2 Corinthians 3:4-6:13
New Catholic Bible
4 Such is the complete confidence in God that we have through Christ. 5 Obviously, we are not competent of ourselves to take credit for anything as coming from us. Our competence comes from God 6 who has empowered us to be the ministers of a new covenant, not written but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Ministers of a New Covenant.[a] 7 Now if the ministry of death, engraved with letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not fix their glance on the face of Moses because of its glory, a glory that would soon fade, 8 how much greater will be the glory of the ministry of the Spirit?
9 For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much richer in glory will be the ministry of righteousness! 10 Indeed, what was once glorious is now without any glory in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11 For if what was destined to fade away was glorious, how much greater will be the glory of that which endures!
12 The Lord Is the Spirit.[b] Therefore, since we have such hope, we can act with complete confidence, 13 and not like Moses who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites could not observe the radiance that was fading away. 14 However, their minds were hardened. Even to this very day, the same veil remains unlifted during the reading of the old covenant,[c] since only in Christ is it set aside. 15 Indeed, to this very day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts.
16 However, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now this Lord is the Spirit,[d] and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And as we gaze upon the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, all of us are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Chapter 4
The Gospel of the Glory of Christ.[e] 1 Therefore, since we are engaged in this ministry through the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced all shameful and hidden ways. We do not engage in deception or falsify the word of God. By stating the truth in an open manner, we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God.
3 If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 those unbelievers whose minds have been blinded by the god of this world to prevent them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 We do not proclaim ourselves. Rather we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your servants for the sake of Jesus. 6 For the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has enabled his light to shine in our hearts in order to enlighten them with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
The State of an Apostle.[f] 7 However, we hold this treasure in earthen vessels so that it may be clear that this immense power belongs to God and does not derive from us. 8 We are afflicted on all sides but not crushed, bewildered but not sunk in despair, 9 persecuted but not abandoned, struck down but not destroyed.
10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. 11 For in our lives we are constantly being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12 As a result, death is at work in us, but life in you.
13 Therefore, since we have that spirit of faith about which it has been written: “I believed, and therefore I spoke,” we also believe, and therefore speak. 14 For we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us side by side with you into his presence. 15 Indeed, everything is for your sake, so that the grace that is abundantly bestowed on more and more people may cause thanksgiving to superabound, to the glory of God.
16 An Eternal Dwelling in Heaven. Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outer self is continuing to decay, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 Our temporary light afflictions are preparing for us an incomparable weight of eternal glory, 18 for our eyes are fixed not on what is seen but rather on that which cannot be seen. What is visible is transitory; what is invisible is eternal.
Chapter 5
1 Now we know that if the earthly tent in which we live is destroyed, we have a dwelling prepared for us by God, a dwelling in the heavens, not made with human hands, that will be eternal. 2 While we are in this earthly tent, we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling; 3 for when we have put it on, we will not be naked.[g]
4 While we are enclosed in this earthly tent we groan, burdened because we do not wish to be stripped naked but rather to be further clothed, so that our mortal state may be swallowed up by immortality. 5 God is the one who has prepared us for this destiny, and he has given us the Spirit as a pledge of this.
6 Therefore, we are always confident, even though we realize that as long as we are at home in the body, we are exiles from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yet we are filled with confidence, even as we long to be exiled from the body and be at home with the Lord.
9 For this reason, whether at home or away, we strive to please him. 10 For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive suitable recompense for his conduct in the body, whether good or bad.
11 Well Known to God. And so, with this fear of the Lord always foremost in our thoughts, we try to persuade others. We ourselves are well known to God, and I hope we are also well known to your consciences. 12 We are not once again commending ourselves to you, but we are rather affording you an opportunity to boast about us. Then you will have an answer to those who boast of external appearances and not the heart. 13 If, indeed, we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are rational, it is for your sake.
14 The Ministry of Reconciliation. For the love of Christ urges us forward, once we conclude that one has died for all, and therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sakes died and was raised to life.
16 Therefore, from now on we will not regard anyone according to human standards. Even though we once judged Christ from a human point of view,[h] we no longer do so. 17 Consequently, anyone united to Christ is a new creation. The old order has passed away. Behold, all has become new.
18 All this has been done by God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, and not holding people’s transgressions against them, and he committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is appealing to you through us. We implore you through Christ to be reconciled to God. 21 He made him who did not know sin to be sin for our sake, so that through him we might become the righteousness of God.[i]
Chapter 6
1 As his coworkers, we urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,
“In an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.[j]
Ministers of God. 3 We avoid placing obstacles in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry. 4 On the contrary, in everything we do we present ourselves as ministers of God: in steadfast perseverance; in afflictions, hardships, and distress; 5 in floggings, imprisonments, and riots; in labors, sleepless nights, and fasts; 6 in purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness; in holiness of spirit, genuine love, 7 truthfulness, and the power of God.
We wield weapons of righteousness with right hand and left,[k] 8 in times of honor or dishonor, praise or insult. We are regarded as impostors, and yet we speak the truth; 9 as unknown men, and nevertheless we are well known; as dying, and behold we live on; as scourged, but we are not put to death; 10 as sorrowful, and yet we are always rejoicing; as poor, and yet we make many rich;[l] as having nothing, and yet we possess everything.
Relations Have Been Established[m]
11 Paul’s Heart Is Wide Open. O Corinthians, we have spoken frankly to you, and we have opened our heart to you. 12 We are not withholding our love from you, but you have withheld yours from us. 13 I speak to you as my children. In return, also open wide your hearts to us.
Footnotes
- 2 Corinthians 3:7 Proceeding in the manner of the rabbis, Paul freely interprets an episode in the life of Moses (see Ex 34:29-35) in order to assert the superiority of the New Testament. Set down by Moses, the Law denounces sin without giving the power to conquer sin; it thus condemns people without glorifying or saving them. It is not God’s definitive gift.
Indeed, Paul dares to compare the ministry of the apostles to that of Moses, which was the most prestigious in the Old Testament. He dares to state that the apostolic ministry is greater than that of the founder of the Jewish people. And he invites everyone to enter fully into this New Covenant so as to surpass definitively the universe of the Old Testament. The Letter to the Romans will later offer a lengthy development of this singularly new vision in that age. - 2 Corinthians 3:12 Paul continues to comment in rabbinical fashion on the veil of Moses. The veil is now over the faces of the Jews. He makes clear that they refuse to accept the provisional character of the Old Covenant—they do not truly understand either Moses or the Old Testament, for Christ is the key to both. It is he who established a new and definitive Covenant, which leads to life and is the power of liberation, the source of freedom. The light of the risen Christ is reflected in the life of believers by their transformation in an ever more profound manner.
- 2 Corinthians 3:14 Old covenant, i.e., “Old Testament”: this is the first time that this expression, referring to a collection of Scriptures, appears in a Christian text.
- 2 Corinthians 3:17 This Lord is the Spirit: the “Lord” to whom the Christian turns (v. 16) is the life-giving Spirit of the living God (vv. 6, 8), who is also the Spirit of Christ. This Spirit is the inaugurator of the New Covenant and the ministry.
- 2 Corinthians 4:1 Paul has been defamed as one who does not impart the authentic teaching of Christ. He responds that, on the contrary, everything he preaches is nothing but authentically Christ’s. For Paul, the Gospel is not a narrative of the past but the action of God today. The apostle, qualified for the ministry of this New Covenant, cannot falsify the Gospel in order to seek his own glory. His entire existence is illumined by the light and glory of Christ, the image of God, and the sole image that can take profound hold of a person’s life. Illuminated by Christ, the apostle himself becomes a light to irradiate every conscience that refuses to be seduced by the god of this world, i.e., Satan, who personifies the traits of perversion capable of undermining a human existence.
- 2 Corinthians 4:7 In his life, Paul shows the “mystique” of the apostle. He knows that his existence must be identified with that of Christ, that he must enter into Christ’s struggle and his agony. Thus, he reproduces in his person and his action the Paschal Mystery, the mystery of death and life, suffering and victory, until the day when he will share fully, with all the saved, in the life of the risen Lord.
- 2 Corinthians 5:3 Naked: without an earthly tent (body), which is the condition of those who have died.
- 2 Corinthians 5:16 We once judged Christ from a human point of view: literally: “we knew Christ according to the flesh.” The literal translation does not mean that Paul met Jesus during the latter’s mortal life; it means, rather, that before Paul was converted he had human prejudices regarding Jesus, but now no longer does so.
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 This is a splendid summary of the redemption. God made the penalty for sins to fall on Jesus (see Isa 53:6; Gal 3:13). Christ, the only one who is entirely righteous, took our sins upon himself at Calvary and endured the punishment reserved for us, i.e., death and separation from God. He made it possible for us to receive his righteousness and be recommended to God. Yet all this stems from the love of the Father, who prompted Christ by his plan and enabled him to bring it about by his grace.
- 2 Corinthians 6:2 This verse does not exclude from grace and salvation those people who lived before Christ’s coming. For they received the promises that were later fulfilled in Christ (2 Cor 1:20) and saw and welcomed their fulfillment from a distance (see Jn 8:56; Heb 11:13).
- 2 Corinthians 6:7 Weapons . . . with right hand and left: with the right hand, offensive weapons (the sword); with the left, defensive weapons (the shield).
- 2 Corinthians 6:10 We make many rich: i.e., rich toward God, for true wealth does not consist in worldly possessions (see Lk 12:15, 21). Even if believers have none of the world’s goods, they possess everything in him who is Lord of all (see 1 Cor 1:4f; 3:21-23; Eph 2:7; 3:8; Phil 4:19; Col 2:3).
- 2 Corinthians 6:11 After the gripping testimony concerning the apostolate and its mystery, the Letter returns to concrete situations of the community of Corinth. Moving appeals, pastoral concern, and profound attachment come to the fore in these lines.
