2 Corinthians 4
4
The Light of the Gospel
1Therefore, since we have this ministry because we were shown mercy, # Mt 5:7; Mk 5:19; Lk 1:50 we do not give up. # 2Th 3:13 2Instead, we have renounced shameful secret things, not walking # 2Jn 6 in deceit or distorting God’s message, # 2Co 2:17; 2Tm 2:15; Heb 4:12 but commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in God’s sight by an open display of the truth. # 2Co 5:11-12; 6:7; 7:14 3But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4In their case, the god of this age # Lk 16:8 has blinded the minds of the unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, # Or the gospel of the glorious Christ, or the glorious gospel of Christ # Mk 10:37 who is the image of God. # Gn 1:27 5For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, # Php 2:11 and ourselves as your slaves because of Jesus. 6For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” # Gn 1:3; Mt 6:23 has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge # Php 3:8; 1Jn 4:8 of God’s glory # Mk 10:37; Lk 9:32; Jn 17:24; 2Co 3:18; 2Pt 3:18 in the face of Jesus Christ.
Treasure in Clay Jars
7Now we have this treasure in clay jars, so that this extraordinary power # Mk 5:30; Lk 1:35; 6:19; Ac 19:11; 2Co 13:4; Rv 11:17 may be from God and not from us. 8We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; 9we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed. 10We always carry the death of Jesus # Lk 9:23; Rm 5:6-8; 6:5-8; 8:34-36; Gl 6:17 in our body, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who live are always given over to death # Mt 10:21; Jn 8:51; Php 3:10 because of Jesus, so that Jesus’ life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12So death works in us, but life in you. 13And since we have the same spirit of faith in keeping with what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke, # Ps 116:10 LXX # Ps 116:10 LXX we also believe, and therefore speak. 14We know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus # 1Th 4:14 and present us with you. 15Indeed, everything is for your benefit, so that grace, extended through more and more people, may cause thanksgiving # 2Co 9:11 to increase to God’s glory.
16Therefore we do not give up. # 2Th 3:13 Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person # Rm 7:22 is being renewed day by day. 17For our momentary light affliction # See note at 2Co 1:4. # Gl 6:2 is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. # Lk 24:26; 1Pt 5:1,4 18So we do not focus on what is seen, # Rm 8:24 but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
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© 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.
2 Corinthians 4
4
Spiritual Treasure in Clay Jars
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 don’t use trickery, and we don’t change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly. This is how we show people 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 tell people may be hidden, but it is hidden only to those who are lost. 4The ruler#4:4 The ruler Literally, “The god.” of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They cannot see the light of the Good News—the message about the divine greatness of Christ. Christ is the one who is exactly like God. 5We don’t tell people about ourselves. But we tell people that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we tell them that we are your servants for Jesus. 6God once said, “Let light shine out of the darkness!”#4:6 Let … darkness See Gen. 1:3. And this is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts to let us know that his own divine greatness is seen in the face of Christ.
7We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This is to show that the amazing power we have is from God, not from us. 8We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We often don’t know what to do, but we don’t give up. 9We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. 10So we constantly experience the death of Jesus in our own bodies, but this is 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, so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die. 12So death is working in us, but the result is that life is working in you.
13The Scriptures say, “I believed, so I spoke.”#Quote from Ps. 116:10. Our faith is like that too. We believe, and so we speak. 14God raised the Lord Jesus from death, and we know that he 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
16That is why we never 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 these troubles are helping us gain an eternal glory. That eternal glory is much greater than our troubles. 18So we think about what we cannot see, not what we see. What we see lasts only a short time, and what we cannot see will last forever.
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