4God in his mercy has given us this work to do, and so we are not discouraged. ²We put aside all secret and shameful deeds; we do not act with deceit, nor do we falsify the word of God. In the full light of truth we live in God’s sight and try to commend ourselves to everyone’s good conscience. ³For if the gospel we preach is hidden, it is hidden only from those who are being lost. ⁴They do not believe, because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. ⁵For it is not ourselves that we preach; we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶^*The God who said, “Out of darkness the light shall shine!” is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of Christ.

⁷Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us.

Read in Logos

2 Corinthians 4:6: For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Cross references

*4.6: Gn 1:3