2 Corinthians 4
4
Present Weakness and Resurrection Life
1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”#4:6 Gen. 1:3 made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”#4:13 Psalm 116:10 (see Septuagint) Since we have that same spirit of#4:13 Or Spirit-given faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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2 Corinthians 4
4
Preaching the Good News
1God, with his mercy, gave us this work to do. So we don’t give up. 2But we have turned away from secret and shameful ways. We use no trickery, and we do not change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly. This is how we show everyone who we are. And this is how they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are before God. 3The Good News that we preach may be hidden. But it is hidden only to those who are lost. 4The devil who rules this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They cannot see the light of the Good News—the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is exactly like God. 5We do not preach about ourselves. But we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord; and we preach that we are your servants for Jesus. 6God once said, “Let the light shine out of the darkness!” And this is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts. He gave us light by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ.
Spiritual Treasure in Clay Jars
7We have this treasure from God. But we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that this great power is from God, not from us. 8We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up. 9We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. 10We carry the death of Jesus in our own bodies, so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies. 11We are alive, but for Jesus we are always in danger of death. This is so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die. 12So death is working in us, but life is working in you.
13It is written in the Scriptures, “I believed, so I spoke.”# Quotation from Psalm 116:10. Our faith is like this, too. We believe, and so we speak. 14God raised the Lord Jesus from death. And we know that God will also raise us with Jesus. God will bring us together with you, and we will stand before him. 15All these things are for you. And so the grace of God is being given to more and more people. This will bring more and more thanks to God for his glory.
Living by Faith
16So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. 17We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory. That glory is much greater than the troubles. 18So we set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time. But what we cannot see will last forever.
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