Study Desk

For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

To the one, we are an odor of death and demise; to the other, a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?

For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.

And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of righteousness!

For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures!

But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.

For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal bodies.

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may overflow in thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling,

And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.

If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.

For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.