rsv 2Corinthians:3-5, SEEK
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Are we beginning to commend ourselves again ?
Or do we need ,
as some do ,
letters of recommendation to you ,
or from you ?
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You yourselves are our letter of recommendation ,
written on your hearts ,
to be known and read by all men ;
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and you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us ,
written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God ,
not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts .
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Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God .
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Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us ;
our competence is from God ,
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who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant ,
not in a written code but in the Spirit ;
for the written code kills ,
but the Spirit gives life .
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Now if the dispensation of death ,
carved in letters on stone ,
came with such splendor that the Israelites could not look at Moses '
face because of its brightness ,
fading as this was ,
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will not the dispensation of the Spirit be attended with greater splendor ?
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For if there was splendor in the dispensation of condemnation ,
the dispensation of righteousness must far exceed it in splendor .
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Indeed ,
in this case ,
what once had splendor has come to have no splendor at all ,
because of the splendor that surpasses it .
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For if what faded away came with splendor ,
what is permanent must have much more splendor .
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Since we have such a hope ,
we are very bold ,
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not like Moses ,
who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not see the end of the fading splendor .
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But their minds were hardened ;
for to this day ,
when they read the old covenant ,
that same veil remains unlifted ,
because only through Christ is it taken away .
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Yes ,
to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their minds ;
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but when a man turns to the Lord the veil is removed .
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Now the Lord is the Spirit ,
and where the Spirit of the Lord is ,
there is freedom .
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And we all ,
with unveiled face ,
beholding the glory of the Lord ,
are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another ;
for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit .
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Therefore ,
having this ministry by the mercy of God ,
we do not lose heart .
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We have renounced disgraceful ,
underhanded ways ;
we refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God '
s word ,
but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man '
s conscience in the sight of God .
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And even if our gospel is veiled ,
it is veiled only to those who are perishing .
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In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers ,
to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ ,
who is the likeness of God .
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For what we preach is not ourselves ,
but Jesus Christ as Lord ,
with ourselves as your servants for Jesus '
sake .
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For it is the God who said , "
Let light 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 Christ .
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But we have this treasure in earthen vessels ,
to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us .
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We are afflicted in every way ,
but not crushed ;
perplexed ,
but not driven to despair ;
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persecuted ,
but not forsaken ;
struck down ,
but not destroyed ;
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always carrying in the body the death of Jesus ,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies .
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For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus '
sake ,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh .
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So death is at work in us ,
but life in you .
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Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote , "
I believed ,
and so I spoke ,"
we too believe ,
and so we speak ,
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knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence .
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For it is all for your sake ,
so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving ,
to the glory of God .
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So we do not lose heart .
Though our outer nature is wasting away ,
our inner nature is being renewed every day .
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For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison ,
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because 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 .
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For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed ,
we have a building from God ,
a house not made with hands ,
eternal in the heavens .
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Here indeed we groan ,
and long to put on our heavenly dwelling ,
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so that by putting it on we may not be found naked .
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For while we are still in this tent ,
we sigh with anxiety ;
not that we would be unclothed ,
but that we would be further clothed ,
so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life .
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He who has prepared us for this very thing is God ,
who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee .
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So we are always of good courage ;
we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord ,
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for we walk by faith ,
not by sight .
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We are of good courage ,
and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord .
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So whether we are at home or away ,
we make it our aim to please him .
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For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ ,
so that each one may receive good or evil ,
according to what he has done in the body .
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Therefore ,
knowing the fear of the Lord ,
we persuade men ;
but what we are is known to God ,
and I hope it is known also to your conscience .
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We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to be proud of us ,
so that you may be able to answer those who pride themselves on a man '
s position and not on his heart .
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For if we are beside ourselves ,
it is for God ;
if we are in our right mind ,
it is for you .
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For the love of Christ controls us ,
because we are convinced that one has died for all ;
therefore all have died .
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And he died for all ,
that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised .
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From now on ,
therefore ,
we regard no one from a human point of view ;
even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view ,
we regard him thus no longer .
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Therefore ,
if any one is in Christ ,
he is a new creation ;
the old has passed away ,
behold ,
the new has come .
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All this is from God ,
who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation ;
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that is ,
in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself ,
not counting their trespasses against them ,
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation .
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So we are ambassadors for Christ ,
God making his appeal through us .
We beseech you on behalf of Christ ,
be reconciled to God .
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For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin ,
so that in him we might become the righteousness of God .
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Working together with him ,
then ,
we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain .