I urged Titus to visit you, and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus exploit you in any way? Did we not walk in the same Spirit and follow in the same footsteps?
Parallel translations
- WEB I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit? Didn’t we walk in the same steps?
- KJV I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?
- NKJV I urged Titus, and sent our brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?
- NASB I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?
- NLT When I urged Titus to visit you and sent our other brother with him, did Titus take advantage of you? No! For we have the same spirit and walk in each other’s steps, doing things the same way.
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 points to Titus and the brother he sent, asking whether they exploited the Corinthians, and affirms they walked in the same blameless spirit and steps. It matters because consistent integrity ran through Paul's whole circle.
Overview
Titus, well known and trusted in Corinth, becomes living proof of Paul's honesty. The shared 'spirit' and 'steps' show that Paul's coworkers reflected his own selfless conduct. Such unity of character commends the gospel by the integrity of those who proclaim it.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- 2 Cor 8:6So we urged Titus to help complete your act of grace, just as he had started it.
- Rom 4:12And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
- 2 Cor 7:2Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.
- Neh 5:14Furthermore, from the day King Artaxerxes appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from his twentieth year until his thirty-second year (twelve years total), neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor.
- Num 16:15Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not regard their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them or mistreated a single one of them.”
- 2 Cor 7:6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
- 2 Cor 2:12–13Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord,
- 1 Pet 2:21For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps:
- 2 Cor 8:16–23But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same devotion I have for you.
- Acts 20:33–35I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
- 1 Sam 12:3–4Here I am. Bear witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated or oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe and closed my eyes? Tell me, and I will restore it to you.”
- Phil 2:19–22Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I learn how you are doing.
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In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 12:18 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.
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