1 Since this is our ministry mercifully given to us, we do not weaken.
2 We refuse to stay with half-truths through fear; we do not behave with cunning or falsify the message of God but, manifesting the truth, we deserve the respect of everyone before God.
3 In fact if the Gospel we proclaim remains obscure, it is obscure only for those who go to their own destruction.
4 The god of this world has blinded the minds of these unbelievers lest they see the radiance of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is God's image.
5 It is not ourselves we preach, but Christ Jesus as Lord; and for Jesus' sake we are your servants.
6 God who said, Let the light shine out of darkness, has also made the light shine in our hearts to radiate and to make known the Glory of God, as it shines in the face of Christ.
7 However, we carry this treasure in vessels of clay, so that this all-surpassing power may not be seen as ours but as God's.
8 Trials of every sort come to us, but we are not discouraged.
9 We are left without answer, but do not despair; persecuted but not abandoned, knocked down but not crushed.
10 At any moment we carry in our person the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in us.
11 For we, the living, are given up continually to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may appear in our mortal existence.
12 And as death is at work in us, life comes to you.
13 We have received the same spirit of faith referred to in Scripture that says: I believed and so I spoke. We also believe and so we speak.
14 We know that He who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and bring us, with you, into his presence.
15 Finally, everything is for your good, so that grace will come more abundantly upon you and great will be the thanksgiving for the glory of God.
16 Therefore we are not discouraged. On the contrary, while our outer being wastes away, the inner self is renewed from day to day.
17 The slight affliction which quickly passes away prepares us for an eternal wealth of glory so great and beyond all comparison.
18 So we no longer pay attention to the things that are seen, but to those that are unseen, for the things that we see last for a moment, but that which cannot be seen is eternal.
Versículos relacionados com 2 Corinthians, 4:
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul talks about the ministry that he and his companions exercise and how they face difficulties, but do not give up because of their hope in Christ. He also discusses how God's glory is revealed in the work of Christ and how our own weakness makes this glory more evident. Here are five verses related to these themes:
Romans 5:3-5: "And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, because we know that tribulation produces perseverance; perseverance, an approved character; and the approved character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because because God poured his love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit that He gave us. " This verse shows how tribulation can produce perseverance and eventually hope, how Paul speaks in 2 Corinthians 4.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Mercies and God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our tribulations, that with the consolation we receive from God. , we can comfort those who are going through similar tribulations. " Here Paul highlights how God is the Comforter in the midst of tribulations, which is important to deal with the difficulties he and his companions face.
John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth." This verse highlights the incarnation of Jesus, which is the basis of the work that Paul and his companions do and is the source of the glory of God that is revealed.
2 Corinthians 4:7: "But we have this treasure in clay vessels, so that the excellence of power is of God and not of us." Here Paul talks about how our weakness is evidenced in our limited humanity, but how this allows God's glory to be even more evident.
Romans 8:18: "I consider that our current sufferings cannot be compared to the glory that will be revealed in us." Here Paul highlights how the glory of God will be revealed through the suffering that He and His companions face, an idea similar to what He expresses in 2 Corinthians 4.
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