2 Corinthians 6

Chapter Overview

What happens in 2 Corinthians 6

Paul appeals to the Corinthians not to receive God's grace in vain, presenting a catalogue of his sufferings as proof of his genuine ministry. He then calls believers to separate from unrighteousness, grounding his appeal in Old Testament promises of God's fatherly relationship with his people.

Scripture

The Day of Salvation and Marks of True Ministry

Study note

Paul urges the Corinthians to respond to God's grace now, quoting Isaiah to declare that the present moment is the day of salvation. He then provides an extraordinary catalogue of his hardships, virtues, and paradoxes as credentials of authentic ministry. The series of contrasts -- sorrowful yet rejoicing, poor yet making many rich, having nothing yet possessing everything -- powerfully illustrates how the gospel transforms suffering into abundance.

1 Since we work together with God, we beg you: do not let the grace God has given you go to waste. We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

2 God says, "When the time was right, I listened to you. On the day of rescue, I helped you." Pay attention -- right now is the right time! Today is the day God will rescue you! (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)

3 We are careful never to get in anyone's way, so no one can find fault with our ministry. Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed:

4 In everything we do, we prove that we are genuine servants of God. We endure a great deal: troubles, hardships, and unbearable pressures. But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

5 We have been beaten, thrown in prison, and caught in riots. We have worked long hours, gone without sleep, and been hungry. In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

6 We prove ourselves by our purity and our grasp of truth. We show patience and kindness. We prove ourselves by the Holy Spirit and by our real love. By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

7 We prove ourselves by speaking the truth and relying on God's power. We carry the weapon of right living in both hands. By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

8 People sometimes honor us and sometimes insult us. They spread lies about us, and yet we tell the truth. By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

9 People treat us like nobodies, yet everyone knows who we are. We seem to be dying, yet look -- we are very much alive! We get beaten, but we are never killed. As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

10 Our hearts are full of sadness, yet we always have joy. We are dirt poor, yet we make many people rich. We own nothing, yet we have everything we need. As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

A Call to Holiness and Separation

Study note

Paul makes a deeply personal appeal, asking the Corinthians to open their hearts as he has opened his. He then issues a strong warning against being unequally yoked with unbelievers, using a series of rhetorical questions to show the incompatibility of righteousness with wickedness. He supports his call to holiness with a chain of Old Testament quotations, culminating in God's promise to be a Father to those who separate themselves for him.

11 Dear friends in Corinth, we have poured out our hearts to you! We have held nothing back. O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.

12 We have not closed off our love from you. But you have closed off your love from us. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels.

13 I am talking to you like a father talks to his children: open up your hearts to us just as wide! Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.

14 Do not team up with people who do not believe. What could right living and wrong living possibly have in common? How can light and darkness work together? Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 Can Christ and Belial agree on anything? What connection does a believer have with someone who does not believe? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 Can God's temple and false gods share the same space? We are the temple of the living God! As God himself said: "I will live among them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people." And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Therefore the Lord says, "Come away from them and be separate. Stay away from what is unclean, and I will welcome you." Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

18 "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters," says the Lord who rules over all. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Key Themes

Themes in 2 Corinthians 6

Urgency of responding to graceAuthentic ministry credentialsSeparation and holinessGod as FatherParadoxes of the Christian life

Prophetic Connections

How this chapter points to Christ

2 Corinthians 6:2 Isaiah 49:8

Paul quotes Isaiah's prophecy about the time of God's favor and the day of salvation, applying it to the present era of the gospel as the fulfillment of God's promised deliverance.

2 Corinthians 6:16 Leviticus 26:12

The promise 'I will dwell among them and walk among them' echoes God's covenant promise to Israel in Leviticus, now applied to the church as the temple of the living God.

2 Corinthians 6:17 Isaiah 52:11

The call to 'come out from among them and be separate' draws on Isaiah's command to the exiles leaving Babylon, reapplied as a call to spiritual purity for believers.

2 Corinthians 6:18 2 Samuel 7:14

God's promise to be a Father with sons and daughters echoes the Davidic covenant promise, now expanded to include all believers as God's children.

Apply This Today

Living 2 Corinthians 6

Do not take God's grace for granted or put off responding to his call. Today is the day of salvation. Evaluate your closest partnerships and influences to ensure they are leading you toward Christ rather than away from him. Holiness is not about isolation from the world but about maintaining your distinct identity as God's temple while engaging with the people around you.

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