But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only what these arrogant people are saying, but what power they have.
Parallel translations
- WEB But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.
- KJV But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord will, and will know, not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power.
- NKJV But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.
- NASB But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I shall find out, not the words of those who are arrogant, but their power.
- NLT But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul intends to come soon, God willing, and will test not the boasters' talk but their actual spiritual power. It matters because real faith is proven by power, not mere words.
Overview
Submitting his plans to the Lord's will, Paul promises a visit that will expose whether the arrogant have any genuine spiritual substance behind their speech. He distinguishes empty rhetoric from the true power of God at work in a life. This anticipates his theme that God's kingdom is demonstrated, not merely discussed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 2 Cor 13:1–4This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
- Acts 18:21But as he left, he said, “I will come back to you if God is willing.” And he set sail from Ephesus.
- Acts 19:21After these things had happened, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must see Rome as well.”
- 1 Cor 4:18Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you.
- 2 Cor 1:23I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.
- Rom 15:32so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.
- Heb 6:3And this we will do, if God permits.
- 1 Cor 14:5I wish that all of you could speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be edified.
- 1 Cor 11:34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you come together it will not result in judgment. And when I come, I will give instructions about the remaining matters.
- 1 Cor 2:6Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
- 1 Cor 16:5After I go through Macedonia, however, I will come to you; for I will be going through Macedonia.
- Acts 20:2After traveling through that area and speaking many words of encouragement, he arrived in Greece,
- 2 Cor 1:15–17Confident of this, I planned to visit you first, so that you might receive a double blessing.
- Jas 4:15Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord is willing, we will live and do this or that.”
- 2 Cor 2:1–2So I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 4:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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