<t /><p class="bodytext">Blessed is<n id="1" /> the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

But it is God who establishes<n id="1" /> us together with you in Christ and who anointed us,<n id="2" />

Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!<n id="1" />

And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are<n id="1" /> the temple of the living God, just as God said, &#8220;<b><i>I will live in themi>b><n id="2" /> <i><b>and will walk among themb>, <b>and I will be their Godb>, <b>and they will be my peopleb>i>.&#8221;<n id="3" />

But as God is faithful, our message to you is not &#8220;Yes&#8221; and &#8220;No.&#8221;

Now the one who prepared us for this very purpose<n id="1" /> is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.<n id="2" />

But God, who encourages<n id="1" /> the downhearted, encouraged<n id="2" /> us by the arrival of Titus.

Each one of you should give<n id="1" /> just as he has decided in his heart,<n id="2" /> not reluctantly<n id="3" /> or under compulsion,<n id="4" /> because God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make all grace overflow<n id="1" /> to you so that because you have enough<n id="2" /> of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow<n id="3" /> in every good work.

But we will not boast beyond certain limits,<n id="1" /> but will confine our boasting<n id="2" /> according to the limits of the work to which God has appointed us,<n id="3" /> that reaches even as far as you.

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying.

And I know that this man (whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows)

<t /><p class="bodytext">Finally, brothers and sisters,<n id="1" /> rejoice, set things right, be encouraged, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe<n id="1" /> so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel<n id="2" /> of Christ,<n id="3" /> who is the image of God.

For God, who said &#8220;<i>Let light shine out of darknessi>,&#8221;<n id="1" /> is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge<n id="2" /> of God in the face of Christ.<n id="3" />p>

In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people&#8217;s trespasses against them, and he has given us<n id="1" /> the message of reconciliation.

I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven.

I am afraid that<n id="1" /> when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you, and I will grieve for<n id="2" /> many of those who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.p>