2 Corinthians 4
4
The Light of the Gospel
1Therefore, having #See ch. 3:6 this ministry #1 Cor. 7:25; 1 Tim. 1:13by the mercy of God,#4:1 Greek having this ministry as we have received mercy we do not lose heart. 2But we have renounced #See Rom. 6:21 disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice#4:2 Greek to walk in cunning or #ch. 2:17 to tamper with God’s word, but #ch. 6:7; 7:14 by the open statement of the truth #ch. 5:11, 12we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even #[ch. 3:14] if our gospel is veiled, #[Matt. 13:15] it is veiled to #ch. 2:15; 1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Thess. 2:10those who are perishing. 4In their case #See John 12:31 the god of this world #[See ver. 3 above] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing #ver. 6; See Acts 26:18 the light of #See ch. 3:18 the gospel of the glory of Christ, #Col. 1:15; [Phil. 2:6; Heb. 1:3]who is the image of God. 5For what #[1 Thess. 2:6] we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with #1 Cor. 9:19; See ch. 1:24ourselves as your servants#4:5 Or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface) for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, #Gen. 1:3 “Let light shine out of darkness,” #2 Pet. 1:19 has shone in our hearts to give #ver. 4the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Treasure in Jars of Clay
7But we have this treasure in #2 Tim. 2:20; [ch. 5:1; Job 10:9; 13:12; Lam. 4:2; 1 Thess. 4:4; 1 Pet. 3:7] jars of clay, #1 Cor. 2:5; [Judg. 7:2]to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8We are #ch. 7:5; [Ps. 129:2]afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but #Heb. 13:5; [Deut. 4:31] not forsaken; #Ps. 37:24; Prov. 24:16; Mic. 7:8struck down, but not destroyed; 10#ch. 6:9; 1 Cor. 4:9; 15:31; [ch. 1:5, 9; Rom. 6:5; 8:36] always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, #2 Tim. 2:11; [Rom. 5:10; 6:8]so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12So #[ch. 13:9]death is at work in us, but life in you.
13Since we have #1 Cor. 12:9; 2 Pet. 1:1 the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, #Cited from Ps. 116:10“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14knowing that #1 Thess. 4:14; See Acts 2:24 he who raised the Lord Jesus #ch. 1:9 will raise us also with Jesus and #[Jude 24]bring us with you into his presence. 15For #[ch. 1:6]; See Rom. 8:28 it is all for your sake, so that as #[ch. 1:11; 9:11, 12] grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, #ch. 8:19to the glory of God.
16So we do not lose heart. #See Acts 20:24 Though our outer self#4:16 Greek man is wasting away, #See Rom. 7:22 our inner self #[Isa. 40:30, 31]; See Rom. 12:2is being renewed day by day. 17For #Rom. 8:18; 1 Pet. 1:6; 5:10; [Ps. 30:5; Isa. 54:7]this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18#ch. 5:7; Rom. 8:24; Heb. 11:1, 13as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
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2 Corinthians 4
4
Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars
1Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way,#4:1 Or ministry. we never give up. 2We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.
3If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.#4:7 Greek We now have this treasure in clay jars. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
8We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.
13But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”#4:13 Ps 116:10. 14We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus,#4:14 Some manuscripts read who raised Jesus. will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.
16That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are#4:16 Greek our inner being is. being renewed every day. 17For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
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