Day 271 of 365

¹For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.

²For truly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven;

³if so be that being clothed we will not be found naked.

⁴For indeed we who are in this tent do groan, being burdened; not that we desire to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed, that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

⁵Now he who made us for this very thing is God, who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.

⁶Therefore, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord;

⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight.

⁸We are of good courage, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.

⁹Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him.

¹⁰For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

¹¹Knowing therefore the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are revealed to God; and I hope that we are revealed also in your consciences.

¹²For we are not commending ourselves to you again, but speak as giving you occasion of boasting on our behalf, that you may have something to answer those who boast in appearance, and not in heart.

¹³For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. Or if we are of sober mind, it is for you.

¹⁴For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died.

¹⁵He died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes died and rose again.

¹⁶Therefore we know no one after the flesh from now on. Even though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more.

¹⁷Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, new things have come.

¹⁸But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation;

¹⁹namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.

²⁰We are therefore ambassadors on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

²¹For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

¹Working together, we entreat also that you not receive the grace of God in vain,

²for he says, "At an acceptable time I listened to you, in a day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.

³We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed,

⁴but in everything commending ourselves, as servants of God, in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,

⁵in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;

⁶in pureness, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love,

⁷in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

⁸by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;

⁹as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not killed;

¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

¹¹Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians. Our heart is enlarged.

¹²You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.

¹³Now in return, I speak as to my children, you also be open wide.

¹⁴Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

¹⁵What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?

¹⁶What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For we are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

¹⁷Therefore, "'Come out from among them, and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.

¹⁸I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty."

¹Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

²Open your hearts to us. We wronged no one. We corrupted no one. We took advantage of no one.

³I say this not to condemn you, for I have said before, that you are in our hearts to die together and live together.

⁴Great is my boldness of speech toward you. Great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I overflow with joy in all our affliction.

⁵For even when we had come into Macedonia, our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on every side. Fightings were outside. Fear was inside.

⁶Nevertheless, he who comforts the lowly, God, comforted us by the coming of Titus;

⁷and not by his coming only, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, while he told us of your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced still more.

⁸For though I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I see that my letter made you sorry, though just for a while.

⁹I now rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that you were made sorry to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing.

¹⁰For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world works death.

¹¹For behold, this same thing, that you were made sorry in a godly way, what earnest care it worked in you. Yes, what defense, indignation, fear, longing, zeal, and vengeance! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be pure in the matter.

¹²So although I wrote to you, I wrote not for his cause that did the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered the wrong, but that your earnest care for us might be revealed in you in the sight of God.

¹³Therefore we have been comforted. In our comfort we rejoiced the more exceedingly for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.

¹⁴For if in anything I have boasted to him on your behalf, I was not disappointed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, so our glorying also which I made before Titus was found to be truth.

¹⁵His affection is more abundantly toward you, while he remembers all of your obedience, how with fear and trembling you received him.

¹⁶I rejoice that in everything I am of good courage concerning you.

¹Moreover, brothers, we make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia;

²how that in much proof of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded to the riches of their liberality.

³For according to their power, I testify, yes and beyond their power, they gave of their own accord,

⁴begging us with much entreaty to receive this grace and the fellowship in the service to the saints.

⁵This was not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God.

⁶So we urged Titus, that as he made a beginning before, so he would also complete in you this grace.

⁷But as you abound in everything, in faith, utterance, knowledge, all earnestness, and in our love toward you, see that you also abound in this grace.

⁸I speak not by way of commandment, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity also of your love.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich.

¹⁰I give a judgment in this: for this is expedient for you, who were the first to start a year ago, not only to do, but also to be willing.

¹¹But now complete the doing also, that as there was the readiness to be willing, so there may be the completion also out of your ability.

¹²For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you do not have.

¹³For this is not that others may be eased and you distressed,

¹⁴but for equality. Your abundance at this present time supplies their lack, that their abundance also may become a supply for your lack; that there may be equality.

¹⁵As it is written, "He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack."

¹⁶But thanks be to God, who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus.

¹⁷For he indeed accepted our exhortation, but being himself very earnest, he went out to you of his own accord.

¹⁸We have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the Good News is known through all the churches.

¹⁹Not only so, but who was also appointed by the churches to travel with us in this grace, which is served by us to the glory of the Lord himself, and to show our readiness.

²⁰We are avoiding this, that any man should blame us concerning this abundance which is administered by us.

²¹Having regard for honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

²²We have sent with them our brother, whom we have many times proved earnest in many things, but now much more earnest, by reason of the great confidence which he has in you.

²³As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for you. As for our brothers, they are the apostles of the churches, the glory of Christ.

²⁴Therefore show the proof of your love to them in front of the churches, and of our boasting on your behalf.