The Bible — World English Bible
2 Corinthians 4
In brief
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul explains why he does not lose heart despite hardship. He preaches Jesus Christ as Lord and not himself, because God has made his light shine in our hearts. That light is a treasure carried in jars of clay: their fragility shows that the power comes from God. Paul describes lives that are pressed, persecuted and struck down, but never abandoned. He ends by shifting the gaze: the outer self wears away, the inner self is renewed, and the troubles of the moment weigh little against eternal glory.
The chapter in 4 parts
1Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we don’t faint.
2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
3Even if our Good News is veiled, it is veiled in those who are dying,
4in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the Good News of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn on them.
5For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake,
6seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.
8We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair;
9pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed;
10always carrying in the body the putting to death of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh.
12So then death works in us, but life in you.
13But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, “I believed, and therefore I spoke.” We also believe, and therefore we also speak;
14knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will present us with you.
15For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.
16Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.
17For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory,
18while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Key verses
seeing it is God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Paul connects conversion with creation: the God who made light shine at the beginning also makes his light shine in the heart of the one who believes. The knowledge of God has a face: the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.
The treasure is the gospel, the jars of clay are believers, fragile and ordinary. This fragility is not a flaw to hide: it keeps us from crediting to people what comes from God.
We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed;
Four contrasts describe the experience of hardship: pressure without being crushed, distress without despair, persecution without abandonment, being struck down without being destroyed. Paul does not claim that hardship is light, but that it does not have the last word.
Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.
The body ages and wears out, but the inner life can grow at the very same time. The renewal is daily: it comes not from one great event but from communion with God day after day.
For our light affliction, which is for the moment, works for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory, while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Paul compares the trouble of the moment with eternal glory, and invites us to look at what cannot yet be seen. This is not denying suffering, it is placing it in the perspective of eternity.
What the sermons say
Frequently asked questions about 2 Corinthians 4
What does treasure in jars of clay mean?
In 2 Corinthians 4:7, the treasure is the gospel and the presence of God, and the jars of clay are believers, human and fragile. Paul means that the power at work in their lives is not their own: their weakness highlights God's strength instead of hiding it.
What does it mean that the inner self is renewed day by day?
Verse 16 contrasts the outer self, the body that wears out with age, illness or tiredness, with the inner self, the spiritual life. Paul says that the latter can be strengthened every day even when the former grows weak, through communion with God and the hope of the glory to come.
What is the message of 2 Corinthians 4?
The central message is not to lose heart. Paul acknowledges that service and hardship are real, but he affirms that God sustains his people, that his power is displayed in their fragility, and that today's sufferings are brief compared with eternal glory.
Articles quoting 2 Corinthians 4
- Prayer for Persecuted Christians: 15 Prayers
- 20 Bible Verses for a Christian Funeral in Japan: Hope and Comfort for the Bereaved
- Mark 14: She Did What She Could, the Perfume of Nard
- 2 Corinthians 4: Fixing Your Eyes on What Is Unseen
- What Will Your End Be? You Are Building It Today
- 2 Corinthians 4: The Jar Is Fragile, the Treasure Remains
World English Bible translation — public domain.