2 Corinthians 4:1-6:2

International Children’s Bible

Preaching the Good News

4 God, with his mercy, gave us this work to do. So we don’t give up. ² But we have turned away from secret and shameful ways. We use no trickery, and we do not change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly. This is how we show everyone who we are. And this is how they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are before God. ³ The Good News that we preach may be hidden. But it is hidden only to those who are lost. ⁴ The devil who rules this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They cannot see the light of the Good News—the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is exactly like God. ⁵ We do not preach about ourselves. But we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord; and we preach that we are your servants for Jesus. ⁶ God once said, “Let the light shine out of the darkness!” And this is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts. He gave us light by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ.

Spiritual Treasure in Clay Jars

⁷ We have this treasure from God. But we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that this great power is from God, not from us. ⁸ We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up. ⁹ We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ We carry the death of Jesus in our own bodies, so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies. ¹¹ We are alive, but for Jesus we are always in danger of death. This is so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die. 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.”^[a] Our faith is like this, too. We believe, and so we speak. ¹⁴ God raised the Lord Jesus from death. And we know that God will also raise us with Jesus. God will bring us together with you, and we will stand before him. ¹⁵ All these things are for you. And so the grace of God is being given to more and more people. This will bring more and more thanks to God for his glory.

Living by Faith

¹⁶ So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day. ¹⁷ We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory. That glory is much greater than the troubles. ¹⁸ So we set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time. But what we cannot see will last forever.

5 We know that our body—the tent we live in here on earth—will be destroyed. But when that happens, God will have a house for us to live in. It will not be a house made by men. It will be a home in heaven that will last forever. ² But now we are tired of this body. We want God to give us our heavenly home. ³ It will clothe us, and we will not be naked. ⁴ While we live in this body, we have burdens, and we complain. We do not want to be naked. We want to be clothed with our heavenly home. Then this body that dies will be fully covered with life. ⁵ This is what God made us for. And he has given us the Spirit to be a guarantee for this new life.

⁶ So we always have courage. We know that while we live in this body, we are away from the Lord. ⁷ We live by what we believe, not by what we can see. ⁸ So I say that we have courage. And we really want to be away from this body and be at home with the Lord. ⁹ Our only goal is to please God. We want to please him whether we live here or there. ¹⁰ For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. Each one will receive what he should get—good or bad—for the things he did when he lived in the earthly body.

Becoming Friends with God

¹¹ We know what it means to fear the Lord. So we try to help people accept the truth. God knows what we really are. And I hope that in your hearts you know, too. ¹² We are not trying to prove ourselves to you again. But we are telling you about ourselves, so you will be proud of us. Then you will have an answer for those who are proud about things that can be seen. They do not care about what is in the heart. ¹³ If we are out of our minds, it is for God. If we have our right mind, then it is for you. ¹⁴ The love of Christ controls us. Because we know that One died for all. So all have died. ¹⁵ Christ died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from death so that they would live for him.

¹⁶ From this time on we do not think of anyone as the world does. It is true that in the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks. But we no longer think of him in that way. ¹⁷ If anyone belongs to Christ, then he is made new. The old things have gone; everything is made new! ¹⁸ All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself. And God gave us the work of bringing everyone into peace with him. ¹⁹ I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And he gave us this message of peace. ²⁰ So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. ²¹ Christ had no sin. But God made him become sin. God did this for us so that in Christ we could become right with God.

6 We are workers together with God. So we beg you: Do not let the grace that you received from God be for nothing. ² God says,

I tell you that the “right time” is now. The “day of salvation” is now.