2 Corinthians

Sincere Preaching

Since this is our ministry, graciously entrusted to us, we do not weaken.

We refuse to remain silent with half-truths out of fear; we do not act with cunning or distort God’s message, but by speaking the truth openly, we place ourselves before the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.

In fact, if the gospel we preach stays unclear, it is only unclear to those who are headed toward their own destruction.

The god of this world has blinded the minds of these unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God.

It is not ourselves we preach, but Christ Jesus as Lord; and for Jesus’ sake, we serve you.

God, who said, ‘Let the light shine out of darkness,’ has also made the light shine in our hearts to radiate and reveal the glory of God as it shines in the face of Christ.

Trust in God

However, we carry this treasure in jars of clay so that this all-surpassing power may not be attributed to us, but to God.

We face all kinds of trials, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair,

persecuted, but not abandoned, knocked down but not crushed.

At any moment, we carry in our bodies the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in us.

For we, the living, are continually given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal existence.

So death is at work in us, but life in you.

We have received the same spirit of faith mentioned in Scripture, which states: I believed and so I spoke. We also believe, and so we speak.

We know that he who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus, and bring us with you into his presence.

Finally, everything is for your good so that grace will come more abundantly upon you, and there will be greater thanksgiving for the glory of God.

Hope of Glory

Therefore, we are not discouraged. On the contrary, even as our outer being wastes away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

The minor affliction that passes quickly prepares us for an eternal wealth of glory, so great and beyond all comparison.

So, we no longer focus on what is seen but on what is unseen, for what we see lasts only a moment, but what cannot be seen is eternal.