For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread,

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.

and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable members are clothed with dignity,

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

If then I do not know the meaning of a language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me.

but in the church I want to speak five words with my mind to instruct others, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received – that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,

as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many.

For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal body.

Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day.

For we know that if our earthly house, the tent we live in, is dismantled, we have a building from God, a house not built by human hands, that is eternal in the heavens.

Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we are well known to God, and I hope we are well known to your consciences too.

I do not say this to condemn you, for I told you before that you are in our hearts so that we die together and live together with you.

Therefore we have been encouraged. And in addition to our own encouragement, we rejoiced even more at the joy of Titus, because all of you have refreshed his spirit.

And we are sending with them our brother whom we have tested many times and found eager in many matters, but who now is much more eager than ever because of the great confidence he has in you.

But I am sending these brothers so that our boasting about you may not be empty in this case, so that you may be ready just as I kept telling them.

now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving according to human standards.

For if I boast somewhat more about our authority that the Lord gave us for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of doing so.

But we will not boast beyond certain limits, but will confine our boasting according to the limits of the work to which God has appointed us, that reaches even as far as you.

Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.