And thus it is also with the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption and raised in incorrup- tion; it is sown in dishonor and raised in glory; it is sown in weakness and raised in strength. It is sown as a sensual body and raised as a spiritual body. If there is a sensual body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written: The first man, Adam, was created for sensual life; the last Adam is for life-giving spirit. But first comes not the spiritual, but the sensual first, and then the spiritual. The first man is made from earth, the second from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are the earthly ones, and as was the heavenly man, so are the heavenly ones; and as we wore the likeness of the earthly one, so shall we wear the likeness of the heavenly one.
But this I tell you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor shall corruption inherit incorruption. See, I ^ telling you a mystery. We shall not all die but we shall all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will blow, and the dead will waken uncor- rupted, and we shall be changed. For this which is perishable must put on imperishability, and this which is mortal must put on immortality. But when this which is mortal puts on immortality, then will come to pass the word which is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; now thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, be immovable, surpassing always in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not vain, by reason of the Lord.
Now, regarding the coUection for the saints, do you also do as I directed to the churches in Galatia. On every sabbath let each one of you, laying aside money in proportion to his gains, save it, so that there will not have to be collections when I arrive. And when I come to you I will send those whom you have recommended in your letters to convey your charitable gift to Jerusalem; and if it is of any importance for me to go myself, they will travel in my company.
I will come to you when I have passed through Macedonia, for I ^ going through Macedonia, and perhaps I shall stay with you, or spend the winter, so that you can send me on my way wherever I may be going. For I do not want to see you now only in passing, since I hope to stay for some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I shall stay in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a great and important door has opened for me, and my adversaries are many.
But if Timothy goes to you, see that he has nothing to fear from you, for he does the Lord's work, as I do; let no one treat him with contempt, but send him on his way in peace so that he can come to me, for I am waiting for him with the brothers.
As for our brother Apollos, I have much entreated him to visit you, along with the brothers; but his choice was not to go just now, but he will visit you when the time is right.
Be watchful, be steadfast in your faith, be brave, be strong. Let all be love among you. And I ask this of you, brothers: You know the household of Stephanas, that it was my first conversion in Achaea and that they have given themselves to the service of the saints; I ask you to work under such people, or anyone else who toils and labors with them. And I am happy in the presence here of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they made up for your absence, since they refreshed my spirit and yours. Give recognition to men like these.
The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca send many greetings, along with the church at their household. All the brothers send you greetings. Greet each other with the sacred kiss.
This greeting is in the hand of myself, Paul. A curse upon anyone who does not love the Lord. The Lord has come. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love be with you all, in Christ Jesus.
The Second Letter to the Corinthians
1/PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST JESUS BY the will of God; and Timothy our brother; to the church of God which is in Corinth, together with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaea: grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of the mercies and the God of all consolation, who comforts us in every affliction of ours, so that we are able to comfort those who are in every affliction through the consolation we ourselves received from God. For as the sufferings of the Christ abound for us, so through the Christ our consolation abounds. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which works in endurance of those same sufferings which we also undergo; and our hope for you is firm, since we know that, as you are sharers in our sufferings, so also you are sharers in our consolation.
For we do not wish you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction which befell us in Asia, how we were burdened beyond our powers so that we did not know whether we could survive. For all we could do, we would have got the death sentence; so that our trust had to be not in ourselves but in God, who raises the dead, who rescued us, and will rescue us, from so great a danger of death; in whom we have hope, that he will still protect us, if only you will help with your prayers for us; so that the grace given us because of many persons may be thankfully received by many for our sake.
This is our cause for pride, the testimony of our consciousness that we behaved in the world in the holiness and purity of God, not by fleshly wisdom but by the grace of God, and especially in relation to you. We are not writing you anything except what you can read and understand; and I hope that you will understand us completely, as you have understood us in part; that we are your cause for pride, as you are ours, on the Day of our Lord Jesus.
It was in this spirit of confidence that I wished formerly to visit you, so that you could enjoy me a second time; to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and return from Macedonia to you, so that you could speed me on my way to Judaea. That was what I wished. Then did I tum fickle? Or when I make my plans, do I do it after the way of the flesh, so that I can say both yes yes and no no? Trust God that our message to you is not yes and no. For Christ Jesus the son of God, preached ^ong you by us, myself and Silvanus and Timothy, was never yes and no, but yes is his nature. For all the promises of God through him are yes; and that is why, because of him, the amen is said for the glory of God by us. It is God who confirms us for Christ, along with you; who anointed us, and set his seal upon us, and deposited the first payment of the Spirit in our hearts.
And I invoke God as witness, on my life, that it was to spare you that I gave up co^mg to Corinth; not that we are in charge of your faith; we work with you to bring you joy, since you have stood fum in your faith.
111 told myself that I must not visit you again in painful circumstances. For if I cause you pain, who else is there to gladden me, besides you, whom I caused pain? And I wrote this precisely so that I should not, visiting you, be caused pain by those who ought to bring me joy; being sure that, for all of you, my joy is the joy of you all. I wrote to you in great affliction and a^^sh of heart, with many tears, not so that you should be grieved, but so that you may know the love I have in surpassing degree for you.
But supposing someone really has caused trouble, he has not caused it for me but in part—not to exaggerate— for you all. For such a one, his punishment by the majority has been enough, so that now you should reverse yourselves and forgive and console him, so that the man I mean will not be overwhelmed by excessive suffering. Therefore I implore you to declare your love for him; since that is why I wrote, to le^ of your disposition, whether you are in every way obedient. Whom you forgive I too forgive; and if I have forgiven, what I forgave was for your sake, before the face of Christ, so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan; for we are not ignorant of what he has in mind.