2 Corinthians 2:12-17, 2 Corinthians 3:1-6 NIRV

2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Serving Under the New Covenant

I went to Troas to preach the good news about Christ. There I found that the Lord had opened a door of opportunity for me. But I still had no peace of mind. I couldn’t find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to the believers at Troas and went on to Macedonia.

Give thanks to God! He always leads us as if we were prisoners in Christ’s victory parade. Through us, God spreads the knowledge of Christ everywhere like perfume. God considers us to be the pleasing smell that Christ is spreading. He is spreading it among people who are being saved and people who are dying. To those who are dying, we are the smell of death. To those who are being saved, we are the perfume of life. Who is able to do this work? Unlike many people, we aren’t selling God’s word to make money. In fact, it is just the opposite. Because of Christ we speak honestly before God. We speak like people God has sent.

Read More of 2 Corinthians 2

2 Corinthians 3:1-6

Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Some people need letters that speak well of them. Do we need those kinds of letters, either to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter. You are written on our hearts. Everyone knows you and reads you. You make it clear that you are a letter from Christ. You are the result of our work for God. You are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. You are a letter written not on tablets made out of stone but on human hearts.

Through Christ, we can be sure of this before God. In ourselves we are not able to claim anything for ourselves. The power to do what we do comes from God. He has given us the power to serve under a new covenant. The covenant is not based on the written Law of Moses. It comes from the Holy Spirit. The written Law kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Read More of 2 Corinthians 3