Bible in 90 Days

Jesus Christ Was Raised from the Dead

15 Christian brothers, I want to tell the Good News to you again. It is the same as I preached to you before. You received it and your faith has been made strong by it. ² This is what I preached to you. You are saved from the punishment of sin by the Good News if you keep hold of it, unless your faith was worth nothing.

³ First of all, I taught you what I had received. It was this: Christ died for our sins as the Holy Writings said He would. ^{(A) 4} Christ was buried. He was raised from the dead three days later as the Holy Writings said He would. ^{(B) 5} Christ was seen by Peter. After that, the twelve followers saw Him. ⁶ After that, more than 500 of His followers saw Him at one time. Most of them are still here, but some have died. ⁷ After that, James saw Christ. Then all the missionaries saw Him. ⁸ Last of all, Christ showed Himself to me as if I had been born too late. ⁹ For I am the least important of all the missionaries. I should not be called a missionary because I made it so hard for God’s church. ¹⁰ I am different now. It is all because of what God did for me by His loving-favor. His loving-favor was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other missionaries. But it was not I who worked. It was God’s loving-favor working through me. ¹¹ It makes no difference how you heard the Good News. It could have been through the other missionaries or through me. The important thing is this: We preached the Good News to you and you believed it.

We Will Be Raised from the Dead Also

¹² We preached to you that Christ has been raised from the dead. But some of you say that people are not raised from the dead. Why do you say this? ¹³ If the dead are not raised, then Christ was not raised from the dead. ¹⁴ If Christ was not raised from the dead, then what we preach to you is worth nothing. Your faith in Christ is worth nothing. ¹⁵ That makes us all liars because we said that God raised Christ from the dead. But God did not raise Christ from the dead if the dead do not come to life again. ¹⁶ If the dead are not raised, then not even Christ was raised from the dead. ¹⁷ If Christ was not raised from the dead, your faith is worth nothing and you are still living in your sins. ¹⁸ Then the Christians who have already died are lost in sin. ¹⁹ If we have hope in Christ in this life only, we are more sad than anyone else.

²⁰ But it is true! Christ has been raised from the dead! He was the first One to be raised from the dead and all those who are in graves will follow. ²¹ Death came because of a man, Adam. Being raised from the dead also came because of a Man, Christ. ²² All men will die as Adam died. But all those who belong to Christ will be raised to new life. ²³ This is the way it is: Christ was raised from the dead first. Then all those who belong to Christ will be raised from the dead when He comes again. ²⁴ Next, at the end of the world, Christ will give His holy nation over to God the Father. Christ will have destroyed every nation and power. ²⁵ Christ must be King until He has destroyed all those who hate Him and work against Him. ²⁶ The last thing that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷ The Holy Writings say that God has put all things under Christ’s feet except Himself. ²⁸ When Christ is over all things, He will put Himself under God Who put all things under Christ. And God will be over all things.

²⁹ What good will it do people if they are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised, why are people baptized for them? ³⁰ Why are we also in danger every hour? ³¹ I say this, Christian brothers, I have joy in what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for you. That is why I face death every day. ³² As men look at it, what good has it done for me in the city of Ephesus to fight with men who act like wild animals? If the dead are not raised, we might as well be like those who say, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.”

³³ Do not let anyone fool you. Bad people can make those who want to live good become bad. ³⁴ Keep your minds awake! Stop sinning. Some do not know God at all. I say this to your shame.

The Body That Will Be Raised

³⁵ Someone will say, “How are the dead raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” ³⁶ What a foolish question! When you plant a seed, it must die before it starts new life. ³⁷ When you put it in the earth, you are not planting the body which it will become. You put in only a seed. ³⁸ It is God Who gives it a body just as He wants it to have. Each kind of seed becomes a different kind of body.

³⁹ All flesh is not the same. Men have one kind of flesh. Animals have another kind. Fish have another kind, and birds have another kind. ⁴⁰ There are bodies in the heavens. There are bodies on earth. Their greatness is not the same. ⁴¹ The sun has its greatness. The moon has its greatness. Stars have their greatness. One star is different from another star in greatness.

⁴² It is the same with people who are raised from the dead. The body will turn back to dust when it is put in a grave. When the body is raised from the grave, it will never die. ⁴³ It has no greatness when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with shining-greatness. It is weak when it is put in a grave, but it is raised with power. ⁴⁴ It is a human body when it dies, but it is a God-like body when it is raised from the dead. There are human bodies and there are God-like bodies. ⁴⁵ The Holy Writings say, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” But the last Adam (Christ) is a life-giving Spirit.

⁴⁶ We have these human bodies first. Then we are given God-like bodies that are ready for heaven. ⁴⁷ Adam was the first man. He was made from the dust of the earth. Christ was the second man. He came down from heaven. ⁴⁸ All men of the earth are made like Adam. But those who belong to Christ will have a body like the body of Christ Who came from heaven. ⁴⁹ Now, our bodies are like Adam’s body. But in heaven, our bodies will be like the body of Christ.

⁵⁰ Christian brothers, our bodies which are made of flesh and blood will not go into the holy nation of God. That which dies can have no part in that which will never die. ⁵¹ For sure, I am telling you a secret. We will not all die, but we will all be changed. ⁵² In a very short time, no longer than it takes for the eye to close and open, the Christians who have died will be raised. It will happen when the last horn sounds. The dead will be raised never to die again. Then the rest of us who are alive will be changed. ⁵³ Our human bodies made from dust must be changed into a body that cannot be destroyed. Our human bodies that can die must be changed into bodies that will never die. ⁵⁴ When this that can be destroyed has been changed into that which cannot be destroyed, and when this that does die has been changed into that which cannot die, then it will happen as the Holy Writings said it would happen. They said, “Death has no more power over life.” ^{(C) 55} O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains? ⁵⁶ The pain in death is sin. Sin has power over those under the Law. ⁵⁷ But God is the One Who gives us power over sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. We give thanks to Him for this.

⁵⁸ So then, Christian brothers, because of all this, be strong. Do not allow anyone to change your mind. Always do your work well for the Lord. You know that whatever you do for Him will not be wasted.

Gifts for the Poor

16 I want to tell you what to do about the money you are gathering for the Christians. Do the same as I told the churches in the country of Galatia to do. ² On the first day of every week each of you should put aside some of your money. Give a certain part of what you have earned. Keep it there because I do not want money gathered when I come. ³ When I get there, I will give letters to the men you want to send. They will take your gift to Jerusalem. ⁴ If I can go, they can go with me.

Plans for a Visit

⁵ I want to visit you after I have gone through the country of Macedonia for I am going through there. ⁶ I may be staying with you and even spend the winter with you. Then you can send me on my way to the next place. ⁷ I do not want to stop now. I want to spend some time with you when I can stay longer, if that is what the Lord wants. ⁸ I will stay in the city of Ephesus until the special day to remember how the Holy Spirit came on the church. ⁹ A wide door has been opened to me here to preach the Good News. But there are many who work against me.

¹⁰ If Timothy comes, receive him and help him so he will not be afraid. He is working for the Lord as I am. ¹¹ Everyone should respect him. Send him on his way to me in peace. I expect to see him and some of the other Christians soon. ¹² I wanted brother Apollos to go with the other Christians to visit you. But he is not sure he should go now. He will come when he can.

¹³ Watch and keep awake! Stand true to the Lord. Keep on acting like men and be strong. ¹⁴ Everything you do should be done in love.

¹⁵ You know that the families of Stephanas were the first Christians in the country of Greece. They are working for the Lord in helping His people. ¹⁶ I ask you to listen to leaders like these and work with them as well as others like them. ¹⁷ I am happy that Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus came here. They have helped me and you would have also if you had been here. ¹⁸ They have made me happy. They would have made you happy also. Show them you are thankful for their help.

¹⁹ The churches in the countries of Asia say hello. Aquila and Priscilla and the Christians who meet in their house say hello with Christian love. ²⁰ All the Christians here greet you. Greet each other with a kiss of holy love. ²¹ I, Paul, am writing the last part of this letter with my own hand. ²² If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be kept from being with Christ. The Lord is coming soon! ²³ May you have the loving-favor of our Lord Jesus. ²⁴ I love you all through Christ Jesus. Let it be so.

1 This letter is from Paul. I have been chosen by God to be a missionary for Jesus Christ. Timothy is here with me and is writing to you also. We are writing to God’s church in the city of Corinth and to all of God’s people in the country of Greece. ² May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Father Who shows us loving-kindness and our God Who gives us comfort. ⁴ He gives us comfort in all our troubles. Then we can comfort other people who have the same troubles. We give the same kind of comfort God gives us. ⁵ As we have suffered much for Christ and have shared in His pain, we also share His great comfort.

⁶ But if we are in trouble, it is for your good. And it is so you will be saved from the punishment of sin. If God comforts us, it is for your good also. You too will be given strength not to give up when you have the same kind of trouble we have. ⁷ Our hope for you is the same all the time. We know you are sharing our troubles. And so you will share the comfort we receive.

⁸ We want you to know, Christian brothers, of the trouble we had in the countries of Asia. The load was so heavy we did not have the strength to keep going. At times we did not think we could live. ⁹ We thought we would die. This happened so we would not put our trust in ourselves, but in God Who raises the dead. ¹⁰ Yes, God kept us from what looked like sure death and He is keeping us. As we trust Him, He will keep us in the future. ¹¹ You also help us by praying for us. Many people thank God for His favor to us. This is an answer to the prayers of many people.

Paul Wants to Visit Corinth

¹² I am happy to say this. Whatever we did in this world, and for sure when we were with you, we were honest and had pure desires. We did not trust in human wisdom. Our power came from God’s loving-favor. ¹³ We write to you only what we know you can understand. I hope you will understand everything. ¹⁴ When the Lord Jesus comes again, you can be as proud of us as we will be proud of you. Right now you do not understand us real well.

¹⁵ It was because of this, I wanted to visit you first. In that way, you would be helped two times. ¹⁶ I wanted to stop to visit you on my way to the country of Macedonia. I would stop again as I came from there. Then you could help me on my way to the country of Judea. ¹⁷ Yes, I changed my mind. Does that show that I change my mind a lot? Do I plan things as people of the world who say yes when they mean no? You know I am not like that! ¹⁸ As God is true, my yes means yes. I am not the kind of person who says one thing and means another. ¹⁹ Timothy and Silvanus and I have preached to you about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Him there is no yes and no. In Him is yes. ²⁰ Jesus says yes to all of God’s many promises. It is through Jesus that we say, “Let it be so,” when we give thanks to God. ²¹ God is the One Who makes our faith and your faith strong in Christ. He has set us apart for Himself. ²² He has put His mark on us to show we belong to Him. His Spirit is in our hearts to prove this.

²³ I call on God to look into my heart. The reason I did not come to the city of Corinth was because I did not want my strong words to hurt you. ²⁴ We are not the boss of your faith but we are working with you to make you happy. Your faith is strong.

2 As I thought about it, I decided I would not come to you again. It would only make you sad. ² If I make you sad, who is going to make me happy? How can you make me happy if I make you sad? ³ That is why I wrote that letter to you. I did not want to visit you and be made sad by the ones who should be making me happy. I am sure when I am happy, you are happy also. ⁴ I wrote you with a troubled heart. Tears were coming from my eyes. I did not want to make you sad. I wanted you to know how much I loved you.

Forgiving a Christian

⁵ If someone among you has brought sorrow, he has not made me as sad as he has all of you. I say this so I may not make it hard for you. ⁶ Most of you have punished him. That is enough for such a person. ⁷ Now you should forgive him and comfort him. If you do not, he will be so sad that he will want to give up. ⁸ I ask you to show him you do love him. ⁹ This is why I wrote to you. I wanted to test you to see if you were willing to obey in all things. ¹⁰ If you forgive a man, I forgive him also. If I have forgiven anything, I have done it because of you. Christ sees me as I forgive. ¹¹ We forgive so that Satan will not win. We know how he works!

¹² When I arrived in the city of Troas, the Lord opened the door for me to preach the Good News of Christ. ¹³ I was worried because I could not find our brother Titus. After saying good-bye, I went on my way to the country of Macedonia. ¹⁴ We thank God for the power Christ has given us. He leads us and makes us win in everything. He speaks through us wherever we go. The Good News is like a sweet smell to those who hear it. ¹⁵ We are a sweet smell of Christ that reaches up to God. It reaches out to those who are being saved from the punishment of sin and to those who are still lost in sin. ¹⁶ It is the smell of death to those who are lost in sin. It is the smell of life to those who are being saved from the punishment of sin. Who is able for such a work? ¹⁷ We are not like others. They preach God’s Word to make money. We are men of truth and have been sent by God. We speak God’s Word with Christ’s power. All the time God sees us.

The Old and the New Way

3 Are we making it sound as if we think we are so important? Other people write letters about themselves. Do we need to write such a letter to you? ² You are our letter. You are written in our hearts. You are known and read by all men. ³ You are as a letter from Christ written by us. You are not written as other letters are written with ink, or on pieces of stone. You are written in human hearts by the Spirit of the living God. ⁴ We can say these things because of our faith in God through Christ. ⁵ We know we are not able in ourselves to do any of this work. God makes us able to do these things. ⁶ God is the One Who made us preachers of a New Way of Worship. This New Way of Worship is not of the Law. It is of the Holy Spirit. The Law brings death, but the Holy Spirit gives life.

⁷ The Law of Moses was written on stone and it brought death. But God’s shining-greatness was seen when it was given. When Moses took it to the Jews, they could not look at his face because of the bright light. But that bright light in his face began to pass away. ⁸ The new way of life through the Holy Spirit comes with much more shining-greatness. ⁹ If the Law of Moses, that leads to death, came in shining-greatness, how much greater and brighter is the light that makes us right with God? ¹⁰ The Law of Moses came with shining-greatness long ago. But that light is no longer bright. The shining-greatness of the New Way of Worship that brings us life is so much brighter. ¹¹ The shining light that came with the Law of Moses soon passed away. But the new way of life is much brighter. It will never pass away.

¹² We speak without fear because our trust is in Christ. ¹³ We are not like Moses. He put a covering over his face so the Jews would not see that the bright light was passing away. ¹⁴ Their minds were not able to understand. Even to this day when the Law is read, there is a covering over their minds. They do not see that Christ is the only One Who can take the covering away. ¹⁵ Yes, to this day, there is a covering over their hearts whenever the Law of Moses is read. ¹⁶ But whenever a man turns to the Lord, the covering is taken away. ¹⁷ The heart is free where the Spirit of the Lord is. The Lord is the Spirit. ¹⁸ All of us, with no covering on our faces, show the shining-greatness of the Lord as in a mirror. All the time we are being changed to look like Him, with more and more of His shining-greatness. This change is from the Lord Who is the Spirit.

Paul Is Faithful in Preaching the Good News

4 Through God’s loving-kindness, He has given us this job to do. So we do not give up. ² We have put away all things that are done in secret and in shame. We do not play with the Word of God or use it in a false way. Because we are telling the truth, we want men’s hearts to listen to us. God knows our desires. ³ If the Good News we preach is hidden, it is hidden to those who are lost in sin. ⁴ The eyes of those who do not believe are made blind by Satan who is the god of this world. He does not want the light of the Good News to shine in their hearts. This Good News shines as the shining-greatness of Christ. Christ is as God is. ⁵ We do not preach about ourselves. We preach Christ Jesus the Lord. We are your servants because of Jesus. ⁶ It was God Who said, “The light will shine in darkness.” ^(D) He is the One Who made His light shine in our hearts. This brings us the light of knowing God’s shining-greatness which is seen in Christ’s face.

⁷ We have this light from God in our human bodies. This shows that the power is from God. It is not from ourselves. ⁸ We are pressed on every side, but we still have room to move. We are often in much trouble, but we never give up. ⁹ People make it hard for us, but we are not left alone. We are knocked down, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ We carry marks on our bodies that show the death of Jesus. This is how Jesus makes His life seen in our bodies. ¹¹ Every day of our life we face death because of Jesus. In this way, His life is seen in our bodies. ¹² Death is working in us because we work for the Lord, but His life is working in you.

¹³ The Holy Writings say, “I believed, so I spoke.” ^(E) We have the same kind of faith as David had. We also believe, so we speak. ¹⁴ We know that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. He will raise us up also. God will take us to Himself and He will take you. ¹⁵ These things happened for your good. As more people receive God’s favor, they will give thanks for the shining-greatness of God.

Life Now—Life in Heaven

¹⁶ This is the reason we do not give up. Our human body is wearing out. But our spirits are getting stronger every day. ¹⁷ The little troubles we suffer now for a short time are making us ready for the great things God is going to give us forever. ¹⁸ We do not look at the things that can be seen. We look at the things that cannot be seen. The things that can be seen will come to an end. But the things that cannot be seen will last forever.

Our Weak Human Bodies

5 Our body is like a house we live in here on earth. When it is destroyed, we know that God has another body for us in heaven. The new one will not be made by human hands as a house is made. This body will last forever. ² Right now we cry inside ourselves because we wish we could have our new body which we will have in heaven. ³ We will not be without a body. We will live in a new body. ⁴ While we are in this body, we cry inside ourselves because things are hard for us. It is not that we want to die. Instead, we want to live in our new bodies. We want this dying body to be changed into a living body that lasts forever. ⁵ It is God Who has made us ready for this change. He has given us His Spirit to show us what He has for us.

⁶ We are sure of this. We know that while we are at home in this body we are not with the Lord. ⁷ Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us. ⁸ We are sure we will be glad to be free of these bodies. It will be good to be at home with the Lord. ⁹ So if we stay here on earth or go home to Him, we always want to please Him. ¹⁰ For all of us must stand before Christ when He says who is guilty or not guilty. Each one will receive pay for what he has done. He will be paid for the good or the bad done while he lived in this body.

¹¹ Because of this, we know the fear of God. So we try to get men to put their trust in Christ. God knows us. I hope that your hearts know me well also. ¹² We do not want to sound as if we think we are so important. Instead, we are making it easy for you to be proud of us. In that way, you will be able to tell them about us. They always talk about the way people look, but do not care about their hearts. ¹³ Are we crazy to talk like this? It is all because of what God has done. If we are using our minds well, it is for you. ¹⁴ For the love of Christ puts us into action. We are sure that Christ died for everyone. So, because of that, everyone has a part in His death. ¹⁵ Christ died for everyone so that they would live for Him. They should not live to please themselves but for Christ Who died on a cross and was raised from the dead for them.

¹⁶ So from now on, we do not think about what people are like by looking at them. We even thought about Christ that way one time. But we do not think of Him that way anymore. ¹⁷ For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun. ¹⁸ All this comes from God. He is the One Who brought us to Himself when we hated Him. He did this through Christ. Then He gave us the work of bringing others to Him. ¹⁹ God was in Christ. He was working through Christ to bring the whole world back to Himself. God no longer held men’s sins against them. And He gave us the work of telling and showing men this. ²⁰ We are Christ’s missionaries. God is speaking to you through us. We are speaking for Christ and we ask you from our hearts to turn from your sins and come to God. ²¹ Christ never sinned but God put our sin on Him. Then we are made right with God because of what Christ has done for us.

Our Job to Do

6 We are working together with God. We ask you from our hearts not to receive God’s loving-favor and then waste it. ² The Holy Writings say, “I heard you at the right time. I helped you on that day to be saved from the punishment of sin. Now is the right time! See! Now is the day to be saved.” ^{(F) 3} We do not want to put anything in the way that would keep people from God. We do not want to be blamed. ⁴ Everything we do shows we are God’s servants. We have had to wait and suffer. We have needed things. We have been in many hard places and have had many troubles. ⁵ We have been beaten. We have been put in prison. We have been in fights. We have worked hard. We have stayed awake watching. We have gone without food. ⁶ We have been pure. We have known what to do. We have suffered long. We have been kind. The Holy Spirit has worked in us. We have had true love. ⁷ We have spoken the truth. We have God’s power. We have the sword of being right with God in the right hand and in the left hand. ⁸ Some men respect us and some do not. Some men speak bad against us and some thank us. They say we lie, but we speak the truth. ⁹ Some men act as if they do not know us. And yet we are known by everyone. They act as if we were dead, but we are alive. They try to hurt and destroy us, but they are not able to kill us. ¹⁰ We are full of sorrow and yet we are always happy. We are poor and yet we make many people rich. We have nothing and yet we have everything.

¹¹ We have spoken to you who are in the city of Corinth with plain words. Our hearts are wide open. ¹² Our hearts are not closed to you. But you have closed your hearts to us. ¹³ I am speaking to you now as if you were my own children. Open your hearts wide to us! That will pay us back for what we have done for you.

¹⁴ Do not be joined together with those who do not belong to Christ. How can that which is good get along with that which is bad? How can light be in the same place with darkness? ¹⁵ How can Christ get along with the devil? How can one who has put his trust in Christ get along with one who has not put his trust in Christ? ¹⁶ How can the house of God get along with false gods? We are the house of the living God. God has said, “I will live in them and will walk among them. I will be their God and they will be My people.” ^{(G) 17} The Lord has said, “So come out from among them. Do not be joined to them. Touch nothing that is sinful. And I will receive you. ¹⁸ I will be a Father to you. You will be My sons and daughters, says the All-powerful God.”

7 Since we have these great promises, dear friends, let us turn away from every sin of the body or of the spirit. Let us honor God with love and fear by giving ourselves to Him in every way.

His Love for the Corinthians

² Receive us into your hearts. We have done no wrong to anyone. We have not led anyone in the wrong way. We have not used anyone for our good. ³ I do not say this to tell you that you are wrong. As I have said before, you have a place in our hearts and always will. If we live or die, we will be together. ⁴ I trust you and am proud of you. You give me much comfort and joy even when I suffer.

⁵ When we arrived in the country of Macedonia, we had no rest. We had all kinds of trouble. There was fighting all around us. Our hearts were afraid. ⁶ But God gives comfort to those whose hearts are heavy. He gave us comfort when Titus came. ⁷ Not only did his coming comfort us, but the comfort you had given him made me happy also. He told us how much you wanted to see us. He said that you were sad because of my trouble and that you wanted to help me. This made me happy.

⁸ I am not sorry now if my letter made you sad. I know it made you sad, but it was only for awhile. ⁹ I am happy now. It is not because you were hurt by my letter, but because it turned you from sin to God. God used it and you were not hurt by what we did. ¹⁰ The sorrow that God uses makes people sorry for their sin and leads them to turn from sin so they can be saved from the punishment of sin. We should be happy for that kind of sorrow, but the sorrow of this world brings death. ¹¹ See how this sorrow God allowed you to have has worked in you. You had a desire to be free of that sin I wrote about. You were angry about it. You were afraid. You wanted to do something about it. In every way you did what you could to make it right. ¹² I sent this. It was not written only because of the man who did the wrong or because of the one who suffered. ¹³ All this has given us comfort. More than this, we are happy for the joy Titus has. His spirit has been made stronger by all of you. ¹⁴ I told him how proud I was of you. You did not make me ashamed. What we said to Titus proved to be true. ¹⁵ He loves you all the more. He remembers how all of you were ready to obey and how you respected him. ¹⁶ I am happy that I can have complete trust in you.

The Christian Way to Give

8 Christian brothers, we want you to know how the loving-favor of God has been shown in the churches in the country of Macedonia. ² They have been put to the test by much trouble, but they have much joy. They have given much even though they were very poor. ³ They gave as much as they could because they wanted to. ⁴ They asked from their hearts if they could help the Christians in Jerusalem. ⁵ It was more than we expected. They gave themselves to the Lord first. Then they gave themselves to us to be used as the Lord wanted. ⁶ We asked Titus to keep on helping you finish this act of love. He was the one to begin this. ⁷ You are rich in everything. You have faith. You can preach. You have much learning. You have a strong desire to help. And you have love for us. Now do what you should about giving also. ⁸ I am not saying that you must do this, but I have told you how others have helped. This is a way to prove how true your love is. ⁹ You know of the loving-favor shown by our Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich, but He became poor for your good. In that way, because He became poor, you might become rich.

¹⁰ This is what I think. You had better finish what you started a year ago. You were the first to want to give a gift of money. ¹¹ Now do it with the same strong desires you had when you started. ¹² If a man is ready and willing to give, he should give of what he has, not of what he does not have. ¹³ This does not mean that others do not have to give and you have to give much. You should share alike. ¹⁴ You have more than you need now. When you have need, then they can help you. You should share alike. ¹⁵ The Holy Writings say, “The man who gathered much did not have too much. The man who did not gather much had enough.” ^(H)

Titus Will Be Coming

¹⁶ I thank God that He gave Titus the same desire to help you. ¹⁷ He was glad when we asked him to help you. He decided himself to go to you. ¹⁸ We are sending the Christian brother along. He is respected in the churches for his preaching. ¹⁹ Not only that, but he has been asked by the churches to travel with me to Jerusalem. He will help in giving them the gift. The Lord will be honored by it because it shows how we want to help each other.

²⁰ We want everyone to trust us with the way we take this large gift of money to them. ²¹ We want to do the right thing. We want God and men to know we are honest. ²² We are sending another Christian brother with them. We have tested him many times. His faith has proven to be true. He wants very much to help because he trusts you. ²³ Titus works with me to help you. The other two Christian brothers have been sent by the churches. Their lives honor Christ. ²⁴ Show these men you love them and let the churches see your love. Show them the reason I am proud of you.

Giving to Help Other Christians

9 I do not need to write to you about helping those who belong to Christ. ² I know you want to do it. I have told the people in the country of Macedonia that you were ready to send money last year. Your desire has started most of them to give. ³ I am sending these Christian brothers so the words I said about you will prove to be true and you will be ready to help. ⁴ What if some of the people of Macedonia came with me and found you were not ready to send your gift of money? We would all be ashamed since we have talked of you so much. ⁵ That is why I asked these men to go ahead of me. They can see that the gift you promised is ready. In that way, it will be a true gift and not something you were made to do.

⁶ Remember, the man who plants only a few seeds will not have much grain to gather. The man who plants many seeds will have much grain to gather. ⁷ Each man should give as he has decided in his heart. He should not give, wishing he could keep it. Or he should not give if he feels he has to give. God loves a man who gives because he wants to give. ⁸ God can give you all you need. He will give you more than enough. You will have everything you need for yourselves. And you will have enough left over to give when there is a need. ⁹ The Holy Writings say, “He has given much to the poor. His right-standing with God lasts forever.” ^{(I) 10} It is God Who gives seed to the man to plant. He also gives the bread to eat. Then we know He will give you more seed to plant and make it grow so you will have more to give away. ¹¹ God will give you enough so you can always give to others. Then many will give thanks to God for sending gifts through us. ¹² This gift you give not only helps Christians who are in need, but it also helps them give thanks to God. ¹³ You are proving by this act of love what you are. They will give thanks to God for your gift to them and to others. This proves you obey the Good News of Christ. ¹⁴ They will pray for you with great love because God has given you His loving-favor. ¹⁵ Thank God for His great Gift.

Paul Proves He Is a Missionary

10 I, Paul, ask you this myself. I do it through Christ Who is so gentle and kind. Some people say that I am gentle and quiet when I am with you, but that I have no fear and that my language is strong when I am away from you. ² Do not make me speak strong words to you when I come. Some people think we want the things of the world because of what we do and say. I have decided to talk to these people if I have to. ³ It is true, we live in a body of flesh. But we do not fight like people of the world. ⁴ We do not use those things to fight with that the world uses. We use the things God gives to fight with and they have power. Those things God gives to fight with destroy the strong-places of the devil. ⁵ We break down every thought and proud thing that puts itself up against the wisdom of God. We take hold of every thought and make it obey Christ. ⁶ We are ready to punish those who will not obey as soon as you obey in everything.

⁷ You are seeing things only as men see them. If anyone feels sure he belongs to Christ, he should remember that we belong to Christ also. ⁸ I am not ashamed if I say this of myself. The Lord gave me the right and the power to help you become stronger, not to break you down. ⁹ I do not want you to think I am trying to make you afraid with my letters. ¹⁰ They say, “His letters are strong and they make us think. When he is here with us, he is weak and he is hard to listen to.” ¹¹ What we say in our letters we will do when we get there. They should understand this. ¹² We do not compare ourselves with those who think they are good. They compare themselves with themselves. They decide what they think is good or bad and compare themselves with those ideas. They are foolish. ¹³ But we will not talk with pride more than God allows us to. We will follow the plan of the work He has given us to do and you are a part of that work. ¹⁴ We did not go farther than we were supposed to go when we came to you. But we did come to you with the Good News of Christ. ¹⁵ We take no pride in the work others have done there. But we hope your faith will keep growing because of help from others. Then we will grow because of you. ¹⁶ We hope to preach the Good News in the countries on the other side of you. Then we would take no pride in work done by another person in another country. ¹⁷ If anyone wants to be proud, he should be proud of what the Lord has done. ¹⁸ It is not what a man thinks and says of himself that is important. It is what God thinks of him.

Paul—the True Missionary

11 I wish you would listen to a little foolish talk from me. Now listen. ² I am jealous for you with a God-like jealousy. I have given you, as a woman who has never had a man, to one Husband, Who is Christ. ³ Eve was fooled by the snake in the garden of Eden. In the same way, I am afraid that you will be fooled and led away from your pure love for Christ. ⁴ You listen when someone comes and preaches a different Jesus than the One we preached. You believe what you hear about a different spirit and different good news than that which we preached.

⁵ I do not think I am less than those special missionaries who are coming to you. ⁶ Even if it is hard for me to speak, I know what I am talking about. You know this by now. ⁷ Did I do wrong? I did not ask you for anything when I preached the Good News to you. I made myself poor so you would be made rich. ⁸ I did take money from other churches. I used it while I worked with you so you would not have to pay me. ⁹ Some of the time I had no money when I was with you. But I did not ask you for money. The Christians from the country of Macedonia brought me what I needed. I did not ask you and I will not ask you for anything. ¹⁰ As sure as the truth of Christ is in me, I will not stop telling those in the country of Greece that I am proud of this. ¹¹ Does it mean I do not love you? God knows I do.

¹² What I am doing now, I will keep on doing. I will do it to stop those who say they work as we do. ¹³ Those men are false missionaries. They lie about their work. But they make themselves look like true missionaries of Christ. ¹⁴ It is no surprise! The devil makes himself look like an angel of light. ¹⁵ And so it is no surprise if his servants also make themselves look like preachers of the Good News. They and their work will come to the same end.

What Paul Suffered as a Missionary

¹⁶ Let me say it again. Do not think of me as a fool. But if you do, then let this foolish man speak a little about himself. ¹⁷ The Lord has not told me to talk about myself. I am foolish when I do talk about myself like this. ¹⁸ Since the other men tell you all about themselves, I will talk about myself also. ¹⁹ You are so wise! You put up with fools! ²⁰ You listen to anyone who tells you what to do or makes money off of you or sets a trap for you. You will listen to anyone who makes himself bigger than you or hits you in the face. ²¹ I am ashamed to say that I am weak! But I do not do as they do. Whatever they say about themselves, I can say about myself also. (I know what I am saying sounds foolish.)

²² Are they Jews? So am I. Are they from the family of Israel? So am I. Are they from the family of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Do they work for Christ? I have worked for Him much more than they have. (I speak as if I am crazy.) I have done much more work. I have been in prison more times. I cannot remember how many times I have been whipped. Many times I have been in danger of death. ²⁴ Five different times the Jews whipped me across my back thirty-nine times. ²⁵ Three times they beat me with sticks. One time they threw stones at me. Three times I was on ships that were wrecked. I spent a day and a night in the water. ²⁶ I have made many hard trips. I have been in danger from high water on rivers. I have been in danger from robbers. I have been in danger from the Jews. I have been in danger from people who do not know God. I have been in danger in cities and in the desert. I have been in danger on the sea. I have been in danger among people who say they belong to Christ but do not. ²⁷ I have worked hard and have been tired and have had pain. I have gone many times without sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty. I have gone without food and clothes. I have been out in the cold. ²⁸ More than all these things that have happened to my body, the care of all the churches is heavy on me. ²⁹ When someone is weak, I feel weak also. When someone is led into sin, I have a strong desire to help him. ³⁰ If I must talk about myself, I will do it about the things that show how weak I am. ³¹ The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is to be honored and thanked forever. He knows I am telling the truth. ³² In the city of Damascus the leader of the people under King Aretas put soldiers at the gates to take me. ³³ But I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and I got away.

Paul Sees Something True in a Special Dream

12 I have to talk about myself, even if it does no good. But I will keep on telling about some things I saw in a special dream and that which the Lord has shown me. ² I know a man who belongs to Christ. Fourteen years ago he was taken up to the highest heaven. (I do not know if his body was taken up or just his spirit. Only God knows.) ³ I say it again, I know this man was taken up. But I do not know if his body or just his spirit was taken up. Only God knows. ⁴ When he was in the highest heaven, he heard things that cannot be told with words. No man is allowed to tell them. ⁵ I will be proud about this man, but I will not be proud about myself except to say things which show how weak I am. ⁶ Even if I talk about myself, I would not be a fool because it is the truth. But I will say no more because I want no one to think better of me than he does when he sees or hears me.

⁷ The things God showed me were so great. But to keep me from being too full of pride because of seeing these things, I have been given trouble in my body. It was sent from Satan to hurt me. It keeps me from being proud. ⁸ I asked the Lord three times to take it away from me. ⁹ He answered me, “I am all you need. I give you My loving-favor. My power works best in weak people.” I am happy to be weak and have troubles so I can have Christ’s power in me. ¹⁰ I receive joy when I am weak. I receive joy when people talk against me and make it hard for me and try to hurt me and make trouble for me. I receive joy when all these things come to me because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹ I have been making a fool of myself talking like this. But you made me do it. You should be telling what I have done. Even if I am nothing at all, I am not less important than those false missionaries of yours. ¹² When I was with you, I proved to you that I was a true missionary. I did powerful works and there were special things to see. These things were done in the strength and power from God. ¹³ What makes you feel less important than the other churches? Is it because I did not let you give me food and clothing? Forgive me for this wrong!

¹⁴ This is the third time I am ready to come to you. I want nothing from you. I want you, not your money. You are my children. Children should not have to help care for their parents. Parents should help their children. ¹⁵ I am glad to give anything I have, even myself, to help you. When I love you more, it looks as if you love me less.

¹⁶ It is true that I was not a heavy load to you. But some say I set a trap for you. ¹⁷ How could I have done that? Did I get anything from you through the men I sent to you? ¹⁸ I asked Titus and the other Christian brother to visit you. Did Titus get anything from you? Did we not do things that showed we had the same desires and followed the same plan?

¹⁹ It may look to you as if we had been trying to make everything look right for ourselves all this time. God knows and so does Christ that all this is done to help you. ²⁰ I am afraid that when I visit you I will not find you as I would like you to be. And you will not find me as you would like me to be. I am afraid I will find you fighting and jealous and angry and arguing and talking about each other and thinking of yourselves as being too important and making trouble. ²¹ I am afraid when I get there God will take all the pride away from me that I had for you. I will not be happy about many who have lived in sin and done sex sins and have had a desire for such things and have not been sorry for their sins and turned from them.

13 This is my third visit to you. The Holy Writings tell us that when people think someone has done wrong, it must be proven by two or three people who saw the wrong being done. ² During my second visit I talked to you who have been sinning and to all the others. While I am away, I tell you this again. The next time I come I will be hard on those who sin. ³ Since you want to know, I will prove to you that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when He works in your hearts. He uses His power in you. ⁴ Christ’s weak human body died on a cross. It is by God’s power that Christ lives today. We are weak. We are as He was. But we will be alive with Christ through the power God has for us.

⁵ Put yourselves through a test. See if you belong to Christ. Then you will know you belong to Christ, unless you do not pass the test. ⁶ I trust you see that we belong to Him and have passed the test. ⁷ We pray to God that you do no wrong. We do not pray this to show that our teaching is so great, but that you will keep on doing what is right, even if it looks as if we have done much wrong. ⁸ We cannot work against the truth of God. We only work for it. ⁹ We are glad when we are weak and you are strong. We pray that you will become strong Christians. ¹⁰ This is why I am writing these things while I am away from you. Then when I get there, I will not have to use strong words or punish you to show you that the Lord gives me this power. This power is to be used to make you stronger Christians, not to make you weak by hurting your faith.

¹¹ Last of all, Christian brothers, good-bye. Do that which makes you complete. Be comforted. Work to get along with others. Live in peace. The God of love and peace will be with you. ¹² Greet each other with a kiss of holy love. ¹³ All those here who belong to Christ say hello. ¹⁴ May you have loving-favor from our Lord Jesus Christ. May you have the love of God. May you be joined together by the Holy Spirit.

1 This letter is from Paul. I am a missionary sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father Who raised Jesus from the dead. I am not sent by men or by any one man. ² All the Christians join me in writing to you who are in the churches in the country of Galatia. ³ May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴ He gave Him-self to die for our sins. He did this so we could be saved from this sinful world. This is what God wanted Him to do. ⁵ May He have all the honor forever. Let it be so.

Men Must Not Change the Good News

⁶ I am surprised you are leaving Christ so soon. You were chosen through His loving-favor. But now you are turning and listening to another kind of good news. ⁷ No! There is not another kind of good news. There are some who would like to lead you in the wrong way. They want to change the Good News about Christ. ⁸ Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach another kind of good news to you that is not the one we preached, let him be cursed. ⁹ As we said before, I will say it again. If any man is preaching another good news to you which is not the one you have received, let him be cursed.

This Good News Is from God

¹⁰ Do you think I am trying to get the favor of men, or of God? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant owned by Christ.

¹¹ Christian brothers, I want you to know the Good News I preached to you was not made by man. ¹² I did not receive it from man. No one taught it to me. I received it from Jesus Christ as He showed it to me.

¹³ You have heard of my old life when I followed the Jewish religion. I made it as hard as I could for the Christians and did everything I could to destroy the Christian church. ¹⁴ I had learned more about the Jewish religion than many of the Jews my age. I had a much stronger desire than they to follow the ways of our early fathers. ¹⁵ But God chose me before I was born. By His loving-favor He called me to work for Him. ¹⁶ His Son was to be seen in me. He did this so I could preach about Christ to the people who are not Jews. When this happened, I did not talk to men. ¹⁷ I did not even go to Jerusalem to talk to those who were missionaries before me. Instead, I went to the country of Arabia. Later I returned to the city of Damascus.

¹⁸ Three years later I went to Jerusalem to meet Peter. I stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ I did not see any of the other missionaries except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ I am writing the truth. God knows I am not lying.

²¹ I went from Jerusalem to the countries of Syria and Cilicia. ²² None of the Christians in the churches in the country of Judea had ever seen me. ²³ The only thing they heard was, “The one who tried to destroy the Christian church is now preaching the Good News!” ²⁴ And they gave thanks to God because of me.

The Church Leaders in Jerusalem Say Paul Is a True Missionary

2 Fourteen years later I went again to Jerusalem. This time I took Barnabas. Titus went with us also. ² God showed me in a special way I should go. I spoke to them about the Good News that I preach among the people who are not Jews. First of all, I talked alone to the important church leaders. I wanted them to know what I was preaching. I did not want that which I was doing or would be doing to be wasted.

³ Titus was with me. Even being a Greek, he did not have to go through the religious act of becoming a Jew. ⁴ Some men who called themselves Christians asked about this. They got in our meeting without being asked. They came there to find out how free we are who belong to Christ. They tried to get us to be chained to the Law. ⁵ But we did not listen to them or do what they wanted us to do so the truth of the Good News might be yours.

⁶ Those who seemed to be important church leaders did not help me. They did not teach me anything new. What they were, I do not care. God looks on us all as being the same. ⁷ Anyway, they saw how I had been given the work of preaching the Good News to the people who are not Jews, as Peter had been given the work of preaching the Good News to the Jews. ⁸ For God helped Peter work with the Jews. He also helped me work with those who are not Jews. ⁹ James and Peter and John were thought of as being the head church leaders. They could see that God’s loving-favor had been given to me. Barnabas and I were joined together with them by shaking hands. Then we were sent off to work with the people who are not Jews. They were to work with the Jews. ¹⁰ They asked us to do only one thing. We were to remember to help poor people. I think this is important also.

¹¹ But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to stand up against him because he was guilty. ¹² Peter had been eating with the people who are not Jews. But after some men came who had been with James, he kept away from them. He was afraid of those who believe in the religious act of becoming a Jew. ¹³ Then the rest of the Jews followed him because they were afraid to do what they knew they should do. Even Barnabas was fooled by those who pretended to be someone they were not. ¹⁴ When I saw they were not honest about the truth of the Good News, I spoke to Peter in front of them all. I said, “If you are a Jew, but live like the people who are not Jews, why do you make the people who are not Jews live like the Jews?” ¹⁵ You and I were born Jews. We were not sinners from among the people who are not Jews. ¹⁶ Even so, we know we cannot become right with God by obeying the Law. A man is made right with God by putting his trust in Jesus Christ. For that reason, we have put our trust in Jesus Christ also. We have been made right with God because of our faith in Christ and not by obeying the Law. No man can be made right with God by obeying the Law. ¹⁷ As we try to become right with God by what Christ has done for us, what if we find we are sinners also? Does that mean Christ makes us sinners? No! Never! ¹⁸ But if I work toward being made right with God by keeping the Law, then I make myself a sinner. ¹⁹ The Law has no power over me. I am dead to the Law. Now I can live for God. ²⁰ I have been put up on the cross to die with Christ. I no longer live. Christ lives in me. The life I now live in this body, I live by putting my trust in the Son of God. He was the One Who loved me and gave Himself for me. ²¹ I say that we are not to put aside the loving-favor of God. If we could be made right with God by keeping the Law, then Christ died for nothing.

3 You foolish Galatians! What strange powers are trying to lead you from the way of faith in Christ? We made it plain for you to see that Jesus Christ was put on a cross to die. ² There is one thing I want to know. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the Law? Or did you receive Him by hearing about Christ? ³ How foolish can you be? You started the Christian life by the Holy Spirit. Do you think you are going to become better Christians by your old way of worship? ⁴ You suffered so much because of the Good News you received. Was this all of no use? ⁵ He gave you the Holy Spirit and did powerful works among you. Does He do it because you do what the Law says or because you hear and believe the truth?

⁶ It was the same with Abraham. He put his trust in God. This made Abraham right with God. ⁷ Be sure to remember that all men who put their trust in God are the sons of Abraham. ⁸ The Holy Writings said long ago that God would save the people who are not Jews from the punishment of sin also. Before this time the Holy Writings gave the Good News to Abraham in these words, “All nations will be happy because of you.” ^{(J) 9} So then, all those who have faith will be happy, along with Abraham who had faith.

¹⁰ All those who expect the Law to save them from the punishment of sin will be punished. Because it is written, “Everyone who does not keep on doing all the things written in the Book of the Law will be punished.” ^{(K) 11} No one is made right with God by doing what the Law says. For, “The man right with God will live by faith.” ^{(L) 12} The Law does not use faith. It says, “You must obey all the Law or you will die.” ^{(M) 13} Christ bought us with His blood and made us free from the Law. In that way, the Law could not punish us. Christ did this by carrying the load and by being punished instead of us. It is written, “Anyone who hangs on a cross is hated and punished.” ^{(N) 14} Because of the price Christ Jesus paid, the good things that came to Abraham might come to the people who are not Jews. And by putting our trust in Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit He has promised.

¹⁵ Christian brothers, let me show you what this means. If two men agree to something and sign their names on a paper promising to stay true to what they agree, it cannot be changed. ¹⁶ Now the promise was made to Abraham and to his son. He does not say, “And to sons,” speaking of many. But instead, “And to your Son,” which means Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I am saying: The Law which came 430 years later could not change the promise. The promise had already been made by God. The Law could not put that promise aside. ¹⁸ If it had been possible to be saved from the punishment of sin by obeying the Law, the promise God gave Abraham would be worth nothing. But since it is not possible to be saved by obeying the Law, the promise God gave Abraham is worth everything.

¹⁹ Then why do we have the Law? It was given because of sin. It was to be used until Christ came. The promise had been made looking toward Christ. The Law was given by angels through Moses who stood between God and man. ²⁰ But when the promise was given to Abraham, God gave it without anyone standing between them. ²¹ Is the Law against the promise of God? No! Never! If it had been possible to be saved from the punishment of sin by obeying the Law, then being right with God would have come by obeying the Law. ²² But the Holy Writings say that all men are guilty of sin. Then that which was promised might be given to those who put their trust in Christ. It will be because their faith is in Him.

²³ Before it was possible to be saved from the punishment of sin by putting our trust in Christ, we were held under the Law. It was as if we were being kept in prison. We were kept this way until Christ came. ²⁴ The Law was used to lead us to Christ. It was our teacher, and so we were made right with God by putting our trust in Christ. ²⁵ Now that our faith is in Christ, we do not need the Law to lead us.