Up to this point you’ve only understood some of the things we’ve said. But I hope you’ll come to understand us completely. Then you’ll realize that you can be just as proud of us as we will be of you on the day when the Lord Jesus returns.
We’re not trying to recommend ourselves to you again, but we are giving you a chance to be proud of us. That way you can answer those who judge people by external appearances, rather than by what’s in their hearts.
We’re the ones who have truly been circumcised: We serve God by his Spirit, we boast in Christ Jesus, and we don’t put our trust in who we are or what we can do—although I myself could do that for many reasons.
You’ve made me very happy by sending me another gift. I know you were concerned about me all along, but you didn’t have the opportunity to send me anything until now.
That’s the way it will be with you. Now is a time of sadness for you, but I will see you again. Then you’ll be full of joy, and no one will take your joy away.
I had bragged about you to him, and you haven’t let me down. Everything we said to you was true, and in the same way, everything we told Titus about you has also turned out to be true.