Victory Through Christ

¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s victory ·parade [procession; ^Cthe image is of a victorious Roman general leading his army and his captives through the streets]. God uses us to spread ·his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume [^Lthe aroma/fragrance of the knowledge of him; ^Cincense or spices were burned during such victory parades]. ¹⁵ ·Our offering to God is this: [or For God’s sake; or To God] We are the ·sweet smell [aroma; fragrance] of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are ·being lost [perishing; headed for destruction]. ¹⁶ To those who are ·lost [perishing; headed for destruction], we are the ·smell [aroma] of death that brings death, but to those who are being saved, we are the ·smell [aroma] of life that brings life. So who is ·able [qualified; adequate] to do this work? ¹⁷ We do not ·sell [peddle] the word of God for a profit as many other people do. But in Christ we speak the truth ·before [in the presence of] God, as ·messengers of [envoys of; ^Lfrom] God.

Servants of the New Agreement

3 Are we starting to ·brag about [praise; commend] ourselves again? Do we need letters of ·introduction [recommendation] to you or from you, like some other people [^CPaul’s opponents evidently carried letters of reference (perhaps from Jerusalem)]? ² You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone [^Cthe changed lives of the Corinthians prove Paul’s credibility as an apostle of Jesus Christ]. ³ You show that you are a letter from Christ ·sent through us [delivered by us; or produced by us; the result of our ministry]. This letter is not written with ink but ·with [by] the Spirit of the living God. It is not written on stone tablets [^Cthe law of Moses was written on stone tablets; Ex. 24:12; 32:16] but on human hearts [^Lhearts of flesh; Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 11:19; 36:26].

⁴ We can say this, because through Christ we ·feel certain before God [have confidence in God’s presence; or can trust in God]. ⁵ We are not saying that we ·can do this work ourselves [^Lare able/competent/adequate to consider anything as from ourselves]. ·It is God who makes us able to do all that we do [^LBut our ability/competence/adequacy is from God]. ⁶ He made us ·able [adequate; competent] to be servants of a new ·agreement from himself to his people [covenant; Jer. 31:31–34; Luke 22:20]. This new ·agreement [covenant] is not ·a written law [^Lof the letter], but it is of the Spirit. The ·written law [^Lletter] brings death, but the Spirit gives life.

⁷ The ·law [or old system; ^Lministry] that brought death was ·written in words [^Lengraved with letters] on stone. It came with ·God’s glory [^Lglory], which made Moses’ face so ·bright [glorious] that the ·Israelites [^Lchildren of Israel] could not ·continue to look [gaze] at it. But that glory ·later disappeared [was fading; or was made ineffective (by the veil on his face)]. ⁸ So ·surely [^Lwill not…?] the ·new way that brings [^Lministry of] the Spirit has even more glory. ⁹ [^LFor] If the ·law that judged people guilty of sin [^Lministry of condemnation] had glory, surely the ·new way that makes people right with God [^Lministry of righteousness] has much greater glory. ¹⁰ For that which had glory [^Cthe law] ·really loses its glory [^Lhas no glory] when it is compared to the much greater glory [^Cthe new way through the Spirit]. ¹¹ [^LFor] If that which ·disappeared [faded; was made ineffective; ^Cthe law; v. 7] came with glory, then that which ·continues forever [remains; abides; ^Cthe new way through the Spirit] has much greater glory.

¹² We have this hope, so we ·are very bold [or speak with boldness/confidence]. ¹³ We are not like Moses, who put a ·covering [veil] over his face so the ·Israelites [^Lchildren of Israel] would not see it [Ex. 34:29–35]. The glory was ·disappearing [fading; or made ineffective], and Moses did not want them to see it end. ¹⁴ But their minds were ·closed [stubborn; hardened], and even today that same ·covering [veil] ·hides the meaning [^Lremains] when they read the old ·agreement [covenant]. That covering is ·taken away [^Lnot lifted, because it is removed] only through Christ. ¹⁵ Even today, when they read ·the law of Moses [^LMoses], there is a ·covering over [^Lveil laying upon] their ·minds [hearts]. ¹⁶ But when a person ·changes and follows [^Lturns to] the Lord, that ·covering [veil] is taken away [Ex. 34:34]. ¹⁷ The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. ¹⁸ ·Our faces, then, are not covered [^LWith an unveiled face…]. We all ·show [reflect; or behold; or contemplate] the Lord’s glory, and we are being ·changed [transformed] ·to be like him [^Linto the same image]. This change in us ·brings ever greater glory [or is from one degree of glory to another; ^Lis from glory to glory], which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

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].

5 [^LFor] We know that ·when [if] our ·body [^Learthly house]—the tent we live in here on earth—is destroyed, ·God will have a house for us [^Lwe have a building from God]. It will not be made by human hands, but will be an eternal home ·in heaven [or in the heavens]. ² But now we ·groan [sigh] in this ·tent [or body; ^Lone], longing to be clothed in our heavenly ·home [dwelling place], ³ because it will clothe us so we will not be naked. ⁴ While we live in this ·body [^Ltent], we ·have burdens [are weighed down], and we ·groan [sigh]. We do not want to be ·naked [stripped; unclothed], but we want to be clothed with our heavenly home. Then ·this body that dies [^Lthe mortal] will be ·fully covered with [^Lswallowed up by] life [Is. 25:8; 1 Cor. 15:54]. ⁵ This is what God ·made [designed; prepared] us for, and he has given us the Spirit to be a ·guarantee for this new life [deposit; down payment; 1:22].

⁶ So we always have courage. We know that while we ·live [^Lare at home] in this body, we are ·away [absent; or exiles] from the Lord. ⁷ We ·live [walk] by ·what we believe [faith], not by ·what we can see [sight]. ⁸ So I say that we ·have courage [or are confident]. We really ·want [would prefer] to be ·away [absent; or exiled] from this body and be at home with the Lord. ⁹ Our only ·goal [aim; ambition] is to please ·God [^Lhim] whether we ·live here [are at home] or ·there [are absent/exiled], ¹⁰ because we must all stand before ·Christ to be judged [^Lthe Bema/judgment seat of Christ; ^Cthe Bema was a raised platform from which civic leaders made pronouncements and rendered judgment]. [^L…so that] Each of us will receive what we should get—good or bad—for the things we did in the earthly body.

Becoming Friends with God

¹¹ [^LTherefore] Since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade people [^Ceither about the truth of the Gospel or about Paul’s good motives]. God knows what we really are, and I hope that in your ·hearts [consciences] you know, too. ¹² We are not trying to ·prove [commend] ourselves to you again, but we are giving you a ·reason [opportunity] to ·be proud of [boast about] us. Then you will have an answer for those who ·are proud [boast] about ·things that can be seen [outward appearance] rather than what is in the heart. ¹³ If we are out of our minds, it is for God. If we have our right minds, it is for you. ¹⁴ [^LFor] The love of Christ ·controls [compels; drives] us, because we ·know [are convinced; have concluded] that One died for all, so all have died [^Cwe died spiritually with Christ, the penalty for our sins]. ¹⁵ Christ died for all so that those who live would ·not continue to [no longer] live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised from the dead.

¹⁶ [^LSo; As a result] From ·this time [now] on we do not think of anyone ·as the world does [or from a merely human perspective; ^Laccording to the flesh]. [^LAlthough] In the past we thought of Christ ·as the world thinks [or as nothing more than a man; ^Laccording to the flesh], but we no longer think of him in that way. ¹⁷ If anyone belongs to Christ, ·there is a new creation [the new creation has arrived; or that person has become a new creation]. The old things have gone; [^Llook; ^Tbehold] ·everything is made new [the new has come]! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who through Christ ·made peace between us and [reconciled us to] himself, and gave us the ·work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him [^Lministry/service of reconciliation]. ¹⁹ [^LFor] God was in Christ, ·making peace between the world and [reconciling the world to] himself. In Christ, God did not ·hold the world guilty of its sins [^Lcount their trespasses against them]. And he ·gave [committed/entrusted to] us this message of ·peace [reconciliation]. ²⁰ So we ·have been sent to speak [^Lare ambassadors] for Christ. It is as if God is ·calling to [urging; exhorting; encouraging] you through us. We speak for Christ when we ·beg [implore; urge] you to be ·at peace with [reconciled to] God. ²¹ God made ·Christ [^Lthe one] who ·had no sin [or never sinned; ^Ldid not know sin] to become sin for us, so that in ·Christ [^Lhim] we could become ·right with [^Lthe righteousness of] God.

6 We are working together [^Cwith fellow believers, or with God, or with Christ], so we ·beg [urge; appeal to; encourage] you: Do not ·let the grace that you received from God be for nothing [^Lreceive God’s grace in vain]. ² [^LFor] God says,

·I tell you that [^TBehold; ^LLook] the “·right [favorable; acceptable] time” is now, ·and [^Tbehold; ^Llook] the “day of salvation” is now.

³ We try not to ·be a problem [cause offense; place an obstacle/stumbling block] for anyone in any way, so that no one will find fault with our ·work [ministry]. ⁴ But in every way ·we show we are servants of God [or as God’s servants/ministers, we commend ourselves]: ·in accepting many hard things [in/with great endurance], in ·troubles [trials; tribulation], in ·difficulties [hardships; times of need], ·and in great problems [in distress/calamities/^Ltight spots]. ⁵ ·We are beaten [^L…in beatings/floggings] ·and thrown into prison [^Lin imprisonments]. ·We meet those who become upset with us and start riots [^L…in riots/rebellions]. ·We work hard [^L…in hard labors], ·and sometimes we get no sleep [^L…in sleepless nights] ·or food [^L…in hunger]. ⁶ ·We show we are servants of God by our pure lives [^L…in/by purity; ^CPaul continues the same list, but moves to positive character traits], ·our understanding [^L…in/by knowledge], patience, and kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by ·true [sincere; unhypocritical] love, ⁷ by ·speaking the truth [or the message/word of truth; ^Cthe Gospel], and by God’s power. ·We use our right living [^L…with weapons of righteousness] ·to defend ourselves against everything [or both to attack (with a sword) and defend (with a shield); ^Lin our right hands and in our left]. ⁸ ·Some people honor us, but others blame us [^L…through honor/glory and dishonor/disgrace…]. ·Some people say evil things about us, but others say good things [^L…through slander and praise…]. ·Some people say we are liars, but we speak the truth [^L…(treated) as deceivers, yet true…]. ⁹ ·We are not known, but we are well known [^L…as unknown, yet known…]. ·We seem to be dying, but we continue to live [^L…as dying, yet look/behold we live!]. ·We are punished [^L…as punished/scourged], but we are not killed. ¹⁰ ·We have much sadness [^L…as sorrowful/grieving], but we are always rejoicing. ·We are poor [^L…as poor], but we are making many people ·rich in faith [^Lrich]. ·We have [^L…as having] nothing, but really we have everything.

¹¹ We have spoken ·freely [openly; frankly] to you, ·Corinthian friends [^LCorinthians], and have opened our hearts to you. ¹² ·Our feelings of love for you have not stopped [We have not withheld our affection from you; ^LYou are not constrained/held back by us], but you have ·stopped your feelings of love [^Lconstrained/held back your affection] for us. ¹³ I speak to you ·as if you were [^Las] my children. ·Do to us as we have done [As a fair exchange]—open your hearts to us [v. 11].

Warning About Non-Christians

¹⁴ Do not ·join yourselves to [become partners with; ^Lbe mismatched/unevenly yoked with] unbelievers. ·Good and bad do not belong together [^LFor what partnership has righteousness and wickedness/lawlessness?]. ·Light and darkness cannot share together [Or what fellowship/partnership can light have with darkness?]. ¹⁵ How can Christ and Belial [^Cthe devil; Satan] have any ·agreement [harmony; accord]? What can a believer ·have together [share in common] with a nonbeliever? ¹⁶ What ·agreement [union] can the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God [1 Cor. 3:16]. As God said: “I will live with them and walk with them. And I will be their God, and they will be my people [Lev. 26:11–12; Jer. 32:38; Ezek. 37:27].”

7 [^LTherefore] ·Dear friends [Beloved], we have these promises from God, so we should make ourselves pure—free from ·anything that makes body or soul unclean [^Levery defilement of flesh and spirit]. ·We should try to become holy in the way we live [or …and in this way bring our holiness to completion/perfection], ·because we respect [out of reverence for; in the fear of] God.