2
So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2 If I make you sad, who is going to make me glad? Only you, the people I made sad. 3 What I wrote to you I wrote for a special reason. When I came, I didn't want to be troubled by those who should make me glad. I was sure that all of you would share my joy. 4 I was very troubled when I wrote to you. My heart was sad. My eyes were full of tears. I didn't want to make you sad. I wanted to let you know that I love you very deeply.
5 Suppose someone has made us sad. In some ways, he hasn't made me sad so much as he has made all of you sad. But I don't want to put this too strongly. 6 He has been punished because most of you decided he should be. This punishment is enough. 7 Now you should forgive him and comfort him. Then he won't be sad more than he can stand. 8 So I'm asking you to tell him again that you still love him. 9 I wrote to you for another special reason. I wanted to see if you could stand the test. I wanted to see if you could obey everything asked of you. 10 Anyone you forgive I also forgive. Was there anything to forgive? If so, I have forgiven it for your benefit, knowing that Christ is watching. 11 We don't want Satan to outwit us. We know how he does his evil work.
1:23–2:11 Paul had recently visited the Corinthian believers. Someone in Corinth had tried to make trouble for Paul. They tried to convince the church to treat him like an enemy. Paul was sad and hurt. He left quickly. As a result of this Paul sent them a letter that was hard to write. The church made changes after receiving Paul's letter. They corrected the guilty man and after that he stopped causing trouble. There was order and peace again in the church. Now Paul told them to forgive the man. They should help him become part of the community of believers again. When believers forgive, it goes against what Satan wants. Satan is another name for the devil. Paul said that he had already forgiven the man. Paul made sure that the Corinthian believers knew how deeply he loved them.
12 I went to Troas to preach the good news about Christ. There I found that the Lord had opened a door of opportunity for me. 13 But I still had no peace of mind. I couldn't find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to the believers at Troas and went on to Macedonia.
14 Give thanks to God! He always leads us as if we were prisoners in Christ's victory parade. Through us, God spreads the knowledge of Christ everywhere like perfume. 15 God considers us to be the pleasing smell that Christ is spreading. He is spreading it among people who are being saved and people who are dying. 16 To those who are dying, we are the smell of death. To those who are being saved, we are the perfume of life. Who is able to do this work? 17 Unlike many people, we aren't selling God's word to make money. In fact, it is just the opposite. Because of Christ we speak honestly before God. We speak like people God has sent.
2:12–17 Paul travelled to many cities teaching people about Jesus. He described his work like being in Christ's victory parade. Jesus is the King who won the victory over sin, death and evil. Paul and the believers he travelled and worked with were like prisoners in the parade. This is a picture of how they were Jesus' servants. Their job was to spread the knowledge about Christ wherever they went. Some people hear the message about Jesus and celebrate his victory. For them, the message leads to eternal life. Paul said this was like spreading the perfume of life. But some people refuse to believe in Jesus. When they hear the message they say no to the life that Jesus gives. For these people the message about Jesus is the smell of death. Paul made something clear about his work as an apostle. He and his fellow workers didn't preach about Jesus to make money.