We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.

in hard work and toil, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, many times without food, in cold and without enough clothing.

In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to arrest me,

I have not taken advantage of you through anyone I have sent to you, have I?

Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? Or do I make my plans according to mere human standards so that I would be saying both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?

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.

how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be?

if indeed, after we have put on our heavenly house, we will not be found naked.

But the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

For I consider myself not at all inferior to those “super-apostles.”

Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

Do not become partners with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

And even if I am unskilled in speaking, yet I am certainly not so in knowledge. Indeed, we have made this plain to you in everything in every way.

For see what this very thing, this sadness as God intended, has produced in you: what eagerness, what defense of yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what deep concern, what punishment! In everything you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.

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.

I urged Titus to visit you and I sent our brother along with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way?

For this reason also I wrote you: to test you to see if you are obedient in everything.

You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone,

For if what was made ineffective came with glory, how much more has what remains come in glory!