2 Corinthians 6 · ESV Study Bible

The Ministry of Reconciliation

2 CORINTHIANS 6 [†] t Working together with him, then, u we appeal to you v not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2[†]For he says,

w “In a favorable time I listened to you,

and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, x now is the y favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3[†]We z put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4[†]but a as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: b by great endurance, c in afflictions, d hardships, calamities, 5 e beatings, imprisonments, f riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 g by purity, h knowledge, patience, kindness, i the Holy Spirit, j genuine love; 7[†]by k truthful speech, and l the power of God; with m the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8through honor and dishonor, n through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9as unknown, and o yet well known; p as dying, and behold, we live; q as punished, and yet not killed; 10 r as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; s as poor, yet making many rich; t as having nothing, u yet possessing everything.

11We have spoken freely to you, [1] Corinthians; v our heart is wide open. 12You are not restricted by us, but w you are restricted in your own affections. 13[†] x In return (I speak y as to children) widen your hearts also.

14[†] z Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For a what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or b what fellowship has light with darkness? 15[†] c What accord has Christ with Belial? [2] Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16[†]What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For d we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

e “I will make my dwelling among them and f walk among them,

and g I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

17[†] Therefore h go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

18 i and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty.”

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 6:7 Weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left is best seen as a reference to the spiritual weapons God provides (see Eph. 6:11), perhaps meaning one for offense, usually a sword (on the right; see Eph. 6:17), and one for defense, usually a shield (on the left; see Eph. 6:16). Others understand Paul’s phrase not as limited to two weapons but as a way of saying that he is fully equipped with spiritual power for any situation.

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 6:13 Paul calls those Corinthians still in rebellion against him, as his spiritual children (see 1 Cor. 4:14–15; 2 Cor. 12:14–15), to respond to him in the way he has responded to them.

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 6:16 idols. See note on Rom. 1:23. we are the temple of the living God. The word for temple (Gk. naos) refers to the Most Holy Place, where God’s presence was manifested over the ark of the covenant, not to the more general temple complex or building (the hieron). Since Israel is never identified with the temple, this equation of believers with the Most Holy Place (see also 1 Cor. 3:16) reflects the amazing reality of the new covenant, in which God dwells directly and immediately in the midst of his people, a reality inaugurated by his Spirit (see 2 Cor. 3:3). as God said. This one phrase introduces the entire chain of six OT quotations in 6:16c–18, which closes with the parallel expression, “says the Lord Almighty” (v. 18). Taken together, these OT texts support the commands of v. 14 and 7:1. The first quotation is the covenant formula from Lev. 26:11–12, here adapted to the Corinthians by combining it with the new covenant promise of Ezek. 37:27 (thereby changing the original “among you” to among them). This adaptation affirms that the Corinthian church is experiencing the fulfillment of the covenant promises first given to Israel.

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 6:2 By quoting Isa. 49:8 to summarize his own appeal to the Corinthians, Paul identifies his apostolic ministry with Isaiah’s prophetic role of calling Israel to repentance and perseverance in view of the coming day of redemption and judgment (salvation). Behold, now. Paul declares that this time of salvation has already arrived in Christ! Amazingly, God is already pouring out many of the blessings of the age to come.

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 6:4 we commend ourselves in every way. Not only through victories and triumphs but also by the way he endures hardship, Paul gives testimony to the truthfulness of his apostolic ministry. The glory of the gospel shines forth from a Christian’s life in the way he responds to suffering and opposition. See note on 4:2. by great endurance. Paul’s divinely enabled endurance is his general testimony to the power of the Spirit in his life and ministry (3:3–8; see 12:12), which is then illustrated by the specific examples that follow (6:4b–10). servants of God. As a minister (Gk. diakonos) of the new covenant (3:6), Paul is a servant (Gk. diakonos) of God.

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 6:3–13 The New Covenant Support for the Legitimacy of Paul’s Ministry. For the Corinthians, being reconciled to God involves affirming Paul’s ministry as God’s coworker (5:18–6:2) and submitting to what Paul tells them (6:13). As he did in 1:3–11; 2:14–17; and 4:7–12 (see also 11:23–33; 12:7–10), Paul defends his ministry as an apostle by once again calling attention to his faithfulness amid the changing circumstances of his apostolic life. Paul’s ministry reflects God’s power in spite of human weakness.

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 6:17–18 Therefore. Paul draws out the implications of being the new covenant people of God with three commands from Isa. 52:11 (go out … be separate … touch no unclean thing) and three promises from Ezek. 20:34; 2 Sam. 7:14; and Isa. 43:6 (I will welcome you … I will be a father to you … you shall be sons and daughters to me). Paul’s application to the Corinthians of promises originally given to Israel reflects his conviction that the church is the fulfillment of God’s covenant people, being restored under the new covenant. The combination of 2 Sam. 7:14 (“I will be a father to you”) with Isa. 43:6 (“sons and daughters”) indicates that God’s promise to become the “father” of David’s “son,” the Messiah, is expanded to include all of God’s people who are adopted into his new covenant “family” (see Mark 3:33–34; cf. 2 Sam. 7:24; Jer. 31:1, 9).

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 6:1 The grace of God comes about solely through the death of Christ (5:14–19). Those who turn back from Christ show that their initial, apparent reception of God’s grace was not real but in vain.

2 CORINTHIANS—NOTE ON 6:15 Belial (Gk. Beliar, also spelled Belial, from a Hb. term meaning “worthlessness” or possibly “destruction”). This name for Satan is not found elsewhere in the OT or NT but was used in the Judaism of Paul’s day. Derived from one of Satan’s characteristics (i.e., that he is “worthless” or “treacherous”; see the same word in Deut. 13:13; 15:9; Judg. 19:22; 1 Kings 21:13; etc.), it was often used in contexts that stress Satan’s activity as an opponent of God, which fits Paul’s concern with his opponents.