Paul Defends His Ministry
1 I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you—I who am said to be meek and mild when I am with you, but harsh with you when I am away. By the gentleness and kindness of Christ 2 I beg you not to force me to be harsh when I come; for I am sure I can deal harshly with those who say that we act from worldly motives. 3 It is true that we live in the world, but we do not fight from worldly motives. 4 The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; 5 we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ. 6 And after you have proved your complete loyalty, we will be ready to punish any act of disloyalty.
7 You are looking at the outward appearance of things. Are there some there who reckon themselves to belong to Christ? Well, let them think again about themselves, because we belong to Christ just as much as they do. 8 For I am not ashamed, even if I have boasted somewhat too much about the authority that the Lord has given us—authority to build you up, not to tear you down. 9 I do not want it to appear that I am trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 Someone will say, “Paul's letters are severe and strong, but when he is with us in person, he is weak, and his words are nothing!” 11 Such a person must understand that there is no difference between what we write in our letters when we are away and what we will do when we are there with you.
12 Of course we would not dare classify ourselves or compare ourselves with those who rate themselves so highly. How stupid they are! They make up their own standards to measure themselves by, and they judge themselves by their own standards! 13 As for us, however, our boasting will not go beyond certain limits; it will stay within the limits of the work which God has set for us, and this includes our work among you. 14 And since you are within those limits, we were not going beyond them when we came to you, bringing the Good News about Christ. 15 So we do not boast about the work that others have done beyond the limits God set for us. Instead, we hope that your faith may grow and that we may be able to do a much greater work among you, always within the limits that God has set. 16 Then we can preach the Good News in other countries beyond you and shall not have to boast about work already done in someone else's field.
17 But as the scripture says, “Whoever wants to boast must boast about what the Lord has done.” 18 For it is when the Lord thinks well of us that we are really approved, and not when we think well of ourselves.
1 Bet es, Pāvils, jūs pamācu ar Kristus lēnprātību un laipnību, es, kas klāt būdams jūsu starpā gan esot pazemīgs, bet no tālienes pret jums rādot drosmi. 2 Es jūs lūdzu: ka man, pie jums nākot, nevajadzētu būt bargam ar tādu drosmi, ar kādu es gribu uzstāties pret dažiem, kas domā, ka mēs dzīvojot pasaulīgi. 3 Mēs dzīvojam gan pasaulē, bet necīnāmies pasaulīgi. 4 Jo mūsu cīņas ieroči nav miesīgi, bet spēcīgi Dieva priekšā cietokšņu noārdīšanai. 5 Mēs apgāžam prātojumus un visas augstprātīgās iedomas, kas paceļas pret Dieva atziņu, un uzvaram visus prātus, lai tie ir Kristum paklausīgi, 6 un esam gatavi nosodīt visu nepaklausību, kad jūsu paklausība būs tapusi pilnīga. 7 Vērojiet, ko jūs pie citiem redzat. Ja kāds ir sevī pārliecināts, ka viņš pieder Kristum, tad lai viņš apdomā, ka, tāpat kā viņš, tā arī mēs piederam Kristum. 8 Ja es arī vēl vairāk lepotos ar tām pilnvarām, ko mums Tas Kungs devis jūsu celšanai un ne postīšanai, tad es tomēr nepaliktu kaunā, 9 lai neizliktos, it kā es gribētu jūs iebaidīt ar vēstulēm. 10 Jo tie saka: viņa vēstules ir gan svarīgas un spēcīgas, bet viņš pats, personīgi klāt būdams, ir nespēcīgs, un viņa runa ir nenozīmīga. 11 Kas tā saka, lai zina, ka mēs, kādi esam no tālienes savās vēstulēs vārdos, tādi paši esam arī klāt būdami savos darbos. 12 Jo mēs neuzdrošināmies sevi pieskaitīt vai pielīdzināt tādiem, kas paši sevi liela; bet tie, sevi pašus ar sevi mērodami un paši sev pielīdzinādami, nedara prātīgi. 13 Mēs negribam pāri mēram lielīties, bet tik pēc tā noliktā mēra, ko Dievs mums spraudis un pēc kura arī esam nonākuši līdz jums. 14 Jo mēs nesniedzamies pāri par mēru, it kā mēs nebūtu nonākuši līdz jums; mēs taču pirmie pie jums nonācām ar Kristus evaņģēliju; 15 mēs nelielāmies nepiederīgi ar citu darbiem, bet ceram, jūsu ticībai pieaugot, gūt savā darba laukā jūsu vidū vēl lielākus panākumus, 16 lai varētu evaņģēliju sludināt pāri par jūsu robežām, bet ne lielīties ar jau padarīto cita darba laukā. 17 Bet, kas lielās, lai lielās ar To Kungu. 18 Jo ne tas ir derīgs, kas pats sevi uzteic, bet tas, ko uzteic Tas Kungs.
