Christian Basics Bible - Flipbook - Page 37
page 1327 • 2 Corinthians 5
Treasure in Fragile Clay Jars
Therefore, since God in his mercy has
given us this new way,* we never give
up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick
anyone or distort the word of God. We tell
the truth before God, and all who are honest
know this.
3
If the Good News we preach is hidden
behind a veil, it is hidden only from people
who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of
this world, has blinded the minds of those
who don’t believe. They are unable to see the
glorious light of the Good News. They don’t
understand this message about the glory of
Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5
You see, we don’t go around preaching
about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ
is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants
for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let
there be light in the darkness,” has made
this light shine in our hearts so we could
know the glory of God that is seen in the
face of Jesus Christ.
7
We now have this light shining in our
hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay
jars containing this great treasure.* This
makes it clear that our great power is from
God, not from ourselves.
8
We are pressed on every side by troubles,
but we are not crushed. We are perplexed,
but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted
down, but never abandoned by God. We get
knocked down, but we are not destroyed.
10
Through suffering, our bodies continue to
share in the death of Jesus so that the life of
Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
11
Yes, we live under constant danger of
death because we serve Jesus, so that the
life of Jesus will be evident in our dying
bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but
this has resulted in eternal life for you.
13
But we continue to preach because we
have the same kind of faith the psalmist
had when he said, “I believed in God, so I
spoke.”* 14 We know that God, who raised
the Lord Jesus,* will also raise us with Jesus
and present us to himself together with you.
15
All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s
grace reaches more and more people, there
will be great thanksgiving, and God will
receive more and more glory.
16
That is why we never give up. Though
our bodies are dying, our spirits are*
being renewed every day. 17 For our present
4
troubles are small and won’t last very long.
Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly
outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So
we don’t look at the troubles we can see
now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that
cannot be seen. For the things we see now
will soon be gone, but the things we cannot
see will last forever.
New Bodies
For we know that when this earthly
tent we live in is taken down (that is,
when we die and leave this earthly body),
we will have a house in heaven, an eternal
body made for us by God himself and not
by human hands. 2 We grow weary in our
present bodies, and we long to put on our
heavenly bodies like new clothing. 3 For we
will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be
spirits without bodies.* 4 While we live in
these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but
it’s not that we want to die and get rid of
these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want
to put on our new bodies so that these dying
bodies will be swallowed up by life. 5 God
himself has prepared us for this, and as a
guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
6
So we are always confident, even though
we know that as long as we live in these
bodies we are not at home with the Lord.
7
For we live by believing and not by seeing.
8
Yes, we are fully confident, and we would
rather be away from these earthly bodies,
for then we will be at home with the Lord.
9
So whether we are here in this body or
away from this body, our goal is to please
him. 10 For we must all stand before Christ to
be judged. We will each receive whatever we
deserve for the good or evil we have done in
this earthly body.
5
We Are God’s Ambassadors
Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to
persuade others. God knows we are sincere,
and I hope you know this, too. 12Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are
giving you a reason to be proud of us,* so you
can answer those who brag about having a
spectacular ministry rather than having a
11
2:17 Some manuscripts read the rest of the hucksters.
3:2 Some
manuscripts read your.
3:7 Or ministry; also in 3:8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
4:1 Or ministry.
4:7 Greek We now have this treasure in clay jars.
4:13 Ps 116:10. 4:14 Some manuscripts read who raised Jesus.
4:16 Greek our inner being is.
5:3 Greek we will not be naked.
5:12 Some manuscripts read proud of yourselves.
