2 Corinthians 3 - 4
Ministers of a New Covenant
3Are we beginning to acommend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, bletters of commendation to you or from you? 2aYou are our letter, having been written in our hearts, known and read by all men, 3being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, aministered to by us, having been written not with ink but with the Spirit of bthe living God, not on ctablets of stone but on dtablets of hearts of eflesh.
4And such aconfidence we have through Christ toward God. 5Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but aour sufficiency is from God, 6who also made us sufficient as aministers of a bnew covenant, not of cthe letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but dthe Spirit gives life.
7But if the aministry of death, bin letters having been engraved on stones, came 1with glory, cso that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, which was being brought to an end, 8how will the ministry of the Spirit not be even more in glory? 9For if athe ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the bministry of righteousness abound in glory. 10For indeed what had been glorious, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. 11For if that which was being brought to an end was 1with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.
12aTherefore having such a hope, bwe use great boldness, 13and are not like Moses, awho used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not look intently at the consequence of what was being brought to an end. 14But their minds were ahardened; for until this very day at the breading of cthe old covenant the same veil 1remains unlifted, because it is brought to an end in Christ. 15But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart, 16but awhenever a person turns to the 1Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where athe Spirit of the Lord is, bthere is freedom. 18But we all, with unveiled face, abeholding as in a mirror the bglory of the Lord, are being ctransformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from dthe Lord, the Spirit.
The Gospel of the Glory of Christ
4Therefore, since we have this aministry, as we breceived mercy, we cdo not lose heart, 2but we have renounced the ahidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness or badulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth ccommending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our agospel is bveiled, it is veiled 1to cthose who are perishing, 4in whose case athe god of bthis age has cblinded the minds of the unbelieving 1so that they might not see the dlight of the gospel of the eglory of Christ, who is the fimage of God. 5For we ado not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves 1for the sake of Jesus. 6For God, who said, “aLight shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has bshone in our hearts to give the cLight of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7But we have this treasure in aearthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of bthe power will be of God and not from ourselves; 8ain every way afflicted, but not bcrushed; cperplexed, but not despairing; 9apersecuted, but not bforsaken; cstruck down, but not destroyed; 10aalways carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that bthe life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12So death works in us, but life in you.
13But having the same aspirit of faith, according to what is written, “bI believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak, 14knowing that He who araised the Lord Jesus bwill raise us also with Jesus and will cpresent us with you. 15For all things are afor your sakes, so that the grace which is 1,bspreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.
16Therefore we ado not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our binner man is cbeing renewed day by day. 17For our momentary, alight affliction is working out for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18while we alook not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.