Chapter 13

¹This will be my third visit to you. Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²Those who have kept on in their old sins and all the rest I have warned, and I warn them now while I am still away, as I did on my second visit, that if I come back I will spare nobody— ³since you demand proof that Christ really speaks through me. He is not weak in dealing with you. On the contrary, right among you he exhibits his power. ⁴Even if he was crucified through weakness, by the power of God he is alive. For we are weak as he was, but you will find that by the power of God we will be alive as he is. ⁵It is yourselves you must test, to see whether you are holding to the faith. It is yourselves you must examine. Do you not know that Jesus Christ is within you? Unless you fail to stand the test! ⁶I hope you will see that I do not fail to stand it. ⁷But I pray to God that you may not do wrong—not to prove me equal to the test, but that you should do right even if I fail to stand it. ⁸For I cannot do anything against the truth, but only for it. ⁹I am glad to be weak, if you are strong! That is what I pray for—the perfecting of your characters. ¹⁰That is why I write this while I am away from you, so that when I come, I may not have to be harsh in my use of the authority the Lord has given me, for it was to build you up, not to pull you down.

¹¹Now brothers, goodbye! Be what you ought to be, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace, and God the source of love and peace will be with you. ¹²Greet one another with a sacred kiss. ¹³All God’s people wish to be remembered to you.

¹⁴The blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the participation in the holy Spirit be with you all.