II Corinthians 4-5

II Corinthians 4

¹Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.

²Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’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 they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

⁵For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.

⁶For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us.

⁸We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;

⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; 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 consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.

¹²So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³And in keeping with what is written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak,

¹⁴knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.

¹⁵All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

¹⁷For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison.

¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

II Corinthians 5

¹Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

²For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,

³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.

⁴So while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.

⁵And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.

⁶Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord.

⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight.

⁸We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

⁹So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it.

¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

¹¹Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.

¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you can answer those who take pride in appearances rather than in the heart.

¹³If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.

¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

¹⁵And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

¹⁷Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

²¹God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.