Preaching the Good News

4 [^LTherefore,] Since God in his mercy gave us this ·work to do [ministry], we don’t ·give up [lose heart; become discouraged]. ² But we have ·turned away from [rejected; renounced] ·secret [underhanded] and shameful ways. We ·use no trickery [^Ldo not walk in deception], and we do not ·change [distort] the ·teaching [word] of God. We ·teach the truth plainly [fully/openly disclose the truth], ·showing everyone who we are so that they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are [^Lcommending ourselves to every person’s conscience] in God’s sight. ³ If the ·Good News [Gospel] that we preach is ·hidden [veiled], it is ·hidden [veiled] only to those who are ·lost [perishing]. ⁴ The ·devil who rules this world [^Lgod of this age] has blinded the minds of ·those who do not believe [unbelievers]. [^L…so that] They cannot see the light of the Good News—the Good News ·about [that reveals] the glory of Christ, who is ·exactly like [^Lthe image of] God. ⁵ [^LFor] We do not preach about ourselves, but we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord and that we are your ·servants [slaves; bondservants] for Jesus. ⁶ [^LFor; Because] God who said, “Let the light shine out of the darkness [Gen. 1:3; Is. 9:2],” is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts ·by letting us know [or to give us the knowledge of] the glory of God that is in the face of Christ.

Spiritual Treasure in Clay Jars

⁷ [^LBut] We have this treasure ·from God, but we are like clay jars that hold the treasure [^Lin clay jars]. This shows that the ·great [extraordinary; transcendent] power is from God, not from us. ⁸ We have ·troubles all around us [or all kinds of troubles/trials], but we are not ·defeated [crushed]. We ·do not know what to do [are perplexed/bewildered], but we do not ·give up the hope of living [despair]. ⁹ We are ·persecuted [pursued], but ·God does not leave us [not abandoned/left behind]. We are ·hurt [^Lstruck down; knocked over] sometimes, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry the death of Jesus in our own bodies [^CPaul was in constant danger of the kind of violent death Jesus experienced] so that the life of Jesus [^Cresurrection life] can also be ·seen [revealed; manifested] in our bodies. ¹¹ [^LFor] We are alive, but for Jesus we are always ·in danger of [^Lbeing handed over to] death so that the life of Jesus can be ·seen [revealed; manifested] in our ·bodies that die [mortal flesh]. ¹² So death is working in us, but life is working in you.

¹³ It is written in the Scriptures, “I believed, so I spoke [Ps. 116:10].” ·Our faith is like this, too [^LHaving the same spirit of faith,…]. We also believe, and so we speak. ¹⁴ We know that ·God [^Lthe one] who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and will ·bring us together with you into his presence [^Lpresent (us) with you]. ¹⁵ All these things are for ·you [your benefit], so that the grace of God that is ·being given [expanding; increasing] to more and more people will bring increasing thanks to God for his glory.

Living by Faith

¹⁶ So we do not ·give up [despair; lose heart]. Though our ·physical body [^Louter person] is ·becoming older and weaker [decaying; being destroyed], our ·spirit inside us [^Linner (person)] is ·made new [being renewed] every day. ¹⁷ ·We have small troubles for a while now, but they [^LFor our brief and insignificant trials/tribulations] are ·helping us gain [or producing in us] an eternal ·glory [^Lburden/weight of glory] that ·is much greater than [overwhelmingly exceeds] the troubles. ¹⁸ We set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. [^LFor; Because] What we see ·will last only a short time [^Lis temporary/transitory], but what we cannot see ·will last forever [^Lis eternal].