it just to me—I’m not exaggerating—but to all of you. ⁶ That discipline by the majority is enough for someone like him. ⁷ Now you need to forgive him and comfort him so grief doesn’t overwhelm him. ⁸ So show him how much you care about him. ⁹ That’s another reason I’ve written: to know if you obey in everything. ¹⁰ If you’ve forgiven anybody of anything, I have too. What I’ve forgiven I’ve forgiven for your sake in the presence of Christ ¹¹ so Satan can’t get the better of us. We know how he works.