21 And God is the One who makes you and us strong in Christ. God made us his chosen people.

22 He put his mark on us to show that we are his. And he put his Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all he has promised.

23 I tell you this, and I ask God to be my witness that this is true: The reason I did not come back to Corinth was that I did not want to punish or hurt you.