1I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who is lowly when face to face among you but confident toward you when absent.2I also pray that I may not need to be bold with the confidence by which I intend to be bold against certain persons who consider us to be walking according to the flesh.3For although we walk in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh.4For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but are powerful through God for the destruction of strongholds, as we tear down arguments.5And we tear down every lofty thing that rises against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.6And we stand ready to punish every act of disobedience once your obedience is complete.7Look at what is before your face. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, let him consider again for himself that just as he belongs to Christ, so also do we.8For even if I boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame.9I say this so that I may not seem to be frightening you by my letters.10For they say, 'His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech is of no account.'11Let such a person understand that what we are in word by letters when absent, that is what we will be in deed when present.12For we do not dare to class or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves, but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they lack understanding.13But we will not boast beyond limits; rather, we will boast according to the measure of the area of ministry that God assigned to us, a measure that reaches even as far as you.14For we are not overextending ourselves as though we had not reached you, since we were the first to come to you with the gospel of Christ.15We do not boast beyond limits in the labors of others, but we have the hope that as your faith increases among you we may be enlarged within our area according to our limits.16We intend to preach the gospel in the regions beyond you without boasting in another's area of ministry about work already done.17Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.18For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.