2 Corinthians 3–4

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.

The Light of the Gospel

4Therefore, having ^xthis ministry ^yby the mercy of God,¹ we do not lose heart. ²But we have renounced ^zdisgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice² cunning or ^ato tamper with God’s word, but ^bby the open statement of the truth ^cwe would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³And even ^dif our gospel is veiled, ^eit is veiled to ^fthose who are perishing. ⁴In their case ^gthe god of this world ^dhas blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^hthe light of ⁱthe gospel of the glory of Christ, ^jwho is the image of God. ⁵For what ^kwe proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^lourselves as your servants³ for Jesus’ sake. ⁶For God, who said, ^m“Let light shine out of darkness,” ⁿhas shone in our hearts to give ^othe light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

⁷But we have this treasure in ^pjars of clay, ^qto show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸We are ^rafflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but ^snot forsaken; ^tstruck down, but not destroyed; ^10ualways carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^vso that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹²So ^wdeath is at work in us, but life in you.

¹³Since we have ^xthe same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^y“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴knowing that ^zhe who raised the Lord Jesus ^awill raise us also with Jesus and ^bbring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵For ^cit is all for your sake, so that as ^dgrace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, ^eto the glory of God.

¹⁶So we do not lose heart. ^fThough our outer self⁴ is wasting away, ^gour inner self ^his being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For ⁱthis light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ^18jas we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.