So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Parallel translations
- WEB while we don’t look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
- KJV While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
- BSB 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.
- NKJV while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
- NASB while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Faith looks beyond the visible and temporary to the unseen and eternal. What can be seen passes away; what is unseen lasts forever.
Overview
Paul explains how he keeps an eternal perspective: he fixes his attention on unseen, eternal realities rather than the visible, passing world. This is not escapism but faith that values God's promises over present circumstances. It sets up the discussion of the eternal heavenly dwelling in chapter 5.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 2 Cor 5:7for we walk by faith, not by sight.
- Rom 8:24–25For we were saved in hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for that which he sees?
- Heb 11:1Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen.
- 1 Jn 2:16–17For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s.
- 1 Jn 2:25This is the promise which he promised us, the eternal life.
- Heb 11:13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
- Heb 12:2–3looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Heb 11:25–27choosing rather to share ill treatment with God’s people, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time;
- Matt 25:46These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
- 2 Th 2:16Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
- Lev 16:25–26The fat of the sin offering he shall burn on the altar.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 4:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.