2 Corinthians 2:12–3:18

Triumph in Christ

¹²When ^gI came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though ^ha door was opened for me in the Lord, ¹³my spirit ⁱwas not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴But ^jthanks be to God, who in Christ always ^kleads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads ^lthe fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. ¹⁵For we are the aroma of Christ to God among ^mthose who are being saved and among ⁿthose who are perishing, ^16oto one a fragrance from death to death, ^oto the other a fragrance from life to life. ^pWho is sufficient for these things? ¹⁷For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Ministers of the New Covenant

3^qAre we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, ^ras some do, ^sletters of recommendation to you, or from you? ^2tYou yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our¹ hearts, to be known and read by all. ³And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of ^uthe living God, not on ^vtablets of stone but on ^wtablets of ^xhuman hearts.²

^4ySuch is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. ^5zNot that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but ^aour sufficiency is from God, ⁶who has made us sufficient to be ^bministers of ^ca new covenant, not of ^dthe letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but ^ethe Spirit gives life.

⁷Now if ^fthe ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory ^gthat the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, ⁸will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? ⁹For if there was glory in ^hthe ministry of condemnation, ⁱthe ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. ¹⁰Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. ¹¹For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

¹²Since we have such a hope, ^jwe are very bold, ¹³not like Moses, ^kwho would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. ¹⁴But ^ltheir minds were ^mhardened. For to this day, ⁿwhen they read ^othe old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. ¹⁵Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. ¹⁶But when ^pone³ turns to the Lord, ^qthe veil is removed. ¹⁷Now the Lord⁴ is the Spirit, and where ^rthe Spirit of the Lord is, there is ^sfreedom. ¹⁸And we all, with unveiled face, ^tbeholding ^uthe glory of the Lord,^{5 v}are being transformed into the same image ^wfrom one degree of glory to another.⁶ For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.