1So then, since we have this ministry, and since we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.
2We have turned away from the shameful things that people hide. We do not use cunning, and we do not twist the word of God. Instead we make the truth plain, and so we commend ourselves to every person's conscience in the sight of God.
3But if our gospel is hidden, it is hidden to those who are lost.
4The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. So the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, does not shine on them.
5For we do not preach ourselves. We preach Christ Jesus the Lord, and we are your servants for Jesus' sake.
6For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts. He gives us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay. This shows that the greatness of the power is from God and not from us.
8We are pressed hard on every side, yet not crushed. We are perplexed, but we do not despair.
9We are persecuted, but not abandoned. We are struck down, but not destroyed.
10We always carry about in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our body.
11For we who live are always being handed over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our mortal flesh.
12So then death is at work in us, but life in you.
13We have the same spirit of faith. As it is written, "I believed, and so I have spoken." We also believe, and so we speak.
14We know that the God who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus, and will present us together with you.
15For all these things are for your sake. As grace reaches more and more people, the thanks they give will overflow to the glory of God.
16For this reason we do not lose heart. Though our outward body is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
17For our light trouble, which lasts only a moment, is working for us a weight of glory that is far greater and lasts forever.
18So we do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen. For the things that are seen last only for a time, but the things that are not seen are eternal.