The Light of the Gospel
1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; 2But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 5For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Treasures in Jars of Clay
(Romans 6:1-14)
7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 8We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 12So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
13We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; 14Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. 15For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
16For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Light of the Gospel
1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who perish; 4 in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them. 5 For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake; 6 seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Treasure in Jars of Clay
(Romans 6:1–14)
7 But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves. 8 We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair; 9 pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the putting to death of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death works in us, but life in you.
13 But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, “I believed, and therefore I spoke.” We also believe, and therefore also we speak; 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will present us with you. 15 For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; 18 while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
The Light of the Gospel
1 Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, a we do not lose heart. 2 Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” b made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. c
Treasure in Jars of Clay
(Romans 6:1–14)
7 Now we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this surpassingly great power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 And in keeping with what is written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” d we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, 14 knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus e will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Footnotes:
1 a Literally Therefore, having this ministry, as we have received mercy,
6 b Genesis 1:3
6 c SBL, NE, and WH in the face of Christ
13 d Psalm 116:10 (see also LXX)
14 e SBL who raised Jesus
The Light of the Gospel
1Because of this, having this ministration, according as we did receive kindness, we do not faint, 2but did renounce for ourselves the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor deceitfully using the word of God, but by the manifestation of the truth recommending ourselves unto every conscience of men, before God; 3and if also our good news is vailed, in those perishing it is vailed, 4in whom the god of this age did blind the minds of the unbelieving, that there doth not shine forth to them the enlightening of the good news of the glory of the Christ, who is the image of God; 5for not ourselves do we preach, but Christ Jesus -- Lord, and ourselves your servants because of Jesus; 6because it is God who said, Out of darkness light is to shine, who did shine in our hearts, for the enlightening of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Treasures in Jars of Clay
(Romans 6:1-14)
7And we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us; 8on every side being in tribulation, but not straitened; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10at all times the dying of the Lord Jesus bearing about in the body, that the life also of Jesus in our body may be manifested, 11for always are we who are living delivered up to death because of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our dying flesh, 12so that, the death indeed in us doth work, and the life in you.
13And having the same spirit of the faith, according to that which hath been written, 'I believed, therefore I did speak;' we also do believe, therefore also do we speak; 14knowing that He who did raise up the Lord Jesus, us also through Jesus shall raise up, and shall present with you, 15for the all things are because of you, that the grace having been multiplied, because of the thanksgiving of the more, may abound to the glory of God;
16wherefore, we faint not, but if also our outward man doth decay, yet the inward is renewed day by day; 17for the momentary light matter of our tribulation, more and more exceedingly an age-during weight of glory doth work out for us -- 18we not looking to the things seen, but to the things not seen; for the things seen are temporary, but the things not seen are age-during.
2 Corinthians 4
The Light of the Gospel
¹ Because we have this ministry through God’s mercy, we do not lose heart. ² Instead, we have renounced shameful, secret ways. We don’t engage in deceit or distort the word of God. Instead, by openly sharing the truth, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
³ Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they can’t see the light of the gospel that reveals the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.* ⁵ For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has made His light shine in our hearts to give us the knowledge of God’s glory, displayed in the face of Christ.*
Treasure in Jars of Clay
⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.* ⁸ We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may also be revealed in our mortal bodies.*
¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. ¹³ It is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to Himself. ¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
Focus on What is Eternal
¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart! Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.*
Footnotes:
•4:4: “The god of this world” refers to Satan, who blinds people from seeing the truth about Jesus. This blindness is both spiritual and moral, keeping people from grasping the good news.
•4:6: This reference to God creating light recalls Genesis 1:3 (“Let there be light”) and metaphorically speaks of God’s illuminating the hearts of believers through Christ.
•4:7: The “jars of clay” metaphor refers to the frailty of human beings. Despite this fragility, God has placed the powerful message of the gospel within us, showcasing His strength in our weakness.
•4:11: Paul’s repeated experiences of suffering are seen as a participation in Jesus’ death, allowing Christ’s life to be evident in him. This paradox of death bringing life is central to his message.
•4:10: The “death of Jesus” here refers to sharing in Jesus’ suffering as followers of Christ, but also points to the promise of sharing in His resurrection life.
•4:18: Paul urges the believers to focus on eternal realities rather than earthly, visible things. This helps to foster perseverance in times of suffering, knowing there is a greater reward.
•4:16: “Inwardly we are being renewed” reflects the idea of spiritual growth and transformation, even as physical bodies age and decay. This ongoing renewal is the work of the Holy Spirit within believers.
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