Dual Panel1THIS is the ministry which God in his mercy has given us and nothing can daunt us.
2We have set our faces against all shameful secret practices; we use no clever tricks, no dishonest manipulation of the Word of God. We speak the plain truth and so commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
3If our gospel is "veiled", the veil must be in the minds of those who are spiritually dying.
4The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, and prevents the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, the image of God, from shining on them.
5For it is Christ Jesus as Lord whom we preach, not ourselves; we are your servants for Jesus' sake.
6God, who first ordered light to shine in darkness, has flooded our hearts with his light, so that we enlighten men with the knowledge of the glory of God, as we see it in the face of Christ.
7This priceless treasure we hold, so to speak, in common earthenwareto show that the splendid power of it belongs to God and not to us.
8We are hardpressed on all sides, but we are never frustrated; we are puzzled, but never in despair.
9We are persecuted, but are never deserted: we may be knocked down but we are never knocked out!
10Every day we experience something of the death of Jesus, so that we may also show the power of the life of Jesus in these bodies of ours.
11Yes, we who are living are always being exposed to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be plainly seen in our mortal lives.
12We are always facing physical death, so that you may know spiritual life.
13Our faith is like that mentioned in the scripture: I believed and therefore did I speak. For we too speak because we believe,
14and we know for certain that he who raised the Lord Jesus from death shall also raise us with Jesus. We shall all stand together before him.
15All this is indeed working out for your benefit, for as more grace is given to more and more people so will the thanksgiving to the glory of God be increased.
16This is the reason why we never lose heart. The outward man does indeed suffer wear and tear, but every day the inward man receives fresh strength.
17These little troubles (which are really so transitory) are winning for us a permanent, glorious and solid reward out of all proportion to our pain.
18For we are looking all the time not at the visible things but at the invisible. The visible things are transitory: it is the invisible things that are really permanent.