[1:12] We are proud that our conscience assures us that our lives in this world, and especially our relations with you, have been ruled by God-given frankness and sincerity, by the power of God's grace and not by human wisdom.
[1:15] I was so sure of all this that I made plans at first to visit you, in order that you might be blessed twice.
[1:16] For I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and again on my way back, in order to get help from you for my trip to Judea.
[1:17] In planning this, did I appear fickle? When I make my plans, do I make them from selfish motives, ready to say “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time?
[1:18] As surely as God speaks the truth, my promise to you was not a “Yes” and a “No.”
[1:19] For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was preached among you by Silas, Timothy, and myself, is not one who is “Yes” and “No.” On the contrary, he is God's “Yes”;
[1:20] for it is he who is the “Yes” to all of God's promises. This is why through Jesus Christ our “Amen” is said to the glory of God.
[1:21] It is God himself who makes us, together with you, sure of our life in union with Christ; it is God himself who has set us apart,
[1:22] who has placed his mark of ownership upon us, and who has given us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.
[1:23] I call God as my witness—he knows my heart! It was in order to spare you that I decided not to go to Corinth.
[1:24] We are not trying to dictate to you what you must believe; we know that you stand firm in the faith. Instead, we are working with you for your own happiness.
[2:1] So I made up my mind not to come to you again to make you sad.
[2:2] For if I were to make you sad, who would be left to cheer me up? Only the very persons I had made sad.
[2:3] That is why I wrote that letter to you—I did not want to come to you and be made sad by the very people who should make me glad. For I am convinced that when I am happy, then all of you are happy too.
[2:4] I wrote you with a greatly troubled and distressed heart and with many tears; my purpose was not to make you sad, but to make you realize how much I love you all.