1. I will come to you for the third time. “Every case must be proved by two or three witnesses.”
2. When I was with you the second time, I gave a warning to those who had sinned. Now I am away from you, and I give a warning to all the others. When I come to you again, I will not be easy with them.
3. You want proof that Christ is speaking through me. My proof is that he is not weak among you, but he is powerful.
4. It is true that he was weak when he was killed on the cross, but he lives now by God’s power. It is true that we are weak in Christ, but for you we will be alive in Christ by God’s power.
5. Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. You know that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you fail the test.
6. But I hope you will see that we ourselves have not failed the test.
7. We pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. It is not important to see that we have passed the test, but it is important that you do what is right, even if it seems we have failed.