The Offering for the Saints

81 And now we give you news, brothers, about the grace of God which has been given to the churches of Macedonia; 2 How while they were undergoing every sort of trouble, and were in the greatest need, they took all the greater joy in being able to give freely to the needs of others. 3 For I give them witness, that as they were able, and even more than they were able, they gave from the impulse of their hearts, 4 Seriously requesting us that they might have a part in this grace of being servants to the needs of the saints: 5 And going even farther than our hope, they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us after the purpose of God. 6 So that we made a request to Titus that, as he had made a start before, so he might make this grace complete in you.

7 And that as you are full of every good thing, of faith, of the word, of knowledge, of a ready mind, and of love to us, so you may be full of this grace in the same way. 8 I am not giving you an order, but using the ready mind of others as a test of the quality of your love. 9 For you see the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how though he had wealth, he became poor on your account, so that through his need you might have wealth. 10 And in this I give my opinion: for it is to your profit, who were the first to make a start a year before, not only to do this, but to make clear that your minds were more than ready to do it. 11 Then make the doing of it complete; so that as you had a ready mind, you may give effect to it as you are able. 12 For if there is a ready mind, a man will have God's approval in the measure of what he has, and not of what he has not. 13 And I am not saying this so that others may get off free, while the weight comes on you: 14 But so that things may be equal; that from those things of which you have more than enough at the present time their need may be helped, and that if you are in any need they may be a help to you in the same way, making things equal. 15 As it says in the Writings, He who had taken up much had nothing over and he who had little had enough.

16 But praise be to God, who puts the same care for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For while he gladly gave ear to our request, he was interested enough to go to you from the impulse of his heart. 18 And with him we have sent a brother whose praise in the good news has gone through all the churches; 19 And not only so, but he was marked out by the churches to go with us in the grace of this giving which we have undertaken to the glory of the Lord and to make clear that our mind was ready: 20 And so that no man might be able to say anything against us in the business of this giving which has been put into our hands: 21 For the business has been so ordered by us as to have the approval, not only of the Lord, but of men. 22 And we have sent with them our brother, whose ready spirit has been made clear to us at times and in ways without number, but it is now all the more so because of the certain faith which he has in you. 23 If any question comes up about Titus, he is my brother-worker, working with me for you; or about the others, they are the representatives of the churches to the glory of Christ. 24 Make clear then to them, as representatives of the churches, the quality of your love, and that the things which we have said about you are true.

Ministers of the New Covenant

31 Do we seem to be again attempting to put ourselves in the right? or have we need, as some have, of letters of approval to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, whose writing is in our heart, open for every man's reading and knowledge; 3 For you are clearly a letter of Christ, the fruit of our work, recorded not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in stone, but in hearts of flesh. 4 And this is the certain faith which we have in God through Christ: 5 Not as if we were able by ourselves to do anything for which we might take the credit; but our power comes from God;

6 Who has made us able to be servants of a new agreement; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter gives death, but the Spirit gives life. 7 For if the operation of the law, giving death, recorded in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the eyes of the children of Israel had to be turned away from the face of Moses because of its glory, a glory which was only for a time: 8 Will not the operation of the Spirit have a much greater glory? 9 For if the operation of the law, producing punishment, had its glory, how much greater will be the operation of the Spirit causing righteousness? 10 For the glory of the first no longer seems to be glory, because of the greater glory of that which comes after. 11 For if the order which was for a time had its glory, much more will the eternal order have its glory.

12 Having then such a hope, we keep nothing back, 13 And are not like Moses, who put a veil on his face, so that the children of Israel might not see clearly to the end of the present order of things: 14 But their minds were made hard: for to this very day at the reading of the old agreement the same veil is still unlifted; though it is taken away in Christ. 15 But to this day, at the reading of the law of Moses, a veil is over their heart. 16 But when it is turned to the Lord, the veil will be taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there the heart is free. 18 But we all, with unveiled face giving back as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord who is the Spirit.