Second Epistle to the Corinthians

We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is the eighth book of the New Testament.

Quotes

• Οὐ γάρ ἐσμεν ὡς οἱ πολλοὶ καπηλεύοντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἐξ εἰλικρινίας, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἐκ Θεοῦ κατέναντι Θεοῦ ἐν Χριστῷ λαλοῦμεν.
  • For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
    • 2:17 ESV

• εἰ γὰρ τὸ καταργούμενον διὰ δόξης, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὸ μένον ἐν δόξῃ! Ἔχοντες οὖν τοιαύτην ἐλπίδα, πολλῇ παρρησίᾳ χρώμεθα
  • For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold...
    • 3:11-12 ESV

• Ὁ δὲ Κύριος τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστιν· οὗ δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα Κυρίου, ἐκεῖ ἐλευθερία. Ἡμεῖς δὲ πάντες ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου κατοπτριζόμενοι τὴν αὐτὴν εἰκόνα μεταμορφούμεθα ἀπὸ δόξης εἰς δόξαν, καθάπερ ἀπὸ Κυρίου Πνεύματος.
  • Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.
    • 3:17-18 NIV

• Φανερώσει τῆς ἀληθείας συνιστάνοντες ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς πᾶσαν συνείδησιν ἀνθρώπων ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ.
  • By setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
    • 4:2 NIV

• Ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ὁ εἰπὼν ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψαι, ὃς ἔλαμψεν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν πρὸς φωτισμὸν τῆς γνώσεως τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.
  • God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
    • 4:6 ESV

• But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
  • 4:7-11 ESV

• Διὸ οὐκ ἐγκακοῦμεν, ἀλλ’ εἰ καὶ ὁ ἔξω ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος διαφθείρεται, ἀλλ’ ὁ ἔσω ἡμῶν ἀνακαινοῦται ἡμέρᾳ καὶ ἡμέρᾳ.
  • We do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
    • 4:16 ESV

• Μὴ σκοπούντων ἡμῶν τὰ βλεπόμενα ἀλλὰ τὰ μὴ βλεπόμενα· τὰ γὰρ βλεπόμενα πρόσκαιρα, τὰ δὲ μὴ βλεπόμενα αἰώνια.
  • We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
    • 4:18 ESV

• Ὥστε εἴ τις ἐν Χριστῷ, καινὴ κτίσις· τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδού, γέγονεν καινὰ τὰ πάντα.
  • If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
    • 5:17 ESV

• Ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ οὖν πρεσβεύομεν ὡς τοῦ Θεοῦ παρακαλοῦντος δι’ ἡμῶν· δεόμεθα ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, καταλλάγητε τῷ Θεῷ.
  • We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
    • 5:20 ESV

• Ἰδοὺ νῦν καιρὸς εὐπρόσδεκτος, ἰδοὺ νῦν ἡμέρα σωτηρίας.
  • Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
    • 6:2 ESV

• Ἡ γὰρ κατὰ Θεὸν λύπη μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀμεταμέλητον κατεργάζεται· ἡ δὲ τοῦ κόσμου λύπη θάνατον κατεργάζεται.
  • Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
    • 7:10 ESV

• Εἰ καυχᾶσθαι δεῖ, τὰ τῆς ἀσθενείας μου καυχήσομαι.
  • If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
    • 11:30 ESV

• And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
  • 12:9 KJV

Quotes about the Second Epistle to the Corinthians

• For Paul, the whole enterprise [of the Jerusalem collection exhorted at 2 Cor 8:13-14] was rooted in the conviction that the advent of the eschatological kingdom of God had inaugurated a new socio-economic order, which was to become distinctive of the emergent Christ-believing communities on a global scale. The Jerusalem collection was thus the practical expression of κοινωνία across sociocultural and ethnic boundaries. It was the manifestation of a persistent concern for socio-economic equality and solidarity within the Christ-centred ekklēsia.
  • Julien M. Ogereau, “The Jerusalem Collection as Κοινωνία: Paul’s Global Politics of Socio-Economic Equality and Solidarity,” New Testament Studies 58 (2012)

See also

• First Epistle to the Corinthians
• New Testament
• Paul of Tarsus