Therefore, I write these things while absent, so that, when present, I may not have to act more harshly, according to the authority which the Lord has given to me, for edification and not for destruction.
And so, though I wrote to you, it was not because of him who caused the injury, nor because of him who suffered from it, but so as to manifest our solicitude, which we have for you before God.
So then, it is right for me to feel this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, and because, in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel, you all are partakers of my joy.
So desirous were we for you that we were willing to hand over to you, not only the Gospel of God, but even our own souls. For you have become most beloved to us.