God

What agreement can there be between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God — as God said, “I will house myself in them, . . . and I will walk among you. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

In fact, I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters.’ says Adonai-Tzva’ot.”

Therefore, my dear friends, since we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from everything that can defile either body or spirit, and strive to be completely holy, out of reverence for God.

But God, who encourages the downhearted, encouraged us with the arrival of Titus!

So even though I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of either the one who did the wrong or the one wronged, but so that before God you could see for yourselves how deep is your devotion to us.

Now, brothers, we must tell you about the grace God has given the congregations in Macedonia.

Also, they didn’t do this in the way we had expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord, which means, by God’s will, to us.

Now I thank God for making Titus as devoted to you as we are;

Each should give according to what he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Moreover, God has the power to provide you with every gracious gift in abundance, so that always in every way you will have all you need yourselves and be able to provide abundantly for every good cause —

You will be enriched in every way, so that you can be generous in everything. And through us your generosity will cause people to thank God,

because rendering this holy service not only provides for the needs of God’s people, but it also overflows in the many thanks people will be giving to God.

In offering this service you prove to these people that you glorify God by actually doing what your acknowledgement of the Good News of the Messiah requires, namely, sharing generously with them and with everyone.

And in their prayers for you they will feel a strong affection for you because of how gracious God has been to you.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

because the weapons we use to wage war are not worldly. On the contrary, they have God’s power for demolishing strongholds. We demolish arguments

and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey the Messiah.

You are looking at the surface of things. If anyone is convinced that he belongs to the Messiah, he should remind himself that we belong to the Messiah as much as he does.

We will not boast about what lies outside the area of work which God has given us; rather, we will boast within our assigned area, and that area does reach as far as you.

I would like you to bear with me in a little foolishness — please do bear with me!

Or did I sin in humbling myself so that you could be exalted, in proclaiming God’s Good News to you free of charge?

Why won’t I ever accept your support? Is it that I don’t love you? God knows I do!

God the Father of the Lord Yeshua — blessed be he forever — knows that I am not lying!

I know a man in union with the Messiah who fourteen years ago was snatched up to the third heaven; whether he was in the body or outside the body I don’t know, God knows.

And I know that such a man — whether in the body or apart from the body I don’t know, God knows —