HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1418
2 C O RIN T H I A N S 3
is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he
may be overcome by discouragement. 8 So I urge
you now to reaffirm your love for him.
9 I wrote to you as I did to test you and see if
you would fully comply with my instructions.
10 When you forgive this man, I forgive him,
too. And when I forgive whatever needs to be
forgiven, I do so with Christ’s authority for your
benefit, 11 so that Satan will not outsmart us. For
we are familiar with his evil schemes.
12 When I came to the city of Troas to preach
the Good News of Christ, the Lord opened a door
of opportunity for me. 13 But I had no peace of
mind because my dear brother Titus hadn’t yet
arrived with a report from you. So I said goodbye and went on to Macedonia to find him.
— promises —
from God
For we know that when
this earthly tent we live in
is taken down . . . we will
have a house in heaven,
an eternal body made for
us by God himself.
2 C O R I N T H I A N S 5:1
Ministers of the New Covenant
14 But thank God! He has made us his captives
and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the
knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet
perfume. 15 Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance
rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived
differently by those who are being saved and
by those who are perishing. 16 To those who are
perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and
doom. But to those who are being saved, we are
a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for
such a task as this?
17 You see, we are not like the many hucksters*
who preach for personal profit. We preach the
word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.
3
Are we beginning to praise ourselves again?
Are we like others, who need to bring you
letters of recommendation, or who ask you to
write such letters on their behalf? Surely not!
2 The only letter of recommendation we need is
you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in
our* hearts; everyone can read it and recognize
our good work among you. 3 Clearly, you are
a letter from Christ showing the result of our
ministry among you. This “letter” is written not
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with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but
on human hearts.
4 We are confident of all this because of our
great trust in God through Christ. 5 It is not that
we think we are qualified to do anything on our
own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He
has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws,
but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends
in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit
gives life.
The Glory of the New Covenant
7 The old way,* with laws etched in stone, led to
death, though it began with such glory that the
people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’
face. For his face shone with the glory of God,
even though the brightness was already fading
away. 8 Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory
under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is
giving life? 9 If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with
God! 10 In fact, that first glory was not glorious
at all compared with the overwhelming glory of
the new way. 11 So if the old way, which has been
replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever!
12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13 We are not like
Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people
of Israel would not see the glory, even though it
was destined to fade away. 14 But the people’s
minds were hardened, and to this day whenever
the old covenant is being read, the same veil
covers their minds so they cannot understand
the truth. And this veil can be removed only by
believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they
read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered
with that veil, and they do not understand.
16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord,
the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the
Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had
that veil removed can see and reflect the glory
of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—
makes us more and more like him as we are
changed into his glorious image.
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
4
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.