Text -- 2 Corinthians 6:8-18 (NET)

6:8 through glory and dishonor, through slander and praise; regarded as impostors, and yet true; 6:9 as unknown, and yet well-known; as dying and yet– see!– we continue to live; as those who are scourged and yet not executed; 6:10 as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, as poor, but making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing everything. 6:11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide to you. 6:12 Our affection for you is not restricted, but you are restricted in your affections for us. 6:13 Now as a fair exchange– I speak as to my children– open wide your hearts to us also.

Unequal Partners

6:14 Do not become partners with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 6:15 And what agreement does Christ have with Beliar? Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever? 6:16 And what mutual agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, just as God said, “I will live in them and will walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 6:17 Therefore “come out from their midst, and be separate,” says the Lord, “and touch no unclean thing, and I will welcome you, 6:18 and I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters,” says the All-Powerful Lord.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 2Co 6:8

By glory and dishonour ( dia doxēs kai atimias ).

Here dia is no longer instrument, but state or condition. Doxa here is glory. See note on Rom 9:21; note on 2Ti 2:20 for contrast between honour and dishonour (timē , atimia ).

Robertson: 2Co 6:8

By evil report and good report ( dia dusphēmias kai euphēmias ).

Play on the words with prefixes duṡ and eu̇ and phēmē . Dusphēmia is a late word, only here in N.T. Euphēmia , old and common word, only here in N.T.

Robertson: 2Co 6:8

As deceivers and yet true ( hōs planoi kai alētheis ).

Paul takes up hōs now in place of dia which succeeded en . Note use of kai in sense of "and yet"(adversative). Planos is late word (Diodorus, Josephus) for wandering, vagabond, impostor (cf. planaō , to lead astray, used of Christ, Joh 7:12). In N.T. only here; Mat 27:63 (of Christ by Pharisees); 2Jo 1:7. "In the Clementines St. Paul is expressly described by his adversaries as planos and as disseminating deceit (planēn )"(Bernard). Such slander from one’ s enemies is praise.

Robertson: 2Co 6:9

As unknown and yet well known ( hōs agnooumenoi kai epiginoskomenoi ).

"As ignored (as nonentities, obscure, without proper credentials 2Co 3:2) and yet fully recognized (by all who really matter as in 2Co 11:6)."

Robertson: 2Co 6:9

And behold, we live ( kai idou zōmen ).

Cf. the hazards of his life (2Co 1:8; 2Co 4:10; 2Co 11:23). His whole career is full of paradox).

Robertson: 2Co 6:10

Always rejoicing ( aei chairontes ).

Even in sorrow (2Co 11:9; 1Th 5:16; Rom 5:3-5; Rom 9:2; Phi 2:18, Phi 2:27; Phi 3:1; Phi 4:4, Phi 4:15).

Robertson: 2Co 6:10

Yet making many rich ( pollous de ploutizontes ).

Old word from ploutos (wealth), to enrich. Spiritual riches Paul has in mind as in 1Co 1:5 (cf. Mat 5:37).

Robertson: 2Co 6:10

As having nothing and yet possessing all things ( hōs mēden echontes kai panta katechontes ).

Contrast between mēden (nothing) and panta (all things, cf. 1Co 3:22) and echō (to have) and katechō (to hold down, to hold fast). Play on words (simple and compound) as in 2Co 3:2; 2Co 4:8. Climax of Paul’ s panegyric on the Christian ministry. He now resumes the thread of the story broken off in 2Co 2:14.

Robertson: 2Co 6:11

Our mouth is open unto you ( to stoma hēmōn aneōigen pros humas ).

Second perfect active indicative of anoigō and intransitive, stand open. He has kept back nothing in his portrayal of the glory of the ministry as the picture of the open mouth shows.

Robertson: 2Co 6:11

Our heart is enlarged ( hē kardia hēmōn peplatuntai ).

Perfect passive indicative of old verb platunō , to broaden, from platus , broad. In N T. only here and Mat 23:5 (cf. phylacteries). Hence his freedom of speech for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks"(Mat 12:34).

Robertson: 2Co 6:12

Ye are not straitened in us ( ou stenochōreisthe en hēmin ).

The same figure as in 2Co 6:11. See note on 2Co 4:8 for stenochōreō . There is no restraint in me (my heart). My adversaries may have caused some of you to tighten up your affections (splagchna for affection as in Jam 5:11; 1Pe 3:8).

Robertson: 2Co 6:13

Now for a recompense in like kind ( tēn de autēn antimisthian ).

No example of this expressive word outside of this passage and Rom 1:27 and later Christian writers. Paul may have found it in use in the Koiné[28928]š vernacular or he may have coined it from antimisthos , remunerating (paying back). There is no verb here to explain the accusative which may be the accusative of general reference or the object of a verb not expressed.

Robertson: 2Co 6:13

Be ye also enlarged ( platunthēte kai humeis ).

As I have been (2Co 6:11). First aorist passive imperative of platunō .

Robertson: 2Co 6:14

Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers ( mē ginesthe heterozugountes apistois ).

No other example of this verb has yet been found, though the adjective from which it is apparently formed, heterozugos (yoked with a different yoke) occurs in Lev 19:19 of the union of beasts of different kinds. In Deu 22:10 we read: "Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together."Literally, "Stop becoming (mē ginesthe present imperative, not mē genēsthe aorist subj.) unequally yoked with unconverted heathen (unbelievers)."Some were already guilty. Marriage is certainly included, but other unions may be in mind. Cf. Eph 5:7. Paul gives as the reason (gar ) for this prohibition five words in questions to distinguish the contrasts.

Robertson: 2Co 6:14

Fellowship ( metochē ).

Sharing with and followed by associative instrumental case of dikaiosunēi (righteousness) and iniquity (anomiāi ). A pertinent challenge today when church members wink at violations of laws of the land and laws of God.

Robertson: 2Co 6:14

Communion ( Koinéōnia ).

Partnership to light (phōti dative case) with (pros ), facing darkness.

Robertson: 2Co 6:15

Concord ( sumphōnēsis ).

Symphony. Late word from sumphōneō , only here and ecclesiastical writers, though sumphōnēma in the papyri.

Robertson: 2Co 6:15

Belial ( Belial ).

Transliteration of Hebrew word for worthlessness and applied to Satan ( Book of Jubilees 1.20) as here. Paul graphically sums up the contrast between Christ and Belial (Satan), the heads of the contending forces of good and evil.

Robertson: 2Co 6:15

Portion ( meris ).

The fourth of the words. Here by "unbeliever"(apistou ) Paul means "disbeliever,"not just an unconverted man who yet approves Christ.

Robertson: 2Co 6:16

Agreement ( sunkatathesis ).

Fifth of these words. Late word, but common, though here only in N.T. Approved by putting together the votes. In the papyri ek sunkatatheseōs means "by agreement."On the temple of God and idols see 1Co 10:14-22. See note on Luk 23:51 for the verb sunkatatithēmi .

Robertson: 2Co 6:16

For we are the temple of the living God ( hēmeis gar naos theou esmen zōntos ).

We, not temples (Act 7:48; Act 17:24; 1Co 3:16; 1Co 6:19).

Robertson: 2Co 6:16

As God said ( kathōs eipen ho theos ).

A paraphrase and catena of quotations, what J. Rendel Harris calls Testimonia (from Lev 26:11.; Isa 52:11; Eze 20:34; Eze 37:27; 2Sa 7:8, 2Sa 7:14). Plummer notes that at the beginning "I will dwell in them"(enoikēsō en autois ) is not in any of them. "As God said"points to Lev 26:12; Eze 37:27.

Robertson: 2Co 6:17

Saith the Lord ( legei Kurios ).

Isa 52:5; Eze 20:33. Cf. Rev 18:4.

Robertson: 2Co 6:17

Unclean thing ( akathartou ).

Or unclean person. Genitive case is the same for both.

Robertson: 2Co 6:18

Saith the Lord Almighty ( legei Kurios pantokratōr ).

2Sa 7:8. This use of eis is a Hebraism for Hebrew le instead of predicate nominative. Pantokratōr (pās , krateō , Ruler of all) is common in the lxx. Occurs also in the inscriptions and papyri. In the N.T. only here and in Revelation.

Vincent: 2Co 6:8

Deceivers

See 2Co 2:17; 2Co 4:2. The opinions concerning Paul as a deceiver are mirrored in the Clementine Homilies and Recognitions, spurious writings, ascribed to Clement of Rome, but emanating from the Ebionites, a Judaizing sect, in the latter half of the second century. In these Paul is covertly attacked, though his name is passed over in silence. His glory as the apostle to the Gentiles is passed over to Peter. The readers are warned, in the person of Peter, to beware of any teacher who does not conform to the standard of James, and come with witnesses (compare 2Co 3:1; 2Co 5:12; 2Co 10:12-18). Paul is assailed under the guise of Simon Magus, and with the same words as those in this passage, deceiver and unknown .

Vincent: 2Co 6:9

Chastened

See 2Co 12:7-9, and compare Psa 118:18.

Vincent: 2Co 6:10

Having - possessing ( ἔχοντες - κατέχοντες )

The contrast is twofold: between having and not having , and between temporary and permanent having, or having and keeping . Compare Luk 8:15; 1Co 15:2; 1Th 5:21; Heb 3:6.

Vincent: 2Co 6:11

Ye Corinthians

The readers are addressed by name in only two other epistles, Gal 3:1; Phi 4:15.

Vincent: 2Co 6:11

Is enlarged ( πεπλάτυνται )

Only here, 2Co 6:13, and Mat 23:5, where it is used of widening the phylacteries. From πλατύς broad . Quite common in the Septuagint, and with various shades of meaning, but usually rendered enlarge . Of worldly prosperity , " waxed fat," Deu 32:15; compare Gen 9:27. Of pride , Deu 11:16. Of deliverance in distress , Psa 4:1. Expand with joy , Psa 119:32. The idea of enlargement of heart in the sense of increased breadth of sympathy and understanding, as here, is also expressed in the Old Testament by other words, as concerning Solomon, to whom God gave largeness of heart , Sept., χύμα outpouring . Compare Isa 60:5.

Vincent: 2Co 6:12

Not straitened in us

It is not that our hearts are too narrow to take you in. Straitened in antithesis with enlarged .

Vincent: 2Co 6:12

In your own bowels ( τοῖς οπλάγχνοις ὑμῶν )

See on 1Pe 3:8; see on Jam 5:11. Rev., affections . It is your love that is contracted.

Vincent: 2Co 6:14

Unequally yoked ( ἑτεροζυγοῦντες )

Only here in the New Testament. Not in classical Greek, nor in Septuagint, though the kindred adjective ἑτερόζυγος of a diverse kind , occurs Lev 19:19. Unequally gives an ambiguous sense. It is not inequality , but difference in kind , as is shown by the succeeding words. The suggestion was doubtless due to the prohibition in Deu 22:9, against yoking together two different animals. The reference is general, covering all forms of intimacy with the heathen, and not limited to marriage or to idolfeasts. The different shades of fellowship expressed by five different words in this and the two following verses are to be noted.

Vincent: 2Co 6:14

Fellowship ( μετοχὴ )

Only here in the New Testament. The kindred verb μετέχω to be partaker is found only in Paul's epistles and in Hebrews: μέτοχος partner , partaker , only in Hebrews and Luk 5:7. Having part with is the corresponding English expression.

Vincent: 2Co 6:14

Righteousness - unrighteousness ( δικαιοσύνη - ἀνομίᾳ )

Lit., what sharing is there unto righteousness and lawlessness? Δικαιοσύνῃ righteousness , though the distinctively Pauline sense of righteousness by faith underlies it, is used in the general sense of rightness according to God's standard.

Vincent: 2Co 6:14

Communion ( κοινωνία )

See on Luk 5:10; see on Act 2:42.

Vincent: 2Co 6:15

Concord ( συμφώνησις )

Only here in the New Testament. From σύν together , φωνή voice . Primarily of the concord of sounds. So the kindred συφωνία , A.V., music , see on Luk 15:25. Compare σύμφωνος with consent , 1Co 7:5; and συμφωνέω to agree , Mat 18:19; Luk 5:36, etc.

Vincent: 2Co 6:15

Belial ( βελίαρ )

Beliar . Belial is a transcript of the Hebrew, meaning worthlessness or wickedness . The Septuagint renders it variously by transgressor , impious , foolish , pest . It does not occur in the Septuagint as a proper name. The form Beliar , which is preferred by critics, is mostly ascribed to the Syriac pronunciation of Belial , the change of l into r being quite common. Others, however, derive from Belyar , Lord of the forest . Here a synonym for Satan . Stanley remarks that our associations with the word are colored by the attributes ascribed to Belial by Milton (" Paradise Lost," B. ii.), who uses the word for sensual profligacy.

Vincent: 2Co 6:16

Agreement ( συγκατάθεσις )

Only here in the New Testament. Compare the kindred verb συγκατατίθεμαι to consent , Luk 23:51. Lit., a putting down or depositing along with one . Hence of voting the same way with another, and so agreeing .

Vincent: 2Co 6:16

Ye are

Read, as Rev., we are .

Vincent: 2Co 6:16

God hath said, etc.

The quotation is combined and condensed from Lev 27:11, Lev 27:12; and Eze 37:27, after the Septuagint. Paul treats it as if directly affirmed of the christian Church, thus regarding that Church as spiritually identical with the true church of Israel.

Vincent: 2Co 6:17

Come out, etc.

Isa 52:11, Isa 52:12, after the Septuagint, with several changes.

Vincent: 2Co 6:18

I will be to you, etc.

From 2Sa 7:14, where the Septuagint and Hebrew agree. Paul says sons and daughters for son .

Vincent: 2Co 6:18

Almighty ( παντοκράτωρ )

The word is peculiar to Revelation, occurring nowhere else in the New Testament. Here it is a quotation. Frequent in the Septuagint.

Wesley: 2Co 6:8

When we are present.

Wesley: 2Co 6:8

When we are absent. Who could bear honour and good report, were it not balanced by dishonour? As deceivers - Artful, designing men. So the world represents all true ministers of Christ.

Wesley: 2Co 6:8

Upright, sincere, in the sight of God.

Wesley: 2Co 6:9

For the world knoweth us not, as it knew him not.

Wesley: 2Co 6:9

To God, and to those who are the seals of our ministry. As dying, yet behold - Suddenly, unexpectedly, God interposes, and we live.

Wesley: 2Co 6:10

For our own manifold imperfections, and for the sins and sufferings of our brethren.

Wesley: 2Co 6:10

In present peace, love, power, and a sure hope of future glory. As having nothing, yet possessing all things - For all things are ours, if we are Christ's. What a magnificence of thought is this!

Wesley: 2Co 6:11

From the praise of the Christian ministry, which he began 2Co 2:14, he now draws his affectionate exhortation.

Wesley: 2Co 6:11

He seldom uses this appellation. But it has here a peculiar force.

Wesley: 2Co 6:11

With uncommon freedom, because our heart is enlarged - In tenderness.

Wesley: 2Co 6:12

Our heart is wide enough to receive you all.

Wesley: 2Co 6:12

Your hearts are shut up, and so not capable of the blessings ye might enjoy.

Wesley: 2Co 6:13

Of my parental tenderness.

Wesley: 2Co 6:13

I ask nothing hard or grievous.

Wesley: 2Co 6:13

Open your hearts, first to God, and then to us, so 2Co 8:5, that God may "dwell in you," 2Co 6:16; 2Co 7:1; and that ye may "receive us," 2Co 7:2.

Wesley: 2Co 6:14

Christians with Jews or heathens. The apostle particularly speaks of marriage. But the reasons he urges equally hold against any needless intimacy with them. Of the five questions that follow, the three former contain the argument; the two latter, the conclusion.

Wesley: 2Co 6:15

Whom ye serve.

Wesley: 2Co 6:15

To whom they belong.

Wesley: 2Co 6:16

If God would not endure idols in any part of the land wherein he dwelt, how much less, under his own roof! He does not say, with the temple of idols, for idols do not dwell in their worshippers.

Wesley: 2Co 6:16

To his ancient church, and in them to all the Israel of God. I will dwell in them, and walk in them - The former signifying his perpetual presence; the latter, his operation. And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people - The sum of the whole gospel covenant. Lev 26:11, &c.

Wesley: 2Co 6:17

Keep at the utmost distance from him.

Wesley: 2Co 6:17

Into my house and family. Isa 52:11; Zep 3:19-20.

Wesley: 2Co 6:18

The promise made to Solomon, 1Ch 28:6, is here applied to all believers; as the promise made particularly to Joshua is applied to them, Heb 13:5. Who can express the worth, who can conceive the dignity, of this divine adoption? Yet it belongs to all who believe the gospel, who have faith in Christ. They have access to the Almighty; such free and welcome access, as a beloved child to an indulgent father. To him they may fly for aid in every difficulty, and from him obtain a supply in all their wants. Isa 43:6.

JFB: 2Co 6:8

Translate, "Through glory and dishonor (disgrace)," namely, from those in authority, and accruing to us present. "By," or "through evil report and good report," from the multitude, and affecting us absent [BENGEL]. Regarded "as deceivers" by those who, not knowing (2Co 6:9), dishonor and give us an evil report; "as true," by those who "know" (2Co 6:9) us in the real "glory" of our ministry. In proportion as one has more or less of glory and good report, in that degree has he more or less of dishonor and evil report.

JFB: 2Co 6:9

"unknown" in our true character to those who "evil report" of us, "well known" to those who hold us in "good report" (2Co 6:8). CONYBEARE explains, "Unknown by men, yet acknowledged by God" (1Co 13:12). Perhaps both God and men (believers) are intended as knowing him (2Co 5:11; 2Co 11:6).

JFB: 2Co 6:9

(2Co 1:9; 2Co 4:10-11; 2Co 11:23). Compare GAUSSEN'S remark, see on 2Co 6:5. "Behold" calls attention to the fact as something beyond all expectation.

JFB: 2Co 6:9

Realizing Psa 118:18.

JFB: 2Co 6:10

The "as" no longer is used to express the opinion of his adversaries, but the real state of him and his fellow laborers.

JFB: 2Co 6:10

Spiritually (1Co 1:5), after the example of our Lord, who "by His poverty made many rich" (2Co 8:9).

JFB: 2Co 6:10

Whatever of earthly goods we have, and these are few, we have as though we had not; as tenants removable at will, not owners (1Co 7:30).

JFB: 2Co 6:10

The Greek implies firm possession, holding fast in possession (compare 1Co 3:21-22). The things both of the present and of the future are, in the truest sense, the believer's in possession, for he possesses them all in Christ, his lasting possession, though the full fruition of them is reserved for the future eternity.

JFB: 2Co 6:11

I use no concealment, such as some at Corinth have insinuated (2Co 4:2). I use all freedom and openness of speech to you as to beloved friends. Hence he introduces here, "O Corinthians" (compare Phi 4:15). The enlargement of his heart towards them (2Co 7:3) produced his openness of mouth, that is, his unreserved expression of his inmost feelings. As an unloving man is narrow in heart, so the apostle's heart is enlarged by love, so as to take in his converts at Corinth, not only with their graces, but with their many shortcomings (compare 1Ki 4:29; Psa 119:32; Isa 60:5).

JFB: 2Co 6:12

Any constraint ye feel towards me, or narrowness of heart, is not from want of largeness of heart on my part towards you, but from want of it on your part towards me.

JFB: 2Co 6:12

That is, affections (compare 2Co 12:15).

JFB: 2Co 6:12

That is, for want of room in our hearts to take you in.

JFB: 2Co 6:13

Translate, "As a recompense in the same kind . . . be enlarged also yourselves" [ELLICOTT]. "In the same way" as my heart is enlarged towards you (2Co 6:11), and "as a recompense" for it (Gal 4:12).

JFB: 2Co 6:13

As children would naturally be expected to recompense their parents' love with similar love.

JFB: 2Co 6:14

Greek, "Become not."

JFB: 2Co 6:14

"yoked with one alien in spirit." The image is from the symbolical precept of the law (Lev 19:19), "Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind"; or the precept (Deu 22:10), "Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together." Compare Deu 7:3, forbidding marriages with the heathen; also 1Co 7:39. The believer and unbeliever are utterly heterogeneous. Too close intercourse with unbelievers in other relations also is included (2Co 6:16; 1Co 8:10; 1Co 10:14).

JFB: 2Co 6:14

Literally, "share," or "participation."

JFB: 2Co 6:14

The state of the believer, justified by faith.

JFB: 2Co 6:14

Rather, as always translated elsewhere, "iniquity"; the state of the unbeliever, the fruit of unbelief.

JFB: 2Co 6:14

Of which believers are the children (1Th 5:5).

JFB: 2Co 6:15

Hebrew, "worthlessness, unprofitableness, wickedness." As Satan is opposed to God, and Antichrist to Christ; Belial being here opposed to Christ, must denounce all manner of Antichristian uncleanness [BENGEL].

JFB: 2Co 6:15

Translate, "a believer with an unbeliever."

JFB: 2Co 6:16

Accordance of sentiments (compare 1Ki 18:21; Eph 5:7, Eph 5:11).

JFB: 2Co 6:16

That is, you believers (1Co 3:16; 1Co 6:19).

JFB: 2Co 6:16

Compare Dagon before the ark (1Sa 5:2-4).

JFB: 2Co 6:16

"even as God said." Quotation from Lev 26:12; Jer 31:33; Jer 32:38; Eze 37:26-27; compare Mat 28:20; Joh 14:23.

JFB: 2Co 6:16

Rather, "among them." As "dwell" implies the divine presence, so "walk," the divine operation. God's dwelling in the body and soul of saints may be illustrated by its opposite, demoniacal possession of body and soul.

JFB: 2Co 6:16

Rather, "they shall be to me a people."

JFB: 2Co 6:17

Quoted from Isa 52:11, with the freedom of one inspired, who gives variations sanctioned by the Holy Spirit.

JFB: 2Co 6:17

"be separated" (Hos 4:17).

JFB: 2Co 6:17

Rather, "anything unclean" (2Co 7:1; Mic 2:10). Touching is more polluting, as implying participation, than seeing.

JFB: 2Co 6:17

The Greek implies, "to myself"; as persons heretofore out of doors, but now admitted within (2Co 5:1-10). With this accords the clause, "Come out from among them," namely, so as to be received to me. So Eze 20:41, "I will accept you"; and Zep 3:19, "gather her that was driven out." "The intercourse of believers with the world should resemble that of angels, who, when they have been sent a message from heaven, discharge their office with the utmost promptness, and joyfully fly back home to the presence of God" (1Co 7:31; 1Co 5:9-10).

JFB: 2Co 6:18

Translate, "I will be to you in the relation of a Father, and ye shall be to me in the relation of sons and daughters." This is a still more endearing relation than (2Co 6:16), "I will be their God, and they . . . My people." Compare the promise to Solomon (1Ch 28:6; Isa 43:6; Rev 21:3, Rev 21:7; Jer 31:1, Jer 31:9).

JFB: 2Co 6:18

The Lord the Universal Ruler: nowhere else found but in Revelation. The greatness of the Promiser enhances the greatness of the promises.

Clarke: 2Co 6:8

By honor and dishonor - By going through both; sometimes respected, sometimes despised

Clarke: 2Co 6:8

By evil report and good report - Sometimes praised, at other times calumniated

Clarke: 2Co 6:8

As deceivers - Said to carry about a false doctrine for our secular emolument

Clarke: 2Co 6:8

And yet true - Demonstrated by the nature of the doctrine, as well as by our life and conversation, that we are true men; having nothing in view but God’ s glory and the salvation of the world.

Clarke: 2Co 6:9

As unknown - Persons who are to be suspected as harbouring dark designs; persons of neither birth, parentage, nor respectable connections in life

Clarke: 2Co 6:9

And yet well known - Proved by our whole conduct to have no such designs, and demonstrated to be holy, upright, and useful, by the whole train of our peregrinations, through which we can be readily traced from place to place; having preached openly, and done nothing in a corner

Clarke: 2Co 6:9

As dying - Through continual dangers, fatigues, and persecutions

Clarke: 2Co 6:9

And, behold, we live - We are preserved by the mighty power of God in the greatest dangers and deaths

Clarke: 2Co 6:9

As chastened - As though we were disobedient children

Clarke: 2Co 6:9

And not killed - Though we continue in the very same line of conduct that is supposed to bring on us those chastisements, and which, if it were criminal, would justly expose us to death for incorrigible obstinacy; but our preservation is a proof that we please God.

Clarke: 2Co 6:10

As sorrowful - Considerate men supposing, from our persecuted state and laborious occupation, (often destitute of the necessaries of life; seldom enjoying its conveniences; and scarcely ever, its comforts), that we must be the most miserable of all men

Clarke: 2Co 6:10

Yet alway rejoicing - Having the consolation of God’ s Spirit at all times, and a glorious prospect of a blessed immortality

Clarke: 2Co 6:10

As poor - Destitute of all worldly good and secular interest

Clarke: 2Co 6:10

Yet making many rich - By dispensing to them the treasures of salvation; making them rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom

The Gospel, when faithfully preached, and fully received, betters the condition of the poor. It makes them sober; so they save what before they profusely and riotously spent. It makes them diligent; and thus they employ time to useful purposes which they before squandered away. They therefore both save and gain by religion; and these must lead to an increase of property. Therefore they are made rich; at least in comparison with that sinful, profligate state in which they were before they received the truth of the Gospel

Clarke: 2Co 6:10

As having nothing - Being the most abject of the poor

Clarke: 2Co 6:10

And yet possessing all things - That are really necessary to the preservation of our lives. For the wants under which we labor for a time are supplied again by a bountiful Providence. The man who possesses a contented spirit possesses all things; for he is satisfied with every dispensation of the providence of God; and "a contented mind is a continual feast."

Clarke: 2Co 6:11

O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you - I speak to you with the utmost freedom and fluency, because of my affection for you

Clarke: 2Co 6:11

Our heart is enlarged - It is expanded to take you and all your interests in; and to keep you in the most affectionate remembrance

The preceding verses contain a very fine specimen of a very powerful and commanding eloquence.

Clarke: 2Co 6:12

Ye are not straitened in us - That is, Ye have not a narrow place in our affections: the metaphor here is taken from the case of a person pent up in a small or narrow place, where there is scarcely room to breathe

Clarke: 2Co 6:12

Ye are straitened in your own bowels - I have not the same place in your affections which you have in mine. The bowels are used in Scripture to denote the most tender affections. See the note on Mat 9:36.

Clarke: 2Co 6:13

Now for a recompense in the same - That you may, in some sort, repay me for my affection towards you, I speak to you as unto my children, whom I have a right to command, be ye also enlarged - love me as I love you.

Clarke: 2Co 6:14

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers - This is a military term: keep in your own ranks; do not leave the Christian community to join in that of the heathens. The verb ἑτεροζυγειν signifies to leave one’ s own rank, place, or order, and go into another; and here it must signify not only that they should not associate with the Gentiles in their idolatrous feasts, but that they should not apostatize from Christianity; and the questions which follow show that there was a sort of fellowship that some of the Christians had formed with the heathens which was both wicked and absurd, and if not speedily checked would infallibly lead to final apostasy

Some apply this exhortation to pious persons marrying with those who are not decidedly religious, and converted to God. That the exhortation may be thus applied I grant; but it is certainly not the meaning of the apostle in this place. Nevertheless, common sense and true piety show the absurdity of two such persons pretending to walk together in a way in which they are not agreed. A very wise and very holy man has given his judgment on this point: "A man who is truly pious, marrying with an unconverted woman, will either draw back to perdition, or have a cross during life."The same may be said of a pious woman marrying an unconverted man. Such persons cannot say this petition of the Lord’ s prayer, Lead us not into temptation. They plunge into it of their own accord

Clarke: 2Co 6:14

For what fellowship, etc. - As righteousness cannot have communion with unrighteousness, and light cannot dwell with darkness; so Christ can have no concord with Belial, nor can he that believeth have any with an infidel. All these points were self-evident; how then could they keep up the profession of Christianity, or pretend to be under its influence, while they associated with the unrighteous, had communion with darkness, concord with Belial, and partook with infidels?

Clarke: 2Co 6:16

What agreement hath the temple of God with idols - Nothing could appear more abominable to a Jew than an idol in the temple of God: here, then, could be no agreement; the worship of the two is wholly incompatible. An idolater never worships the true God; a Christian never worships an idol. If ye join in idolatrous rites, it is impossible that ye should be Christians

Clarke: 2Co 6:16

Ye are the temple of the living God - God intends to make the heart of every believer his own house

Clarke: 2Co 6:16

I will dwell in them, and walk in them - The words are very emphatic: ενοικησω εν αυτοις· I will inhabit in them. I will not be as a wayfaring man, who turns aside to tarry as for a night, but I will take up my constant residence with them; I will dwell in and among them

Clarke: 2Co 6:16

I will be their God - They shall have no other God, they shall have none besides me; and if they take me for their God, I will be to them all that an infinite, eternal, and self-sufficient Being can be to his intelligent offspring

Clarke: 2Co 6:16

They shall be my people - If they take me for their God, their supreme and eternal Good, I will take them for my people; and instruct, enlighten, defend, provide for, support, and bless them, as if I had none else to care for in the creation.

Clarke: 2Co 6:17

Wherefore come out from among them - Is it not plain from this and the following verse that God would be their God only on the ground of their taking him for such, and that this depended on their being separated from the works and workers of iniquity? for God could not inhabit in them if they had concord with Belial, a portion with infidels; etc. Those who will have the promises of God fulfilled to them must come under the conditions of these promises: if they are not separate - if they touch the unclean thing, God will not receive them; and therefore will not be their God, nor shall they be his people.

Clarke: 2Co 6:18

Will be a Father unto you - I will act towards you as the most affectionate father can act towards his most tender and best beloved child

Clarke: 2Co 6:18

And ye shall be my sons and daughters - Ye shall all be of the household of God, the family of heaven; ye shall be holy, happy, and continually safe

Clarke: 2Co 6:18

Saith the Lord Almighty - Κυριος παντοκρατωρ· The Lord, the Governor of all things

Earthly fathers, however loving and affectionate, may fail to provide for their children, because every thing is not at their disposal; they may frequently lack both the power and the means, though to will may be present with them; but the Lord who made and who governs all things can never lack will, power, nor means. The promise is sure to the children; and the children are those who take the Almighty for their God. For the promise belongs to no soul that is not separate from sinful ways, works, and men; those who touch the unclean thing, i.e. who do what God forbids, and hold communion with unrighteousness, can never stand in the endearing relation of children to God Almighty: and this is most forcibly stated by God himself, in these verses, and in the beginning of the following chapter, the first verse of which should conclude this

To the Jews the promises were originally made; they would not have God for their God, but would work iniquity. What was the consequence? God cast them off; and those who were joined to iniquity were separated from him. "Then said God, Call his name Lo-ammi; for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God."Hos 1:9. The Jews were therefore cast off, and the Gentiles taken in their place; but even these, under the new covenant, are taken in expressly under the same conditions as the apostle here most fully states. Those who apply these words in any other way pervert their meaning, and sin against their souls.

Calvin: 2Co 6:8

8.By honor and dishonor This is no slight test for subjecting a man to trial, for to a man of a noble spirit nothing is more unpleasant, than to incur disgrace. Hence we may observe in all histories, that there have been few men of heroism that have not fallen back, on being irritated by insults. ⁵⁹⁴ Hence it is indicative of a mind well established in virtue, not to be moved away from one’s course by any disgrace that may be incurred — a rare virtue, but one without which you cannot show that you are a servant of God. We must, it is true, have a regard to good character, but it must be only in so far as the edification of our brethren requires it, and in such a way as not to be dependent on reports ⁵⁹⁵ — nay more, so as to maintain in the same even course in honor and in dishonor. For God allows us to be tried even by the slander of wicked men, with the view of trying us, ⁵⁹⁶ whether we act uprightly from disinterested motives; ⁵⁹⁷ for if one is drawn aside from duty by the ingratitude of men, that man shows that he had not his eye directed to God alone. As then we see that Paul was exposed to infamy and insults, and yet did not on that account stop short, but held forward with undaunted courage, and broke through every impediment so as to reach the goal, ⁵⁹⁸ let us not give way, if the same thing should befall us.

As deceivers Here he relates, not simply in what estimation he was held by the wicked and those that were without, (1Co 5:12,) but also what views were entertained of him by those that were within. Now let every one consider with himself, how unseemly was the ingratitude of the Corinthians, and how great was his magnanimity in struggling forward, in spite of such formidable obstacles. By indirect representations, however, he sharply reproves their perverse judgment, when he says that he lives and is joyful, while they despised him as one that was dead and overwhelmed with grief. He reproaches them, also, with ingratitude, when he says, that he made many rich, while he was contemned on account of his poverty. For they were of the number of those whom he enriched by his wealth: nay more, all of them to a man were under obligations to him on many accounts. Thus he said previously, by way of irony, that he was unknown, while at the same time the fruit of his labor was everywhere known and celebrated. But how cruel to despise the poverty of the man who supplies you ⁵⁹⁹ from his abundance! He means spiritual riches, which ought to be much more esteemed than earthly.

Calvin: 2Co 6:11

11.Our mouth is opened As the opening of the mouth is a sign of boldness, ⁶⁰² if you are inclined to connect this with what goes before, the meaning will be this, — “I have ample ground of glorying, and an upright conscience opens my mouth. Your entertaining unfavorable views of us, is not owing to any fault on our part, but arises from your being unfair judges. For you ought to have entertained more favorable views of my ministry, which God has rendered honorable to you in so many ways.” I explain it, however, otherwise; for he says that the reason why his mouth was opened was, that his heart was enlarged Now what is meant by enlargement of heart? Undoubtedly it means the cheerfulness that springs from benevolence. ⁶⁰³ It is quite a common figure, to speak of a narrow and contracted heart as denoting either grief, or disgust, while, on the other hand, an enlarged heart is employed to denote dispositions of an opposite kind. Hence Paul here says nothing but what we every day experience, for when we have to do with friends, our heart is enlarged, all our feelings are laid open, there is nothing there that is hid, nothing shut, — nay more, the whole mind leaps and exults to unfold itself openly to view. ⁶⁰⁴ Hence it is, that the tongue, also, is free and unfettered, does not faulter, does not with difficulty draw up from the bottom of the throat broken syllables, as usually happens when the mind is influenced by a less joyful affection.

Calvin: 2Co 6:12

12.Ye are not straitened in us That is, “It is owing to your own fault that you are not able to share in this feeling of cheerfulness, which I entertain towards you. My mouth is opened, so that I deal familiarly with you, my very heart would willingly pour itself forth, ⁶⁰⁵ but you shut up your bowels.” He means to say, that it is owing to their corrupt judgment, that the things that he utters are not relished by them.

Calvin: 2Co 6:13

13.Now the same requital He softens his reproof by addressing them kindly as his sons, and also by this exhortation, by which he intimates that he still entertains good hopes of them. By the same requital he means — mutual duty, for there is a mutual return of duty between a father and his sons. For as it is the duty of parents to nourish their children, to instruct them, to direct them by their counsel, and to defend them, so it is the dictate of equity, that children should requite their parents. (1Ti 5:4.) In fine, he means what the Greeks call ἀντιπελαργίαν — affection exercised in return. ⁶⁰⁶ “I cherish,” says he, “towards you paternal affection: show yourselves then to be my sons by affection and respect in return.” At the same time there is a particular circumstance that must be noticed, That the Corinthians, having found so indulgent a father, may also show gentleness in their turn, and may requite his kind condescension by their docility, he exhorts them with this view to be enlarged in their own bowels. The Old Interpreter, not having caught Paul’s meaning, has added the participle having, and has thus expressed his own view rather than Paul’s. In our exposition, on the other hand, (which is Chrysostom’s, also,) there is nothing forced. ⁶⁰⁷

Calvin: 2Co 6:14

14.Be not yoked As if regaining his authority, he now reproves them more freely, because they associated with unbelievers, as partakers with them in outward idolatry. For he has exhorted them to show themselves docile to him as to a father: he now, in accordance with the rights that belong to him, ⁶⁰⁸ reproves the fault into which they had fallen. Now we mentioned in the former epistle ⁶⁰⁹ what this fault was; for, as they imagined that there was nothing that was unlawful for them in outward things, they defiled themselves with wicked superstitions without any reserve. For in frequenting the banquets of unbelievers, they participated along with them in profane and impure rites, and while they sinned grievously, they nevertheless thought themselves innocent. On this account Paul inveighs here against outward idolatry, and exhorts Christians to stand aloof from it, and have no connection with it. He begins, however, with a general statement, with the view of coming down from that to a particular instance, for to be yoked with unbelievers means nothing less than to

have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
(Eph 5:11,)

and to hold out the hand to them ⁶¹⁰ in token of agreement.

Many are of opinion that he speaks of marriage, but the context clearly shows that they are mistaken. The word that Paul makes use of means — to be connected together in drawing the same yoke. It is a metaphor taken from oxen or horses, which require to walk at the same pace, and to act together in the same work, when fastened under one yoke. ⁶¹¹ When, therefore, he prohibits us from having partnership with unbelievers in drawing the same yoke, he means simply this, that we should have no fellowship with them in their pollutions. For one sun shines upon us, we eat of the same bread, we breathe the same air, and we cannot altogether refrain from intercourse with them; but Paul speaks of the yoke of impiety, that is, of participation in works, in which Christians cannot lawfully have fellowship. On this principle marriage will also be prohibited, inasmuch as it is a snare, by which both men and women are entangled into an agreement with impiety; but what I mean is simply this, that Paul’s doctrine is of too general a nature to be restricted to marriage exclusively, for he is discoursing here as to the shunning of idolatry, on which account, also, we are prohibited from contracting marriages with the wicked.

For what fellowship He confirms his exhortation on the ground of its being an absurd, and, as it were, monstrous connecting together of things in themselves much at variance; for these things can no more coalesce than fire and water. In short it comes to this, that unless they would have everything thrown into confusion, they must refrain from the pollutions of the wicked. Hence, too, we infer, that even those that do not in their hearts approve of superstitions are, nevertheless, polluted by dissimulation if they do not openly and ingenuously stand aloof from them.

Calvin: 2Co 6:15

15.What concord has Christ with Belial? As to the etymology of the word Belial, even the Hebrews themselves are not agreed ⁶¹² The meaning, however, is not doubtful. ⁶¹³ For Moses takes a word or thought of Belial ⁶¹⁴ to mean a wicked and base thought, ⁶¹⁵ and in various instances ⁶¹⁶ those who are wicked and abandoned to iniquity, are called men, or sons of Belial. (Deu 13:13; Jud 19:22; 1Sa 2:12.) Hence it is, that Paul has employed the word here to mean the devil, the head of all wicked persons. For from what holds good as to the two heads, he comes down without delay to the members: “As there is an irreconcilable variance between Christ and Satan, so we also must keep aloof from partnership with the wicked.” When, however, Paul says that a Christian has no participation with an unbeliever, he does not mean as to food, clothing, estates, the sun, the air, as I have mentioned above, but as to those things that are peculiar to unbelievers, from which the Lord has separated us.

Calvin: 2Co 6:16

16.What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Hitherto he has in general terms prohibited believers from associating with the wicked. He now lets them know what was the chief reason, why he had prohibited them from such an association — because they had ceased to reckon the profession of idolatry to be a sin. He had censured that liberty, and had exposed it at great length in the former Epistle. It is probable, however, that all had not yet been gained over, so as to receive the counsel which he had given. Hence it was that he complained of their being straitened in their own bowels — the only thing that hindered their proficiency. ⁶¹⁷ He does not, however, resume that subject anew, but contents himself with a short admonition, as we are accustomed to do, when we treat of things that are well known. At the same time his brevity does not prevent his giving sharp cuts. For how much emphasis there is in that single word, where he teaches that there is no agreement between the temple of God and idols! “It is a sacrilegious profanation, ⁶¹⁸ when an idol or any idolatrous service is introduced into the temple of God Now we are the true temples of God. Hence it is sacrilege to defile ourselves with any contamination of idols. This one consideration, I say, should be to you as good as a thousand. If you are a Christian, what have you to do with idols, (Hos 14:8,) for you are the temple of God?” Paul, however, as I have already in part noticed, contends rather by way of exhortation than of doctrine, inasmuch as it would have been superfluous to be still treating of it, as if it were a thing doubtful or obscure.

As God saith, I will walk He proves that we are the temples of God from this, that God of old promised to the people of Israel that he would dwell in the midst of them. In the first place, God cannot dwell among us, without dwelling in each one of us, for he promises this as a singular privilege — I will dwell in the midst of you Nor does this dwelling or presence consist merely in earthly blessings, but must be understood chiefly of spiritual grace. Hence it does not mean simply that God is near us, as though he were in the air, flying round about us, but it means rather that he has his abode in our hearts. If, then, any one objects, that the particle in simply means among, I grant it; but I affirm that, from the circumstance that God promises that he will dwell among us, we may infer that he also remains in us. ⁶¹⁹ And such was the type of the ark, of which mention is made by Moses in that passage, from which Paul appears to have borrowed this quotation. (Lev 26:12.) If, however, any one thinks that Paul had rather in his eye Eze 37:27, the argument will be the same. For the Prophet, when describing the restoration of the Church, mentions as the chief good, the presence of God, which he had himself in the beginning promised by Moses. Now what was prefigured by the ark, was manifested to us more fully in Christ, when he became to us Immanuel ⁶²⁰ (Mat 1:23.) On this account, I am of opinion that it is Ezekiel, rather than Moses, that is here quoted, because Ezekiel alludes at the same time to the type of the ark, and declares that it will have its fulfillment under the reign of Christ. Now the Apostle takes it for granted, that God dwells nowhere but in a sacred place. If we say of a man, “he dwells here,” that will not make the place a temple; but as to God there is this peculiarity, that whatever place he honors with his presence, he at the same time sanctifies.

Calvin: 2Co 6:17

17.Wherefore come out from the midst of them This exhortation is taken from Isa 52:11, where the Prophet, when foretelling the deliverance, at length addresses the priests in these terms. For he makes use of a circumlocution to describe the priests, when he says, Ye that bear the vessels of the Lord, inasmuch as they had the charge of the vessels, by means of which the sacrifices, and other parts of divine worship, were performed. There can be no doubt that his design is to admonish them, that, while eagerly desirous to come forth, ⁶²¹ they should be on their guard against any contamination from the many pollutions with which the country ⁶²² was overrun. Now this is no less applicable to us, than to the ancient Levites, for if so much purity is required on the part of the keepers of the vessels, how much more in the vessels themselves! ⁶²³ Now all our members are vessels, set apart for the spiritual worship of God; we are also a royal priesthood. (1Pe 2:9.) Hence, as we are redeemed by the grace of God, it is befitting that we keep ourselves undefiled in respect of all uncleanness, that we may not pollute the sanctuary of God. As, however, while remaining in this world, we are nevertheless redeemed, and rescued, from the pollutions of the world, so we are not to quit life with the view of departing from all uncleanness, but must simply avoid all participation. The sum is this. “If with a true affection of the heart, we aim at the benefit of redemption, we must beware of defiling ourselves by any contamination from its pollutions.”

Calvin: 2Co 6:18

18.I will be a Father unto you This promise does not occur in one passage merely, but is repeated in various instances. Paul has added it with this view, that a recognition of the great honor to which God has exalted us, might be a motive to stir us up to a more ardent desire for holiness. For when God has restored his Church which he has gathered from profane nations, their redemption is attended with this fruit, that believers are seen to be his sons and daughters It is no common honor that we are reckoned among the sons of God: it belongs to us in our turn to take care, that we do not show ourselves to be degenerate children to him. For what injury we do to God, if while we call him father, we defile ourselves with abominations of idols! Hence, the thought of the high distinction to which he has elevated us, ought to whet our desire for holiness and purity.

Defender: 2Co 6:12

Paul assured the Corinthians that their failings had not lessened his love for them or concern for their spiritual welfare. However, he was concerned that there still existed internal divisions and strained "affections" (the connotation intended by the reference to "bowels") among them."

Defender: 2Co 6:13

As their spiritual father, Paul urged the Corinthians to respond with appropriate filial love, which should be exhibited by the same largeness of heart which he himself showed for them. This was all he asked by way of recompense."

Defender: 2Co 6:14

Paul is here using a metaphor based on Deu 22:10 and Lev 19:19, which forbade plowing with an ox and ass yoked together or attempting to interbreed animals of different kinds. The clear inference is that believers and unbelievers are so different in character and interests (as well as ultimate destiny) that they should never be "yoked" together in situations requiring strong agreement of attitudes and goals (marriage, churches, business partnerships, lodges or other organizations with religious overtones). The prohibition is not intended to require complete repudiation of all secular or charitable organizations (1Co 5:10) or friendships. When one's Christian faith is in jeopardy, or his Christian conduct and influence is endangered, then such connections should be severed. One can witness to unbelievers without partaking of their beliefs or sinful behavior."

Defender: 2Co 6:15

The Greek word for "concord" (sumphonesis) is the word from which we get "symphony.""

Defender: 2Co 6:16

See Lev 26:11, Lev 26:12 and Eze 37:26, Eze 37:27."

Defender: 2Co 6:17

See Isa 52:11. Note also the command to come out of "Babylon" Jer 51:45; Rev 18:4."

Defender: 2Co 6:18

This promise is not quoted explicitly from any Old Testament passage, though the sense of it can often be detected. There are also many explicit New Testament passages which assert that those who receive Christ become children of God (Joh 1:12; Rom 8:16). By direct inspiration, Paul could assure his readers that being separated unto God from the world, through receiving Christ, would indeed assure them that He would receive them as His sons and daughters."

TSK: 2Co 6:8

honour : Act 4:21, Act 5:13, Act 5:40,Act 5:41, Act 14:11-20, Act 16:20-22, Act 16:39, Act 28:4-10; 1Co 4:10-13

evil : Mat 5:11, Mat 5:12, Mat 10:25; Act 6:3, Act 10:22, Act 22:12, Act 24:5, Act 28:22; Rom 3:8; 1Ti 3:7; 1Ti 4:10; Heb 13:13; 1Pe 4:14; 3Jo 1:12; Rev 3:9

as : Mat 27:63; Joh 7:12, Joh 7:17

true : Mat 22:16; Mar 12:14; Joh 7:18

TSK: 2Co 6:9

unknown : Act 17:18, Act 21:37, Act 21:38, Act 25:14, Act 25:15, Act 25:19, Act 25:26; 1Co 4:9

well : 2Co 4:2, 2Co 5:11, 2Co 11:6; Act 19:26; Rom 15:19; Gal 1:22-24

behold : 2Co 1:8-10, 2Co 4:10,2Co 4:11; Rom 8:36; 1Co 4:9, 1Co 15:31

as chastened : Psa 118:17, Psa 118:18; 1Co 11:32

TSK: 2Co 6:10

sorrowful : 2Co 2:4, 2Co 7:3-10; Mat 5:4, Mat 5:12; Luk 6:21; Joh 16:22; Act 5:41, Act 16:25; Rom 5:2, Rom 5:3; Rom 9:2, Rom 12:15, Rom 15:13; Phi 4:4; 1Th 3:7-10, 1Th 5:16; Heb 10:34; Jam 1:2-4; 1Pe 1:6-8, 1Pe 4:13

poor : 2Co 6:4

making : 2Co 4:7, 2Co 8:9; Rom 11:12; Eph 3:8, Eph 3:16; Col 3:16; 1Ti 6:18; Jam 2:5; Rev 2:9

and : 2Co 4:15; Psa 84:11; Pro 16:16; Mat 6:19, Mat 6:20; Luk 16:11, Luk 16:12; 1Co 3:21-23; 1Ti 4:8; Rev 21:7

TSK: 2Co 6:11

ye : Gal 3:1; Phi 4:15

our mouth : 2Co 7:3, 2Co 7:4; 1Sa 2:1; Job 32:20, Job 33:2, Job 33:3; Psa 51:15

our heart : 2Co 2:4, 2Co 12:15; Psa 119:32; Hab 2:5; Eph 6:8; Phi 1:8; Rev 22:12

TSK: 2Co 6:12

are not : Ecc 6:9 *marg. Job 36:16; Pro 4:12; Mic 2:7

in your : Phi 1:8; 1Jo 3:17

TSK: 2Co 6:13

I speak : 1Co 4:14, 1Co 4:15; Gal 4:19; 1Th 2:11; Heb 12:5, Heb 12:6; 1Jo 2:1, 1Jo 2:12-14, 1Jo 3:7, 1Jo 3:18; 3Jo 1:4

be : 2Ki 13:14-19; Psa 81:10; Mat 9:28, Mat 9:29, Mat 17:19-21; Mar 6:4-6, Mar 11:24; Jam 1:6, Jam 1:7; 1Jo 5:14, 1Jo 5:15

TSK: 2Co 6:14

unequally : Exo 34:16; Lev 19:19; Deu 7:2, Deu 7:3, Deu 22:9-11; Ezr 9:1, Ezr 9:2, Ezr 9:11, Ezr 9:12, Ezr 10:19; Neh 13:1-3, Neh 13:23-26; Psa 106:35; Pro 22:24; Mal 2:11, Mal 2:15; 1Co 5:9, 1Co 7:39; 1Co 15:33; Jam 4:4

for : 1Sa 5:2, 1Sa 5:3; 1Ki 18:21; 2Ch 19:2; Psa 16:3, Psa 26:4, Psa 26:5, Psa 26:9, Psa 26:10, Psa 44:20,Psa 44:21; Psa 101:3-5, Psa 119:63, Psa 139:21, Psa 139:22; Pro 29:27; Joh 7:7, Joh 15:18, Joh 15:19; Act 4:23; 1Co 10:21; Eph 5:6-11; 1Jo 3:12-14

and what : Pro 8:18, Pro 8:19; Rom 13:12-14; Eph 4:17-20, Eph 5:8-14; Phi 2:15; 1Th 5:4-8; 1Pe 2:9, 1Pe 2:10, 1Pe 4:2-4; 1Jo 1:5-7

TSK: 2Co 6:15

what concord : 1Sa 5:2-4; 1Ki 18:21; 1Co 10:20,1Co 10:21

or : Ezr 4:3; Mar 16:16; Act 8:20; 1Jo 5:11-13

an : 1Ti 5:8

TSK: 2Co 6:16

what : Exo 20:3, Exo 23:13, Exo 34:14; Deu 4:23, Deu 4:24, Deu 5:7, Deu 6:14, Deu 6:15; Jos 24:14-24; 1Sa 7:3, 1Sa 7:4; 1Ki 18:21; 2Ki 17:33, 2Ki 17:34, 2Ki 21:4, 2Ki 21:5, 2Ki 23:5-7; 2Ch 33:4, 2Ch 33:5; Eze 36:25; Hos 14:8; Zep 1:5; Mat 6:24; 1Jo 5:20,1Jo 5:21

ye are : 1Co 3:16, 1Co 3:17, 1Co 6:19; Eph 2:20; Heb 3:6; 1Pe 2:5

I will dwell : Exo 29:45; Lev 26:12; Psa 90:1; Eze 43:7, Eze 43:9; Zec 2:10,Zec 2:11; Joh 6:56; Rom 8:9, Rom 8:11; Eph 3:17; 2Ti 1:14; 1Jo 4:12, 1Jo 4:15; Rev 21:3

I will be : Gen 17:7, Gen 17:8; Jer 24:7, Jer 31:33, Jer 32:38; Eze 11:20, Eze 36:28, Eze 37:26, Eze 37:27; Hos 2:23; Zec 8:8, Zec 13:9; Rom 9:26; Heb 8:10; Rev 21:7

TSK: 2Co 6:17

come : 2Co 7:1; Num 16:21, Num 16:26, Num 16:45; Ezr 6:21, Ezr 10:11; Psa 1:1-3; Pro 9:6; Isa 52:11; Jer 51:6; Act 2:40; Rev 18:4

and I : Joh 6:37, Joh 6:38; Rom 15:7

TSK: 2Co 6:18

a Father : Psa 22:30; Jer 3:19, Jer 31:1, Jer 31:9; Hos 1:9, Hos 1:10; Joh 1:12; Rom 8:14-17, Rom 8:29; Gal 3:26, Gal 4:5-7; Eph 1:5; 1Jo 3:1, 1Jo 3:2; Rev 21:7

the Lord : Gen 17:1, Gen 48:3; Rev 1:8, Rev 21:22

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Co 6:8

By honor and dishonor - The apostle is still illustrating the proposition that he and his fellow-laborers endeavored to give no offence 2Co 6:3, and to commend themselves as the ministers of God, 2Co 6:4. He here 2Co 6:8-10 introduces another group of particulars in which it was done. The main idea is, that they endeavored to act in a manner so as to commend the ministry and the gospel, whether they were in circumstances of honor or dishonor, whether lauded or despised by the world. The word rendered "by"( διὰ dia ) does not here denote the means by which they commended the gospel, but the medium. In the midst of honor and dishonor; whatever might be the esteem in which they were held by the world, they gave no offence. The first is, "by honor."They were not everywhere honored, or treated with respect. Yet they were sometimes honored by people. The churches which they founded would honor them, and as the ministers of religion they would be by them treated with respect.

Perhaps occasionally also they might be treated with great attention and regard by the people of the world on account of their miraculous powers; compare Act 28:7. So now, ministers of the gospel are often treated with great respect and honor. They are beloved and venerated; caressed and flattered, by the people of their charge. As ministers of God, as exercising a holy function, their office is often treated with great respect by the world. If they are eloquent or learned, or if they are eminently successful they are often highly esteemed and loved. It is difficult in such circumstances to "commend themselves as the ministers of God."Few are the people who are not injured by honor; few who are not corrupted by flattery. Few are the ministers who are proof against this influence, and who in such circumstances can honor the ministry. If done, it is by showing that they regard such things as of little moment; by showing that they are influenced by higher considerations than the love of praise; by not allowing this to interfere with their duties, or to make them less faithful and laborious; but rather by making this the occasion of increased fidelity and increased zeal in their master’ s cause.

Most ministers do more to "give offence"in times when they are greatly honored by the world than when they are despised. Yet it is possible for a minister who is greatly honored to make it the occasion of commending himself more and more as a minister of God. And he should do it; as Paul said he did. The other situation was "in dishonor."It is needless to say, that the apostles were often in situations where they had opportunity thus to commend themselves as the ministers of God. If sometimes honored, they were often dishonored. If the world sometimes flattered and caressed them, it often despised them, and cast out their names as evil; see the note, 1Co 4:13. And perhaps it is so substantially now with those who are faithful. In such circumstances, also, Paul sought to commend himself as a minister of God. It was by receiving all expressions of contempt with meekness; by not suffering them to interfere with the faithful discharge of his duties; by rising above them, and showing the power of religion to sustain him; and by returning good for evil, prayers for maledictions, blessings for curses, and by seeking to save, not injure and destroy those who thus sought to overwhelm him with disgrace. It may be difficult to do this, but it can be done; and when done, a man always does good.

By evil report - The word used here ( δυσφημία dusphēmia ), means, properly, ill-omened language, malediction, reproach, contumely. It refers to the fact that they were often slandered and calumniated. Their motives were called in question, and their names aspersed. They were represented as deceivers and impostors, etc. The statement here is, that in such circumstances, and when thus assailed and reproached, they endeavored to commend themselves as the ministers of God. Evidently they endeavored to do this by not slandering or reviling in return; by manifesting a Christian spirit; by living down the slanderous accusation, and by doing good if possible even to their calumniators. It is more difficult, says Chrysostom, to bear such reports than it is pain of body; and it is consequently more difficult to evince a Christian spirit then. To human nature it is trying to have the name slandered and cast out as evil when we are conscious only of a desire to do good. But it is sufficient for the disciple that he be as his master, and if they called the master of the house Beelzebub, we must expect they will also those of his household. It is a fine field for a Christian minister, or any other Christian, to do good when his name is unjustly slandered. It gives him an opportunity of showing the true excellency of the Christian spirit; and it gives him the inexpressible privilege of being like Christ - like him in his suffering and in the moral excellence of character. A man should be willing to be anything if it will make him like the Redeemer - whether it be in suffering or in glory; see Phi 3:10; 1Pe 4:13.

And good report - When people speak well of us; when we are commended, praised, or honored. To honor the gospel then, and to commend the ministry, is:

(1)    To show that the heart is not set on this, and does not seek it;

(2)    To keep the heart from being puffed up with pride and self-estimation;

(3)    Not to suffer it to interfere with our fidelity to others and with our faithfully presenting to them the truth.

Satan often attempts to bribe people by praise, and to neutralize the influence of ministers by flattery. It seems hard to go and proclaim to people painful truths who are causing the incense of praise to ascend around us. And it is commonly much easier for a minister of the gospel to commend himself as a minister of God when he is slandered than when he is praised, when his name is cast out as evil than when the breezes of popular favor are wafted upon him. Few people can withstand the influence of flattery, but many people can meet persecution with a proper spirit; few people comparatively can always evince Christian fidelity to others when they live always amidst the influence of "good report,"but there are many who can be faithful when they are poor, and despised, and reviled. Hence, it has happened, that God has so ordered it that his faithful servants have had but little of the "good report"which this world can furnish, but that they have been generally subjected to persecution and slander.

As deceivers - That is, we are regarded and treated as if we were deceivers, and as if we were practicing an imposition on mankind, and as if we would advance our cause by any trick or fraud that would be possible. We are regarded and treated as deceivers. Perhaps this refers to some charges which had been brought against them by the opposing faction at Corinth (Locke), or perhaps to the opinion which the Jewish priests and pagan philosophers entertained of them. The idea is, that though they were extensively regarded and treated as impostors, yet they endeavored to live as became the ministers of God. They bore the imputation with patience, and they applied themselves diligently to the work of saving souls. Paul seldom turned aside to vindicate himself from such charges, but pursued his master’ s work, and evidently felt that if he had a reputation that was worth anything, or deserved any reputation, God would take care of it; compare Psa 37:1-4. A man, especially a minister, who is constantly endeavoring to vindicate his own reputation, usually has a reputation which is not worth vindicating. A man who deserves a reputation will ultimately obtain just as much as is good for him, and as will advance the cause in which he is embarked.

And yet true - We are not deceivers and impostors. Though we are regarded as such, yet we show ourselves to be true and faithful ministers of Christ.

Barnes: 2Co 6:9

As unknown - As those who are deemed to be of an obscure and ignoble rank in life, unknown to the great, unknown to fame. The idea, I think, is, that they went as strangers, as persons unknown, in preaching the gospel. Yet, though thus unknown they endeavor to commend themselves as the ministers of God. Though among strangers; though having no introduction from the great and the noble, yet they endeavored so to act as to convince the world that they were the ministers of God. This could he done only by a holy life, and by the evidence of the divine approbation which would attend them in their work. And by this, the ministers of religion, if they are faithful, may make themselves known even among those who were strangers, and may live so as to "give no offence."Every minister and every Christian, even when they are "unknown"and when among strangers, should remember their high character as the servants of God, and should so live as to commend the religion which they profess to love, or which they are called on to preach. And yet how often is it that ministers when among strangers seem to feel themselves at liberty to lay aside their ministerial character, and to engage in conversation, and even partake of amusements which they themselves would regard as wholly improper if it were known that they were the ambassadors of God! And how often is it the case that professing Christians when traveling, when among strangers, when in foreign lands, forget their high calling, and conduct in a manner wholly different from what they did when surrounded by Christians; and when restrained by the sentiments and by the eyes of a Christian community!

And yet well known - Our sentiments and our principles are well known. We have no concealments to make. We practice no disguise. We attempt to impose on no one. Though obscure in our origin; though without rank, of wealth, or power, or patronage, to commend ourselves to favor, yet we have succeeded in making ourselves known to the world. Though obscure in our origin, we are not obscure now. Though suspected of dark designs, yet our principles are all well known to the world. No people of the same obscurity of birth ever succeeded in making themselves more extensively known than did the apostles. The world at large became acquainted with them; and by their self-denial, zeal, and success, they extended their reputation around the globe.

As dying - That is, regarded by others as dying. As condemned often to death; exposed to death; in the midst of trials that expose us to death, and that are ordinarily followed by death; see the note on 1Co 15:31, on the phrase, "I die daily."They passed through so many trials that it might he said that they were constantly dying. "And, behold, we live."Strange as it may seem, we still survive. Through all our trials we are preserved, and though often exposed to death, yet we still live. The idea here is, that in all these trials, and in these exposures to death, they endeavored to commend themselves as the ministers of God. They bore their trials with patience; submitted to these exposures without a complaint; and ascribed their preservation to the interposition of God.

As chastened - The word "chastened"( παιδευόμενοι paideuomenoi ) means corrected, "chastised."It is applied to the chastening which God causes by afflictions and calamities; 1Co 11:32; Rev 3:19; Heb 12:6. It refers here, not to the scourgings to which they were subjected in the synagogues and elsewhere, but to the chastisements which God inflicted; the trials to which he subjected them. And the idea is, that in the midst of these trials, they endeavored to act as became the ministers of God. They bore them with patience. They submitted to them as coming from his hand. They felt that they were right; and they submitted without a complaint.

And not killed - Though severely chastened, yet we are not put to death. We survive them - preserved by the interposition of God.

Barnes: 2Co 6:10

As sorrowful - ( λυπούμενοι lupoumenoi ). Grieving, afflicted, troubled, sad. Under these sufferings we seem always to be cast down and sad. We endure afflictions that usually lead to the deepest expressions of grief. If the world looks only upon our trials, we must be regarded as always suffering, and always sad. The world will suppose that we have cause for continued lamentation (Doddridge), and they will regard us as among the most unhappy of mortals. Such, perhaps, is the estimate which the world usually affixes to the Christian life. They regard it as a life of sadness and of gloom; of trial and of melancholy. They see little in it that is cheerful, and they suppose that a heavy burden presses constantly on the heart of the Christian. Joy they think pertains to the gaieties and pleasures of this life; sadness to religion. And perhaps a more comprehensive statement of the feelings with which the frivolous people of the world regard Christians cannot be found than in this expression, "as sorrowful."True, they are not free from sorrow. They are tried like others. They have special trials arising from persecution, opposition, contempt, and from the conscious and deep-felt depravity of their hearts. They are serious; and their seriousness is often interpreted as gloom. But there is another side to this picture, and there is much in the Christian character and feelings unseen or unappreciated by the world. For they are.

Alway rejoicing - So Paul was, notwithstanding the fact that he always appeared to have occasion for grief. Religion had a power not only to sustain the soul in trial, but to fill it with positive joy. The sources of his joy were doubtless the assurances of the divine favor and the hopes of eternal glory. And the same is true of religion always. There is an internal peace and joy which the world may not see or appreciate, but which is far more than a compensation for all the trials which the Christian endures.

As poor - The idea is, we are poor, yet in our poverty we endeavor "to give no offence, and to commend ourselves as the ministers of God."This would be done by their patience and resignation; by their entire freedom from everything dishonest and dishonorable, and by their readiness, when necessary. to labor for their own support. There is no doubt that the apostles were poor; compare Act 3:6. The little property which some of them had, had all been forsaken in order that they might follow the Saviour, and go and preach his gospel. And there is as little doubt that the mass of ministers are still poor, and that, God designs and desires that they should be. It is in such circumstances that he designs they should illustrate the beauty and the sustaining power of religion, and be examples to the world.

Yet making many rich - On the meaning of the word rich see the note, Rom 2:4. Here the apostle means that he and his fellow-laborers, though poor themselves, were the instruments of conferring durable and most valuable possessions on many persons. They had bestowed on them the true riches. They had been the means of investing them with treasures infinitely more valuable than any which kings and princes could bestow. They to whom they ministered were made partakers of the treasure where the moth doth not corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.

As having nothing - Being utterly destitute. Having no property. This was true, doubtless, in a literal sense, of most of the apostles. "And yet possessing all things."That is:

(1) Possessing a portion of all things that may be necessary for our welfare, as far as our heavenly Father shall deem to be necessary for us.

\caps1 (2) p\caps0 ossessing an interest in all things, so that we can enjoy them. We can derive pleasure from the works of God - the heavens, the earth, the hills, the streams, the cattle on the mountains or in the vales, as the works of God. We have a possession in them so that we can enjoy them as his works, and can say, "Our Father made them all."They are given to man to enjoy. They are a part of the inheritance of man. And though we cannot call them our own in the legal sense, yet we can call them ours in the sense that we can derive pleasure from their contemplation, and see in them the proofs of the wisdom and the goodness of God. The child of God that looks upon the hills and vales; upon an extensive and beautiful farm or landscape, may derive more pleasure from the contemplation of them as the work of God and his gift to people, than the real owner does, if irreligious, from contemplating all this as his own. And so far as mere happiness is concerned, the friend of God who sees in all this the proofs of God’ s beneficence and wisdom, may have a more valuable possession in those things than he who holds the title-deeds.

(3) Heirs of all things. We have a title to immortal life - a promised part in all that the universe can furnish that can make us happy.

\caps1 (4) i\caps0 n the possession of pardon and peace; of the friendship of God and the knowledge of the Redeemer, we have the possession of all things. This comprises all. He that has this, what need has he of more? This meets all the desires; satisfies the soul; makes the man happy and blessed. He that has God for his portion, may be said to have all things, for he is "all in all."He that has the Redeemer for his friend has all things that he needs, for "he that spared not his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"Rom 8:32.

Barnes: 2Co 6:11

O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you - We speak freely, and fully. This is an affectionate address to them, and has reference to what he had just said. It means that, when the heart was full on the subject, words would flow freely, and that he had given vent to the fervid language which he had just used because his heart was full. He loved them; he felt deeply; and he spoke to them with the utmost freedom of what he had thought, and purposed, and done.

Our heart is enlarged - We have deep feelings, which naturally vent themselves in fervent and glowing language. The main idea here is, that he had a strong affection for them; a heart which embraced and loved them all, and which expressed itself in the language of deep emotion. He had loved them so that he was willing to be reproached, and to be persecuted, and to be poor, and to have his name cast out as evil. "I cannot be silent. I conceal or dissemble nothing. I am full of ardent attachment, and that naturally vents itself in the strong language which I have used."True attachment will find means of expressing itself. A heart full of love will give vent to its feelings. There will be no dissembling and hypocrisy there. And if a minister loves the souls of his people he will pour out the affections of his heart in strong and glowing language.

Barnes: 2Co 6:12

Ye are not straitened in us - That is, you do not possess a narrow or contracted place in our affections. We love you fully, ardently, and are ready to do all that can be done for your welfare. There is no lack of room in our affections toward you. It is not narrow, confined, pent up. It is ample and free.

But ye are straitened in your own bowels - That is, in the affections of your hearts. The word used here ( σπλάγχνα splangchna ) commonly means in the Bible the tender affections. The Greek word properly denotes the upper viscera; the heart, the lungs, the liver. It is applied by Greek writers to denote those parts of victims which were eaten during or after the sacrifice - Robinson (Lexicon). Hence, it is applied to the heart, as the seat of the emotions and passions; and especially the gentler emotions, the tender affections, compassion, pity, love, etc. Our word "bowels"is applied usually to the lower viscera, and by no means expresses the idea of the word which is used in Greek. The idea here is, that they were straitened, or were confined in their affections for him. It is the language of reproof, meaning that he had not received from them the demonstrations of attachment which he had a right to expect, and which was a fair and proportionate return for the love bestowed on them. Probably he refers to the fact that they had formed parties; had admitted false teachers; and had not received his instructions as implicitly and as kindly as they ought to have done.

Barnes: 2Co 6:13

Now for a recompence in the same - "By way of recompence, open your hearts in the same manner toward me as I have done toward you. It is all the reward or compensation which I ask of you; all the return which I desire. I do not ask silver or gold, or any earthly possessions. I ask only a return of love, and a devotedness to the cause which I love, and which I endeavor to promote."

I speak as unto my children - I speak as a parent addressing his children. I sustain toward you the relation of a spiritual father, and I have a right to require and expect a return of affection.

Be ye also enlarged - Be not straitened in your affections. Love me as I love you. Give to me the same proofs of attachment which I have given you. The idea in this verse is, that the only compensation or remuneration which he expected for all the love which he had shown them, and for all his toils and self-denials in their behalf 2Co 6:4-5, was, that they would love him, and yield obedience to the laws of the gospel requiring them to be separate from the world, 2Co 6:14-18. One ground of the claim which he had to their affection was, that he sustained toward them the relation of a father, and that he had a right to require and to expect such a return of love. The Syriac renders it well: "Enlarge your love toward me."Tyndale renders it: "I speak unto you as unto children, which have like reward with us; stretch yourselves therefore out; bear not the yoke with unbelievers."

Barnes: 2Co 6:14

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers - This is closely connected in sense with the previous verse. The apostle is there stating the nature of the remuneration or recompence which he asks for all the love which he had shown to them. He here says, that one mode of remuneration would be to yield obedience to his commands, and to separate themselves from all improper alliance with unbelievers. "Make me this return for my love. Love me as a proof of your affection, be not improperly united with unbelievers. Listen to me as a father addressing his children, and secure your own happiness and piety by not being unequally yoked with those who are not Christians."The word which is used here ( ἑτεροζυγέω heterozugeō ) means properly, to bear a different yoke, to be yoked heterogeneously - Robinson (Lexicon). It is applied to the custom of yoking animals of different kinds together (Passow); and as used here means not to mingle together, or be united with unbelievers.

It is implied in the use of the word that there is a dissimilarity between believers and unbelievers so great that it is as improper for them to mingle together as it is to yoke animals of different kinds and species. The ground of the injunction is, that there is a difference between Christians and those who are not, so great as to render such unions improper and injurious. The direction here refers doubtless to all kinds of improper connections with those who were unbelievers. It has been usually supposed by commentators to refer particularly to marriage. But there is no reason for confining it to marriage. It doubtless includes that, but it may as well refer to any other intimate connection, or to intimate friendships, or to participation in their amusements and employments, as to marriage. The radical idea is, that they were to abstain from all connections with unbelievers - with infidels, and pagans, and those who were not Christians, which would identify them with them; or they were to have no connection with them in anything as unbelievers, pagans, or infidels; they were to partake with them in nothing that was special to them as such.

They were to have no part with them in their paganism unbelief, and idolatry, and infidelity; they were not to be united with them in any way or sense where it would necessarily be understood that they were partakers with them in those things. This is evidently the principle here laid down, and this principle is as applicable now as it was then. In the remainder of this verse and the following verses 2Co 6:15-16, he states reasons why they should have no such contact. There is no principle of Christianity that is more important than that which is here stated by the apostle; and none in which Christians are more in danger of erring, or in which they have more difficulty in determining the exact rule which they are to follow. The questions which arise are very important. Are we to have no contact with the people of the world? Are we cut loose from all our friends who are not Christians? Are we to become monks, and live a recluse and unsocial life? Are we never to mingle with the people of the world in business, in innocent recreation, or in the duties of citizens, and as neighbors and friends? It is important, therefore, in the highest degree, to endeavor to ascertain what are the principles on which the New Testament requires us to act in this matter. And in order to a correct understanding of this, the following principles may be suggested:

I. There is a large field of action, pursuit, principle, and thought, over which infidelity, sin, paganism, and the world as such, have the entire control. It is wholly without the range of Christian law, and stands opposed to Christian law. It pertains to a different kingdom; is conducted by different principles, and tends to destroy and annihilate the kingdom of Christ. It cannot be reconciled with Christian principle, and cannot be conformed to but in entire violation of the influence of religion. Here the prohibition of the New Testament is absolute and entire. Christians are not to mingle with the people of the world in these things; and are not to partake of them. This prohibition, it is supposed, extends to the following, among other things:

(1) To idolatry. This was plain. On no account or pretence were the early Christians to partake of that, or to countenance it. In primitive times, during the Roman persecutions, all that was asked was that they should cast a little incense on the altar of a pagan god. They refused to do it, and because they refused to do it, thousands perished as martyrs. They judged rightly; and the world has approved their cause.

\caps1 (2) s\caps0 in, vice, licentiousness. This is also plain. Christians are in no way to patronise them, or to lend their influence to them, or to promote them by their name, their presence, or their property. "Neither be partakers of other people’ s sins;"1Ti 5:22; 2Jo 1:11.

\caps1 (3) a\caps0 rts and acts of dishonesty, deception, and fraud in traffic and trade. Here the prohibition also must be absolute. No Christian can have a right to enter into partnership with another where the business is to be conducted on dishonest and unchristian principles, or where it shall lead to the violation of any of the laws of God. If it involves deception and fraud in the principles on which it is conducted; if it spreads ruin and poverty - as the distilling and vending of ardent spirits does; if it leads to the necessary violation of the Christian Sabbath, then the case is plain. A Christian is to have no "fellowship with such unfruitful works of darkness, but is rather to reprove them;"Eph 5:11.

\caps1 (4) t\caps0 he amusements and pleasures that are entirely worldly, and sinful in their nature; that are wholly under worldly influence, and which cannot be brought under Christian principles. Nearly all amusements are of this description. The true principle here seems to be, that if a Christian in such a place is expected to lay aside his Christian principles, and if it would be deemed indecorous and improper for him to introduce the subject of religion, or if religion would be regarded is entirely inconsistent with the nature of the amusement then he is not to be found there. The world reigns there, and if the principles of his Lord and Master would be excluded, he should not be there. This applies of course to the theater, the circus, the ballroom, and to large and splendid parties of pleasure. We are not to associate with idolaters in their idolatry; nor with the licentious in their licentiousness; nor with the infidel in his infidelity; nor with the proud in their pride; nor with the frivolous in their gaiety; nor with the friends of the theater, or the ballroom, or the circus in their attachment to these places and pursuits. And whatever other connection we are to have with them as neighbors, citizens, or members of our families, we are not to participate with them in these things. Thus far all seems to be clear; and the rule is a plain one whether it applies to marriage, or to business, or to religion, or to pleasure; compare note, 1Co 5:10.

II. There is a large field of action, thought, and plan which may be said to be common with the Christian and the world; that is, where the Christian is not expected to abandon his own principles, and where there will be, or need be, no compromise of the sternest views of truth, or the most upright, serious, and holy conduct. He may carry his principles with him; may always manifest them if necessary; and may even commend them to others. A few of these may be referred to.

(1) Commercial transactions and professional engagements that are conducted on honest and upright principles, even when those with whom we act are not Christians.

(2) Literary and scientific pursuits, which never, when pursued with a right spirit, interfere with the principles of Christianity, and never are contrary to it.

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 he love and affection which are due to relatives and friends. Nothing in the Bible assuredly will prohibit a pious son from uniting with one who is not pious in supporting an aged and infirm parent, or a much loved and affectionate sister. The same remark is true also respecting the duty which a wife owes to a husband, a husband to a wife, or a parent to a child, though one of them should not be a Christian. And the same observation is true also of neighbors, who are not to be prohibited from uniting as neighbors in social contact, and in acts of common kindness and charity, though all not Christians.

\caps1 (4) a\caps0 s citizens. We owe duties to our country, and a Christian need not refuse to act with others in the elective franchise, or in making or administering the laws. Here, however, it is clear that he is not at liberty to violate the laws and the principles of the Bible. He cannot be at liberty to unite with them in political schemes that are contrary to the Law of God, or in elevating to office people whom he cannot vote for with a good conscience as qualified for the station.

\caps1 (5) i\caps0 n plans of public improvement, in schemes that go to the advancement of the public welfare, when the schemes do not violate the laws of God. But if they involve the necessity of violating the Sabbath, or any of the laws of God, assuredly he cannot consistently participate in them.

\caps1 (6) i\caps0 n doing good to others. So the Saviour was with sinners; so he ate, and drank, and conversed with them. So we may mingle with them, without partaking of their wicked feelings and plans, so far as we can do them good, and exert over them a holy and saving influence. In all the situations here referred to, and in all the duties growing out of them, the Christian may maintain his principles, and may preserve a good conscience. Indeed the Saviour evidently contemplated that his people would have such contact with the world, and that in it they would do good. But in none of these is there to be any compromise of principle; in none to be any yielding to the opinions and practices that are contrary to the laws of God.

III. There is a large field of action, conduct, and plan, where Christians only will act together. These relate to the special duties of religion - to prayer, Christian fellowship, the ordinances of the gospel, and most of the plans of Christian beneficence. Here the world will not intrude; and here assuredly there will be no necessity of any compromise of Christian principle.

For what fellowship - Paul proceeds here to state reasons why there should be no such improper connection with the world. The main reason, though under various forms, is that there can be no fellowship, no communion, nothing in common between them; and that therefore they should be separate. The word "fellowship"( μέτοχὴ metochē ) means partnership, participation. What is there in common; or how can the one partake with the other? The interrogative form here is designed to be emphatic, and to declare in the strongest terms that there can be no such partnership.

Righteousness - Such as you Christians are required to practice; implying that all were to be governed by the stern and uncompromising principles of honesty and justice.

With unrighteousness - Dishonesty, injustice, sin; implying that the world is governed by such principles.

And what communion - ( κοινωνία koinōnia ). Participation; communion; that which is in common. What is there in common between light and darkness? What common principle is there of which they both partake? There is none. There is a total and eternal separation.

Light - The emblem of truth, virtue, holiness; see the Mat 4:16; Mat 5:16 notes; Joh 1:4 note; Rom 2:19 note; 2Co 4:4, 2Co 4:6 notes. It is implied here that Christians are enlightened, and walk in the light. Their principles are pure and holy - principles of which light is the proper emblem.

Darkness - The emblem of sin, corruption, ignorance; implying that the world to which Paul refers was governed and influenced by these. The idea is, that as there is an entire separation between light and darkness in their nature; as they have nothing in common, so it is and should be, between Christians and sinners. There should be a separation. There can be nothing in common between holiness and sin; and Christians should have nothing to do "with the unfruitful works of darkness:"Eph 5:11.

Barnes: 2Co 6:15

And what concord - ( συμφώνησις sumphōnēsis ). Sympathy, unison. This word refers properly to the unison or harmony produced by musical instruments, where there is a chord. What accordance, what unison is there; what strings are there which being struck will produce a chord or harmony? The idea is, then, there is as much that is discordant between Christ and Belial as there is between instruments of music that produce only discordant and jarring sounds.

Hath Christ - What is there in common between Christ and Belial, implying that Christians are governed by the principles, and that they follow the example of Christ.

Belial - Βελίαλ Belial or Βελίαρ Beliar , as as it is found in some of the late editions. The form Beliar is Syriac. The Hebrew word בּליּצל b^e liya‛al means literally without profit; worthlessness; wickedness. It is here evidently applied to Satan. The Syriac translates it "Satan."The idea is, that the persons to whom Paul referred, the pagan, wicked, unbelieving world, were governed by the principles of Satan, and were "taken captive by him at his will"(2Ti 2:26 compare Joh 8:44), and that Christians should be separate from the wicked world, as Christ was separate from all the feelings, purposes, and plans of Satan. He had no participation in them; he formed no union with them; and so it should be with the followers of the one in relation to the followers of the other.

Or what part - ( μερὶς meris ). Portion, share, participation, fellowship. This word refers usually to a division of an estate; Luk 10:42; Act 8:21 note; Col 1:12 note. There is no participation; nothing in common.

He that believeth - A Christian; a man the characteristic of whom it is that he believes on the Lord Jesus.

With an infidel - A man who does not believe - whether a pagan idolater, a profane man, a scoffer, a philosopher, a man of science, a moral man, or a son or daughter of gaiety. The idea is, that on the subject of religion there is no union; nothing in common; no participation. They are governed by different principles; have different feelings; are looking to different rewards; and are tending to a different destiny. The believer, therefore, should not select his partner in life and his chosen companions and friends from this class, but from those with whom he has sympathy, and with whom he has common feelings and hopes.

Barnes: 2Co 6:16

And what agreement - ( συγκατάθεσις sugkatathesis ). Assent, accord, agreement. what putting or laying down together is there? What is there in one that resembles the other?

The temple of God - What has a temple of God to do with idol worship? It is erected for a different purpose, and the worship of idols in it would not be tolerated. It is implied here that Christians are themselves the temple of God, a fact which Paul proceeds immediately to illustrate; and that it is as absurd for them to mingle with the infidel world as it would be to erect the image of a pagan god in the temple of Yahweh. This is strong language, and we cannot but admire the energy and copiousness of the expressions used by Paul, "which cannot,"says Bloomfield, "be easily paralleled in the best Classical writers."

With idols - Those objects which God hates, and on which he cannot look but with abhorrence. The sense is, that for Christians to mingle with the sinful world; to partake of their pleasures, pursuits, and follies, is as detestable and hateful in the sight of God as if his temple were profaned by erecting a deformed, and shapeless, and senseless block in it as an object of worship. And, assuredly, if Christians had such a sense of the abomination of mingling with the world, they would feel the obligation to be separate and pure.

For ye are the temple of the living God - see this explained in the notes on 1Co 3:16-17. The idea is, that as God dwells with his people, they ought to be separated from a sinful and polluted world.

As God hath said - The words here quoted are taken substantially from Exo 29:45; Lev 26:12; Eze 37:27. They are not literally quoted, but Paul has thrown together the substance of what occurs in several places. The sense, however, is the same as occurs in the places referred to.

I will dwell in them - ( ἐνοικήτω enoikētō ). I will take up my indwelling in them. There is an allusion doubtless to the fact that he would be present among his people by the Sechinah, or the visible symbol of his presence; see the note on 1Co 3:16-17. It implies, when used with reference to Christians, that the Holy Spirit would abide with them, and that the blessing of God would attend them; see Rom. 8; Col 3:16; 2Ti 1:14.

And walk in them - That is, I will walk among them. I will be one of their number. He was present among the Jews by the public manifestation of his presence by a symbol; he is present with Christians by the presence and guidance of his Holy Spirit.

And I will be their God - Not only the God whom they worship, but the God who will protect and bless them. I will take them under my special protection, and they shall enjoy my favor. This is certainly as true of Christians as it was of the Jews, and Paul has not departed from the spirit of the promise in applying it to the Christian character. His object in quoting these passages is, to impress on Christians the solemnity and importance of the truth that God dwelt among them and with them; that they were under his care and protection; that they belonged to him, and that they therefore should be separate from the world.

Barnes: 2Co 6:17

Wherefore - Since you are a special people. Since God, the holy and blessed God, dwells with you and among you.

Come out from among them - That is, from among idolaters and unbelievers; from a frivolous and vicious world. These words are taken, by a slight change, from Isa 3:11. They are there applied to the Jews in Babylon, and are a solemn call which God makes on them to leave the place of their exile, to come out from among the idolaters of that city and return to their own land; see my note on that place. Babylon, in the Scriptures, is the emblem of whatever is proud, arrogant, wicked, and opposed to God; and Paul, therefore, applies the words here with great beauty and force to illustrate the duty of Christians in separating themselves from a vain, idolatrous, and wicked world.

And be ye separate - Separate from the world, and all its corrupting influences.

Saith the Lord - see Isa 3:11. Paul does not use this language as if it had original reference to Christians, but he applies it as containing an important principle that was applicable to the case which he was considering, or as language that would appropriately express the idea which he wished to convey. The language of the Old Testament is often used in this manner by the writers of the New.

And touch not the unclean thing - In Isaiah, "touch no unclean thing;"that is, they were to be pure, and to have no connection with idolatry in any of its forms. So Christians were to avoid all unholy contact with a vain and polluted world. The sense is, "Have no close connection with an idolater, or an unholy person. Be pure; and feel that you belong to a community that is under its own laws, and that is to be distinguished in moral purity from all the rest of the world."

And I will receive you - That is, I will receive and recognize you as my friends and my adopted children. This could not be done until they were separated from an idolatrous and wicked world. The fact of their being received by God, and recognized as his children, depended on their coming out from the world. These words with the verses following, though used evidently somewhat in the form of a quotation, yet are not to be found in any single place in the Old Testament In 2Sa 7:14, God says of Solomon, "I will be his Father, and he shall be my son."In Jer 31:9, God says, "For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born."It is probable that Paul had such passages in his eye, yet he doubtless designed rather to express the general sense of the promises of the Old Testament than to quote any single passage. Or why may it not be that we should regard Paul here himself as speaking as an inspired man directly, and making a promise then first communicated immediately from the Lord? Paul was inspired as well as the prophets; and it may be that he meant to communicate a promise directly from God. Grotius supposes that it was not taken from any particular place in the Old Testament, but was a part of a hymn that was in use among the Hebrews.

Barnes: 2Co 6:18

And will be a Father unto you - A father is the protector, counselor, and guide of his children. He instructs them, provides for them, and counsels them in time of perplexity. No relation is more tender than this. In accordance with this, God says, that he will be to his people their protector, counsellor, guide, and friend. He will cherish toward them the feeling of a father; he will provide for them, he will acknowledge them as his children. No higher honor can be conferred on mortals than to be adopted into the family of God, and to be permitted to call the Most High our Father. No rank is so elevated as that of being the sons and the daughters of the Lord Almighty. Yet this is the common appellation by which God addresses his people; and the most humble in rank, the most poor and ignorant of his friends on earth, the most despised among people, may reflect that they are the children of the ever-living God, and have the Maker of the heavens and the earth as their Father and their eternal Friend. How poor are all the honors of the world compared with this!

The Lord Almighty - The word used here ( παντοκράτωρ pantokratōr ) occurs nowhere except in this place and in the book of Revelation; Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8; Rev 11:17; Rev 15:3; Rev 16:7, Rev 16:14; Rev 19:6, Rev 19:16; Rev 21:22. It means one who has all power; and is applied to God in contradistinction from idols that are weak and powerless. God is able to protect his people, and they who put their trust in him shall never be confounded. What has he to fear who has a friend of almighty power?

Remarks

1. It is right and proper to exhort Christians not to receive the grace of God in vain, 2Co 6:1. Even they sometimes abuse their privileges; become neglectful of the mercy of God; undervalue the truths of religion, and do not make as much as they should do of the glorious truths that are suited to sanctify and to save. Every Christian should endeavor to make just as much as possible of his privileges, and to become just as eminent as he can possibly be in his Christian profession.

2. The benefits of salvation to this world come through the intercession of Jesus Christ, 2Co 6:2. It is because God is pleased to hear him; because he calls on God in an accepted time that we have any hope of pardon. The sinner enjoys no offer of mercy, and no possibility of pardon except what he owes to Jesus Christ. Should he cease to plead for people, the offers of salvation would be withdrawn, and the race would perish forever.

3. The world is under a dispensation of mercy, 2Co 6:2. People may be saved: God is willing to show compassion, and to rescue them from ruin.

4. How important is the present moment! 2Co 6:2. How important is each moment! It may be the last period of mercy. No sinner can calculate with any certainty on another instant of time. God holds his breath, and with, infinite ease he can remove him to eternity. Eternal results hang on the present - the fleeting moment, and yet how unconcerned are the mass of people about their present condition; how unanxious about what may possibly or probably occur the next moment! Now, the sinner may be pardoned. The next moment he may be beyond the reach of forgiveness. This instant, the bliss of heaven is offered him; the next, he may be solemnly excluded from hope and heaven!

5. The ministers of the gospel should give no occasion of offence to any one, 2Co 6:3. On each one of them depends a portion of the honor of the ministry in this world, and of the honor of Jesus Christ among people. How solemn is this responsibility! How pure, and holy, and unblameable should they be!

6. Ministers and all Christians should be willing to suffer in the cause of the Redeemer, 2Co 6:4-5. If the early ministers and other Christians were called to endure the pains of imprisonment and persecution for the honor of the gospel, assuredly we should be willing also to suffer. Why should there be anymore reason for their suffering than for ours?

7. We see what our religion has cost, 2Co 6:4-5. It has come down to us through suffering. All the privileges that we enjoy have been the fruit of toil, and blood, and tears, and sighs. The best blood in human veins has flowed to procure these blessings; the holiest people on earth have wept, and been scourged, and tortured, that we might possess these privileges. What thanks should we give to God for all this! How highly should we prize the religion that has cost so much!

8. In trial we should evince such a spirit as not to dishonor, but to honor our religion, 2Co 6:3-5. This is as incumbent on all Christians as it is on ministers of the gospel. It is in such scenes that the reality of religion is tested. It is then that its power is seen. It is then that its value may be known. Christians and Christian ministers often do good in circumstances of poverty, persecution, and sickness, which they never do in health, and in popular favor, and in prosperity. And God often places his people in trial that they may do good then, expecting that they will accomplish more then than they could in prosperous circumstances They whose aim it is to do good have often occasion to bless God that they were subjected to trial. Bunyan wrote the "Pilgrim’ s Progress"in a dungeon; and almost all the works of Baxter were written when he was suffering under persecution, and forbidden to preach the gospel. The devil is often foiled in this way. He persecutes and opposes Christians; and on the rack and at the stake they do most to destroy his kingdom; he throws them into dungeons, and they make books which go down even to the millennium, making successful war on the empire of darkness. Christians, therefore, should esteem it a privilege to be permitted to suffer on account of Christ; Phi 1:29.

9. If ministers and other Christians do any good they must be pure, 2Co 6:6-7. The gospel is to be commended by pureness, and knowledge, and the word of truth, and the armor of righteousness. It is in this way that they are to meet opposition; in this way that they are to propagate their sentiments. No man need expect to do good in the ministry or as a private Christian, who is not a holy man. No man who is a holy man can help doing good. It will be a matter of course that he will shed a healthful moral influence around him. And he will no more live without effect than the sun sheds its steady beams on the earth without effect. His influence may be very noiseless and still, like the sunbeams or the dew, but it will be felt in the world. Wicked people can resist anything else better than they can a holy example. They can make a mock of preaching; they can deride exhortation; they can throw away a tract; they can burn the Bible; but what can they do against a holy example? No more than they can against the vivifying and enlightening beams of the sun; and a man who leads a holy life cannot help doing good, and cannot be prevented from doing good.

10. They who are Christians must expect to meet with much dishonor, and to be subjected often to the influence of evil report, 2Co 6:8. The world is unfriendly to religion, and its friends must never be surprised if their motives are impeached, and their names calumniated.

11. Especially is this the case with ministers, 2Co 6:8. They should make up their minds to it, and they should not suppose that any strange thing had happened to them if they are called thus to suffer.

12. They who are about to make a profession of religion, and they who are about entering on the work of the ministry, or who are agitating the question whether they should be ministers, should ask themselves whether they are prepared for this. They should count the cost; nor should they either make a profession of religion or think of the ministry as a profession, unless they are willing to meet with dishonor, and to go through evil report; to be poor 2Co 6:10, and to be despised and persecuted, or to die in the cause which they embrace.

13. Religion has power to sustain the soul in trials, 2Co 6:10. Why should he be sad who has occasion to rejoice always? Why should he deem himself poor, though he has slender earthly possessions, who is able to make many rich? Why should he be melancholy as if he had nothing, who has Christ as his portion, and who is an heir of all things? Let not the poor, who are rich in faith, despond as though they had nothing. They have a treasure which gold cannot purchase, and which will be of infinite value when all other treasure fails. He that has an everlasting inheritance in heaven cannot be called a poor man. And he that can look to such an inheritance should not be unwilling to part with his earthly possessions. Those who seem to be most wealthy are often the poorest of mortals; and those who seem to be poor, or who are in humble circumstances, often have an enjoyment of even this world which is unknown in the palaces and at the tables of the great. They look on all things as the work of their Father; and in their humble dwellings, and with their humble fare, they have an enjoyment of the bounties of their heavenly Benefactor, which is not experienced often in the dwellings of the great and the rich.

14. A people should render to a minister and a pastor a return of love and confidence that shall be proportionate to the love which is shown to them, 2Co 6:12. This is but a reasonable and fair requital, and this is necessary not only to the comfort, but to the success of a minister. What good can he do unless he has the affections and confidence of his people?

15. The compensation or recompence which a minister has a right to expect and require for arduous toil is, that his people should be "enlarged"in love toward him, and that they should yield themselves to the laws of the Redeemer, and be separate from the world, 2Co 6:13. And this is an ample reward. It is what he seeks, what he prays for, what he most ardently desires. If he is worthy of his office, he will seek not theirs but them 2Co 12:14, and he will be satisfied for all his toils if he sees them walking in the truth 3Jo 1:4, and showing in their lives the pure and elevated principles of the gospel which they profess to love.

16. The welfare of religion depends on the fact that Christians should be separate from a vain, and frivolous, and wicked world, 2Co 6:14-16. Why should they partake of those things in which they can, if Christians, have nothing in common? Why attempt to mingle light with darkness? to form a compact between Christ and Belial? or to set up a polluted idol in the temple of the living God? The truth is, there are great and eternal principles in the gospel which should not be surrendered, and which cannot be broken down. Christ intended to set up a kingdom that should be unlike the kingdoms of this world. And he designed that his people should be governed by different principles from the people of this world.

17. They who are about to make a profession of religion should resolve to separate themselves from the world, 2Co 6:14-15. Religion cannot exist where there is no such separation, and they who are unwilling to forsake infidel companions and the frivolous amusements and vanities of life, and to find their chosen friends and pleasures among the people of God, can have no evidence that they are Christians. The world with all its wickedness and its frivolous pleasures must be forsaken, and there must be an effectual line drawn between the friends of God and the friends of sin.

Let us, then, who profess to be the friends of the Redeemer remember how pure and holy we should be. It should not be indeed with the spirit of the Pharisee; it should not be with a spirit that will lead us to say, "stand by, for I am holier than thou;"but it should be, while we discharge all our duties to our impenitent friends, and while in all our contacts with the world we should be honest and true, and while we do not refuse to mingle with them as neighbors and citizens as far as we can without compromising Christian principles, still our chosen friends and our dearest friendships should be with the people of God. For, his friends should be our friends; our happiness should be with them, and the world should see that we prefer the friends of the Redeemer to the friends of gaiety, ambition, and sin.

18. Christians are the holy temple of God, 2Co 6:16. How pure should they be! How free should they be from sin! How careful to maintain consciences void of offence!

19. What an inestimable privilege it is to be a Christian! 2Co 6:18; to be a child of God! to feel that he is a Father and a Friend! to feel that though we may be forsaken by all others; though poor and despised, yet there is one who never forsakes; one who never forgets that he has sons and daughters dependent on him, and who need his constant care. Compared with this, how small the honor of being permitted to call the rich our friends, or to be regarded as the sons or daughters of nobles and of princes! Let the Christian then most highly prize his privileges, and feel that he is raised above all the elevations of rank and honor which this world can bestow. All these shall fade away, and the highest and the lowest shall meet on the same level in the grave, and alike return to dust. But the elevation of the child of God shall only begin to be visible and appreciated when all other honors fade away.

20. Let all seek to become the sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. Let us aspire to this rather than to earthly honors; let us seek this rather than to be numbered with the rich and the great. All cannot be honored in this world, and few are they who can be regarded as belonging to elevated ranks here. But all may be the children of the living God, and be permitted to call the Lord Almighty their Father and their Friend. O! if people could as easily be permitted to call themselves the sons of monarchs and princes; if they could as easily be admitted to the palaces of the great and sit down at their tables as they can enter heaven, how greedily would they embrace it! And yet how poor and paltry would be such honor and pleasure compared with that of feeling that we are the adopted children of the great and the eternal God!

Poole: 2Co 6:8

By honour and dishonour we depart not from our integrity, whether we be honoured or dishonoured.

By evil report and good report well or evilly reported of. This hath from the beginning been the lot of all the faithful ministers of Christ; some have given them honour, others have cast reproach upon them; some have given a good report of them, some an evil report.

As deceivers, and yet true some have represented them as impostors, and such as deceived the people; others have spoken of them as true men: their business is to go through good report and bad report, honour and dishonour, still holding fast their integrity.

Poole: 2Co 6:9

As unknown, and yet well known dealt with by Jews and heathens as persons wholly unknown to them, though we be sufficiently known; or being such whom the world knoweth not, as to our state towards God, and interest in him, though it knows us well enough as to our other circumstances.

As dying, and, behold, we live so hunted and persecuted, as that we appear every day dying; yet such hath been the power of God’ s providence, that we yet live:

As chastened, and not killed and though our heavenly Father chasteneth us, yet we are not utterly consumed: the apostle alludeth to that, Psa 118:18 : The Lord hath chastened me sore; but he hath not given me over to death.

Poole: 2Co 6:10

As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing appearing to others as persons drowned in griefs and sorrows, yet we are always rejoicing in God, Hab 3:17,18and in the testimony of a good conscience, 2Co 1:12 .

As poor, yet making many rich in outward appearance poor, having no abundance of the good things of this life; yet making many rich in knowledge and grace, God by us dispensing to them the riches of his grace.

As having nothing, and yet possessing all things as having nothing no houses, no lands, no silver or gold, Act 3:6 ; yet being as well satisfied and contented, as if all things were ours; as well satisfied with that little which we have, as the men of the world are with their abundance; possessing all things in Christ, though having little in the creature.

Poole: 2Co 6:11

Our mouth is open to speak freely to you, and to communicate to you the whole will and counsel of God;

our heart is enlarged both by the love that I have towards you, and by the rejoicing that I have in you. This enlargement of my heart is that which openeth my lips, and makes me speak freely to you, both in admonishing you of your errors, and in exhorting you to your duty.

Poole: 2Co 6:12

Ye are not straitened in us if you cannot mutually rejoice in me, and what I write, or if you do not repay me the like affection, the fault is not in me; I have done my duty, and that too from a true principle of love to you.

But ye are straitened in your own bowels but it is through mistakes and misapprehensions in yourselves, your not aright conceiving of me in the discharge of my apostolical office. Or the cause of your trouble and sorrow is from yourselves, upon your suffering the incestuous person, and other scandalous persons, to abide in your communion; which was an error I could not but take notice of, according to that apostolical authority which God hath committed to me.

Poole: 2Co 6:13

Be ye also enlarged both in love to me, and also in obedience; it is but a just recompence for that great affection which I have borne, and upon all occasions showed to you; and also for that faithfulness which I have showed in discharging the duty of my relation to you. For I speak as a father unto children, it being but reasonable, that children should recompense to their fathers their love to them, and be as exact and faithful in their duty to their parents, as their parents are in their duty towards them.

Poole: 2Co 6:14

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: they too much restrain the sense of this general precept, who either limit it to religious communion with idolaters, or to civil communion in marriages. The precept is delivered in a term of more general significancy, than to be limited by either of these, though both of them, questionless, be comprehended in it: mh ginesye eterozugountev , do not become such as in the same yoke draw another way. It is a metaphor drawn from horses or oxen; which should draw together, being in the same yoke, neither standing still, nor yet holding back. It is a general precept, prohibitive of all unnecessary communion and intimate fellowship with such, as either in matters of faith or worship, or in their lives and conversations, declare themselves to be unbelievers; for why we should expound apistoiv of infidels merely, I cannot tell, especially considering that the apostle, 1Co 5:9-11 , seems to allow a further communion with a heathen, than with a notoriously scandalous Christian. So as this precept may reasonably be interpreted by those in the former Epistle, of marrying with such, eating with them at idol feasts, or at the Lord’ s table, as 2Co 5:1-21maintaining intimate communion with them, &c.

For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? The reason he giveth, is, because they could have no comfortable communion with such; they were righteousness, those persons were unrighteousness; they were light, such persons were darkness, that is, full of the darkness of sin and ignorance. In the mean time, this precept ought not to be extended to a total avoiding of commerce with, or being in the company of, either heathens, or scandalous persons; for as to that, the same apostle had before determined it lawful, 1Co 5:11 . Whatever communion with such persons is either necessary from the law of God or nature, or for the support and upholding of human life and society, is lawful even with such persons; but all other is unlawful.

Poole: 2Co 6:15

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? By Belial, in this text, very good interpreters understand the devil; judging that the apostle here opposeth Christ, who is the Head of Believers and of the church, to him who is the head of all unbelievers, and the god of the world. The term is used only in this place in the New Testament, but very often in the Old Testament, to express men notoriously wicked and scandalous, Deu 13:13 Jud 19:22 1Sa 1:16 2:12 25:17 2Sa 16:7 2Ch 13:7 . The Hebrews themselves are not agreed in the etymology of it; Psa 101:3 , a wicked thing is called a thing of Belial (as may be seen in the margin of our bibles); so as the argument is drawn from our duty of conformity to our Head; Christ hath no fellowship with the devil, therefore we ought to have no unnecessary communion with such who manifest themselves to be of their father the devil, by their doing his works; nor hath Christ any communion with the sons of Belial.

Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? What part or portion, that is, what society or communion, hath a believer with one that beheveth not? What hath he to do with him? It was a usual phrase amongst the Jews, Jos 22:25,27 . Some by this part understand, what portion in the life to come? In which sense it teacheth us, that we should maintain intimate and elective communion in this life only with such as we would gladly have our portion with in another life. But the most judicious interpreters think this is not intended in this place.

Poole: 2Co 6:16

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? This particular instance giveth some expositors occasion to interpret 2Co 6:14 , of communion with idolaters in such acts of religion as are proper to them; but nothing hinders but that that precept may be interpreted more generally, though the apostle gives this as one particular instance, wherein he would have them avoid communion with unbelievers.

For ye are the temple of the living God the argument is drawn from what the apostle had before asserted, 1Co 3:16 6:19 , their being the temples of the Holy Ghost; which he proveth from Lev 26:12 Eze 37:26,27 .

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: not that what the apostle meaneth here, is the literal meaning of Lev 26:11,12 ; for it is manifest, that God by Moses there is speaking not of God’ s dwelling in the persons of believers, or in his church, but of that gracious presence and manifestation of himself to his people in the tabernacle erected by his order. Some therefore think, that the place here alluded to, though not quoted verbatim, is that, Eze 37:26,27 , which is a promise respecting the kingdom of Christ; where God promiseth to make a covenant of peace with his people, and saith, I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The words, as they are here quoted, are entirely to be found in no one text of holy writ; it is sufficient that they are to be found there in parts. Nor doth this text so properly speak of God’ s dwelling in particular believers, as of his dwelling in the churches of his people; therefore, though he speaks of many, ye are, yet temple is in the singular number. These many are but one body; the church in which God dwelleth, and with which he hath communion, which is expressed by walk in them; as in Rev 2:1 , he is said to walk in the midst of the golden candlesticks. Nor is the term living vainly added to God; for besides that he is usually so called, as being ever-living, and the Fountain of all life; it also showeth the opposition between him and idols, which are dead things: and therefore God could have no more communion with idols, than the living can have with the dead; nor could they have communion with the living God and dead idols. Nor could they be the people of the living God, and the people or worshippers of dead idols; so as those that were idolaters must lose the advantage of that covenant wherein God had said:

I will be their God, and they shall be my people

Poole: 2Co 6:17

The apostle here quoteth words out of the Old Testament, no where to be found there syllabically, without variation, but keeping to the sense of them, which is a thing very usual with the penmen of the New Testament. The first quotation seemeth to be taken from Isa 52:11 : Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. Interpreters are not agreed as to the term from whence the prophet there admonisheth the Jews to depart: some make it to be their former sinful courses; others make it to be the kingdom of the devil and antichrist; others make it to be literal Babylon; the prophet foreseeing, that when the Jews should have a liberty given them to leave Babylon, (which happened in the time of Cyrus the Persian monarch), some of them (now as it were incorporated with the Chaldeans) would linger, and find a difficulty to pluck up their stakes in Babylon, though it were in order to their return to Jerusalem, heretofore the joy and praise of the whole earth. Whatever was the prophet’ s meaning, certain it is, the apostolical precept cannot be interpreted of a leaving literal Babylon, for neither the Christian jews, nor Gentiles, were at this time there; he must therefore be understood of a mystical Babylon. And the sense must be this: Come out and be ye separate from those with whom your souls will be in as much danger as the Jews were in the literal Babylon. But whether by these are to be understood idolaters only, or all notorious scandalous livers, is the question: The true determination of which, I conceive, dependeth upon the sense of those words: Come out, be ye separated; which words, I think, are not fully interpreted by those that follow,

touch not the unclean thing for, doubtless, the former words are a precept concerning the means to be used in order to that as an end, it being a hard thing to touch pitch, and not to be defiled therewith. On the other side, they interpret it too rigidly, who make it to be a prohibition of all commerce or company with such persons; for this is contrary to the apostolical doctrine in his former Epistle to this church, where he had allowed, 1Co 5:1-13 , a civil commerce and traffic with the worst of men; and, 1Co 7:1-40 , had forbidden the separation of Christians and heathens, once joined in marriage, unless the unbeliever first departed. The text therefore must be understood only of elective and unnecessary, intimate communion; and is much the same with that, 2Co 6:14 : Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers. So as that it doth by no means justify the withdrawing of all civil or religious communion from those whose judgments or practice in all things we cannot approve; it only justifieth our withdrawing our communion from idolaters, and from notorious scandalous sinners in such duties and actions, or in such degrees, as we are under no obligation to have fellowship and communion with them in; and our forbearing to touch their unclean things in that fellowship and communion which we are allowed with them, having no fellowship with them in their unfruitful works of darkness, but reproving them, even while in civil things, and some religious actions, we have some fellowship with them.

Poole: 2Co 6:18

The latter words, which are a promise of God’ s reception of them who for his sake withdraw from a sinful communion with idolaters and scandalous persons, are taken out of Jer 31:1,9 , and teach us this: That none can reasonably expect that God should fulfil his covenant with them, who make no conscience of fulfilling their part in it with him; nor claim the benefits of a Father, who perform not the duties of his children: but on the contrary, those who are conscientious in the discharge of their duties of filial obedience, may expect from him both the kindness and the protection of a Father; which is the more valuable because he is the

Lord God Almighty who wants no power to protect them, or so to influence them, as to make them in all things happy, as the children of so great a Father.

Haydock: 2Co 6:8

The apostles maintained the character, and fulfilled the duties of the ministers of Christ, equally in prosperity and adversity; they continued to speak the truth, though regarded by the Jews as seducers; exposed to all kinds of dangers, they relied on God, who preserved them, though in the midst of dangers, and of death itself. Though they possessed nothing in this world, yet God never permitted them to remain in want: his providence procured for them all things necessary. Though they had nothing in their possession, yet they procured relief for others, by the alms, of which they were made the disposers, though this latter part is generally understood of the spiritual riches, which they bestowed upon their auditors. (Estius)

Haydock: 2Co 6:11

Our mouth is open to speak with freedom and confidence. ---

Our heart is enlarged, dilated, as it were, with the warmth of love and charity. ---

But you are straitened in our own bowels; you have not the like charity and love for me, nor for all your brethren, and for all mankind, &c. (Witham) ---

The apostle here complains, that the Corinthians have not the same affection for him, which he has for them: as if he should say, however enlarged your heart may be, through the love you have for me, it can never equal the ardour of my love for you. He alludes to those who followed some false teachers, of whom he says a little after: Though I love you more, I am less loved. ---

But having the same recompense, by a just return have the same affection for me, as I have for you. (St. John Chrysostom) ---

Let your heart be dilated for me, and receive the advice I give you as coming from a father, who most tenderly loves his children. (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Co 6:14

Bear not the yoke together with unbelievers. He does not mean, that they must wholly avoid their company, which could not be done, but not to have too intimate a friendship with them, not to marry with them, to avoid their vices. Be ye separate....touch not the unclean thing. He does not speak of meats, clean and unclean, according to the law of Moses, nor of legal uncleannesses, but what is sinful under the new law of Christ, and would defile the soul, as idolatry, fornication, &c. (Witham)

Haydock: 2Co 6:15

Such as have cast off the yoke of God are called children of Belial. (John viii. 44.) Belial, in its radical signification, means without yoke. (Bible de Vence)

Haydock: 2Co 6:16

The apostle here blames the too great affection the Corinthians had for the Gentiles, who sometimes invited them to their religious feasts, at which were eaten meats which had been offered to idols, and which gave scandal both to the Christians and Gentiles. To draw them from these feasts he tells them, that they are the temples of the Holy Ghost, and that consequently they ought not to make themselves the temples of devils, by eating of the sacrifices of devils. (Calmet) ---

St. Paul, in this and the foregoing verses, clearly shews that the faithful ought not to frequent, on any account, the tabernacles of those who have left the Church. In the old law, Moses was ordered to command the ancients of Israel, on the part of God, to depart from the tents of those wicked men, lest they be involved in their sins. (Numbers xvi. 27.)

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Gill: 2Co 6:8

By honour and dishonour,.... Some persons think and speak honourably of us, and behave in a reverent manner towards us; they wish us well, bid us God speed, receive us into their houses, and treat us with respect: others think meanly of us, speak of us with the utmost contempt, and use us as if we were the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things; so we pass through the world; this is the treatment we meet with on the right hand and on the left; nor are we much affected with it:

by evil report and good report; as it fares with our persons, so with our doctrine: some speak well of it, receive and embrace it; others blaspheme it, and have it in the utmost abhorrence; we are charged with the vilest of crimes, and our doctrines loaded with the most absurd and wicked consequences, and both branded in the most infamous manner by one set of men; and by others both our persons and principles are cleared and vindicated from all such aspersions, and are highly commended and applauded.

As deceivers; for so they were accounted, as Christ was before them, by the unbelieving Jews, and by the false apostles, as if they were the authors, or abettors, and spreaders of errors, and the instruments of leading people aside.

And yet true; true and faithful ministers of the word; true to their Lord and master; true to the trust committed to them; true to the Gospel of Christ, and to the souls of men.

Gill: 2Co 6:9

As unknown, and yet well known,.... Not unknown to Father, Son, and Spirit, or to one another, but to the world; and that not with respect to their outward estate, but their spiritual and eternal state; as that they were the chosen of God, the children of God, and born again; they knew not what a life they lived, or what they lived upon; and as they were unacquainted with their inward troubles, they were strangers to their spiritual joys here, and to what they shall partake of hereafter. Moreover, something more may be intended in this word "unknown"; as that they were not owned, esteemed, and approved of by them, but slighted, despised, hated, and persecuted:

and yet well known; to God the Father, who loved them with an everlasting love, chose them in Christ, gave them to him, made a covenant with him on their account, and sent his Son to redeem them, which knowledge of them is special, eternal, affectionate, approbative, and attended with care of them; well known to Jesus Christ, who knows all that are his, specially, distinctly, perfectly, and that from everlasting, bears a strong affection for them, takes great care of them, indulges them with intimate communion with him, and openly owns and acknowledges them as his own; well known to the Spirit of God, who enlightened and quickened them, regenerated and sanctified them, wrought faith and every other grace in them, witnessed their adoption to them, led them into all truth, filled and furnished them with his gifts, and dwelt in them, and abode with them, as the seal and earnest of their future glory; and were well known to the saints, and one another: they loved each other, delighted in each other's company; they knew each other's experiences, joys, and sorrows, and, in some measure, their hearts, and even their spiritual and eternal estate.

As dying, and behold we live. They were as dying men, having the seeds of mortality in them, being subject to diseases, which bring on death; and especially as they carried about with them the dying of the Lord Jesus, were continually exposed to death, and in danger of it, lived in the views of it, had the sentence of it in themselves, and were appointed to it. And "behold", to admiration "we live"; a natural life, which we have from God, depends upon hint, and is preserved by him amidst a thousand dangers and enemies to which it is exposed; and we live a spiritual life, a life of grace from Christ, a life of faith on him, and communion with him.

As chastened and not killed; "chastened" by men, and chastened by God; not in a way of vindictive wrath, but in a fatherly manner; but "not killed", or put to a corporeal death by our persecutors, who have sought to take away our lives, but have not yet been suffered to do it: or by the Lord, by the means of afflictions, the messengers of death; these sometimes bring very near it, and God chastens by them, but does not as yet give over to death, because our time is not yet come, and our work not yet done.

Gill: 2Co 6:10

As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing,.... As to their outward appearance they are

sorrowful, and oftentimes really so on account of sin, their own and others, by reason of afflictions, temporal and spiritual; and as to the state and condition of the church of Christ, and the interest of religion: and

yet always rejoicing; not in themselves, or in any creature, but in the Lord, in the person, blood, and righteousness of Christ, and salvation by him. As poor, yet making many rich. It is, generally speaking, the lot of Christ's ministers to be poor in this world; and there are some reasons for it, why it is, and should be so; as that they might be maintained by the people, which is the ordinance of God; that it might appear that Christ's kingdom is not of this world; that the faith of men might not stand in the riches of the world, but in the power of God; that ministers might not be above their work, nor neglect it, nor drop it; and that they might not be ensnared and encumbered with the things of life.

And yet making many rich: are instruments in making many souls rich in things spiritual; by showing them their spiritual poverty, stripping them of what they trusted in, and valued themselves upon; directing them where true riches are, and furnishing them with spiritual knowledge, with the knowledge of things more worth than thousands of gold and silver.

As having nothing, and yet possessing all things; for the apostles left all for Christ, were sent out bare by him; what they had they gave away, and were very destitute of worldly enjoyments: "and possessing all things"; they had food and raiment, with which they were content, what was sufficient for them, and which they had in mercy, and with a blessing; and then they enjoyed all spiritual good things; they had not only a right unto them, but were possessed of them; they had all things pertaining to life and godliness; they had Christ, and all things with him, and therefore could say as Jacob did, that they had enough, yea, that they had all things.

Gill: 2Co 6:11

O ye Corinthians,.... The apostle having exhorted the ministers of the church at Corinth to take care of their ministry, that they fulfil it, and that it might appear that the Gospel, and gifts fitting them to preach it, were not received in vain by them; all which he strengthens and encourages by his own example; and that of others, addresses the members of the church in a very pathetic manner, saying,

our mouth is open to you; to speak our minds freely to you; we shall hide and conceal nothing from you, we shall deal with you with all plainness and faithfulness. This seems to refer unto, and pave the way for what he afterwards says about their unequal fellowship with unbelievers:

our heart is enlarged: with love to you, and eager desires after your good; and it is from the abundance of our hearts, and hearty affection for you, that our mouth is open so freely to communicate to you.

Gill: 2Co 6:12

Ye are not straitened in us,.... The meaning of which is, either you are not brought into straits and difficulties by us; we do not afflict and distress you, or fill you with anguish and trouble;

but ye are straitened in your own bowels; you are distressed by some among yourselves, who ought not to be with you, with whom you should have no fellowship and communion: or thus, you have room enough in our hearts, our hearts are so enlarged with love to you, that they are large enough to hold you all; an expression, setting forth the exceeding great love, and strong affection the apostle bore to the Corinthians; when, on the other hand, they had but very little love to him comparatively; he had a heart to hold them all without being straitened for room; and among all them they could scarce find room enough in their hearts and affections for him.

Gill: 2Co 6:13

Now for a recompence in the same,.... That your love to me may answer mine to you; that as you have my heart, I may have yours, and the same room in your heart, as you have in mine. The Vulgate Latin version reads, "having the same recompence"; and the Arabic version renders it, "grant to me the same recompence"; and the Syriac version, "recompense to me my usuries that are with you"; that is, repay me with affection, let love be returned for love.

I speak as unto my children; which relation subsisting between us requires mutual affection; for as a father should love his children, so children should love their father:

be ye also enlarged; in your love to me, as I am to you; and then, as if he should say, you will bear with, and take in good part the following exhortation and advice.

Gill: 2Co 6:14

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers,.... This seems to be an allusion to the law in Deu 22:10 and to be a mystical explanation of it; and is to be understood not as forbidding civil society and converse with unbelievers; for this is impracticable, then must believers needs go out of the world; this the many natural and civil relations subsisting among men make absolutely necessary; and in many cases is both lawful and laudable, especially when there is any opportunity or likelihood of doing them any service in a spiritual way: not is it to be understood as dehorting from entering into marriage contracts with such persons; for such marriages the apostle, in his former epistle, had allowed to be lawful, and what ought to be abode by; though believers would do well carefully to avoid such an unequal yoke, since oftentimes they are hereby exposed to many snares, temptations, distresses, and sorrows, which generally more or less follow hereon: but there is nothing in the text or context that lead to such an interpretation; rather, if any particular thing is referred to, it is to joining with unbelievers in acts of idolatry; since one of the apostle's arguments to dissuade from being unequally yoked with unbelievers is, "what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" and from the foregoing epistle it looks as if some in this church had joined with them in such practices; see 1Co 10:14. But I rather think that these words are a dissuasive in general, from having any fellowship with unbelievers in anything sinful and criminal, whether in worship or in conversation:

for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? This, with what is said in the following verse, and in the beginning of the next to that, contain reasons or arguments engaging believers to attend to the exhortation given not to keep company with unbelievers. By "righteousness" is meant righteous persons, who are made the righteousness of God in Christ, to whom Christ is made righteousness, or to whom the righteousness of Christ is imputed for justification; and who also have principles of grace and holiness in their hearts, or have the kingdom of God in them, which consists of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; and who being made free from the dominion of sin, are become servants of righteousness: and by unrighteousness is designed unrighteous persons, who are destitute of a justifying righteousness, are filled with all unrighteousness, and are, as it were, a mass and lump of iniquity; now, what fellowship can there be between persons of such distant characters?

And what communion hath light with darkness? regenerate men are made light in the Lord; they are enlightened into their state and condition by nature, to see the exceeding sinfulness of sin, to behold the glory, beauty, fulness, and suitableness of Christ, so as to be sensible of their need of him, and to be able to look unto him for life and salvation; they are enlightened more or less into the doctrines of the Gospel, and the duties of religion; and their path is a shining light, shining more and more unto the perfect day. Unregenerate persons are "darkness" itself; they are dark and ignorant of God in Christ, of the way of salvation by Christ, of the work of the Spirit of God upon the heart, and of the mysteries of grace; they know not themselves, nor the sad estate they are in; they are born, and brought up in darkness worse than Egyptian darkness; they go on in it, and if grace prevent not, will be cast into utter and eternal darkness. Now, what "communion" can there be between persons so different one from another? for what is more so than light and darkness? these the God of nature has divided from each other; and they are in nature irreconcilable to one another, and so they are in grace.

Gill: 2Co 6:15

And what concord hath Christ with Belial?.... The word "Belial" is an Hebrew word, and is only used in this place in the New Testament, but often in the Old; this word is differently read and pronounced, some copies read it "Beliar", and accordingly in the Ethiopic version it is "Belhor", and by Jerom read ⁱ Belvir"; but he observes, that it is more rightly called Belial": in some copies it is "Belias", and so Tertullian ^k read it; and Jerom ^l says, that most corruptly read it "Belias", for "Belial": some derive it from בלי, "Beli", and עלה, "Alah", and signifies "without ascent"; one in a very low condition, of low life, that never rises up, and comes to any thing; to which Kimchi's etymology of the word seems to agree, who says ^m, that Belial is a wicked man, בל יעלה ובל יצליח, "who does not succeed, and does not prosper": others say it signifies ⁿ one that is בלי עול, "Beli Ol, without a yoke", without the yoke of the law; so Jarchi explains children of Belial, in Deu 13:13 without yoke, who break off the yoke of God; and so say ^o the Talmudists,

"children of Belial, are children that break off עול שמים, "the yoke of heaven" (i.e. the law) from their necks;''

lawless persons, who are under no subjection to God or man: others ^p derive it from יעל, "Jaal", and בלי, "Beli", and so it signifies one that is unprofitable, does no good, and is good for nothing; and it is applied in Scripture to any wicked person, or thing; it is commonly rendered by the Chaldee paraphrast, a "wicked man"; and by Aquila and Suidas it is interpreted, "an apostate", and so it is rendered here in the Arabic version; sometimes the corruption of nature is called "Belial" by the Jews ^q, than which nothing can be more contrary to Christ; it is also a name of the devil; by Hesychius, "Beliar" is interpreted "a dragon", by which name the devil is sometimes called; and here the Syriac version is, "what concord hath Christ with Satan?" most interpreters by Belial understand the devil, who has cast off the yoke of obedience to God, and is unprofitable, yea, noxious and hurtful to men; between whom and Christ there is no concord, but a perpetual enmity; and as there is no concord between Christ personal, and Belial the devil, so what can there be between Christ mystical the church, which goes by the name of Christ, 1Co 12:12 and wicked men, the sons of Belial; who have cast away the law of the Lord, are not subject to the law of God, nor can they be, and are become unprofitable to themselves, and others?

or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? such have no part, and shall have no part or portion in one and the same thing; the believer's part and portion are God, Christ, and an eternal inheritance; the unbeliever's part and portion will be in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; and therefore what part, society, or communion, can they have with one another?

Gill: 2Co 6:16

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?.... That is, what association, confederation, or covenant agreement can the saints, who are the temple of God, have with idols, or their worshippers? no more than the ark of the Lord had with Dagon, or Dagon with the ark; which when brought into his temple, and set by him, the idol fell down, and part of him was broke to pieces:

for ye are the temple of the living God; some copies read "we are", and so the Ethiopic version. The Corinthians, not only as particular believers, were the temples of God, both with respect to their souls and bodies, but they, as a church of Christ incorporated together, were the temple of God; wherefore the apostle does not say, ye are the "temples", but "the temple" of the living God, in allusion to the temple built by Solomon; and that in respect to him the builder of it, who was a type of Christ, the son of David, the Prince of peace, the beloved of the Lord, who was to build the temple, the Gospel church, and to bear the glory; and as Solomon's temple was built on an eminence, on Mount Moriah, so the church is built upon a rock, higher than men, than angels, than the heavens, and out of the reach of men and devils, so as to hurt and destroy it. The matter of the temple at Jerusalem were timber of cedar, and costly stones, hewed, squared, and fitted for the building, before they were brought thither; so the proper materials of a Gospel church are such as are born of incorruptible seed, and therefore comparable to cedars; and are lively stones, hewed, fitted, and squared by the Spirit and grace of God, and put and jointed in among the saints: Solomon's temple was a very stately magnificent building; it was overlaid within with pure gold, expressing the internal glory of Christ's church, which is all glorious within, having the Lord himself to be the Glory in the midst of her: the church of Christ may be compared to the temple also, for the firmness of its foundations and pillars; Christ is the foundation of his church, and that itself is the pillar and ground of truth: that temple was holy, being set apart for the worship and service of God, as the church of Christ is sanctified by the Spirit of God, and is built up a spiritual house, to offer the spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise to God: it is called the "temple of God", because it is of his building, and where he dwells; "of the living God", because he has life in himself, and gives both spiritual and eternal life to his people; and in opposition to the idols of the Gentiles, who have no life in them; are representations of dead men, cannot give life, nor any of the comforts of life to their votaries; and who, by worshipping them, expose themselves to eternal death. The evidence of the saints, or church of Christ being the temple of the living God, is as follows,

as God hath said, Lev 26:11. I will dwell in them; not by his omnipresence, so he dwells everywhere; nor by his omnipotence, so he dwells in, and with all his creatures, supporting them by the word of his power; but by his Spirit and grace, or by his spiritual and gracious presence, which he favours his people with, in the use of ordinances, and where according to his promises they may expect it:

and walk in them. This denotes the communion God is pleased to afford his church and people, and that gracious presence of his with them, whilst they are sojourners here, and passing on to the heavenly glory; as God is said to "walk in a tent and tabernacle" with the "Israelites", whilst they were travelling through the wilderness to Canaan; so he walks in his temple, and with his church and people, whilst they are travelling home to the heavenly Canaan; he walks in them, as in his court and palace, or as in his garden, where he takes much pleasure and delight, and great notice and care of them. R. Solomon Jarchi explains the phrase in Lev 26:12 "I will walk among you", thus; I will walk with you in the garden of Eden, or paradise, as one of you, and ye shall not be afraid of me: but the passage regards the presence of God with his people here, and not hereafter:

and I will be their God; not as the God of nature and providence only, but as the God of all grace; as their covenant God and Father in Christ; which is the greatest happiness that can be enjoyed:

and they shall be my people: his special people, loved by him with a peculiar love, on whom he bestows peculiar blessings; and who are made a willing people, willing to be his people by powerful grace, and are formed for himself, his service, and glory: hence it follows,

Gill: 2Co 6:17

Wherefore come out from among them,.... Since they were the temple of the living God, built up an habitation for the Most High; since he resided among them, took his walks in the midst of them, was their God, and they were his people. These words are taken out of Isa 52:11 where the several phrases here used may be observed. They seem to be directed to the Israelites, and particularly to the priests and Levites, who bore the vessels of the Lord; and are fitly applied to believers under the Gospel dispensation, who are by Christ made priests unto God. They are usually interpreted by the Jewish writers, as a call to the Jews to come out of captivity, to quit Babylon and Persia, and the several cities and countries where they were; and are applied in Rev 18:4 to mystical Babylon, the church of Rome, as a call to God's people, to leave the superstitions and idolatries of that church, lest they be partakers of her plagues; and here, by the apostle, as an exhortation to believers in general, to forsake the company and conversation of the men of the world: who may be said to come out from among them at first conversion, when they are called to forsake their own people, and their Father's house, to leave their native country, and seek an heavenly one; and when, in consequence of effectual calling grace, their conversations are different from what they were before, and from other Gentiles; when they dislike their former companions, abhor their sinful conversation, abstain from it, keep out of it, as being infectious, hurtful, and detrimental to them; when they have no fellowship with the workers of iniquity, but reprove them both by words and deeds, which is their incumbent duty: the phrase in Isaiah is, "go ye out from the midst of her"; which Kimchi interprets, "out of the midst of every city in which thou art"; that is, in which idolaters lived; and well agrees with εκ μεσου αυτων here, "out of the midst of them":

and be ye separate, saith the Lord; this phrase is not to be met with expressly in our version of the above text in Isaiah, but is signified by several expressions in it; the words rendered "depart ye, depart ye", are by the Targum, or Chaldee paraphrase on the place, expressed by אתפרשו אתפרשו, "be ye separate, be ye separate", which are the very words of the apostle here; and the phrase, "touch no unclean thing", is explained by R. Aben Ezra, מאומות העולם שיבדלו, "that they might be separate from the nations of the world" and another word, הברו, "be ye clean", signifies such a purgation as is made by separation, by removing the clean from the unclean, by separating the wheat from the chaff. The people of God are a separate people in election, redemption, and the effectual calling, and ought to be so in their conduct and conversation; they ought to separate themselves from all superstition and will worship in religious matters, and from the evil customs and manners of the world, though they are sure to become a prey, and to expose themselves to the contempt and rage of it:

and touch not the unclean thing. The allusion is to several laws under the former dispensation, which forbid touching many things which were accounted unclean, whereby pollution was contracted, and the persons were obliged to a ceremonial cleansing; see Lev 5:2 Num 19:11. It has no regard to touching, tasting, and eating any sort of food, which was forbid as unclean by the ceremonial law; for the difference between meats clean and unclean was now removed; but if anything is particularly designed by the unclean thing, it seems to be idolatry, and to be a prohibition of joining with worshippers of idols in their idolatrous practices, whereby a moral pollution is contracted; since in the beginning of the former verse it is said, "what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" though it is rather intended in general, to forbid all communion and fellowship with unclean persons and things, not to touch them, to come nigh them, or have anything to do with them:

and I will receive you; this, and what follows in the next verse, are said to encourage believers to keep at a distance from wicked and immoral persons, whose company and conversation are dishonourable, ensnaring, and defiling. These persons had been already received into the love of God, his best and strongest affections, from which there can be no separation; and in the covenant of grace, which as it cannot be removed, so neither could they be removed out of that; they were received into the church of Christ, and had a place and a name in it, better than that of sons and daughters; and as they had been received by Christ, when they came to him as poor perishing sinners without him, so they were still received graciously, notwithstanding their many backslidings: neither of these therefore is the sense of this passage: but, that whereas by quitting society with carnal men, they would expose themselves to their resentments; the Lord here promises, that he would take them under the wings of his protection; he would take care of them and preserve them, keep them as the apple of his eye, and be a wall of fire round about them, whilst in this world; and when he had guided them by his counsel here, would "receive" them "to glory": this clause seems to be taken from the latter part of Isa 52:12 which may be rendered, "the God of Israel will gather you"; i.e. to himself, and protect them.

Gill: 2Co 6:18

And will be a father unto you,.... The same is promised to Solomon, 2Sa 7:14 and said of Israel, Jer 31:9 which is thought to be referred unto. This is not to be understood of the first commencement of this relation, as though God now began to be their Father; nor indeed of the first manifestation of it, which had been already made to their souls by the Spirit of adoption, witnessing to their spirits that God was their Father, and they were his children; but of his acting, and continuing to act the part of a father to them; which he does, by pitying his children, sympathizing with them, and supporting them under all their trials and afflictions; by taking care of them, that they have food and raiment convenient for them; by laying up for them, as he has done in his covenant, in his Son, and in heaven; by communicating unto them, by passing by their offences and miscarriages to him, and by correcting them for their good, and at last giving them the heavenly inheritance, and putting them into the possession of it:

and ye shall be my sons and daughters. This also does not relate to the first act of adoption, when these persons first became the sons and daughters of God; for so they were by adopting grace, in the mind, counsel, and covenant of God, from eternity; as such they were considered when given to Christ, when he assumed their nature, and died to gather them together in one; and as antecedent to faith and the work of the Spirit upon their souls: nor even of the first discovery of this grace unto them; but the meaning is, that whereas they were the sons and daughters of God, they should be treated as such; whenever he spoke to them, or dealt with them in providence, he would speak to them and deal with them as children; or it may refer to the more full and open manifestation of their sonship, before angels and men, at the appearance of Christ: to all which is added,

saith the Lord Almighty; for confirmation sake, and to encourage the faith of the saints; since he who said all this is the Lord God Almighty, and so able to perform it; and of which, and his willingness, no question is to be made, since he has said it.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Co 6:8

¹ tn Or “regarded as deceivers.”

NET Notes: 2Co 6:9

¹ tn Grk “disciplined,” but in this context probably a reference to scourging prior to execution (yet the execution is not carried out).

NET Notes: 2Co 6:11

¹ tn Grk “our mouth has been open to you,” an idiom for openness in communication.

NET Notes: 2Co 6:12

¹ tn Grk “You are not restricted by us.”

NET Notes: 2Co 6:13

¹ tn The word “my” is not in the Greek text but is implied.

² tn The words “to us” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

NET Notes: 2Co 6:14

¹ tn Or “Do not be mismatched.”

NET Notes: 2Co 6:15

¹ sn The Greek term Βελιάρ (Beliar) is a spelling variant for Βελιάλ (Belial, see Judg 20:13 LXX). It occurs only here in the NT. Beliar is a reference to Satan.

NET Notes: 2Co 6:16

¹ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (Ì⁴⁶ א² C D² F G Ψ 0209 Ï lat sy Tert), read ὑμεῖς…ἐστε (Jumei"…este, “you are”) instead of ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν (Jhmei"…esmen, “we are”) here, but several other early and important mss (א* B D* L P 0243 6 33 81 326 365 1175 1739 1881 2464 co Cl Or) have ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν. The external evidence is somewhat in favor of the first person pronoun and verb; the internal evidence weighs in even stronger. In light of the parallel in 1 Cor 3:16, where Paul uses ἐστε (“you are the temple of God”), as well as the surrounding context here in which the second person verb or pronoun is used in vv. 14, 17, and 18, the second person reading seems obviously motivated. The first person reading can explain the rise of the other reading, but the reverse is not as easily done. Consequently, the first person reading of ἡμεῖς…ἐσμεν has all the credentials of authenticity.

² tn Or “live among them,” “live with them.”

sn I will live in them. The OT text that lies behind this passage (Lev 26:11-12) speaks of God dwelling in the midst of his people. The Greek preposition en in the phrase en autoi" (“in them”) can also have that meaning (“among” or “with”). However, Paul appears to be extending the imagery here to involve God (as the Spirit) dwelling in his people, since he calls believers “the temple of the living God” in the previous clause, imagery he uses elsewhere in his writings (1 Cor 3:16; Eph 2:21-22).

³ sn A quotation from Lev 26:12; also similar to Jer 32:38; Ezek 37:27.

NET Notes: 2Co 6:17

¹ sn A quotation from Isa 52:11.

² tn Or “will receive.”

³ sn A paraphrased quotation from Ezek 20:41.

NET Notes: 2Co 6:18

¹ sn A paraphrased quotation from 2 Sam 7:14 and Isa 43:6.

² tn Traditionally, “the Lord Almighty.” BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…κύριος π. (oft. LXX) 2 Cor 6:18.”

Geneva Bible: 2Co 6:11

^{( 6 )} O [ye] Corinthians, our mouth is ^{( g )} open unto you, our heart is enlarged.

^{( 6 )} Going about to rebuke them he says first that he deals with them sincerely and with an open and plain heart, and in addition complains that they do not do the same in loving their Father.

^{( g )} The opening of the mouth and heart signifies a most earnest affection in him that speaks, as it happens commonly with those that are in some great joy.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 6:12

Ye are not ^{( h )} straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own ^{( i )} bowels.

^{( h )} You are in my heart as in a house, and that no narrow or confined house, for I have opened my whole heart to you; but you are inwardly narrow towards me.

^{( i )} After the manner of the Hebrews, he calls those tender affections which rest in the heart, "bowels".

Geneva Bible: 2Co 6:14

^{( 7 )} Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

^{( 7 )} Now he rebukes them boldly, because they became fellows with infidels in outward idolatry, as though it were an indifferent thing. And this is the fourth part of this epistle, the conclusion of which is, that those whom the Lord has condescended to in calling them his children, must keep themselves pure, not only in mind, but also in body, that they may be completely holy to the Lord.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 6:15

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what ^{( k )} part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

^{( k )} What can there be between them?

Geneva Bible: 2Co 6:16

And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the ^{( l )} living God; as God hath said, I will ^{( m )} dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

^{( l )} He sets the living God against idols.

^{( m )} God dwells with us, because Christ has become God with us.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Co 6:1-18

1 That he has approved himself a faithful minister of Christ by his exhortations,

3 and by integrity of life,

4 and by patient enduring all kinds of affliction and disgrace for the gospel.

10 Of which he speaks the more boldly amongst them because his heart is open to them,

13 and he expects the like affection from them again;

14 exhorting them to flee the society and pollutions of idolaters, as being themselves temples of the living God.

MHCC: 2Co 6:1-10

The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means of grace the means of salvation, the offers of the gospel the offers of salvation, and the present time the proper time to accept these offers. The morrow is none of ours: we know not what will be on the morrow, nor where we shall be. We now enjoy a day of grace; then let all be careful not to neglect it. Ministers of the gospel should look upon themselves as God's servants, and act in every thing suitably to that character. The apostle did so, by much patience in afflictions, by acting from good principles, and by due temper and behaviour. Believers, in this world, need the grace of God, to arm them against temptations, so as to bear the good report of men without pride; and so as to bear their reproaches with patience. They have nothing in themselves, but possess all things in Christ. Of such differences is a Christian's life made up, and through such a variety of conditions and reports, is our way to heaven; and we should be careful in all things to approve ourselves to God. The gospel, when faithfully preached, and fully received, betters the condition even of the poorest. They save what before they riotously spent, and diligently employ their time to useful purposes. They save and gain by religion, and thus are made rich, both for the world to come and for this, when compared with their sinful, profligate state, before they received the gospel.

MHCC: 2Co 6:11-18

It is wrong for believers to join with the wicked and profane. The word unbeliever applies to all destitute of true faith. True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked. The fatal effects of neglecting Scripture precepts as to marriages clearly appear. Instead of a help meet, the union brings a snare. Those whose cross it is to be unequally united, without their wilful fault, may expect consolation under it; but when believers enter into such unions, against the express warnings of God's word, they must expect must distress. The caution also extends to common conversation. We should not join in friendship and acquaintance with wicked men and unbelievers. Though we cannot wholly avoid seeing and hearing, and being with such, yet we should never choose them for friends. We must not defile ourselves by converse with those who defile themselves with sin. Come out from the workers of iniquity, and separate from their vain and sinful pleasures and pursuits; from all conformity to the corruptions of this present evil world. If it be an envied privilege to be the son or daughter of an earthly prince, who can express the dignity and happiness of being sons and daughters of the Almighty?

Matthew Henry: 2Co 6:1-10

In these verses we have an account of the apostle's general errand and exhortation to all to whom he preached in every place where he came, with the several arguments and methods he used. Observe,

I. The errand or exhortation itself, namely, to comply with the gospel offers of reconciliation - that, being favoured with the gospel, they would not receive this grace of God in vain, 2Co 6:1. The gospel is a word of grace sounding in our ears; but it will be in vain for us to hear it, unless we believe it, and comply with the end and design of it. And as it is the duty of the ministers of the gospel to exhort and persuade their hearers to accept of grace and mercy which are offered to them, so they are honoured with this high title of co-workers with God. Note, 1. They must work; and must work for God and his glory, for souls and their good: and they are workers with God, yet under him, as instruments only; however, if they be faithful, they may hope to find God working with them, and their labour will be effectual. 2. Observe the language and way of the spirit of the gospel: it is not with roughness and severity, but with all mildness and gentleness, to beseech and entreat, to use exhortations and arguments, in order to prevail with sinners and overcome their natural unwillingness to be reconciled to God and to be happy for ever.

II. The arguments and method which the apostle used. And here he tells them,

1. The present time is the only proper season to accept of the grace that is offered, and improve that grace which is afforded: NOW is the accepted time, NOW is the day of salvation, 2Co 6:2. The gospel day is a day of salvation, the means of grace the means of salvation, the offers of the gospel the offers of salvation, and the present time the only proper time to accept of these offers: Today, while it is called today. The morrow is none of ours: we know not what will be on the morrow, nor where we shall be; and we should remember that present seasons of grace are short and uncertain, and cannot be recalled when they are past. It is therefore our duty and interest to improve them while we have them, and no less than our salvation depends upon our so doing.

2. What caution they used not to give offence that might hinder the success of their preaching: Giving no offence in any thing, 2Co 6:3. The apostle had great difficulty to behave prudently and inoffensively towards the Jews and Gentiles, for many of both sorts watched for his halting, and sought occasion to blame him and his ministry, or his conversation; therefore he was very cautious not to give offence to those who were so apt to take offence, that he might not offend the Jews by unnecessary zeal against the law, nor the Gentiles by unnecessary compliances with such as were zealous for the law. He was careful, in all his words and actions, not to give offence, or occasion of guilt or grief. Note, When others are too apt to take offence, we should be cautious lest we give offence; and ministers especially should be careful lest they do any thing that may bring blame on their ministry or render that unsuccessful.

3. Their constant aim and endeavor in all things to approve themselves faithful, as became the ministers of God, 2Co 6:4. We see how much stress the apostle upon all occasions lays on fidelity in our work, because much of our success depends upon that. His eye was single, and his heart upright, in all his ministrations; and his great desire was to be the servant of God, and to approve himself so. Note, Ministers of the gospel should look upon themselves as God's servants or ministers, and act in every thing suitably to that character. So did the apostle, (1.) By much patience in afflictions. He was a great sufferer, and met with many afflictions, was often in necessities, and wanted the conveniences, if not the necessaries, of life; in distresses, being straitened on every side, hardly knowing what to do; in stripes often (2Co 11:24); in imprisonments; in tumults raised by the Jews and Gentiles against him; in labours, not only in preaching the gospel, but in travelling from place to place for that end, and working with his hands to supply his necessities; in watchings and in fastings, either voluntary or upon a religious account, or involuntary for the sake of religion: but he exercised much patience in all, 2Co 6:4, 2Co 6:5. Note, [1.] It is the lot of faithful ministers often to be reduced to great difficulties, and to stand in need of much patience. [2.] Those who would approve themselves to God must approve themselves faithful in trouble as well as in peace, not only in doing the work of God diligently, but also in bearing the will of God patiently. (2.) By acting from good principles. The apostle went by a good principle in all he did, and tells them what his principles were (2Co 6:6, 2Co 6:7); namely, pureness; and there is no piety without purity. A care to keep ourselves unspotted from the world is necessary in order to our acceptance with God. Knowledge was another principle; and zeal without this is but madness. He also acted with long-suffering and kindness, being not easily provoked, but bearing with the hardness of men's hearts, and hard treatment from their hands, to whom he kindly endeavoured to do good. He acted under the influence of the Holy Ghost, from the noble principle of unfeigned love, according to the rule of the word of truth, under the supports and assistances of the power of God, having on the armour of righteousness (a consciousness of universal righteousness and holiness), which is the best defence against the temptations of prosperity on the right hand, and of adversity on the left. (3.) By a due temper and behaviour under all the variety of conditions in this world, 2Co 6:8-10. We must expect to meet with many alterations of our circumstances and conditions in this world; and it will be a great evidence of our integrity if we preserve a right temper of mind, and duly behave ourselves, under them all. The apostles met with honour and dishonour, good report and evil report: good men in this world must expect to meet with some dishonour and reproaches, to balance their honour and esteem; and we stand in need of the grace of God to arm us against the temptations of honour on the one hand, so as to bear good report without pride, and of dishonour on the other hand, so as to bear reproaches without impatience or recrimination. It should seem that persons differently represented the apostles in their reports; that some represented them as the best, and others as the worst, of men: by some they were counted deceivers, and run down as such; by others as true, preaching the gospel of truth, and men who were true to the trust reposed in them. They were slighted by the men of the world as unknown, men of no figure or account, not worth taking notice of; yet in all the churches of Christ they were well known, and of great account: they were looked upon as dying, being killed all the day long, and their interest was thought to be a dying interest; "and yet behold,"says the apostle, "we live, and live comfortably, and bear up cheerfully under all our hardships, and go on conquering and to conquer."They were chastened, and often fell under the lash of the law, yet not killed: and though it was thought that they were sorrowful, a company of mopish and melancholy men, always sighing and mourning, yet they were always rejoicing in God, and had the greatest reason to rejoice always. They were despised as poor, upon the account of their poverty in this world; and yet they made many rich, by preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ. They were thought to have nothing, and silver and gold they had none, houses and lands they had none; yet they possessed all things: they had nothing in this world, but they had a treasure in heaven. Their effects lay in another country, in another world. They had nothing in themselves, but possessed all things in Christ. Such a paradox is a Christian's life, and through such a variety of conditions and reports lies our way to heaven; and we should be careful in all these things to approve ourselves to God.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 6:11-18

The apostle proceeds to address himself more particularly to the Corinthians, and cautions them against mingling with unbelievers. Here observe,

I. How the caution is introduced with a profession, in a very pathetic manner, of the most tender affection to them, even like that of a father to his children, 2Co 6:11-13. Though the apostle was happy in a great fluency of expressions, yet he seemed to want words to express the warm affections he had for these Corinthians. As if he had said, "O ye Corinthians, to whom I am now writing, I would fain convince you how well I love you: we are desirous to promote the spiritual and eternal welfare of all to whom we preach, yet our mouth is open unto you, and our heart is enlarged unto you, in a special manner."And, because his heart was thus enlarged with love to them, therefore he opened his mouth so freely to them in kind admonitions and exhortations: " You are not, "says he, " straitened in us; we would gladly do you all the service we can, and promote your comfort, as helpers of your faith and your joy; and, if it be otherwise, the fault is in yourselves; it is because you are straitened in yourselves, and fail in suitable returns to us, through some misapprehensions concerning us; and all we desire as a recompense is only that you would be proportionably affected towards us, as children should love their father."Note, It is desirable that there should be a mutual good affection between ministers and their people, and this would greatly tend to their mutual comfort and advantage.

II. The caution or exhortation itself, not to mingle with unbelievers, not to be unequally yoked with them, 2Co 6:14. Either,

1. In stated relations. It is wrong for good people to join in affinity with the wicked and profane; these will draw different ways, and that will be galling and grievous. Those relations that are our choice must be chosen by rule; and it is good for those who are themselves the children of God to join with those who are so likewise; for there is more danger that the bad will damage the good than hope that the good will benefit the bad.

2. In common conversation. We should not yoke ourselves in friendship and acquaintance with wicked men and unbelievers. Though we cannot wholly avoid seeing, and hearing, and being with such, yet we should never choose them for our bosom-friends.

3. Much less should we join in religious communion with them; we must not join with them in their idolatrous services, nor concur with them in their false worship, nor any abominations; we must not confound together the table of the Lord and the table of devils, the house of God and the house of Rimmon. The apostle gives several good reasons against this corrupt mixture. (1.) It is a very great absurdity, 2Co 6:14, 2Co 6:15. It is an unequal yoking of things together that will not agree together; as bad as for the Jews to have ploughed with an ox and an ass or to have sown divers sorts of grain intermixed. What an absurdity is it to think of joining righteousness and unrighteousness, or mingling light and darkness, fire and water, together! Believers are, and should be, righteous; but unbelievers are unrighteous. Believers are made light in the Lord, but unbelievers are in darkness; and what comfortable communion can these have together? Christ and Belial are contrary one to the other; they have opposite interests and designs, so that it is impossible there should be any concord or agreement between them. It is absurd, therefore, to think of enlisting under both; and, if the believer has part with an infidel, he does what in him lies to bring Christ and Belial together. (2.) It is a dishonour to the Christian's profession (2Co 6:16); for Christians are by profession, and should be in reality, the temples of the living God - dedicated to, and employed for, the service of God, who has promised to reside in them, to dwell and walk in them, to stand in a special relation to them, and take a special care of them, that he will be their God and they shall be his people. Now there can be no agreement between the temple of God and idols. Idols are rivals with God for his honour, and God is a jealous God, and will not give his glory to another. (3.) There is a great deal of danger in communicating with unbelievers and idolators, danger of being defiled and of being rejected; therefore the exhortation is (2Co 6:17) to come out from among them, and keep at a due distance, to be separate, as one would avoid the society of those who have the leprosy or the plague, for fear of taking infection, and not to touch the unclean thing, lest we be defiled. Who can touch pitch, and not be defiled by it? We must take care not to defile ourselves by converse with those who defile themselves with sin; so is the will of God, as we ever hope to be received, and not rejected, by him. (4.) It is base ingratitude to God for all the favours he has bestowed upon believers and promised to them, 2Co 6:18. God has promised to be a Father to them, and that they shall be his sons and his daughters; and is there a greater honour or happiness than this? How ungrateful a thing then must it be if those who have this dignity and felicity should degrade and debase themselves by mingling with unbelievers! Do we thus requite the Lord, O foolish and unwise?

Barclay: 2Co 6:3-10

In all the chances and changes of life Paul had only one concern--to show himself a sincere and profitable minister of Jesus Christ. Even as he made that claim, his mind's eye went back across what Chrysostom called "the blizzard of troubles" through which he had come and through which he was still struggling. Every word in this tremendous catalogue, which someone has called "the hymn of the herald of salvation," has its background in Paul's adventurous life.

He begins with one triumphant word of the Christian life--endurance (hupomone, 5281). It is untranslatable. It does not describe the frame of mind which can sit down with folded hands and bowed head and let a torrent of troubles sweep over it in passive resignation. It describes the ability to bear things in such a triumphant way that it transfigures them. Chrysostom has a great panegyric on this hupomone (5281). He calls it "the root of all goods, the mother of piety, the fruit that never withers, a fortress that is never taken, a harbour that knows no storms" and "the queen of virtues, the foundation of right actions, peace in war, calm in tempest, security in plots." It is the courageous and triumphant ability to pass the breaking-point and not to break and always to greet the unseen with a cheer. It is the alchemy which transmutes tribulation into strength and glory.

Paul goes on to speak of three groups, each of three things, in which this victorious endurance is practised.

(i) There are the internal conflicts of the Christian life.

(a) The things which press sore upon us. The word he uses is thlipsis (2347) which originally expressed sheer, physical pressure on a man. There are things which weigh down a man's spirit like the sorrows which are a burden on his heart and the disappointments which are like to crush the life out of him. The triumphant endurance can cope with them all.

(b) The inescapable pains of life. The Greek word (anagke, 318) literally means the necessities of life. Certain burdens a man may escape, but others are inescapable. There are certain things which a man must bear. The greatest of these are sorrow, for only the life which has never known love will never know that, and death which is the lot of every man. The triumphant endurance enables a man to face all that is involved in being a man.

© Anxieties. The word Paul uses (stenochoria, 4730) literally means a too narrow place. It might be used of an army caught in a narrow, rocky defile with space neither to manoeuvre nor to escape. It might be used of a ship caught in a storm with no room either to ride it or to run before it. There are moments when a man seems to be in a situation in which the walls of life are closing round him. Even then the triumphant endurance makes him able to breathe the spaciousness of heaven.

(ii) There are the external tribulations of life.

(a) Stripes. For Paul the Christian life meant not only spiritual suffering, but also physical suffering. It is the simple fact that if there had not been those who were ready and able to bear the torture of the fire and the wild beasts we would not be Christian today. There are still some for whom it is physical agony to be a Christian; and it is always true that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."

(b) Prisons. Clement of Rome tells us that Paul was in prison no fewer than seven times. From Acts we know that before he wrote to the Corinthians he was in prison in Philippi, and afterwards in Jerusalem, in Caesarea and in Rome. The pageant of Christians who were imprisoned stretches from the first to the twentieth century. There have always been those who would abandon their liberty sooner than abandon their faith.

© Tumults. Over and over again we have the picture of the Christian facing, not the sternness of the law, but the violence of the mob. John Wesley tells us of what happened to him in Wednesbury when the mob came "pouring down like a flood." "To attempt speaking was vain; for the noise on every side was like the roaring of the sea. So they dragged me along till we came to the town; when, seeing the door of a large house open, I attempted to go in; but a man, catching me by the hair, pulled me back into the middle of the crowd. They made no more stop till they had carried me through the main street, from one end of the town to the other." George Foxe tells us of what happened to him at Tickhill. "I found the priest and most of the chief of the parish together in the chancel. So I went up to them and began to speak, but immediately they fell upon me; the clerk took up the Bible as I was speaking, and struck me on the face with it, so that it gushed out with blood, and I bled exceedingly in the steeple-house. Then the people cried, 'Let us have him out of the Church'; and when they had got me out they beat me exceedingly, and threw me down, and over a hedge; and afterwards they dragged me through a house into the street, stoning an beating me as they drew me along, so that I was besmeared all over with blood and dirt.... Yet when I was got upon my legs again I declared to them the word of life and shewed them the fruits of their teachers, how they dishonoured Christianity." The mob has often been the enemy of Christianity; but nowadays it is not the violence but the mockery or the amused contempt of the crowd against which the Christian must stand fast.

(iii) There is the effort of the Christian life.

(a) Toils. The word Paul uses (kopos, 2873) is in the New Testament almost a technical term for the Christian life. It describes toil to the point of sheer exhaustion, the kind of toil which takes everything of body, mind and spirit that a man has to give. The Christian is the workman of God.

(b) Sleepless nights. Some would be spent in prayer, some in a situation of peril or discomfort where sleep was impossible. At all times Paul was ready to be the unsleeping sentinel of Christ.

© Fastings. No doubt what Paul means here is not deliberately chosen fastings, but times when he went hungry for the work's sake. We may well contrast with his spirit the spirit of the man who would not miss a meal to attend the worship of the house of God.

Now Paul turns away from the trials and the tribulations, which endurance enabled him to conquer, to his own God-given equipment for the Christian life. Once again he retains the same arrangement of three groups of three items.

(i) There are the God-given qualities of mind. (a) Purity. The word Paul uses (hagnotes, 54) was defined by the Greeks as "the careful avoidance of all sins which are against the gods; the service of the honour of God as nature demands", as "prudence at its highest tension" and as "freedom from every stain of flesh and spirit." It is in fact the quality which enables a man to enter into the very presence of God.

(b) Knowledge. This kind of knowledge has been defined as "knowledge of the things that must be done." It was the knowledge which issued not in the theologian's fine-spun subtleties but in the actions of the Christian man.

© Patience. Usually in the New Testament this word (makrothumia, 3115) denotes patience with people, the ability to bear with them even when they are wrong, even when they are cruel and insulting. It is a great word. In First Maccabees it is said (1Macc 8:4) that the Romans conquered the world by "their policy and their patience" and there the word expresses that Roman unconquerableness which would never make peace under defeat. Patience is the quality of a man who may lose a battle but who will never admit defeat in a campaign.

(ii) There are the God-given qualities of heart. (a) Kindness. Kindness (chrestotes, 5544) is one of the great New Testament words. It is the very opposite of severity. One great commentator describes it as "the sympathetic kindliness or sweetness of temper which puts others at their ease and shrinks from giving pain." The great example is in Gen 26:17-22which tells how Isaac would not fight or strive. It is the quality which thinks far more of others than of itself.

(b) The Holy Spirit. Paul knew well that no useful word could be spoken nor any good deed done without the help of the Holy Spirit. But the phrase may well mean not the Holy Spirit, but a spirit of holiness. It may mean that Paul's dominating motive was one which was holy, one which was directed solely towards the honour and service of God.

© Unfeigned love. The word Paul uses is agape 26), which is a characteristic New Testament word. It means unconquerable benevolence. It means that spirit which, no matter what anyone else does to it, will never seek anything but the other person's highest good, will never dream of revenge, but will meet all injuries and rebuffs with undefeatable good will.

(iii) There is the God-given equipment for the work of preaching the gospel.

(a) The declaration of the truth. Paul knew that Jesus had not only given him a gospel to proclaim but the strength and the ability to proclaim it. To God he owed both the word and the door of utterance that had been opened for it.

(b) The power of God. To Paul this was everything. It was the only power he had. It was said of Henry the Fifth after the battle of Agincourt, "Neither would he suffer any ditties to be made and sung by the minstrels of his glorious victory, for that he would wholly have the praise and thanks altogether given to God." Paul would never have said in pride, "I did this," but always in humility, "God enabled me to do it."

© The weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left. This means the weapons for defence and for attack. The sword or the spear was carried in the right hand and the shield on the left arm; and Paul is saying that God has given him the power to attack his task and to defend himself from his temptations.

Paul completes this lyrical passage with a series of contrasts. He begins with in honour and in dishonour. The word he uses for dishonour is normally used in Greek for loss of rights as a citizen (atimia, 819). Paul says, "I may have lost all the rights and privileges which the world can confer but I am still a citizen of the Kingdom of God." In ill-repute and in good-repute. There are those who criticize his every action and who hate his very name, but his fame with God is sure. Deceivers and yet true. The Greek word (planos, 4108) literally means a wandering quack and impostor. That is what others call him but he knows that his message is God's truth. Unknown yet well known. The Jews who slandered him said he was a no-account nobody whom no one had ever heard of, yet to those to whom he had brought Christ he was known with gratitude. Dying, and lo! we live. Danger was his companion and the prospect of death his comrade, and yet by the grace of God he was triumphantly alive with a life that death could never kill. Chastened, but not killed. Things happened to him that might have chastened any man's spirit but they could not kill the spirit of Paul. Grieved, but always rejoicing. Things happened that might have broken any man's heart but they could not destroy Paul's joy. Poor, yet making many rich. He might seem to be penniless but he brought with him that which would enrich the souls of men. Having nothing, yet possessing all things. He might seem to have nothing, but, having Christ, he had everything that mattered in this world and the next.

Barclay: 2Co 6:11-13

Paul is speaking with the accents of purest love. The breaches are healed. The quarrels are all made up and love reigns supreme. The phrase that we have translated "Our heart lies wide open to you," literally means, "Our heart is enlarged." Chrysostom has a fine comment. He says that heat makes all things expand and the warmth of love will always expand a man's heart.

In the King James Version in 2Co 6:12we note a translation which is very common in the New Testament and not very fortunate, "Ye are straitened in your own bowels." The word translated bowels is the Greek word splagchna (4698). It literally means the upper viscera, the heart, the liver and the lungs. In these organs the seat of the emotions was supposed to lie. The form of expression sounds awkward but it is not really any more curious than our own English form. We speak of a man being melancholy which literally means that he has a black liver. We put the seat of love in the heart, which, after all, is a physical organ. But in English idiom it is more natural to use the word heart than bowels.

Paul here makes a great series of claims. He has wronged no one, he has corrupted no one, he has taken advantage of no one. Towards the end of his life Sir Walter Scott made the great claim, "I have unsettled no man's faith, I have corrupted no man's principles." Thackeray, also towards the end of his life, wrote a prayer in which he prayed that he "might never write a word inconsistent with the love of God, or the love of man, might never propagate has own prejudices or pander to those of others, might always speak the truth with his pen, and might never be actuated by a love of greed."

Only one thing is worse than sinning oneself, and that is teaching another to sin. It is one of the grim truths of life that another must always present a person with his first temptation, must give him the first push into sin, and it is a terrible thing to introduce a younger or a weaker brother to the wrong thing.

Someone tells of an old man who on his death-bed seemed distressed by something. When asked what was the matter he said that, when he was a boy, he and some companions had been playing at a cross-roads in the middle of a common. There was a signpost there and it was loose in its socket. They turned it round so that its arms were facing in the wrong directions. And the old man said, "I cannot stop wondering how many people were sent on the wrong road by the thing we did that day."

There can be no regret like the regret of having sent another on the wrong way. It was Paul's proud claim that his guidance and his influence had always been towards the best.

He finishes this passage by telling the Corinthians how complete his comfort is and how overflowing his joy even although at the moment troubles are all around him. Surely there never was a clearer proof that human relationships are the most important thing in life. If a man is happy at home, he can face up to anything outside. If a man is in fellowship with his friends, he can withstand the slings and arrows of fortune with a smile. As the writer of the Proverbs has it, "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted ox and hatred with it." (Pro 15:17).

Barclay: 2Co 6:14-18

We come now to the passage which we omitted previously. There is no doubt that it comes in very awkwardly where it is. Its sternness is at odds with the glad and joyous love of the verses on either side of it.

In the introduction we saw that Paul wrote a letter prior to First Corinthians. In 1Co 5:9he says, "I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with immoral men." That letter may be altogether lost. Or it may be that this is a section of it. It could easily happen that, when Paul's letters were being collected, one sheet could get misplaced. It was not until A.D. 90 or thereby that the collection was made, and by that time there may well have been none who knew the proper order. Certainly, in substance, this well suits the letter referred to in 1Co 5:9.

There are certain Old Testament pictures behind this. Paul begins by urging the Corinthians not to be joined to unbelievers in an alien yoke. Undoubtedly that goes back to the old commandment in Deu 22:10, "You shall not plough with an ox and an ass together." (compare Lev 19:19). The idea is that there are certain things which are fundamentally incompatible and were never meant to be brought together. It is impossible for the purity of the Christian and the pollution of the pagan to run in double harness.

In the demand, "What has the temple of God to do with idols?" Paul's thought is going back to such incidents as Manasseh bringing a graven image into the temple of God (2Ki 21:1-9), and, in the later days, Josiah utterly destroying such things (2Ki 23:3.). Or he is thinking of such abominations as are described in Eze 8:3-18. Men had sometimes tried to associate the temple of God with idol worship, and the consequences had been terrible.

The whole passage is a rousing summons not to hold any fellowship with unbelievers. It is a challenge to the Corinthians to keep themselves unspotted from the world. It has been well remarked that the very essence of the history of Israel is in the words, "Get thee out!" That was the word of God that came to Abraham as the King James Version has it. "Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred and from thy father's house" (Gen 12:1). That was the warning that came to Lot before the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Gen 19:12-14). There are things in the world with which the Christian cannot and dare not associate himself.

It is difficult to realize just how many separations Christianity meant for the people who first accepted it.

(i) Often it meant that a man had to give up his trade. Suppose he was a stone mason. What was to happen if his firm received a contract to build a heathen shrine? Suppose he was a tailor. What was to happen if he was instructed to cut and sew garments for priests of the heathen gods? Suppose he was a soldier. At the gate of every camp burned the light upon the altar sacred to the godhead of Caesar. What was to happen if he had to fling his pinch of incense on that altar in token of his worship? Time and time again in the early Church the choice came to a man between the security of his job and his loyalty to Jesus Christ. It is told that a man came to Tertullian. He told him his problem and then he said, "But after all I must live." "Must you?" said Tertullian.

In the early Church a man's Christianity often meant that he had to get out from his job. One of the most famous modern examples of this same thing was F. W. Charrington. He was the heir to a fortune made by brewing. He was passing a tavern one night. There was a woman waiting at the door. A man, obviously her husband, came out, and she was trying to keep him from going back in. With one blow of his fist the man felled her. Charrington started forward and then he looked up. The name above the tavern was his own, and Charrington said, "With that one blow that man did not only knock his wife out, he also knocked me clean out of that business forever." And he gave up the fortune he might have had, rather than touch money earned in such a way.

No man is keeper of another man's conscience. Every man must decide for himself if he can take his trade to Christ and Christ with him to his daily work.

(ii) Often it meant that a man had to give up social life. In the ancient world, as we saw when studying the section on meat offered to idols, many a heathen feast was held in the temple of a god. The invitation would run, "I invite you to dine with me at the table of our Lord Serapis." Even if that were not so, a heathen feast would begin and end with the pouring of a libation, a cup of wine, to the gods. Could a Christian share in that? Or must he get out and say good-bye to the social fellowship which used to mean so much to him?

(iii) Often it meant that a man had to give up family ties. The pain of Christianity in the early years was the way it split families. A wife became a Christian and her husband might drive her from his house. A husband became a Christian and his wife might leave him. Sons and daughters became Christians and might find the door of the home shut and barred in their faces. It was literally true that Christ came not to send peace but a dividing sword upon earth and that men and women had to be prepared to love him more than their nearest and dearest. They had to be prepared to get out even from their homes,

However hard it may be, it will always remain true that there are certain things a man cannot do and be a Christian. There are certain things from which every Christian must get out.

Before we leave this passage, there is one point we may note. In it Paul quotes scripture and his quotation is a mixture of a variety of passages, none quoted accurately, from Lev 26:11-12, Isa 52:11, Eze 20:34, Eze 37:27and 2Sa 7:14. It is a fact that Paul seldom quotes accurately. Why? We must remember that in his time books were written on papyrus rolls. A book the size of Acts would require a roll about thirty-five feet long, a very unwieldy thing. There were no chapter divisions; they were inserted by Stephen Langton in the thirteenth century. There were no verse divisions; they were inserted by Stephanus, the Paris printer, in the sixteenth century. Finally, there was no such thing as a concordance until the sixteenth century. The result was that Paul did the only sensible thing--he quoted from memory, and so long as he got the substance right he did not worry about the actual wording. It was not the letter of scripture but the message of scripture which mattered to him.

Constable: 2Co 1:12--8:1

II. ANSWERS TO INSINUATIONS ABOUT THE SINCERITY OF PAUL'S COMMITMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS AND TO THE MINISTRY 1:12--7:16

Second Corinthians is a rather difficult book to outline because it is a very personal letter.

"Traditionally, Paul's two letters to Timothy and one to Titus are called the Pastorals.' But 2 Corinthians has a strong claim to be recognized as the Pastoral Epistle par excellence, because it contains not pure' but applied' pastoralia."⁶³

Paul's purpose in writing was not to teach doctrine primarily, though he did so to a considerable extent. It was primarily to answer the criticisms of opponents who were seeking to undermine his ministry, especially in Corinth.

"Here it is his strong feeling rather than any deliberate arrangement that suggests the order of his utterances. Nevertheless, although exact analysis is seldom possible owing to digressions and repetitions, yet some divisions are fairly clear, and the letter becomes more intelligible when they are noted."⁶⁴

Constable: 2Co 3:1--6:11

B. Exposition of Paul's view of the ministry 3:1-6:10

The apostle proceeded to explain his view of Christian ministry further so his readers would appreciate and adopt his viewpoint and not lose heart.

Constable: 2Co 5:11--6:11

4. The life of a minister of Christ 5:11-6:10

The section of this epistle that expounds the glory of the Christian ministry (2:14-6:10) builds to a climax in the following verses (5:11-6:10). Here Paul clarified the driving motive, the divine mission, the dynamic message, and the diverse ministries of the New Covenant. He did so to inspire the Corinthians to recognize his ministry as Spirit-led and to follow his example in their ministries.

Constable: 2Co 6:1-10

Paul's example as an ambassador of Christ 6:1-10

6:1 Since God appeals to the unsaved through heralds of the gospel (5:20), the herald is in that sense a partner with God in His work of bringing people into final reconciliation.¹⁹⁸ Evangelism is a joint effort of the Lord and His human ambassador. Paul went beyond that specific function of an ambassador and, for God, also appealed to his Christian readers. In addition to responding to the call to be reconciled to God, they also needed to respond to another call. They needed to make sure that they were responding to God's grace as well.

Paul's readers had received God's grace when they had heard the gospel message. Now Paul urged them to respond to it so God's gracious bestowal would not have been in vain. God gives grace to all people throughout their lives, but He gives more grace at the moment of conversion and from then on. It is not clear which manifestation of grace Paul had in mind, the grace the Corinthians received at conversion or the subsequent grace. I think he probably had both in mind and spoke of their response to divine grace generally since he did not clearly identify the past or the present manifestation. Receiving God's grace in vain would be not allowing it to have its divinely intended result in their lives. In the context, conflict between some of the Corinthians and Paul resulting in the discrediting of the gospel ministry seems to be in view (v. 3). More generally, disunity among believers frustrates God's desire and His provision of grace (help). Most broadly, any disobedience to God's will frustrates His grace (cf. 7:1; 11:4; 12:20-21).

"The explanation which in our judgment is most satisfactory, and which seems best to fit the broad context in which this verse is found, is that Paul is here thinking in terms of the judgment-seat of Christ, before which the works of every Christian will be made manifest (5:10)."¹⁹⁹

6:2 As he begged unbelievers to receive God's reconciling grace (5:20), Paul now urged his readers to respond quickly and positively to God's grace to them. Paul quoted Isaiah 49:8 to stress the importance of responding immediately. The "acceptable time" will not last forever. In the context of the Isaiah quotation, God addressed His Servant whom the nations had despised promising eventual vindication and urging Him to restore His people. The parallel with Paul and the Corinthians' ministry is obvious. Rather than squabbling among themselves over Paul the readers needed to get on with the ambassadorial work that God had given them to do.

6:3 The Corinthians should not and Paul tried not to give any cause for others to stumble because of their ministry. Obviously we cannot prevent all criticism of our ministry because there may be some who take offense without good reason. Still we should do everything we can to make sure we do not give anyone cause for justifiable criticism.

6:4-5 Paul proceeded to describe positively how he had conducted himself to prove that his own reception of God's grace had not been in vain. He commended and defended his ministry to provide the faithful Corinthians with more ammunition to rebut his critics. Note that he referred to his actions rather than his words. He cited three groups of trials, and there are three kinds of trials in each group. These he prefaced with a claim to patience (steadfast endurance), an extremely important quality in an ambassador of Christ.

Trials of a general nature

"Afflictions" or "troubles" are oppressive experiences that put various kinds of pressure on one.

"Hardships" are difficulties that one cannot diminish.

"Distresses" are calamitous situations from which one cannot escape. The Greek word pictures a person trapped in a confining place.

Sufferings inflicted by other people

"Stripes" or "beatings" are punishments delivered with a whip or lash (cf. 11:24-25).

"Imprisonments" in Paul's day involved confinement and discomfort (cf. 11:23).

"Tumults" are "riots" (cf. Acts 13:50; 14:15; 16:19; 19:29; 21:30).

Hardships inflicted on self for the furtherance of the gospel

"Labors" or "hard work" encompasses all the strenuous activities of life including manual labor.

"Watchings" are "sleepless nights."

"Fastings" or "hunger" refers to missed meals.

6:6-7a Paul now named various graces that God had produced within him mainly in and through these trials. Notice that he moved from external circumstances to internal qualities.

"Pureness" is singlemindedness as well as moral uprightness.

"Knowledge" or "understanding" includes understanding of the Christian faith, insight, and sensitivity to God's will (cf. 1 Pet. 3:7).

"Patience" is longsuffering with difficult people without retaliation.

"Kindness" reflects a generous and sympathetic disposition that manifests itself in good actions (cf. Luke 6:35).

Perhaps Paul used "the Holy Spirit" here in the same sense that he did in Galatians 5:16. We should walk in the Spirit just as we walk in purity, knowledge, etc. The Spirit as a gift rather than as a person may be in view.

"Genuine love" is the honest desire to do what is best for those in view.

"The word of truth" probably refers to "truthful speech" or perhaps the message of truth (cf. 5:19).

"The power of God" was the power that God manifested when His ambassadors followed Him faithfully and proclaimed His Word.

6:7b Paul next described some of the conditions under which he ministered and some of the methods he used.

"Weapons" may refer to the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) and the shield of faith (cf. Rom. 6:13; Eph. 6:11-17; 1 Thess. 5:8). The right hand normally attacked with a sword and the left defended with a shield. However these are "weapons of righteousness," the spiritual weapons that God supplies. Another possibility, not necessary mutually exclusive, is that "weapons of righteousness" may refer to the weapons that come from doing right, personal integrity. Righteousness often refers to right conduct in the New Testament. The right and left hands may then be a figurative expression (merism) for all acts.

". . . one so equipped is prepared to meet attack from any quarter . . ."²⁰⁰

6:8-10 These contrasts probably give us some indication of the charges that Paul's critics were leveling at him (cf. Rom 3:8; 1 Cor. 4:13). Human responses to Paul's preaching evidently varied greatly (v. 8), but God's estimate was positive regardless of the opinions of people. These contrasts may be between human responses or between the human and the divine responses. Regardless of people's estimates of him the great apostle continued to fight the good fight of faith (v. 8). Moreover regardless of how he appeared to be doing, in reality God was preserving and blessing him (vv. 9-10).

Constable: 2Co 6:11--7:5

1. An appeal for large-heartedness and consistency 6:11-7:4

Paul now turned to a direct appeal for the Corinthians to reconcile with him in their hearts.

"The call for reconciliation with Paul, therefore, stands in parallel with the call for reconciliation with God [5:20]. While it would be too much to say that these two forms of reconciliation are equally important, for Paul they are directly linked with one another."²⁰¹

He did this to stimulate them to accept him and his ministry so they would continue to experience all the blessings that God wanted them to have.

Constable: 2Co 6:11-13

The appeal stated 6:11-13

On the basis of his preceding openness with the Corinthians, Paul exhorted them, on the ground of fair play, to respond toward him as he had behaved toward them. His open speech (cf. 3:12; 4:2) reflected his open heart. They had shown reserve, not because Paul had put them under bondage but because they doubted his integrity. He urged them to become unrestrained in their affection toward him as he had demonstrated that he was unrestrained in his affection toward them.

Rarely did Paul address his readers by name in the body of his epistles. He did so only when he felt very emotionally involved in what he was saying (cf. Gal. 3:1; Phil. 4:15). Here it was his extreme candor in sharing the painful experiences of his ministry with his dear friends that moved him (vv. 4-10). Many students of this book have felt that Paul's openness with the Corinthians that comes through so strongly here is a distinctive mark of this epistle. One has therefore entitled his good commentary A Heart Opened Wide.²⁰²

Paul appealed strongly for his readers to reciprocate his openness and love completely. However, he knew that he could not demand this but only request it, as a parent requests the love of his or her children.

Constable: 2Co 6:14--7:2

The counter-balancing caution 6:14-7:1

The Corinthians had a tendency to respond to Paul's teachings by first resisting them and then going overboard in applying them inappropriately. They had done this in dealing with the incestuous man (1 Cor. 5). Consequently Paul immediately explained what he did not mean by his appeal so his readers would not become dangerously openhearted to all people as well as to himself. This section of text summarizes 1 Corinthians 10:1-22 where Paul had previously warned the Corinthians about idolatry.

"Paul is quite capable of digressing, and it may be argued that while he is pleading for mutual openheartedness he reflects that the reason for the restraint which he deprecates on his readers' part is their uneasy awareness that they have not made the complete break with idolatrous associations which he had earlier urged upon them (1 C. 10.14ff.); hence this exhortation."²⁰³

6:14-16a Some of the Corinthians were not openhearted toward Paul because they were doing things that they knew he disapproved of. This evidently included maintaining inappropriate relationships with unbelievers.²⁰⁴

Paul was not saying that Christians should break off all association with unbelievers (cf. 1 Cor. 5:9-10; 10:27). He had previously encouraged the saved partner in a mixed marriage to maintain the marriage relationship as long as possible (1 Cor. 7:12-16). He had also urged his fellow Christians as ambassadors of Christ to evengelize the lost (5:20). Rather Paul commanded that Christians form no binding interpersonal relationships with non-Christians that resulted in their spiritual defilement. This is an extension to human beings of the principle underlying the prohibition against breeding or yoking an ox and a donkey together in Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:10. Such alliances can prevent the Christian from living a consistently obedient Christian life. The fulfillment of God's will must be primary for a believer. Obviously some relationships with pagans do not pose a threat to our faithfulness to God. Where they do the Christian must maintain his or her relationship with Christ even it if means forfeiting relationship with unbelievers.²⁰⁵

Paul set forth the folly of such behavior by pointing out five contrasts. Each one expects a negative answer. All of them point out the incompatibility and incongruity of Christian discipleship and heathenism. Paul supported the last of these with quotations from the Old Testament (vv. 16b-18).

Christians should follow God's will that results in righteous behavior, but pagans have no regard for God's laws. Christians are children of the light, but unbelievers are children of darkness (cf. Col. 1:13). Beliel (v. 15) is the personification of evil (cf. Deut. 13:13; 2 Sam. 22:5-6), and he is the antithesis of Christ. Beliel was a recognized name for Satan in Paul's day.²⁰⁶ Believers have little in common with unbelievers when it comes to things that are peculiar to unbelievers. Obviously we share many things, such as food, clothing, houses, sun, air, and rain. Christians who are temples of the living God are quite different from the heathen who worship idols in temples made with hands.²⁰⁷

6:16b The main reason for Paul's prohibition is that Christians belong to Christ. We already have a binding relationship with Him, and we must not be unfaithful to Him by going after another.

Paul quoted several Old Testament passages to support his contention. The first is a gracious promise that God gave the Israelites in the wilderness with the consequence that they were to be holy (Lev. 26:11-12; cf. Exod. 25:8; 29:45). Paul had taught the Corinthians that they were the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19). Therefore it was only appropriate that they be set apart to God too since He inhabited them.

The second quotation is from Exodus 6:7 and Leviticus 26:12 (cf. Jer. 32:38; Ezek. 37:27). The essential relationship between God and the people that He has chosen for special blessing requires that those so blessed remain faithful to Him.

"In our present passage Paul's language indicates the corporate figure, but the responsibility of the individual to keep himself pure is both implicit and later emphasized (7:1)."²⁰⁸

6:17 Third, Paul quoted from Isaiah 52:11 where God called His people to separate (depart) from Babylon and its idolatry. He applied this to the Corinthian situation in which unbelievers practiced idolatry. Note that the contexts both in Isaiah and here have nothing to do with separation because of doctrinal differences between Christians. Both passages are speaking about pagan idolatry. The promise of fellowship with Himself for separation (Ezek. 20:34, 41) should motivate us to be obedient.

"There was a grave danger that, through carelessness and compromise, the Corinthian believers would be carried away, as it were, into a Babylonian captivity of the soul."²⁰⁹

6:18 This final mosaic of quotations (2 Sam. 7:14, 27; Isa. 43:6) advances the revelation concerning the Christian's relationship to God. He is not only our God (v. 16) who is holy (v. 17), but He is our Father. God has a right to demand loyal allegiance from His children. Since He is the Almighty, we must remember that to disregard His word means to incur divine discipline. Paul compared the church here first to a temple (v. 17) and then to a family (v. 18).

7:1 Having the promises of intimate fellowship with God for obedience Christians should avoid certain probable sources of spiritual contamination. These sources of contamination may be external or internal, in relation to other people or in relation to God. "Flesh (or body, Gr. sarx) and spirit" here is a figure (merism) for the whole person (cf. 5:9; 1 Cor. 7:34). Instead we should press on in our continual struggle against sin fearing God (cf. 5:11).

"Paul is probably implying that the Corinthians had become defiled, perhaps by occasionally sharing meals at idol-shrines or by continuing to attend festivals or ceremonies in pagan temples (cf. 1 Cor. 8:10; 10:14-22), or even by maintaining their membership in some local pagan cult. If they made a clean break (cf. katharisomen, aorist) with pagan life in any and every form, they would be bringing their holiness nearer completion by this proof of their reverence for God."²¹⁰

"This passage [6:14-7:1] is a specific call for separation from the temple cults of Corinth, in direct continuity with the holiness-separation theme of 1 Corinthians, and is located here as the climax of the apologia for Paul's apostolate."²¹¹

College: 2Co 6:1-18

2 CORINTHIANS 6

2. Christ's Message of Reconciliation Delivered (5:16-6:2)

(continued)

Some commentaries structure a break in Paul's argument at this point, coinciding with the chapter division. The main reason is that they see Paul shifting his attention toward the Corinthians directly. However, Paul already glanced in their direction when he urged them to be reconciled to God in 5:20, returning to theological principles in 5:21. It seems best to view 6:1-2 as the practical capstone to his entire discussion begun at 5:11, with the quotation of Isa 49:8 in 6:2 functioning as the exclamation point, not only of his appeal to the Corinthians but of his entire ministry.

6:1 As God's fellow workers

Theoretically, Paul could be including the Corinthians as those with whom he works since the NIV's "God's" is not included in the Greek, and he does often use this verb and its cognate noun in this way (1 Cor 16:16; 2 Cor 8:23). However, the NIV's clarification is entirely appropriate since the "you," which certainly points to the Corinthians, must be distinguished from being "fellow workers." Paul, then, refers to himself, other apostles, other evangelists, who serve God as ambassadors in the ministry of reconciliation, described in 5:18-20.

Like the word "ambassador" and Paul's reference to "making his appeal through us," the word "fellow workers" (sunergevw, synergeô) conceptualizes the elevated status of Paul and all ministers of reconciliation, the prefix syn coming across as the English prefix "co-" in words like cooperation. Paul views ministers as working alongside God himself.

we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.

Paul's concern takes a different perspective than in other places he employs the phrase "in vain." In places like Phil 2:16 and 1 Thess 3:5, he uses it to express anxiety over the possibility that his own ministry might be unsuccessful, useless, the word "vain" (kenov", kenos ) literally meaning "empty." Only here does he use the word from the perspective of believers themselves, in this case the Corinthians. Perhaps having in mind the Corinthians standing before the judgment seat of Christ, raised in 5:10, Paul is worried that some of the Corinthians will get tossed out on their ear. The only reason this might occur from what he has said so far is that these Corinthians are not actually "in Christ." Since there is no other way to be reconciled to God, this would put them in dire straits in terms of their salvation.

One must assume that all of Paul's Corinthian readers have confessed faith in Christ and have become identified with the death and resurrection of Christ in baptism sometime in the past. This is made explicit grammatically by the infinitive, "to receive" (devxasqai, dexasthai ) being aorist, or past tense, though such renderings, as in the NIV, are not normally brought across into English. So, how can any of them at this point not be "in Christ?"

Paul must be assuming the necessity of living a life consistent with God's grace, as he makes reference to in 5:15, which some of the Corinthians may not be doing. However, he is also probably acutely aware that some Corinthians are no longer "in Christ" in their theological beliefs because they have been persuaded by Paul's opponents into following a heretical path. Indeed, in 2 Cor 11:4, he says this has happened. Obviously, Paul does not believe all is lost as of yet, or he wouldn't bother making this appeal nor writing this letter. However, he does believe the matter to be urgent, which the OT quotation and ensuing appeal in 6:2 will make apparent.

Paul has not used the word "grace" (cavri", charis ) since 4:15. Here, as there, he seems to assume his readers understand that it summarizes the entirety of the gospel from God's perspective, really all that he has been talking about in terms of reconciliation. It is because of God's grace that he initiates the gospel plan and deems it an acceptable means of rescuing people from their plight in estrangement from him.

6:2 For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." ^a

^a 2 Isaiah 49:8

In the quoted Isa 49:8, an important messianic psalm, the words of comfort are directed toward Israel as God's covenant people in captivity. Not inappropriately, Paul finds relevant application to the Corinthians who have wavered from the true gospel, the "new covenant," as he has called it way back in 3:6. God's grace is inexhaustible. His love for each one allows even for recommitment after periods of falling way, for the Corinthians and for people today.

The heavily-charged theological word, "salvation" (swthriva, sôtçria) can simply refer to deliverance or rescue from some kind of trouble or confinement, as in Phil 1:19. Being teamed with "helped" (bohqevw, boçtheô), a word which is only used nontheologically, tends to amplify the theological significance of sôtçria even in the Isaiah context. Paul will draw this out in his application of the verse to his concerns for the Corinthians.

I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.

Probably one of the most employed evangelistic calls in contemporary preaching, Paul aims it at the renegade Corinthian "believers." Paul desires significant reconversions, if we can call it that, to the true apostolic gospel of reconciliation he has consistently preached and has forcefully reiterated since 5:16. Of course, the call is open to nonbelievers, as well. God's open door of acceptance through reconciliation began with the death and resurrection of Christ. In fact, the word "favor" (dektov", dektos ) in the Isaiah quotation and the related word, "favor" (eujprovsdekto", euprosdektos ), Paul uses in his application, both mean "acceptable."

Unmistakably, Paul emphasizes the availability of God's gracious favor right now. He communicates this by repeating the word "now" (nu'n, nyn ) and by introducing his appeal with the dramatic words "I tell you" (ijdouv, idou ), normally translated "Behold!"

Paul's declaration suggests that the "day of salvation" has dawned and continues to shine brightly until the close of this age. In this sense, the term is eschatological, presuming that this day, from God's soteriological perspective, is the final day and that it can end whenever God desires. Paul nowhere else uses "day of salvation," seemingly influenced by the Isaiah quotation. However, in 1 Thess 5:5-8 he emphasizes that true believers are already part of "the day" whereas unbelievers belong to "the night."

E. HARDSHIPS IN MINISTRY (6:3-11)

6:3 We put no stumbling block in anyone's path,

After his direct appeal to the Corinthians in 5:20b-6:2, Paul picks up again with another principle which guides his ministry. The idea of not doing anything which might get in the way of a person accepting the message of reconciliation coordinates with the principle he stated in 5:16 of not allowing a worldly perspective to devalue anyone in his eyes to the extent that it would inhibit him from presenting the gospel to them.

With the word "stumbling block" (proskophv, proskopç), only used here in all the NT, Paul presumes that there are those who are out to get him, which actually seems to be the case in Corinth, since the word suggests someone who is looking for something at which to take offense. Paul does not desire even for such a person to find anything about Paul himself to be used as an excuse for not hearing the gospel. Nothing about himself should create a barrier.

The NIV's rendition has its attractions. However, it prevents the reader from recognizing the coordination Paul intends between "in everything" (ejn pantiv, en panti ) in 6:4 and "in nothing" (ejn mhdeniv, en mçdeni) here in 6:3. Although a translation of en mçdeni can mean "to anyone," it is not very likely to be so here. It also loses Paul's emphasis on "no one" by placing it after the preposition and changing it to "anyone." More literally, in nothing Paul gives not one person a stumbling block.

so that our ministry will not be discredited.

If Paul is God's ambassador, delivering God's message, anything he does which takes away from the magnificent grace contained in that message maligns God's own character. He is not much of an ambassador if he offends those who live in the foreign country he is visiting. Paul's stated desire not to do this flies in the face of the fact that he has done exactly this, at least in the eyes of some of the Corinthians, whether through their fault or his own. What he writes now in 2 Corinthians is intended to reverse this negative effect.

6:4 Rather, as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way:

At face value, this looks like a contradiction of what Paul said in 5:12, when, using the same word for commend (sunivsthmi, synistçmi), he disavowed any attempts to commend himself to the Corinthians. However, the connection of "as God's servants," or ministers (diavkono", diakonos ), qualifying his statement makes all the difference. He does not view the listed items which will follow as gaining any personal merit for himself but as pointing to the glory of God who has sent him out as his ambassador. Thus, Paul can be so bold as to even say "in every way." If God himself is overseeing the mission to save the world, every aspect of it can pass scrutiny in terms of its integrity. He invites one and all in good conscience to a take a look.

in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;

As the NIV punctuation tries to exhibit, the first prepositional phrase seems intended to headline the nine examples of difficulties which follow it. Each one requires "endurance" (uJpomonhv, hypomonç), or patient stick-to-it-iveness, and the totality of nine as occurring in one person's life certainly qualify for the adjective "great." This is one of four places in which Paul catalogues his sufferings in ministry. The others are: 2 Cor 4:8-12; 11:23-29; and 1 Cor 4:9-13.

The three items listed in the first triad are essentially synonymous. However, the first, "troubles" (qlivyi", thlipsis ) emphasizes the oppression a person feels from being harassed by others, the second, "hardships" (ajnavgkh, anankç), the physical suffering resulting from difficult circumstances, the third, "distresses" (stenocwriva, stenochôria), the tough decisions required from being boxed into a corner by pressures, physical and emotional.

6:5 in beatings, imprisonments, and riots;

This second triad of difficulties depicts specific, concrete actions by others against Paul and those involved in his missionary enterprises. The first two appear also in the hardships Paul lists in 2 Cor 11:23. Although Acts only reports the one beating and imprisonment in Philippi up to the time of writing 2 Corinthians, Paul in 2 Cor 11:24-25 tells of his being whipped with lashes three times by Jewish authorities and beaten with rods five times by Roman authorities. Local riots occurred just about everywhere Paul went (Acts 13:50; 16:19; 19:29), one of the worst actually in Corinth (Acts 18:13).

in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;

This third triad involves difficulties which are voluntary, or self-imposed, but are demanded by the nature of Paul's ministry. "Hard work" (kovpo", kopos ) involves physical labor and probably refers to Paul's tentmaking trade, referred to in 1 Thess 2:9; 2 Thess 3:8; 1 Cor 4:11-12; 9:12,15, which he plied in order to be self-supporting in his missionary activity. In fact, the sleepless nights may refer to the necessity often to do his work at night (1 Thess 2:9) because of ministry obligations by day. Some contend that "hunger" (nhsteiva, nçsteia) refers to formal fasting because it refers to this elsewhere (Luke 2:37; Acts 14:23; 27:9). However, these is no evidence of such use by Paul who only uses the word here and in 11:27. The immediate context presumes external circumstances which require personal sacrifices on Paul's part. Sometimes, no doubt, he had to go without food, while he traveled, or just to minister to the needs of people.

6:6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness;

Endurance against the array of difficulties which Paul has must be more than just hanging on. Positive qualities of character must come to the fore. Paul lists four representative qualities which he has consistently exhibited in the course of numerous adverse conditions.

The first characteristic, "purity" (aJgnovth", hagnotçs), only used here and in 2 Cor 11:3, speaks of Paul's moral integrity. The second characteristic, "understanding" (gnw'si", gnôsis), used 23 times by Paul, six times in 2 Corinthians alone (2:14; 4:6; 6:6; 8:7; 10:5; 11:6) probably refers to Paul's secure knowledge of God in Christ. The third characteristic, "patience" (makroqumiva, makrothymia ), used 14 times in the NT, only here in 2 Corinthians, is a compound meaning "slow to get angry" or "long-suffering" in the face of harassment. The fourth characteristic, "kindness" (crhstovth", chrçstotçs), used ten times by Paul, two other times in lists of moral qualities (Gal 5:22; Col 3:22), means to act sympathetically toward those less fortunate or those who are often socially disregarded.

in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;

6:7 in truthful speech and in the power of God;

Although not indicated by the NIV's punctuation nor by verse divisions, Paul now lists four more characteristics of his ministry. These are not so much moral qualities as they are foundational power which drives his ministry. These are anchored by the first reference to the Holy Spirit and the last reference to the power of God. Some contend that a reference to the Holy Spirit does not fit in this list of moral qualities and, therefore, suggest it means "spirit of holiness" as a moral quality. However, when viewed in conjunction with "the power of God," the fourth in the list, it seems most apt to refer to the Holy Spirit. Besides that, the Holy Spirit is routinely linked to love by Paul (Rom 5:5; 15:30; Gal 5:22; Phil 2:1-2) just as truthful speech is linked to the power of God in the gospel (1 Cor 1:18; 1 Thess 1:5; Eph 1:13; Col 1:5).

with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left;

After using the proposition "in" (ejn, en ) with 18 words in a row, Paul switches to "through" (diav, dia ) for the hodgepodge of four contrasts which follow at this point. The contrast in this first set is between "the right" and "the left," the preposition "in" not actually occurring in the Greek. Most likely these weapons refer to spears or swords which soldiers commonly held in their right hands and to shields which they held in their left hands. One was offensive, the other defensive; thus, Paul indicates that he has kept fully prepared to meet the onslaughts at every hand in ministry. This he has done with weapons he characterizes as having the quality of "righteousness" (dikaiosuvnh, dikaiosynç).

Does Paul have in mind personal moral qualities like the four listed in 6:6, or is he thinking of qualities associated with the gospel, more like the preceding four items? He uses the phrase "weapons of righteousness" the first way also in Rom 6:13 which influences many to that intention. The second way relates more to the classic "armor of God" passage in Eph 6:11-17, "righteousness" appearing in that list as the "breastplate." Since the three contrasts which follow this one seem to assume an assault on his character, the balance tips toward displaying righteousness to all comers. However, it is possible that for Paul there is not much to separate his personal righteousness from that of the gospel. The credibility of the gospel rises and falls with his and vice versa.

6:8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report;

Paul now describes the positive and negative reactions to his representation of the gospel, not only in terms of the message but in terms of himself. Some in the course of his ministry are receptive to it and to him, others are not. The way Paul structures the four items is chiasmic rather than parallel, putting the positive items on the outside (first and fourth) and the negative on the inside (second and third). The first pairing emphasizes people's opinions, the second what people say to others. From Paul's perspective, his "weapons of righteousness" stand firm in the face of either reaction from both perspectives.

genuine, yet regarded as impostors;

Beginning at this point Paul's next two listings likely reflect the specific problems in Corinth, accusations from those who have opposed the genuineness of his apostleship and his representation of the true gospel. Paul's format change to "as" (wJ", hôs) repeated for the final seven items, may intend to signal the more direct Corinthian connection at least for the first two. However, the last five use the antithetical style to list paradoxical truths about his ministry and apostolic ministry in general.

The word "impostors" (plavno", planos ) presumes a malevolent motive of deception. This accusation seems to go back to the issue of frivolously changing his travel plans (1:23) which began this whole defense. His accusers seem to believe such shifty actions betray a plan of deception, Paul trying to dupe the Corinthians into believing he is a genuine apostle of the true gospel when he is not. Despite these kinds of charges, whether in Corinth or elsewhere, Paul proclaims the sincere genuineness of his calling, his motives, his character, and the gospel he preaches.

6:9 known, yet regarded as unknown;

Paul takes a second tack in representing the lack of respect his claims to be a genuine apostle receive. The word "known" (ejpiginwvskw, epiginôskô) means to be well-known and widely recognized for rendering valuable public service. Such public acknowledgement through plaques, statues, and proclamations was widely sought by the elite in the Greek world. Paul knows that many have recognized the value of his service - certainly God has - and others do not. Certainly, in the 50s, all of the apostles were nobodies in terms of the social and political climate of the Roman Empire. For that matter, so was the true God of the gospel, whom Paul cleverly represents to the Athenians as God represented by their statue "to an unknown god" (Acts 17:23). Paul and all those spreading the gospel throughout the known world understood, as ministers today still must, that their service will go largely unappreciated by the world at large and also even by those with whom they work closely. They can continue on, however, because they know God knows.

dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;

These two pairs of antitheses find their expression from Ps 118:17-18. Just as the psalmist recognizes that being God's servant has its costs, it has its rewards as well. Reflecting on his ministry as a "dying" encapsulates Paul's thoughts in 4:7-5:10. Paul makes this same evaluation of apostles in general in 1 Cor 4:9, "men condemned to die in the arena." Their lives as living sacrifices befit them as representatives of the one who suffered and died for all (1 Pet 2:19-21). In that sense, they live out the gospel message in their own lives. Of course, they know also, as Paul does, what the end of the story is, for Christ, and for themselves: they will "live on" just as he does in them.

The word "beaten" (paideuvw, paideuô) normally refers to the discipline that a father might impose on his son (Heb 12:7), which presumes corporal punishment, though it can simply refer to instruction (Acts 7:22; 22:3; 2 Tim 2:25). The idea that God disciplines his spiritual children out of love in order to bring maturity and to groom them for more demanding situations is fairly well distributed through the NT (1 Cor 11:32; James 1:2; Rev 3:19) but is perhaps best represented by Heb 12:6: "The Lord disciplines those he loves." Paul presumes, as do most passages of this sort, that God uses the adversity and even evil from others as his mechanism of discipline. It is up to the servant of God to recognize it for what it is and learn the lesson God is teaching from it.

Certainly, the objective of this kind of spiritual discipline from God's end is not for the disciple to be killed, even though such may be the force of evil's display. However, even if that should happen, the first pair of antitheses asserts with dramatic confidence, "Behold!" (ijdouv, idou , not in the NIV but in the Greek) "we live." The point is, despite many hardships, God is underwriting the lives of his servants - and Paul - at every turn.

6:10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;

Yet another paradox Paul experiences in ministry is one of contrasting emotions which subsist side by side. The dejection he feels is not over his own life or sufferings. Rather, it comes from disappointments in those who refuse the gospel, probably even more, those who have accepted the gospel but then turn their backs on it either for their old lifestyle or for some perverted form of the gospel, the latter being the case with the Corinthians. The Greek word translated "sorrowful" (lupevw, lypeô) is used twelve times in 2 Corinthians and only three times elsewhere by Paul. This major theme for 2 Corinthians focuses mostly on the sorrow and grief of the Corinthians caused by the Painful Letter (2 Cor 2:2-5; 7:8-11) and does not inform Paul's use here in 6:10 very much.

Continuous rejoicing for Paul is a natural counterpart to having received the good news of Christ. Thus, he encourages a joyous demeanor in all Christians, as evidenced by his exhortations in 1 Thess 5:16; Phil 4:4; and Rom 12:12.

poor, yet making many rich;

Another continuing contrast can be expressed in terms of economics. One like Paul who serves God wherever God chooses to send him does not accumulate valuable possessions, money, or material riches of any kind. They may look to others like vagabonds, subsisting on the hospitality God provides through others. However, despite their meager subsistence, they distributed the incalculable riches of the gospel to those who would receive it. No doubt, one of the joyous rewards of Paul's ministry was watching the changed lives of those to whom he had helped distribute the boundless gift of eternal life. Paul speaks of his self-imposed poverty while he lived among the Corinthians (11:7-10) and of apostolic poverty in general in Rom 8:35 and 1 Cor 4:11-12.

having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

In the first half of this last antithetical paradox, Paul essentially restates the first half of the previous one but in more absolute terms. Not only could he be considered "poor" in the eyes of most, really he doesn't have anything that most people in the world consider important. As a servant of Christ, he has not only given up many worldly goods, he has in fact given up any attachment to worldly goods. He has given his entire life - and death (5:1-15) - over to Christ.

However, in giving everything up, he has gained everything that is truly valuable, salvation through Christ and eternity with God. Paul seems to understand fully what Jesus said in Mark 8:34-36 about the true disciple who "must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. . . . What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

In a very real way, then, this last antithesis stands as an appropriate banner, summing up not only the seven antitheses but the entire 28-item list which Paul has identified as characterizing not only his apostolic ministry but any true ministry in God's service.

F. AN APPEAL FOR OPENNESS AND RECONCILIATION (6:11-7:4)

While 6:14-7:1 must be recognized as a sealed unit which Paul has brought in from separate usage, it is buffered by two sections, 6:11-13 and 7:2-4, which are intentionally interrelated by the idea of mutual openness. The key word link is "heart" (kardiva, kardia ) employed in both 6:11 and 7:3, and in 7:3 Paul says that he is repeating what he "said before." The outside sections function, then, as bookends for the middle section. Despite the middle section's quite different tone and trajectory (of holy separation) in and of itself, Paul intends to modify its point to strengthen his appeal for the Corinthians to open themselves up personally to him but also spiritually to God to become fully reconciled to both. This emotional appeal is the final stage of Paul's long involved defense begun way back in 2:14.

1. Paul's Heart Opened (6:11-13)

6:11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians,

Paul opens the summation of his defensive argument by proclaiming the integrity of all that he has said, certainly as far back as 2:14, but probably right on back to the beginning of the letter. Direct reference to the Corinthians by name, something he only does elsewhere in Gal 3:1 and Phil 4:15, bares his emotional intensity and punctuates the fact that he is wrapping up. Literally, Paul's statement is, "We have opened up our mouths to you." Nothing is hidden behind the cheeks, under the tongue, down the throat. The path is clear for inspection right down to his heart. He has been as transparent as words will allow, about his convictions on this matter and about himself and his feelings.

and opened wide our hearts to you.

They are not only free to inspect his every word for duplicity but his very motives and intentions, as well. The idea of the verb "opened wide" (platuvnw, platynô) is that he has enlarged the access to his heart, like broadening the streets into a city. He has made it easy for the Corinthians to enter into his own, very personal, thoughts and feelings. Of course, this makes him vulnerable to their bad intentions. He sincerely believes, however, based on his longstanding relationship with them, that they will not take advantage of him but will be induced to be forthright with him as well, which he does not actually express until 7:4.

Some suggest that Paul's language here is based upon Deut 11:13, loving God with "all your heart," perhaps prompted by the conviction of "possessing everything," stated in 6:10 and related to the blessings God pronounces upon Israel in Deut 11:14-15. The fact that, except for the word "heart," the actual wording is not close, makes this conjectural. However, the warning against turning to other gods in Deut 11:16 which correlates with the warning that follows in 2 Cor 6:14, does suggest a possible mental link-up with this passage in Paul's mind.

6:12 We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us.

The verb "are withholding our affection" (stenocwrevw, stenochôreô), only found in 2 Corinthians, twice here and in 4:8, where it is rendered "crushed," conveys the opposite visual imagery from "opened wide" (platynô) in 6:11. The idea is of the space in Paul's heart for the Corinthians shrinking to the extent that they are squeezed out. The negative exclaims that this has not happened. However, the strong denial suggests that it could have happened, given Paul's current turbulent relationship with them. No matter the criticism and slander aimed at Paul, his affection for them is undiminished.

In contrast, however, Paul detects in the Corinthians a disturbing pull-back in affection from him. He feels like he is getting the cold shoulder, and he is counting on his demonstration of warmth to bring them around. The NIV's "affection" (splavgcnon, splanchnon ) which actually occurs in this second clause, not the first, literally refers to a person's inward parts, or guts, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver. It is only used literally once in the NT, in Acts 1:18, referring to Judas after he hanged himself. Usually, it is used figuratively (as here) to convey the intense, tender feelings someone has for someone else, as when Paul describes his close relationship with Onesimus in Phlm 1:12.

Although the NIV rendering of this verse conveys Paul's ideas well, his actual wording in Greek amounts to, "You are not being squeezed out in us, but you are squeezing us out in your inmost affections."

6:13 As a fair exchange-I speak as to my children-open wide your hearts also.

The familiar Latin term for what Paul is requesting is quid pro quo . He desires, really demands, an exact equivalent from them in return for his wide open heart toward them. The word "exchange" (ajntimisqiva, antimisthia ), "reward," rare outside of Christian literature, is elsewhere found in the NT only in Rom 1:27, referring to receiving the appropriate penalty for bad behavior. Obviously, Paul is not thinking in terms of discipline here but of his paternal love for them being returned in kind. His intention is not to be demeaning, as somehow inferior to him. Yet, having brought the gospel to them, he is their spiritual father, which he often brings to the fore (1 Cor 3:1-2; 4:14-15; 2 Cor 11:2; 12:14-15) as he does with other congregations he writes (Gal 4:19; 1 Thess 2:7-8). Like a father, Paul extends his outstretched arms to them. He simply asks that they allow themselves to be gathered in and hug him in return as their strong, supportive relationship is reestablished.

2. Holiness Demanded (6:14-7:1)

6:14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.

This command commences Paul's coherent unit of ideas and Scripture citations most likely assembled and delivered in other contexts. Though seemingly coming out of the blue, the individual parts of the unit, like this potent opening command, should not be taken in isolation from the whole, particularly Paul's point in relationship to the immediate context. Structurally, this command is balanced by the exhortation for holiness which rounds out the unit, the two of them compressing the rest together. Everything in between buttresses as support for the nonnegotiability of this biblical demand, both from the side of the new covenant and the old.

The command negates a present tense verb in Greek (givnesqe, ginesthe ), which means that Paul is demanding that the Corinthians stop behavior that is currently in full force. The participle "yoked together" (eJterozugou'nte", heterozygountes ) is only found elsewhere, in adjective form, in Lev 19:19, in which "different animals" are prohibited from mating. Since Paul does not ask believers to separate from their unbelieving marriage partners (1 Cor 7:10-14), conceptually Paul's idea here probably fits better with Deut 22:10, which forbids yoking an ox and a donkey together for the purposes of plowing, even though the actual word is not employed there.

The word "unbelievers" (a[pistoi, apistoi ) is the crux for understanding how to interpret Paul's intention for the whole passage. There are those who argue that Paul is very selective in the use of this word, for those who have never come to faith in Christ, and that he could never apply it to any kind of Christians, even those who had turned their back on authentic Christianity. However, to restrict the word's use in this way effectually breaks off any link with the immediate context and lines up with those who see the entire unit as a bumbling non-Pauline fragment.

On the other hand, if one is to presume that this prohibition and the unit it heads is viewed by Paul as at all relevant to what he has been talking about, he must expect the Corinthians to equate "unbelievers" with the outside agitators who have pulled some of the Corinthians away from Paul and the true gospel into their circle. No issue involving pagans has arisen. There certainly is warrant for this, given the language he has used (2 Cor 2:17; 3:1; 4:2; 5:12) and will yet use (11:1-15) regarding these antagonistic forces. Neither is this out of line with the way Paul describes opponents in other locations, like Galatia (Gal 1:6; 3:1). Paul's main concern, then, is for any and all Corinthians to break off all relationships, probably personal, social, and ecclesiastical, with these influential people in order to be fully reconciled to God, and to Paul.

No doubt, though, Paul also sees general relevance in this injunction. The Corinthians need to monitor carefully their relationships with non-Christians and watch for lingering pagan influence in the progress of their daily lives, in business, food, social clubs, pagan shrines, and other potential corrupting influences. Conscientiously establishing a Christian lifestyle in a thoroughly pagan culture has never been easy, but in this new day of Christianity in Corinth, it was an ongoing struggle to sort out what was appropriate and what was not, even for the most diligent. The issues from 1 Corinthians, of a man in a sexual relationship with his stepmother (5:1-5), of Christians taking other Christians to court (6:1-11), of marriage (7:1-40), and of Christians eating food offered to idols (8:1-13; 10:23-11:1), illustrate this difficulty.

For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?

Paul grounds his command for separation with a series of five rhetorical questions phrased as antitheses. These antitheses view a cosmological world which is absolutely black and white. As far as he is concerned, it is patently obvious that the answer to each question is, "None," or "Nothing," which simply verifies the biblical truthfulness of his command.

The word "righteousness" (dikaiosuvnh, dikaiosynç) is sprinkled liberally throughout Paul's writings, though it concentrates in Romans (over 40 times). Righteousness is the very character of God made available to believers through faith. On their own, all humans have broken God's law, but in Christ believers have been made righteous. The word "wickedness" (ajnomiva, anomia ) can also be translated "lawlessness." First John 3:4 calls sin "lawlessness" and Matt 7:23 speaks of the Lord not knowing the "evildoers" who say they cast out demons in his name and not allowing them to enter the Kingdom. Paul also contrasts "righteousness" and "lawlessness" in Rom 6:19 in terms of people being slaves of one or the other.

Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

The use of light and darkness to contrast the world of believers and nonbelievers is common in Paul (Rom 2:19; 13:12; 1 Cor 4:5; 1 Thess 5:4-5). He already has hinted at this same incompatibility in terms of seeing and being blinded to the light of the gospel in 2 Cor 4:4. This kind of dualism is also common in the Dead Sea Scroll literature of Qumran as well as other intertestamental Jewish literature, as well as Philo.

The word he uses for "fellowship" (koinwniva, koinônia) refers to the close bond of sharing people can have with one another. Christians have fellowship with God (1 John 1:3), Christ (1 Cor 1:9; 1 John 1:3), the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:14; Phil 2:1), the sufferings of Christ (Phil 3:10), the body and blood of Christ (1 Cor 10:10), and one another (1 John 1:7). They cannot bond with the forces of evil which oppose God and his ways without breaking their link to God any more than a bright sunny day can mix with the pitch black night without losing its essential quality of brightness.

6:15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? ^a

^a 15 Greek Beliar , a variant of Belial

The name "Belial" does not appear anywhere else in the Bible. However, it is quite common as a designation of Satan in nonbiblical Jewish literature previous to and around the time of the NT, particularly in the Dead Sea Scrolls of Qumran. Elsewhere, the NT uses "devil" (diavbolo", diabolos ) in Eph 4:26; 6:11; 1 Tim 3:6,7, "Beelzebub" (Matt 10:25; 12:24,27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:13,18,19), "the Tempter" (1 Thess 3:5), and Satan (36 times).

As with these NT terms, "Belial," actually "Beliar," stands as God's cosmological opponent who will ultimately be defeated. What is striking is that in Qumran literature, at least, the Messiah is never contrasted with Beliar. So, the contrast Paul makes here is unprecedented and demonstrates the particularly un-Jewish, elevated view of Christ that Paul held. Like God, he stands in complete contrast to Beliar. Not only that, but the nature of Paul's rhetorical question presumes that his readers have heard the contrast before and would readily adhere to it. Paul's choosing of this pointedly Jewish reference seems to have been for the benefit of the Jewish Christians in the Corinthian church.

Some believe that this reference to Belial demonstrates the influence of Qumran thought upon Paul or some other early Christians. True enough, heavy usage of the term and others in this passage are found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. However, no one has demonstrated the ready availability of the fascinating ideas of this hibernating sect to people in their own time period. Besides the same term is also found in generally Jewish writings, including Philo, which would be more likely to be known by Diaspora Jews like Paul was dealing with in Corinth.

What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?

This fourth rhetorical question states most directly Paul's point. The question isn't really literal. Of course, Christians and non-Christians may share a common culture, language, food, and their humanity. What they don't have in common is what ultimately matters, that is, faith in Christ, and the eternal saving relationship with God, which accompanies it.

6:16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?

The opposition between the true, living God and idol worship runs through the entire OT beginning with the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:4) and continuing on into the Prophets (Josh 23:7; Ezek 8:3-13). However, the issue was never just a matter of not worshiping carved stones. It had to do with remaining uncorrupted from immoral, unclean, pagan lifestyles by disassociating from them as much as possible. Such unswerving loyalty to God and his ways carries over as an objective of the New Covenant. Thus, the idea of Christians restricting their interaction with surrounding pagan culture in order to enable them to remain true to the ideals of Christianity also carries over from this vital OT principle.

Paul can speak of conversion as a turning "to God from idols" (1 Thess 1:9). However, he also recognizes the pervasive entanglements of idolatry throughout daily life, whether in business, politics, grocery shopping, travel, or architecture. Even though Christians may fully grasp the reality that these idols are nothing at all (1 Cor 8:4; 10:19; 12:2), the more subtle cultural influences of this mind-set continued to challenge and at times divide first-century Christians. (Cf. the issue of eating inexpensive idol meat in 1 Cor 8, 10.) Diligence in cutting the strings of idols from the lifestyles of early Christians was paramount, as far as Paul was concerned, for them to follow their path as the new people of God.

For we are the temple of the living God.

Paul's emphasis on calling God "living" (9:26; 2 Cor 3:3; 1 Thess 1:9; 1 Tim 3:15; 4:10) derives from the OT habit (Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10; 1 Sam 17:26; Ps 42:2) which expresses the dynamic reality of the true God who covenanted with Israel as opposed to all other claims of deity.

Paul already identified the community of Christian believers as the new "temple" of God in 1 Cor 3:16-17. There, he also emphasized the sacredness of this temple and the need for believers to distinguish their ways of approaching life "from the standards of this age." Paul also makes such an identification in Eph 2:21, where he underscores the presence of the Spirit within the church as the manner in which God abides in this multicorporeal temple.

In Greek, it can be observed that Paul emphasized the "we," unnecessarily stating the first person plural pronoun (hJmei'", hçmeis). The sense is that "we," the church, not others, can be so designated.

As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." ^a

^a 16 Lev. 26:1; Jer. 32:38; Ezek. 37:27

Done with rhetorical verification of the command not to remain attached to "unbelievers," primarily meaning his opponents in Corinth, Paul moves to multiple and variegated citation of Scripture to solidify the imperative of immediate implementation.

Exactly how these citations function and why Paul sees them as moving forward his present appeal to the Corinthians has been a dilemma for interpretation. However, two recent studies make convincing cases. One demonstrates that Paul draws upon these passages because they are from texts which promise Israel's restoration from exile. This promise of restoration to Israel fits with Paul's appeal in 5:20 for the Corinthians to "be reconciled to God." Another goes a bit further to show that Paul could quite easily have connected these restoration passages that he cites to the New Covenant passage of Jer 31:33, a passage to which Jesus himself appeals when he establishes the Lord's Supper, and one which the early church viewed as a blueprint for who they were and what God was doing in their midst.

Specifically, what Paul is saying with these Scriptural citations is that just as maintaining its distinctiveness as God's people from alien influences was determinative for Israel's restoration, so also now the Corinthians who have followed after teachings alien to the true gospel must withdraw from those influences in order to retain their status within God's people. The gospel may be a new covenant, but the basic principle of loyalty to God over against others remains the same.

Paul opens the citations in an unusual way for him. He usually presents Scripture quotations with "he says," as in 6:2 rather than "God has said," as found here. This formula, oddly enough, is used in the Dead Sea Scrolls, to some minds, further buttressing the connection of 6:14-7:1 to the Essenes. However, the difference is not dramatic enough to suggest that Paul could not have made such a change on his own, whether previous to use in this context or just now.

The quotation draws primarily from Lev 26:11-12, but the change to third person pronouns ("them," "their") probably is influenced by Ezek 37:27. The covenant restoration theme is at the heart of Ezekiel 37, spoken to Israel in exile, and becomes prominent in the verses following Lev 26:11-12, in Lev 26:14-40. The promise of God's personal presence with his people resonates as an OT theme (Exod 25:8; 29:45; Jer 31:1) which carries through even to Revelation (21:3). It finds fulfillment in the Messianic incarnation, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and in eternity.

6:17 "Therefore come out from them, and be separate," says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you." ^a

^a 17 Isaiah 52:11

The majority of Paul's quotation is based upon Isa 52:11. He has given it his own touch, primarily by transposing the lines and by adding the "says the Lord." These changes dramatize the appeal as coming from God to the Corinthians themselves and demonstrate that Paul's primary concern is for the Corinthians to break off their relationships with those bad outside influences on the church. The opening line of Isa 52:11, not quoted by Paul, exhorts, "Depart, depart, go out from there!" telling Israel in no uncertain terms that restoring their claims as God's people must include leaving their captivity in Babylon. So it is with the Corinthians. A complete break off, socially and personally, from those who have been bad influences, must occur right now or their new covenant relationship with God is in jeopardy.

The very last clause, "I will receive you," which Paul has seamlessly added, is not from Isa 52:11 at all but from Ezek 20:34, which goes on to declare to Israel that God intends to "gather you from the countries where you have been scattered." In the presence of his holiness, they will profane his name no more, as he restores them to their land (Ezek 20:39-44). For the Corinthians, this statement functions as promise: just as God restored Israel to her lands after exile, so God will restore the Corinthians who separate themselves from the bad influences to their covenant relationship with him. It also leads nicely into the citation in 6:18.

6:18 "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty." ^a

^a 18 2 Samuel 7:14; 7:8

This citation conflates 2 Sam 7:14, "I will be his father and he will be my son," the messianic promise to David, and Isa 43:3 (probably also Isa 49:22 and 60:4), "Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth." The Isaiah references are part of the covenant restoration promises to exiled Israel, and the 2 Samuel reference is in the context of God's promise of "rest" to Israel (7:11), a theme connected to restoration to the land. To underline the authoritative nature of the promise, Paul adds "says the Lord Almighty," probably from 2 Sam 7:8. Designation of the Lord as "almighty" (pantokravtwr, pantokratôr) though common in the OT and Revelation (nine times), does not occur elsewhere in Paul's letters.

The inclusion of "daughters" may come from the importance of stressing the egalitarian nature of the new covenant, as in Gal 3:28. It may indicate that women, maybe more than men, have been attracted to Paul's opponents in Corinth. It could also have no ulterior significance, and simply be in the Isaiah passage Paul has in mind. Regardless, Paul believes the biblical promise applies to the Corinthians who leave the outside opponents and return to the true gospel. They will return to the loving arms of God.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

McGarvey: 2Co 6:8

by glory and dishonor [When present in such cities as Philippi, Thessalonica and Corinth, etc., Paul had been held in glory and honor by the converts of his ministry, but had been dishonored by heathens, Jews and Judaizing Christians], by evil report and good report [in his absence those who honored him spoke well of him, and those who dishonored him gave him an evil report]; as deceivers, and yet true [regarded by some as a deliberate cheat and a misleading impostor, yet approved of God and his own conscience as a true apostle];

McGarvey: 2Co 6:9

as unknown, and yet well known [ignored and unrecognized by the rulers and the general public, yet well known by all those in any way interested in the gospel of Christ, either as friends or enemies]; as dying, and behold, we live [the life of the apostle was constantly exposed to death and just as constantly delivered and preserved]; as chastened, and not killed [Paul was being continually schooled and educated by suffering and yet the suffering was not more than he could bear -- Psa 118:18 ; Heb 12:5-10];

McGarvey: 2Co 6:10

as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing [having abundant sorrow as to this present life, yet boundless rejoicing in contemplation of the life to come]; as poor, yet making many rich [being penniless indeed in worldly goods, yet able to enrich all men with the knowledge of the grace of God, and the heavenly blessings and benefits resulting and to result from that grace]; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things . [As having sacrificed all things for Christ and his gospel (Phi 3:7-8), and yet sensible of having lost nothing by the exchange, but of having made infinite gain thereby (Mat 16:25 ; 1Co 3:21-22). Such had been the ministry of the apostle on behalf of the Corinthians, and therefore in the next three verses the apostle appeals to them to show to him an affection like that which he has bestowed upon them.]

McGarvey: 2Co 6:11

Our mouth is open unto you, O Corinthians, our heart is enlarged .

McGarvey: 2Co 6:12

Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own affections .

McGarvey: 2Co 6:13

Now for a recompense in like kind (I speak as unto my children), be ye also enlarged . [When Paul had written his former letter his heart had been narrowed by his suspicious as to the loyalty of the Corinthians, and he had spoken to them as with compressed and guarded lips, weighing not only his words, but mindful, as it were, of the tone in which he uttered them. But by their obedience to the instructions which he gave them his confidence in them had been restored, his heart had dilated to its former largeness and wealth of affection toward them, and his mouth had been set free to speak to them unreservedly and openly. If any strained or straitened relations existed between them, they arose from the hearts of the Corinthians themselves. Paul therefore beseeches them to recompense his love with their love, his largeheartedness with corresponding largeness of heart on their part, and he does this in the spirit and with the expectation which a father has when talking with his children. Thus, after the long parenthetical digression which began at verse 3, the apostle comes back to the subject-matter of verses 1 and 2. Having put himself in a proper position to give an admonition, and the Corinthians in the right attitude to receive it, he imparts the warning which he began to introduce in [2Co 6:1]

McGarvey: 2Co 6:14

Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers [a figure drawn from the law -- Deu 22:9-11]: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness?

McGarvey: 2Co 6:15

And what concord hath Christ with Belial? [Literally, "worthlessness," "depravity." The term is here used as a synonym for Satan, Who is the impersonation of impurity] or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever?

McGarvey: 2Co 6:16

And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said [Lev 26:12 ; Exo 29:45 ; Eze 37:27 ; Jer 31:1], I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people . [In the first epistle to the Corinthians the apostle had reasoned with the church, giving it instruction as to marriage ties between pagans and believers, and as to the social and other fellowships which tempted the Corinthians to take part in idol feasts. In all this his language had been careful and guarded, and he had recognized to the full every principle of Christian liberty involved in these questions. He now lays aside the argumentative reserve which characterized his first letter and tells them plainly that by thus going to the extreme limits of their liberty they are liable to make the grace of God in vain as to them. That life is a brief day of probation wherein they should not hazard their salvation. Then, by a series of short, terse questions he shows the utter folly, the inconsistency and incongruity of every form of alliance which entangles the children of God with the children of the devil. The world has not so improved, and Satan has not so repented, as to in any way nullify, or even weaken, the weight and applicability of this apostolic warning.]

McGarvey: 2Co 6:17

Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord [Isa 52:11] , And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you ,

McGarvey: 2Co 6:18

And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty . [Hos 1:10 ; Isa 43:6]

Lapide: 2Co 6:1-18

CHAPTER 6

SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER

i. He exhorts them not to neglect the proffered grace of reconciliation spoken of at the end of the last chapter.

ii. He points out (ver. 4) the qualities required in ministers, especially in Apostles and preachers of the Gospel.

iii. He declares (ver. 11) how his heart was filled with love of the Corinthians, and he strives to stir them up to like love.

iv. He warns them (ver. 14) by many contrasts carefully to avoid holding intercourse or intermarrying with unbelievers.

Ver. 1.— We then, as workers together with Him. We, as workers together with God, beseech you to accept this proffered reconciliation, spoken of in vers. 18, 19, and 20, of the preceding chapter.

Beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. He receives grace into a vacuum, says Anselm, who does not work with it, who does not give it his heart, and who, through sloth, makes that grace ineffectual, by not doing, all that he can to express it in good works. In other words, do not suppose that faith alone is reconciliation, for a good life and good works are also indispensable. So Theophylact, following Chrysostom.

Observe that the Apostle applies the word grace to the general benefit of reconciliation of the world through Christ's redemption; for it was of this that he had just been treating. Nevertheless, under that he comprehends that particular grace which Christ has merited for each one, and which God gives to each one, to enable each one to become a partaker of the general redemption wrought by Christ.

Ver. 2.— For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted (Isa. xlix. 8). The Apostle proves that now is the time of grace and reconciliation, in order that we way not receive this grace in vain, from the fact that Isaiah had foretold that this would be the time of grace. He is anticipating an objection which might be raised. It might be said by some one: "It is not in my power to receive the grace of God; for to give it or not to give it depends on the will of God. How, then, can you exhort me to receive it?" Paul replies. Now is the time accepted, now is the time of salvation, now is the time of grace, when, as Isaiah foretold, God offers His grace to all, and hears the desires and petitions of all.

In a time accepted. This time is the period of the law of grace, or the present life of Christians, during which they have the opportunity of doing good works and obtaining merit. But after this life it is not called "a time accepted;" for in this time only has God been pleased to offer to all men, through Christ, His grace of reconciliation, loving-kindness, and salvation. It is called accepted and acceptable, i.e., most welcome, and worthy of being received with the greatest possible rejoicing and praise, since it brings salvation to the world through Christ.

These words are addressed by the Father to the Son. I have heard, i.e., since the prophetic eye sees the future as already present, I will hear Thee, My Son, making request for Thy members, and in Thy faithful members, and asking for help, and grace, and, salvation. And in the day of salvation, in the time of grace, when I will call all men to eternal salvation by Thee, 0 Christ, have I succoured Thee, i.e., I will succour Thee, so that you shall obtain in, Christians, as Thy members, the salvation that is offered them by Thee. So Ambrose, Chrysostom, Anselm. Cf. Isa. lxi 2, where Christ says that He is sent to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn. This acceptable year was typified by the year of jubilee. The whole time, therefore, that Christ preached, and after that the whole time of the New Law, was, and is, to them that obey Christ and accept His free gift, a year of jubilee, of mercy, peace, forgiveness, salvation, and freedom. In this year, after the long-standing. wrath of God against us, we are restored to His grace, good-will, to our glorious inheritance, and all the original good things which we had in the state of innocence in Paradise. The same time, the same year, was the day of vengeance on our foes, when God avenged the human race on its enemies by delivering them from their tyranny.

Ver. 3. — Giving no offence in anything. When we speak of the day on which all are called by Christ to be saved, let us be careful that we put no stumbling-block in any one's way, and by our self indulgence, or gloominess, or cowardice cause him to refuse to accept, or advance in the way of salvation; else we Apostles, who do all that we can by our preaching and living to induce all to accept salvation, will be blamed.

Ver. 4.— Approving ourselves. "Commending ourselves" (Erasmus), "declaring ourselves," as others render it; but "showing ourselves" (Syriac) is the best. The Latin version, however, takes it in the Optative, "let us show ourselves." Paul is here again defending himself and praising himself because of his rivals, the false apostles; and he exhorts all Christians, and especially all preachers of the Gospel, of whom there were many at Corinth, to live up to the Evangelical and Apostolical life. At the same time he tacitly describes his own life, his sufferings, fortitude, and virtues, that others may imitate him, and may in their own lives offer a contrast to the pride, self-indulgence, cowardice, and other vices of the false apostles. As we shall see in chap. xi., he is forced in this Epistle to praise himself in self-defence.

S. Paul here puts forward a living picture of a true and genuine Apostle and preacher of the Gospel, by which any one may examine teachers whose faith and uprightness are suspected. This picture is also a model for all teachers and pastors to copy.  S. Paul wishes the Corinthians to see the injustice of preferring their false apostles and blatant demagogues before himself and his fellow-Apostles, in whom all the marks of a true Apostle will easily be found. These marks he now proceeds to enumerate.

As the ministers of God in much patience. The exhibition of suffering endured not once but often is a plain proof of apostleship. The word "patience" is to be referred to what follows. Let us show ourselves, says S. Paul, as ministers of God, by suffering many tribulations, necessities, distresses, stripes, and other afflictions. For men admire this patience as a higher philosophy, they themselves being accustomed when they are injured to be angry, indignant, and to avenge themselves by blows and angry words, and thus they are led to infer the truth of Christian doctrine and to recognise the Spirit of God. For example,  S. Xavier and his companion Juan Fernandez made no progress in Japan until a man one day spat in the face of one of them; whereupon the Saint gently wiped his face and proceeded with his sermon as though he had suffered nothing, and bore with most exemplary patience their scoffs and insults. The keen-witted Japanese so admired this fortitude that they at once proceeded to honour them as men descended from heaven, and to vie with each other in embracing the faith they taught. The heathen Epictetus also saw the power of constancy and long-suffering, and taught his followers to show the wisdom he had taught them, not so much by words as by deeds of endurance. In his Enchiridion (c. 29), he says: " Be not in a hurry to utter thy words to the unskilful; but rather let thy words act as fuel to the flames of thy deeds; for sheep do not ask us to prove by reasonings how much they may have eaten, but they quietly digest their food, and show its results in wool and milk." So Christ (S. Matt. vii. 16) says of false prophets, "by their fruits ye shall know them;" and again, in S. Luk 8:15, speaking, of the seed of the Gospel which falls into good ground, He says "these are they which in an honest and good heart having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."

In necessities.— In want of food, drink, and clothing. Theophylact takes the word in a more general sense, as denoting the intensity and severity of his tribulations, when they become so overwhelming that escape seems impossible, and drive a man into extreme necessity, and as it were stifle him.

Ver. 5.— In tumults. Being constantly hunted from one city to another, so that I have no place to abide in, but am forced to be always going hither and thither. The word may, however, also denote popular outbreaks or tumults, as in S. Luk 21:9.

Ver. 6.— By pureness. Being pure in all things, not only inasmuch as Paul was guiltless of bribery, and forbade his disciples to yield to it, but also because he preached not at others' expense, as Theophylact says. The Latin version gives the word a narrower meaning, as denoting pure and perfect chastity, abstinence from every lustful action, the cultivation of angelic purity, such as was seen in Paul and the other Apostles. Every infidel and heretic looks upon this as a token that a man is a true minister of God; and he rightly thinks that chastity with himself is impossible. It is possible among Catholics alone, inasmuch as they are sharers in the true faith and in the grace of God. Hence you will not find among heretics virgins or houses of virgins, or monks or monasteries, no, nor even celibate priests. These are to be found in every age in the Roman Catholic Church alone, which has followed, and taught her members to follow, Paul and the other Apostles as her guides and teachers.

By knowledge. Let us see that we do not appear to some to be unskilled and untaught as to what things Christians are to do and avoid. Let us rather show that we know such things, by teaching others the good they are to do, and the evil that they are to avoid, that so they may attain salvation, and that all may know us to be God's ministers, preachers, and Apostles. So Ambrose. Anselm, not amiss, thinks that knowledge here denotes acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures.

By kindness. Let us not be rancorously bitter against those who trouble us, but let us be gentle and kindly disposed to them, in thought, word, and deed, that all may say that we are God's ministers. It is evidently a sign of adamantine fortitude, says Theophylact, when any one, being harassed and attacked on every side, is not only long-suffering, but also gentle and kind. It is superhuman, Christ-like, God-like.

Such was S. Athanasius, of whom Nazianzen says in his oration in his praise: " Athanasius was in his life high and lifted up, in his mind filled with humility; of such urbanity that all might easily approach him; forgiving, free from all anger, compassionate, Pleasant in speech, pleasanter still in his life, in shape like an angel, in mind still more angelic, calm when rebuking others, able to instruct when he gave praise, as far removed from easy-going carelessness as from harsh severity; in short, he was adamant to those that struck against him, a magnet to those that stood apart from him."

By the Holy Ghost. By the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and by the works we do by His help and guidance. Let us do everything with so pious, kind, sincere, and fervent spirit, that it may be apparent that we are not moved by vanity or pride, but by the Holy Spirit. So Anselm, Theophylact, Chrysostom.

Ver. 7.— By the word of truth. By purely and sincerely preaching Gospel truth, let us show ourselves ministers of God.

By the power of God. By working miracles, or rather, with Chrysostom, by Christian constancy and fortitude displaying itself in so many adversities, so many labours, such vehemence of word, and so effectual preaching. All such things come to us through the power of God, and prove us to be powerful ministers of Him, worthy of all admiration.

By the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. Both in prosperity and adversity let us take as our arms works of righteousness, i.e., of virtuous deeds springing from a righteous and holy life, that we may neither be lifted up by prosperity nor cast down by adversity. So Anselm. But Chrysostom and Theophylact say that the left hand denotes adversity, and the right prosperity, which two things, by alternate action, fortify the servants of God like armour, so that they are neither exalted to pride nor cast down into despondency.

Ver. 8.— By honour and dishonour. Whether we are honoured and praised, or dishonoured and abused, as, e.g., when the Lycaonians wished to worship Paul as God, and directly afterwards to stone him as an impostor. The preposition by is here equivalent to in. See note to

1Ti 2:15.

By evil report and good report. Whether we are spoken evil of, or are in great repute.

As deceivers. Regarded as such, says Ambrose, when yet we are true.

As unknown, and yet well known. Looked upon by unbelievers and heretics as unknown and obscure, but yet well known to God and our own consciences (Ambrose).

Ver. 9.— As dying. We may seem to be always dying through our daily dangers, persecutions, and trials, but God preserves us alive and unharmed.

As chastened and not killed. Let us show ourselves as ministers of God (ver. 4), by being chastened and not killed.

Ver. 10. — As poor, yet making many rich. By enriching them with earthly goods as well as with things Divine and heavenly.  S. Paul was collecting alms for the poor Saints, and especially those of Jerusalem.

As having nothing, and yet possessing all things. (1.) I have all things necessary, and I want no more; nay, what is more, I despise them as vile and beneath me, whence I am as though I possessed all things. (2.) Though we Apostles are poor, yet are we the head of the faithful, the richest of whom bring all their goods and lay them at our feet (Ambrose and Anselm). Cf. Chrysostom here and Homily ( in Moral.). (3.) Possessing all things may also be understood to mean, having books, garments, and all other necessary things, all meaning "some out of all," and being "distributed" according to classes of individuals, and not according to the individuals of classes. Others say that all things refers to God, and they who possess Him possess all things. But this last sense is mystical and symbolical.

Anselm remarks that as though is here prefixed to what is painful, but not to what is joyful, because all the sadness of the Saints is but apparent. It is short-lived, and passes away as a dream, and seems but a shadow, and is not sorrow, but a mere semblance of it. The joy of the Saints, however, has no as though, because it is founded on the sure and certain hope of eternal bliss. On the other hand, the joy of the wicked has here the prefix as though, because it is brief and shadowy as a dream, while their sorrow will have no as, because it will be eternally bitter.

Observe the nature of the life of Paul and the other Apostles. It was such a life as is led by religious, whose fathers were the Apostles. Nazianzen (Oral. 1 de Pace ), in describing this life, says: " Their life is one of wealth in the midst of need, of great possessions while but pilgrims, of glory amid scorn, patience in weakness, a noble offspring in celibacy: instead of riches they have contempt of riches; for the kingdom of heaven's sake they embrace humility; they have nothing in the world, and yet they are superior to the world; they are in the flesh, and yet live out of the flesh; they have God for their portion; their hope of the Kingdom makes them labour in want, and through want they rein." Such was the life of Bishops and apostolic men. Sulpitius praises S. Martin for fulfilling the dignified duties of a Bishop without abandoning his purpose as a monk. Posidonius relates of S. Augustine that he lived so frugally as to be content with bread and vegetables, seldom providing flesh except for his guests; he says also that when he was at the point of death he left no will, because, as he said, Christ's poor had nothing to leave. Still he was able to refute Arians, Manichees, Donatists, and Pelagians, and became one of the first columns and doctors of the Churches. Of Exuperius, Bishop of Toulouse, S. Jerome says: "When hungry himself he fed others, and showed by his face, wasted and wan with constant fasting, that he was consumed by hunger after other things."

This therefore, is the norm and form of the apostolic life prescribed by S. Paul to all who are desirous of perfection and the salvation of their souls. From this was drawn the short rule of the Institute of our Order, a printed copy of which each of us is wont to carry about with him, and to apply to it his eyes and mind, regarding it as his private monitor, and a keen spur to zeal for virtue, nay, as a living mirror of our vocation and profession. It says as follows: " The nature of our life demands that we be men crucified to the world, and to whom the world itself is crucified; new men, who have put off their affections to put on Christ; dead to themselves, to live to righteousness; men who, as S. Basil says, show themselves to be ministers of Christ in labours, in watchings, in fastings, in pureness in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Ghost, in love unfeigned, in the word of truth; men who by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report, in prosperity and adversity, are themselves hastening by force marches to their heavenly country, and wish all zealous labour compelling others also, always aiming at the greatest glory of God. This is the summary, this one thing the aim and object of our constitutions, viz., Jesus."

Ver. 11.— 0 ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you. My mouth is open, it longs to say more to you, and to express all my affection for you, and it cannot. No matter what and how much I may say, it is less than my affection. The Apostle says this to show that what he had said of his patience, tribulations, and virtues was not from self-love, but from friendship, trust, and love towards the Corinthians. Friends are in the habit of interchanging their secret joys and sorrows, and thus showing their love for each other. When this is great they more and more try to express it, but find themselves unable to do justice to their feelings. This is what Paul does here.

The two ideas of "straitening" and "enlarging" are frequently contrasted by the Hebrews, to denote on the one hand sadness, timidity, suspicion, and avarice, and on the other joyfulness and generosity of heart. As sadness and avarice contract the heart, the brow, and the hands, so joy, cheerfulness, and charity expand them. Cf. Psa 119:32, and 1Ki 4:29.

Ver. 12. — Ye are not straitened in us. You dwell fully and spaciously in my heart as in your home. My love builds for you a spacious house.

Ye are straitened in your own bowels. The love of your hearts for me is so small that it contracts them, and barely gives me place there. Your love and good-will do not equal mine. The Corinthians would seem to have been alienated from Paul by the calumnies of the false apostles; he, therefore, declares the greatness of his love for them, that he may kindle theirs in return.

Moreover, Paul seemed to have in his First Epistle straitened the Corinthians by prohibiting them from idolatry, from going to law before unbelieving judges, from their love-feasts and sumptuous banquets; and in ver. 14 he is about to straiten them by forbidding a believer to marry with an unbeliever. He here paves the way by urging them to receive, with the large-hearted love of Christ, his apparently straitening precepts, which are not his but Christ's.

Ver. 13. — Now for a recompence in the same . . . be ye also enlarged. S. Paul is speaking of a return of love, and not, as some think, of the heavenly reward. These latter take the meaning to be, that since the Corinthians were to have the same reward in heaven, they should enlarge their love for S. Paul. But the sense clearly is that they should repay S. Paul's for them with an equal measure of love on their part.

Ver. 14. — Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Do not have so close fellowship with them in matters of religion as to be gradually led away to share in their unbelief, as, e.g., in marriage. Separate yourselves from the unbelievers' assemblies, temples, sacrifices, feasts; do not intermarry with them, for all commerce with them is either wicked and unrighteous in itself, or is dangerous to those who hold it, and a cause of offence to others. Do not imitate the Jews, whose laxity is recorded in PS. cvi. 35 (Chrysostom, Ambrose, Theophylact).  S. Jerome ( contra Jovin. lib. i.) understands S. Paul to warn against intermarriage with unbelievers. There seems to be an allusion to Ps. cvi. 28, "They joined themselves unto Baal-peor," which refers to the fornication committed by the Israelites in honour of Baal-peor. So, whoever marries with an unbeliever may be said to join himself to Baal-peor, i.e., the devil, the ruler of unbelievers. Anselm again supposes that by "unbelievers" is meant the Judaising false apostles, who were attempting to eviscerate the faith of Christ by making the ceremonies of the law of Moses binding on Christians. Such men are more dangerous to Christians, and more to be shunned than unbelieving Gentiles, and therefore S. Paul warns his readers against them. This sense is good but defective, for the Apostle wishes the fellowship of all unbelievers whatsoever to be avoided

The Apostle is here passing on, as is usual in letters, to discuss another point of importance just then to the Corinthians, viz., the duty of avoiding unbelievers. It is in vain, therefore, for any one to seek for connecting links with what has gone before.

Erasmus observes that the Latin version is happy in its translation here; it renders the passage: "Do not be joined in the same yoke with unbelievers." For if a Christian marry a heathen wife, or a Christian magistrate have a Gentile as colleague, he is called έτεροζυγω̃ν. Marriages of this kind S. Jerome calls unequal.

Observe upon this that έτερος signifies sometimes one of two, sometimes an object that is diverse, whether from some one other or from several others. Thus the word occurs in a compound word, to denote one who lacks an eye, and again to denote one who is of a different opinion (έτεροφθάλμος and έτερόδοξος ). And hence it is uncertain whether S. Paul here means one who bears one-half of a yoke, or one who bears a yoke in company with one of a different condition.

Budæus takes the former of these two, and understands S. Paul to exhort the Corinthians not to bear one part of a yoke with unbelievers, just as in Campania two oxen bear the same yoke, one on each side.

Others more properly take the latter meaning, and understand the warning to be against such an alliance as that of an ox and an ass would be in the same yoke (Deut. xxii. 10). This interpretation is rendered more probable from the words that follow—"what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?"

Theophylact again thinks that the warning is against accommodating one's principles to those of our partner in wedlock. He says that the allusion here is not to a yoke but to the beam of a balance, and one especially that is unequally weighted, so that one side is lower than the other. We are not to be like such a balance, and lean towards an unrighteous or unbelieving partner.

For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteous? The just with the unjust, believers with unbelievers.

It was hard for the Corinthians, while Christians were so few, to be forbidden to have commerce and intermarriage with unbelievers. Many amongst them would find a difficulty in obtaining partners of equal rank, or wealth, or position; and hence they would either be obliged to abstain from marriage, or else marry an inferior. Moreover, by natural and Divine law there was nothing simply and absolutely to prohibit them from allying themselves with unbelievers; still such alliance would be unbecoming and full of danger, and hence it is forbidden by the Apostle. But to reconcile them to so severe a precept he puts before them five contrasts drawn from the inherent opposition between Christianity and heathenism.

(1.) Unequal wedlock is a heavy yoke, burdensome to both parties, even as it would be if a horse and an ox were yoked together. (2.) Light and darkness cannot cohere in the same subject or be in the same place at once; therefore one of the faithful, who has the light of faith, cannot well enter into the same yoke with one who is full of the darkness of unbelief. (3.) There is no concord between Christ and Belial: believers belong to Christ, unbelievers to Belial; therefore they cannot agree. (4.) The believer has no part or communion with the unbeliever, but differs from him as widely as belief from unbelief, heaven from hell; therefore they cannot be joined together. (5.) The temple of God cannot be associated with the idols and temples of devils; neither, therefore, can a believer with an unbeliever. For each of the faithful is a temple of God, and the unbeliever is a temple and image of the devil.

Ver. 15. — What concord hath Christ with Belial? What harmony can there be between Him who is the Author of all knowledge, obedience, and righteousness and the devil with his followers?

The Hebrew Belial denotes (1.) disobedience, rebellion, ungodliness; (2.) those who have these qualities; and (3.) the devil, as the first apostate, the first to shake of the yoke of obedience to God and His law. Hence apostates are called "sons of Belial," i.e., children of the devil, or children of disobedience, rebellion ungodliness

What part hath he that believeth with an infidel? What is there common to both, to be shared by both? So, in 1Ki 12:16, we find: "What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse." This antithesis explains the three preceding ones. It is not right for a believer to be joined with an unbeliever, even as it is not possible for righteousness to be joined to unrighteousness, light to darkness, Christ to Belial, the temple of God with idols.

Ver. 16 . — Ye are the temple of the living God. By faith, grace, and holiness.  S. Cyprian ( de Orat. Domin.) says beautifully: " Let us show ourselves in our lives as the temples of God, that all may see that God indwells within us, so that we who have begun to be heavenly and spiritual, may think and do nothing but what is spiritual and heavenly." The Hebrew word for "temple" connotes power and majesty. Hence Chrysostom (Hom . 17 in Ep. ad Heb.) says that God ordered Solomon's Temple to be made exceeding magnifical, that the Jews, who were naturally attracted by outward things, might be led to know something of the majesty of God. Why, then, should not Christians ornament their temples, as the houses of God, and show honour to God, and especially to the body of Christ present with them, and so excite others to reverence and love God? Such a temple, such a royal, nay, such a Divine palace, is the Church allegorically, and each faithful soul tropologically, as the Apostle here declares. In this temple God shows His great glory and majesty, by His exceeding great grace, by magnificent and glorious works of virtue, and by the power of His sacraments.

Villalpando ( in Ezek. vol. ii. p. 256) sees a further reference in the Hebrew word for temple to motion or walking. The tabernacle was a movable temple in which God dwelt and walked with the Hebrews through the wilderness into their promised land. It is to this that S. Paul alludes in the words that follow.

I will walk in them. I will be their guardian, and will spiritually walk in them through the powers and virtues of the soul. Anselm points out that S. Paul quotes Eze 37:27 literally, and Lev 26:12 tropologically. What is said in the latter passage of the literal tabernacle of witness is to be understood of God's protecting presence in each one of the faithful.

Allegorically this tabernacle signified the Church of Christ, as is explained in Eze 28:27, and tropologically each holy soul, which is a temple of God moving through the wilderness of this world to its resting-place in heaven.

(i.) God walks in the soul as in His tabernacle when, through acts of faith, hope, and charity, He passes from the memory to the understanding, and thence to the will. For the faithful soul is as the temple of heaven: its sun is the understanding, or zeal for righteousness, its moon is faith and continence; its stars the other virtues, as S. Bernard says ( Serm. 27 in Cantic.). (2.) God walks in the soul, inasmuch as He makes it by His grace go from virtue to virtue (Anselm and Theophylact). In the same way that in the tabernacle the way to the Holy of Holies through the Holy Place was by the altar of incense, the table of shew-bread, and the candle-stick, does God enable us to pass into heaven through holiness of life by prayer, almsgiving, chastity, and purity of soul. The altar of incense was a symbol of prayer, the table of almsgiving, the candle-stick of purity and brightness of life. (3.) God walks in the soul by way of contemplation. He causes us to follow in our minds His temples, as He passed from the temple of heaven to that of the Virgin's womb, thence to that of Calvary, thence to hell, and finally back again to heaven. (4.) God walks in us corporally, says S. Ambrose, for the Word was made flesh and dwelt and walked amongst us, and daily by Holy Communion He dwells in us and walks with us.

Ver. 17.— Come out from among them. Isa 52:11, which is here quoted, taken literally ordered the Apostles and the faithful generally to come out, not from the unbelieving and unclean city of Babylon, but from Jerusalem, to be laid waste by Titus. But the Apostle, either tropologically or by parity of reasoning, applies it as an injunction to the faithful to avoid too great intimacy with unbelievers, and not to touch the unclean thing, that is unclean unbelievers; not to live with them, lest they stain themselves with their uncleannesses, such as drunkenness, lust, pride, ungodliness, and unrighteousness (Jerome, Cyril in Isa. lii., Chrysostom, Ambrose, Anselm).

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Second Corinthians

From Macedonia a.d. 54 Or 55

By Way of Introduction

The Pauline authorship is admitted by all real scholars, though there is doubt by some as to the unity of the Epistle. J.H. Kennedy ( The Second and Third Letters of St. Paul to the Corinthians , 1900) has presented the arguments in a plausible, but not wholly convincing, manner for the plea that chapters 2 Corinthians 10-13 really represent a separate and earlier letter, the one referred to in 2Co_2:3, which was later tacked on to chapters 1-9 as part of the same Epistle. This theory does explain the difference in tone between chapters 1 to 7 and 10 to 13, but that fact is sufficiently clear from the stubborn minority against Paul in Corinth reported by Titus after the majority had been won to Paul by First Corinthians and by Titus (2Co_2:1-11). There are in fact three obvious divisions in the Epistle. Chapters 1 to 7 deal with the report of Titus about the victory in Corinth and Paul’s wonderful digression on the glory of the ministry in 2 Corinthians 2:12-6:10; chapters 8 and 2Co_9:1-15 discuss the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem already mentioned in 1Co_16:1. and which Titus is to press to completion on his return to Corinth; chapters 10 to 13 deal sharply with the Judaizing minority who still oppose Paul’s leadership. These three subjects are in no sense inconsistent with each other. The letter is a unity. Nowhere do we gain so clear an insight into Paul’s own struggles and hopes as a preacher. It is a handbook for the modern minister of inestimable value. One can hear Paul’s heart throb through these chapters. The syntax is often broken by anacolutha. The sentences are sometimes disconnected. Grammatical agreements are overlooked. But there is power here, the grip of a great soul holding on to the highest ideals in the midst of manifold opposition and discouragements. Christ is Master of Paul at every turn.

The date of the Epistle is clearly after I Corinthians, for Paul has left Ephesus and is now in Macedonia (2Co_2:13), probably at Philippi, where he met Titus, though he had hoped to meet him at Troas on his return from Corinth. At a guess one may say that Paul wrote in the autumn of a.d. 54 or 55 of the same year in the spring of which he had written I Corinthians, and before he went on to Corinth himself where he wrote Romans (Act_20:1-3; Rom_16:1).

The occasion for writing is the return of Titus from Corinth with mixed news of the Pauline majority and the minority in opposition. So Titus is sent back with this Epistle to finish the task while Paul waits awhile for matters to clear up (2Co_13:1-10).

It is not certain whether the letter mentioned in 2Co_2:3 is our I Corinthians or a lost letter like the one alluded to in 1Co_5:9. If it is a lost one, we know of four Corinthian Epistles (the one in 1Co_5:9, our I Corinthians, the one in 2Co_2:3, our II Corinthians), assuming the unity of II Corinthians. Few things in Paul’s ministry gave him more concern than the troubles in Corinth. The modern city pastor finds little in his work that Paul has not faced and mastered. There is consolation and courage for the preacher in the conduct and counsels of this greatest of all preachers.

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE following reasons seem to have induced Paul to write this Second Epistle to the Corinthians: (1) That he might explain the reasons for his having deferred to pay them his promised visit, by taking Corinth as his way to Macedonia (1Co 4:19; 2Co 1:15-16; compare 1Co 16:5); and so that he might set forth to them his apostolic walk in general (2Co 1:12, 2Co 1:24; 2Co 6:3-13; 2Co 7:2). (2) That he might commend their obedience in reference to the directions in his First Epistle, and at the same time direct them now to forgive the offender, as having been punished sufficiently (2Co 2:1-11; 2Co 7:6-16). (3) That he might urge them to collect for the poor saints at Jerusalem (2Co 8:1-9, 2Co 8:15). (4) That he might maintain his apostolic authority and reprove gainsayers.

The external testimonies for its genuineness are IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 3,7,1]; ATHENAGORAS [Of the Resurrection of the Dead]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 3, p. 94; 4, p. 101]; TERTULLIAN [On Modesty, 13].

The TIME OF WRITING was after Pentecost, A.D. 57, when Paul left Ephesus for Troas. Having stayed in the latter place for some time preaching the Gospel with effect (2Co 2:12), he went on to Macedonia, being eager to meet Titus there, having been disappointed in his not coming to Troas, as had been agreed on between them. Having heard from him the tidings he so much desired of the good effect produced on the Corinthians by his First Epistle, and after having tested the liberality of the Macedonian churches (2Co 8:1), he wrote this Second Epistle, and then went on to Greece, where he abode for three months; and then, after travelling by land, reached Philippi on his return at Passover or Easter, A.D. 58 (Act 20:1-6). So that this Epistle must have been written about autumn, A.D. 57.

Macedonia was THE PLACE from which it was written (2Co 9:2, where the present tense, "I boast," or "am boasting," implies his presence then in Macedonia). In Asia (Lydian Asia) he had undergone some great peril of his life (2Co 1:8-9), whether the reference be [PALEY] to the tumult at Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41), or, as ALFORD thinks, to a dangerous illness in which he despaired of life. Thence he passed by Troas to Philippi, the first city which would meet him in entering Macedonia. The importance of the Philippian Church would induce him to stay there some time; as also his desire to collect contributions from the Macedonian churches for the poor saints at Jerusalem. His anxiety of mind is recorded (2Co 7:5) as occurring when he came into Macedonia, and therefore must have been at Philippi, which was the first city of Macedonia in coming from Troas; and here, too, from 2Co 7:6, compared with 2Co 7:5, must have been the scene of his receiving the comforting tidings from Titus. "Macedonia" is used for Philippi in 2Co 11:9, as is proved by comparison with Phi 4:15-16. So it is probably used here (2Co 7:5). ALFORD argues from 2Co 8:1, where he speaks of the "grace bestowed on the churches (plural) of Macedonia," that Paul must have visited other churches in Macedonia, besides Philippi, when he wrote, for example, Thessalonica, Berea, &c., and that Philippi, the first on his route, is less likely to have been the scene of his writing than the last on his route, whichever it was, perhaps Thessalonica. But Philippi, as being the chief town of the province, was probably the place to which all the collections of the churches were sent. Ancient tradition, too (as appears from the subscription to this Epistle), favors the view that Philippi was the place from which this Epistle was sent by the hands of Titus who received, besides, a charge to prosecute at Corinth the collection which he had begun at his first visit (2Co 8:6).

The STYLE is most varied, and passes rapidly from one phase of feeling to another; now joyous and consolatory, again severe and full of reproof; at one time gentle and affectionate, at another, sternly rebuking opponents and upholding his dignity as an apostle. This variety of style accords with the warm and earnest character of the apostle, which nowhere is manifested more beautifully than in this Epistle. His bodily frailty, and the chronic malady under which he suffered, and which is often alluded to (2Co 4:7; 2Co 5:1-4; 2Co 12:7-9; compare Note, see on 2Co 1:8), must have been especially trying to one of his ardent temperament. But besides this, was the more pressing anxiety of the "care of all the churches." At Corinth, as elsewhere, Judaizing emissaries wished to bind legal fetters of letter and form (compare 2Co. 3:3-18) on the freedom and catholicity of the Church. On the other hand, there were free thinkers who defended their immorality of practice by infidel theories (1Co 15:12, 1Co 15:32-36). These were the "fightings without," and "fears within" (2Co 7:5-6) which agitated the apostle's mind until Titus brought him comforting tidings from Corinth. Even then, while the majority at Corinth had testified their repentance, and, as Paul had desired, excommunicated the incestuous person, and contributed for the poor Christians of Judea, there was still a minority who, more contemptuously than ever, resisted the apostle. These accused him of crafty and mercenary motives, as if he had personal gain in view in the collection being made; and this, notwithstanding his scrupulous care to be above the possibility of reasonable suspicion, by having others besides himself to take charge of the money. This insinuation was palpably inconsistent with their other charge, that he could be no true apostle, as he did not claim maintenance from the churches which he founded. Another accusation they brought of cowardly weakness; that he was always threatening severe measures without daring to execute them (2Co 10:8-16; 2Co 13:2); and that he was vacillating in his teaching and practice, circumcising Timothy, and yet withholding circumcision from Titus; a Jew among the Jews, and a Greek among the Greeks. That most of these opponents were of the Judaizing party in the Church, appears from 2Co 11:22. They seem to have been headed by an emissary from Judea ("he that cometh," 2Co 11:4), who had brought "letters of commendation" (2Co 3:1) from members of the Church at Jerusalem, and who boasted of his purity of Hebrew descent, and his close connection with Christ Himself (2Co 11:13, 2Co 11:23). His partisans contrasted his high pretensions with the timid humility of Paul (1Co 2:3); and his rhetoric with the apostle's plain and unadorned style (2Co 11:6; 2Co 10:10, 2Co 10:13). It was this state of things at Corinth, reported by Titus, that caused Paul to send him back forthwith thither with this Second Epistle, which is addressed, not to Corinth only (1Co 1:2), but to all the churches also in Achaia (2Co 1:1), which had in some degree been affected by the same causes as affected the Corinthian Church. The widely different tone in different parts of the Epistle is due to the diversity which existed at Corinth between the penitent majority and the refractory minority. The former he addresses with the warmest affection; the latter with menace and warning. Two deputies, chosen by the churches to take charge of the contribution to be collected at Corinth, accompanied Titus (2Co 8:18-19, 2Co 8:22).

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

• THE HEADING; PAUL'S CONSOLATIONS IN RECENT TRIALS IN ASIA; HIS SINCERITY TOWARDS THE CORINTHIANS; EXPLANATION OF HIS NOT HAVING VISITED THEM AS HE HAD PURPOSED. (2Co. 1:1-24)
• REASON WHY HE HAD NOT VISITED THEM ON HIS WAY TO MACEDONIA; THE INCESTUOUS PERSON OUGHT NOW TO BE FORGIVEN; HIS ANXIETY TO HEAR TIDINGS OF THEIR STATE FROM TITUS, AND HIS JOY WHEN AT LAST THE GOOD NEWS REACHES HIM. (2Co. 2:1-17)
• THE SOLE COMMENDATION HE NEEDS TO PROVE GOD'S SANCTION OF HIS MINISTRY HE HAS IN HIS CORINTHIAN CONVERTS: HIS MINISTRY EXCELS THE MOSAIC, AS THE GOSPEL OF LIFE AND LIBERTY EXCELS THE LAW OF CONDEMNATION. (2Co. 3:1-18) Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves (2Co 5:12) (as some of them might say he had done in his first Epistle; or, a reproof to "some" who had begun doing so)!
• HIS PREACHING IS OPEN AND SINCERE, THOUGH TO MANY THE GOSPEL IS HIDDEN. (2Co. 4:1-18)
• THE HOPE (2Co 4:17-18) OF ETERNAL GLORY IN THE RESURRECTION BODY. (2Co. 5:1-21)
• HIS APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IS APPROVED BY FAITHFULNESS IN EXHORTATION, IN SUFFERINGS, IN EXHIBITION OF THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST: HIS LARGENESS OF HEART TO THEM CALLS FOR ENLARGEMENT OF THEIR HEART TO HIM. EXHORTATIONS TO SEPARATION FROM POLLUTION. (2Co. 6:1-18)
• SELF-PURIFICATION THEIR DUTY RESULTING FROM THE FOREGOING. HIS LOVE TO THEM, AND JOY AT THE GOOD EFFECTS ON THEM OF HIS FORMER EPISTLE, AS REPORTED BY TITUS. (2Co. 7:1-16)
• THE COLLECTION FOR THE SAINTS; THE READINESS OF THE MACEDONIANS A PATTERN TO THE CORINTHIANS; CHRIST THE HIGHEST PATTERN; EACH IS TO GIVE WILLINGLY AFTER HIS ABILITY; TITUS AND TWO OTHERS ARE THE AGENTS ACCREDITED TO COMPLETE THE COLLECTION. (2Co. 8:1-24)
• REASONS FOR HIS SENDING TITUS. THE GREATER THEIR BOUNTIFULNESS, THE MORE SHALL BE THE RETURN OF BLESSING TO THEM, AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD. (2Co 9:1-15)
• HE VINDICATES HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY AGAINST THOSE WHO DEPRECIATED HIM FOR HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. HE WILL MAKE HIS POWER FELT WHEN HE COMES. HE BOASTS NOT, AS THEY, BEYOND HIS MEASURE. (2Co. 10:1-18)
• THROUGH JEALOUSY OVER THE CORINTHIANS, WHO MADE MORE ACCOUNT OF THE FALSE APOSTLES THAN OF HIM, HE IS OBLIGED TO COMMEND HIMSELF AS IN MANY RESPECTS SUPERIOR. (2Co. 11:1-33)
• REVELATIONS IN WHICH HE MIGHT GLORY: BUT HE RATHER GLORIES IN INFIRMITIES, AS CALLING FORTH CHRIST'S POWER: SIGNS OF HIS APOSTLESHIP: HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS: NOT THAT HE IS EXCUSING HIMSELF TO THEM; BUT HE DOES ALL FOR THEIR GOOD, LEST HE SHOULD FIND THEM NOT SUCH AS HE DESIRED, AND SO SHOULD HAVE TO BE SEVERE AT HIS COMING. (2Co. 12:1-21) He proceeds to illustrate the "glorying in infirmities" (2Co 11:30). He gave one instance which might expose him to ridicule (2Co 11:33); he now gives another, but this one connected with a glorious revelation of which it was the sequel: but he dwells not on the glory done to himself, but on the infirmity which followed it, as displaying Christ's power. The oldest manuscripts read, "I MUST NEEDS boast (or glory) though it be not expedient; for I will come." The "for" gives a proof that it is "not expedient to boast": I will take the case of revelations, in which if anywhere boasting might be thought harmless. "Visions" refers to things seen: "revelations," to things heard (compare 1Sa 9:15) or revealed in any way. In "visions" their signification was not always vouchsafed; in "revelations" there was always an unveiling of truths before hidden (Dan 2:19, Dan 2:31). All parts of Scripture alike are matter of inspiration; but not all of revelation. There are degrees of revelation; but not of inspiration.
• HE THREATENS A SEVERE PROOF OF HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY, BUT PREFERS THEY WOULD SPARE HIM THE NECESSITY FOR IT. (2Co 13:1-14)

TSK: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The most remarkable circumstance in this Epistle, observes Mr. Scott, is the confidence of the Apostle in the goodness of his cause, and in the power of God to bear him out in it. Opposed as he then was by a powerful and sagacious party, whose authority, reputation, and interest were deeply concerned, and who were ready to seize on every thing that could discredit him, it is wonderful to hear him so firmly insist upon his apostolical authority, and so unreservedly appeal to the miraculous power which he has exercised and conferred at Corinth. So far from shrinking from the contest, as afraid of some discovery being made, unfavourable to him and the common cause, he, with great modesty and meekness indeed, but with equal boldness and decision, expressly declares that his opposers and despisers were the ministers of Satan, and menaces them with miraculous judgments, when as many of their deluded hearers had been brought to repentance and re-established in the faith, as proper means could in a reasonable time effect. It is inconceivable that a stronger internal testimony, not only of integrity, but of divine inspiration, can exist. Had there been anything of imposture among the Christians, it was next to impossible but such a conduct must have occasioned a disclosure of it. Of the effects produced by this latter epistle we have no circumstantial account; for the journey which St. Paul took to Corinth, after he had written it, is mentioned by St. Luke only in a few words (Act 20:2, Act 20:3). We know, however, that St. Paul was there after he had written this Epistle; that the contributions for the poor brethren at Jerusalem were brought to him from different parts to that city (Rom 15:26); and that, after remaining there several months, he sent salutations from some of the principal members of that church, by whom he must have been greatly respected, to the church of Rome (Rom 16:22, Rom 16:23). From this time we hear no more of the false teacher and his party; and when Clement of Rome wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul was considered by them as a divine apostle, to whose authority he might appeal without fear of contradiction. The false teacher, therefore, must either have been silenced by St. Paul, by virtue of his apostolical powers, and by an act of severity which he had threatened (2Co 13:2, 2Co 13:3); or this adversary of the apostle had, at that time, voluntarily quitted the place. Whichever was the cause, the effect produced must operate as a confirmation of our faith, and as a proof of St. Paul’s divine mission.

TSK: 2 Corinthians 6 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Co 6:1, That he has approved himself a faithful minister of Christ by his exhortations, 2Co 6:3, and by integrity of life, 2Co 6:4, and by patient enduring all kinds of affliction and disgrace for the gospel; 2Co 6:10, Of which he speaks the more boldly amongst them because his heart is open to them, 2Co 6:13. and he expects the like affection from them again; 2Co 6:14, exhorting them to flee the society and pollutions of idolaters, as being themselves temples of the living God.

Poole: 2 Corinthians 6 (Chapter Introduction)

CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 6

MHCC: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The second epistle to the Corinthians probably was written about a year after the first. Its contents are closely connected with those of the former epistle. The manner in which the letter St. Paul formerly wrote had been received, is particularly noticed; this was such as to fill his heart with gratitude to God, who enabled him fully to discharge his duty towards them. Many had shown marks of repentance, and amended their conduct, but others still followed their false teachers; and as the apostle delayed his visit, from his unwillingness to treat them with severity, they charged him with levity and change of conduct. Also, with pride, vain-glory, and severity, and they spake of him with contempt. In this epistle we find the same ardent affection towards the disciples at Corinth, as in the former, the same zeal for the honour of the gospel, and the same boldness in giving Christian reproof. The first six chapters are chiefly practical: the rest have more reference to the state of the Corinthian church, but they contain many rules of general application.

MHCC: 2 Corinthians 6 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Co 6:1-10) The apostle, with others, proved themselves faithful ministers of Christ, by their unblamable life and behaviour.

(2Co 6:11-18) By affection for them, And by earnest concern, that they might have no fellowship with unbelievers and idolaters.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians

In his former epistle the apostle had signified his intentions of coming to Corinth, as he passed through Macedonia (1Co 16:5), but, being providentially hindered for some time, he writes this second epistle to them about a year after the former; and there seem to be these two urgent occasions: - 1. The case of the incestuous person, who lay under censure, required that with all speed he should be restored and received again into communion. This therefore he gives directions about (ch. 2), and afterwards (ch. 7) he declares the satisfaction he had upon the intelligence he received of their good behaviour in that affair. 2. There was a contribution now making for the poor saints at Jerusalem, in which he exhorts the Corinthians to join (ch. 8, 2Co 9:1-15).

There are divers other things very observable in this epistle; for example, I. The account the apostle gives of his labours and success in preaching the gospel in several places, ch. 2. II. The comparison he makes between the Old and New Testament dispensation, ch. 3. III. The manifold sufferings that he and his fellow-labourers met with, and the motives and encouragements for their diligence and patience, ch. 4, 5. IV. The caution he gives the Corinthians against mingling with unbelievers, ch. 6. V. The way and manner in which he justifies himself and his apostleship from the opprobrious insinuations and accusations of false teachers, who endeavoured to ruin his reputation at Corinth, ch. 10-12, and throughout the whole epistle.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians 6 (Chapter Introduction)

In this chapter the apostle gives an account of his general errand to all to whom he preached; with the several arguments and methods he used (2Co 6:1-10). Then he addresses himself particularly to the Corinthians, giving them good cautions with great affection and strong arguments (2Co 6:11-18).

Barclay: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS

The Greatness Of Corinth

A glance at the map will show that Corinth was made for greatness. The southern part of Greece is very nearly an island. On the west the Corinthian Gulf deeply indents the land and on the east the Saronic Gulf. All that is left to join the two parts of Greece together is a little isthmus only four miles across. On that narrow neck of land Corinth stands. Such a position made it inevitable that it should be one of the greatest trading and commercial centres of the ancient world. All traffic from Athens and the north of Greece to Sparta and the Peloponnese had to be routed through Corinth, because it stood on the little neck of land that connected the two.

Not only did the north to south traffic of Greece pass through Corinth of necessity, by far the greater part of the east to west traffic of the Mediterranean passed through her from choice. The extreme southern tip of Greece was known as Cape Malea (now called Cape Matapan). It was dangerous, and to round Cape Malea had much the same sound as to round Cape Horn had in later times. The Greeks had two sayings which showed what they thought of it--"Let him who sails round Malea forget his home," and, "Let him who sails round Malea first make his will."

The consequence was that mariners followed one of two courses. They sailed up the Saronic Gulf, and, if their ships were small enough, dragged them out of the water, set them on rollers, hauled them across the isthmus, and re-launched them on the other side. The isthmus was actually called the Diolkos, the place of dragging across. The idea is the same as that which is contained in the Scottish place name Tarbert, which means a place where the land is so narrow that a boat can be dragged from loch to loch. If that course was not possible because the ship was too large, the cargo was disembarked, carried by porters across the isthmus, and re-embarked on another ship at the other side. This four mile journey across the isthmus, where the Corinth Canal now runs, saved a journey of two hundred and two miles round Cape Malea, the most dangerous cape in the Mediterranean.

It is easy to see how great a commercial city Corinth must have been. The north to south traffic of Greece had no alternative but to pass through her; by far the greater part of the east to west trade of the Mediterranean world chose to pass through her. Round Corinth there clustered three other towns, Lechaeum at the west end of the isthmus, Cenchrea at the east end and Schoenus just a short distance away. Farrar writes, "Objects of luxury soon found their way to the markets which were visited by every nation in the civilized world--Arabian balsam, Phoenician dates, Libyan ivory, Babylonian carpets, Cilician goatsair, Lycaonian wool, Phrygian slaves."

Corinth, as Farrar calls her, was the Vanity Fair of the ancient world. Men called her The Bridge of Greece; one called her The Lounge of Greece. It has been said that if a man stands long enough in Piccadilly Circus he will in the end meet everyone in the country. Corinth was the Piccadilly Circus of the Mediterranean. To add to the concourse which came to it, Corinth was the place where the Isthmian Games were held, which were second only to the Olympics. Corinth was a rich and populous city with one of the greatest commercial trades in the ancient world.

The Wickedness Of Corinth

There was another side to Corinth. She had a reputation for commercial prosperity, but she was also a byword for evil living. The very word korinthiazesthai, to live like a Corinthian, had become a part of the Greek language, and meant to live with drunken and immoral debauchery. The word actually penetrated to the English language, and, in Regency times, a Corinthian was one of the wealthy young bucks who lived in reckless and riotous living. Aelian, the late Greek writer, tells us that if ever a Corinthian was shown upon the stage in a Greek play he was shown drunk. The very name Corinth was synonymous with debauchery and there was one source of evil in the city which was known all over the civilized world. Above the isthmus towered the hill of the Acropolis, and on it stood the great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. To that temple there were attached one thousand priestesses who were sacred prostitutes, and in the evenings they descended from the Acropolis and plied their trade upon the streets of Corinth, until it became a Greek proverb, "It is not every man who can afford a journey to Corinth." In addition to these cruder sins, there flourished far more recondite vices, which had come in with the traders and the sailors from the ends of the earth, until Corinth became not only a synonym for wealth and luxury, drunkenness and debauchery, but also for filth.

The History Of Corinth

The history of Corinth falls into two parts. She was a very ancient city. Thucydides, the Greek historian, claims that it was in Corinth that the first triremes, the Greek battleships, were built. Legend has it that it was in Corinth that the Argo was built, the ship in which Jason sailed the seas, searching for the golden fleece. But in 146 B.C. disaster befell her. The Romans were engaged in conquering the world. When they sought to reduce Greece, Corinth was the leader of the opposition. But the Greeks could not stand against the disciplined Romans, and in 146 B.C. Lucius Mummius, the Roman general, captured Corinth and left her a desolate heap of ruins.

But any place with the geographical situation of Corinth could not remain a devastation. Almost exactly one hundred years later, in 46 B.C. Julius Caesar rebuilt her and she arose from her ruins. Now she became a Roman colony. More, she became a capital city, the metropolis of the Roman province of Achaea, which included practically all Greece.

In those days, which were the days of Paul, her population was very mixed. (i) There were the Roman veterans whom Julius Caesar had settled there. When a Roman soldier had served his time, he was granted the citizenship and was then sent out to some newly-founded city and given a grant of land so that he might become a settler there. These Roman colonies were planted all over the world, and always the backbone of them was the contingent of veteran regular soldiers whose faithful service had won them the citizenship. (ii) When Corinth was rebuilt the merchants came back, for her situation still gave her commercial supremacy. (iii) There were many Jews among the population. The rebuilt city offered them commercial opportunities which they were not slow to take. (iv) There was a sprinkling of Phoenicians and Phrygians and people from the east, with their exotic customs and their hysterical ways. Farrar speaks of "this mongrel and heterogeneous population of Greek adventurers and Roman bourgeois, with a tainting infusion of Phoenicians; this mass of Jews, ex-soldiers, philosophers, merchants, sailors, freedmen, slaves, trades-people, hucksters and agents of every form of vice." He characterizes her as a colony "without aristocracy, without traditions and without well-established citizens."

Remember the background of Corinth, remember its name for wealth and luxury, for drunkenness and immorality and vice, and then read 1Co_6:9-10 .

Are you not aware that the unrighteous will not inherit the

Kingdom of God? Make no mistake--neither fornicators, nor

idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sensualists, nor homosexuals, nor

thieves, nor rapacious men, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor

robbers shall inherit the Kingdom of God--and such were some of

you.

In this hotbed of vice, in the most unlikely place in all the Greek world, some of Paulgreatest work was done, and some of the mightiest triumphs of Christianity were won.

Paul In Corinth

Paul stayed longer in Corinth than in any other city, with the single exception of Ephesus. He had left Macedonia with his life in peril and had crossed over to Athens. There he had had little success and had gone on to Corinth, and he remained there for eighteen months. We realize how little we really know of his work when we see that the whole story of that eighteen months is compressed by Luke into 17 verses (Act_18:1-17 ).

When Paul arrived in Corinth he took up residence with Aquila and Prisca. He preached in the synagogue with great success. With the arrival of Timothy and Silas from Macedonia, he redoubled his efforts, but the Jews were so stubbornly hostile that he had to leave the synagogue. He took up his residence with one Justus who lived next door to the synagogue. His most notable convert was Crispus, who was actually the ruler of the synagogue, and amongst the general public he had good success.

In the year A.D. 52 there came to Corinth as its new governor a Roman called Gallio. He was famous for his charm and gentleness. The Jews tried to take advantage of his newness and good nature and brought Paul to trial before him on a charge of teaching contrary to their law. But Gallio, with impartial Roman justice, refused to have anything to do with the case or to take any action. So Paul completed his work in Corinth and moved on to Syria.

The Correspondence With Corinth

It was when he was in Ephesus in the year A.D. 55 that Paul, learning that things were not all well in Corinth, wrote to the church there. There is every possibility that the Corinthian correspondence as we have it is out of order. We must remember that it was not until A.D. 90 or thereby that Paulcorrespondence was collected. In many churches it must have existed only on scraps of papyrus and the putting it together would be a problem: and it seems that, when the Corinthian letters were collected, they were not all discovered and were not arranged in the right order. Let us see if we can reconstruct what happened.

(i) There was a letter which preceded 1 Corinthians. In 1Co_5:9 Paul writes, "I wrote you a letter not to associate with immoral men." This obviously refers to some previous letter. Some scholars believe that letter is lost without trace. Others think it is contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 . Certainly that passage suits what Paul said he wrote about. It occurs rather awkwardly in its context, and, if we take it out and read straight on from 2Co_6:13 to 2Co_7:2 , we get excellent sense and connection. Scholars call this letter The Previous Letter. (In the original letters there were no chapter or verse divisions. The chapters were not divided up until the thirteenth century and the verses not till the sixteenth, and because of that the arranging of the collection of letters would be much more difficult).

(ii) News came to Paul from various sources of trouble at Corinth. (a) News came from those who were of the household of Chloe (1Co_1:11 ). They brought news of the contentions with which the church was torn. (b) News came with the visit of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus to Ephesus. (1Co_16:17 ). By personal contact they were able to fill up the gaps in Paulinformation. (c) News came in a letter in which the Corinthian Church had asked Paul guidance on various problems. In 1Co_7:1 Paul begins, "Concerning the matters about which you wrote..." In answer to all this information Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and despatched it to Corinth apparently by the hand of Timothy (1Co_4:17 ).

(iii) The result of the letter was that things became worse than ever, and, although we have no direct record of it, we can deduce that Paul paid a personal visit to Corinth. In 2Co_12:14 he writes, "The third time I am ready to come to you." In 2Co_13:1-2 , he says again that he is coming to them for the third time. Now, if there was a third time, there must have been a second time. We have the record of only one visit, whose story is told in Act_18:1-17 . We have no record at all of the second, but Corinth was only two or three daysailing from Ephesus.

(iv) The visit did no good at all. Matters were only exacerbated and the result was an exceedingly severe letter. We learn about that letter from certain passages in 2 Corinthians. In 2Co_2:4 Paul writes, "I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears." In 2Co_7:8 he writes, "For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it though I did regret it; for I see that that letter has grieved you, though only for a while." It was a letter which was the product of anguish of mind, a letter so severe that Paul was almost sorry that he ever sent it.

Scholars call this The Severe Letter. Have we got it? It obviously cannot be I Corinthians, because it is not a tear-stained and anguished letter. When Paul wrote it, it is clear enough that things were under control. Now if we read through 2 Corinthians we find an odd circumstance. In 2Cor 1-9 everything is made up, there is complete reconciliation and all are friends again; but at 2Cor 10 comes the strangest break. 2Cor 10-13 are the most heartbroken cry Paul ever wrote. They show that he has been hurt and insulted as he never was before or afterwards by any church. His appearance, his speech, his apostleship, his honesty have all been under attack.

Most scholars believe that 2Cor 10-13 are the severe letter, and that they have become misplaced when Paulletters were put together. If we want the real chronological course of Paulcorrespondence with Corinth, we really ought to read 2Cor 10-13 before 2Cor 1-9. We do know that this letter was sent off with Titus. (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:13 ).

(v) Paul was worried about this letter. He could not wait until Titus came back with an answer, so he set out to meet him (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:5 , 2Co_7:13 ). Somewhere in Macedonia he met him and learned that all was well, and, probably at Philippi, he sat down and wrote 2Cor 1-9, the letter of reconciliation.

Stalker has said that the letters of Paul take the roof off the early churches and let us see what went on inside. Of none of them is that truer than the letters to Corinth. Here we see what "the care of all the churches" must have meant to Paul. Here we see the heart-breaks and the joys. Here we see Paul, the shepherd of his flock, bearing the sorrows and the problems of his people on his heart.

The Corinthian Correspondence

Before we read the letters in detail let us set down the progress of the Corinthian correspondence in tabular form.

(i) The Previous Letter, which may be contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 .

(ii) The arrival of Chloepeople, of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus, and of the letter to Paul from the Corinthian Church.

(iii) 1 Corinthians is written in reply and is despatched with Timothy.

(iv) The situation grows worse and Paul pays a personal visit to Corinth, which is so complete a failure that it almost breaks his heart.

(v) The consequence is The Severe Letter, which is almost certainly contained in 2Cor 10-13, and which was despatched with Titus.

(vi) Unable to wait for an answer, Paul sets out to meet Titus. He meets him in Macedonia, learns that all is well and, probably from Philippi, writes 2Cor 1-9, The Letter of Reconciliation.

The first four chapters of 1 Corinthians deal with the divided state of the Church of God at Corinth. Instead of being a unity in Christ it was split into sects and parties, who had attached themselves to the names of various leaders and teachers. It is Paulteaching that these divisions had emerged because the Corinthians thought too much about human wisdom and knowledge and too little about the sheer grace of God. In fact, for all their so-called wisdom, they are really in a state of immaturity. They think that they are wise men, but really they are no better than babies.

FURTHER READING

2 Corinthians

F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Corinthians (NCB; E)

J. Hering, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (translated by A. W. Heathcote and P. J. Allcock)

A. Plummer, 2 Corinthians (ICC; G)

R. V. G. Tasker, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (TC; E)

Abbreviations

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

NCB: New Century Bible

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: 2 Corinthians 6 (Chapter Introduction)

Ambassador For Christ (2Co_5:20-21; 2Co_6:1-2)

A Blizzard Of Troubles (2Co_6:3-10)

The Accent Of Love (2Co_6:11-13; 2Co_7:2-4)

Get You Out (2Co_6:14-18; 2Co_7:1)

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

First Corinthians did not dispel the problems in the church at Corinth completely. While it resolved some of these, opposition to the Apostle Paul persisted and Paul's critics continued to speak out against him in the church. One man in particular seems to have been the ringleader of the opposition (10:7). He had rallied the support of a significant minority. The issue was Paul's apostolic authority. His critics were claiming authority equal with Paul's. This was in effect a claim to apostolic authority on their part or a denial of the full apostolic authority of Paul.

News of continuing problems in Corinth reached Paul in Ephesus during his prolonged stay there during his third missionary journey. He then made a brief visit to Corinth. However his efforts to resolve the conflicts fell through (2:1; 12:14; 13:1-2). Paul apparently suffered insult and lost face during that visit (2:5-8; 7:12). Consequently this was a painful visit for Paul. He then returned to Ephesus.

Paul's next step in dealing with the situation in Corinth was to send a severe letter from Ephesus by the hand of Titus and another unnamed brother (2:3-4; 7:8-12; 12:18). He apparently directed this letter, now lost, at the party opposed to him and particularly its leader. Some commentators believe that 2 Corinthians 10-13 contains part of this letter, but the evidence for this is not convincing.¹

Paul evidently intended to receive Titus' report concerning the effects of this severe letter in Ephesus. However, persecution there made it expedient for Paul to leave that city earlier than he had anticipated (Acts 20:1). He found an open door for the gospel to the north in Troas. Eager to meet Titus who was taking the land route from Corinth back to Ephesus Paul moved west into Macedonia (2:12-13). There Titus met him and gave him an encouraging report (7:6-16). Most of the church had responded to Paul's directives and the church had disciplined the troublemakers (2:5-11). Unfortunately some in the congregation still refused to acknowledge Paul's authority over them (10:1-13:10).

Paul rejoiced at the repentance of the majority. However his concern for the unrepentant minority and his desire to pick up the money the Corinthians had begun to collect for their poorer brethren in Jerusalem led him to write 2 Corinthians. Along with these primary motives Paul also felt compelled to refute the charge of fickleness leveled at him by his critics. He had changed his travel plans and had not come to see them as he had said he would.

The whole situation provided him an opportunity to clarify the nature of Christian ministry.

Paul wrote the Second Epistle to the Corinthians from Macedonia, perhaps Philippi, Thessalonica, or Berea, probably in the fall or winter of 56 A.D. A date a year earlier or later is possible.

Some commentators believe Paul wrote 1 Corinthians after his painful visit and after he wrote the severe letter.² I believe it is more probable that he wrote 1 Corinthians before these two events.³ It is very difficult to reconstruct the details of Paul's activities since the data available to us is incomplete.

Paul's Corinthian Contacts
Paul's founding visit	His "former letter"	The Corin-thians' letter to him	First Corin-thians	Paul's "painful visit"	His "severe letter"	Second Corin-thians	Paul's antici-pated visit

"2 Corinthians is very different from the letters between which it was written, 1 Corinthians and Romans. Whereas each of those letters is, in its own way, systematic and orderly, 2 Corinthians is, on the face of it, uneven and digressive. It is no surprise, therefore, that many scholars have suggested that 2 Corinthians is really a collection of letters put together later as a single letter."⁴

"Second Corinthians presents many inspiring texts and passages to the reader and teacher of God's Word. A quick survey reveals approximately eighty individual verses lending themselves to extended meditation and exposition, apart from the sixty or so constituent paragraphs of the letter. This letter is a rich lode for the edification of God's people."⁵

Message⁶

The subject of 2 Corinthians is ministry, the church's work of service in the world. This is the central concept Paul dealt with in this epistle. What did he say about ministry?

He spoke of ministry in two ways. There is ministry per se (philosophy of ministry), and there is ministry to the world (practice of ministry).

Let's consider first what Paul revealed about the ministry of the church per se. This is the way Paul spoke of ministry most often in 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians there is more emphasis on the practice of ministry than on the philosophy of ministry.

Paul had a lot to say about the authority of the church's ministry. Jesus Christ is the church's authority. He is the One who assigns each believer particular ministry within the body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11, 18, 28; Eph. 4:11-13). The Corinthian church was having a major problem because some in its company were failing to accept Paul's appointment by Christ as an apostle and their own appointment as non-apostles. This was a practical repudiation of Jesus Christ's authority in the church. We must bow to the authority of Christ in the church by recognizing and responding appropriately to those He has appointed to various roles in the body. We identify these people by their gifts (divinely given abilities) and by their offices (divinely given positions).

Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about the resources of the church's ministry. He emphasized three primarily.

One important resource is the encouragement of God. Paul spoke of this in the first part of the epistle especially. We read "comfort" in our texts, but the Greek word paraklesis means comfort through encouragement. The same Greek root describes the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete in John 14-16. Paul both taught and demonstrated in this letter that God's encouraging comfort always exceeds our discouragement and distress in ministry. The secret to finding it sufficient is taking God's view of how our ministry is really proceeding. This viewpoint Paul revealed, too.

A second resource is divine revelation. Paul did not preach himself or a message that he had concocted. He preached what God had revealed. Thus, revelation constituted both Paul's public message and his personal encouragement. We, too, have received the same message to communicate as ambassadors of Christ. It is a message of reconciliation, and it is the source of our encouragement.

A third resource is the prayers of the saints. Paul called for and counted on the prayers of God's people to bring God's power into play through him as he ministered (1:11). He realized that his own prayers would not move God to work as well as the concerted prayers of many of God's children (cf. James 4:2). Lack of prayer is often a sign of confidence in self rather than confidence in God.

In addition to the authority and resources of our ministry, Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about experience in ministry. Three features mark experience in ministry.

First, one thing that marks ministry is tribulation. Paul spoke extensively in 2 Corinthians about the afflictions he experienced during his ministry. Furthermore he revealed that these are part of ministry, anyone's ministry who is carrying it out as God has directed. Some people do not welcome the gospel. To them it is a death scent. We should expect to experience tribulation in ministry. We have all experienced this in witnessing to some extent.

Second, another thing that should mark our ministry is hope. God has revealed the end of our ministry. We will all stand before Jesus Christ and receive a reward one day (5:10). This hope is a certainty. The Christian who loses sight of his or her hope is going to drift and suffer discouragement rather than press toward the mark. The end of our ministry is constantly in view in this epistle.

Third, a mark of Christian ministry is triumph. Paul revealed and illustrated by his own attitude that no matter how response to our ministry may appear to us our ministry is always triumphant. The reason for this is that God is at work through His ministers. One of the problems Paul's critics in Corinth had and that we have is that they were evaluating ministry superficially rather than realistically. We need to evaluate ministry on the basis of what God has revealed is happening, not what appears to be happening.

Paul not only revealed much about ministry per se in 2 Corinthians, he also revealed a lot about the ministry of the church to the world. Three emphases predominate.

First, Paul revealed what the message of the church is: the Word of God. Ours is a ministry of the Word. By "the Word" Paul meant the revelation God has given us. In his day it consisted of the Old Testament Scriptures plus the revelations that he and the other New Testament prophets had received that were for all Christians. Paul contrasted his message and ours with the message of Moses and exulted in its superiority. God has removed the veil and we can now see His glory clearly revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

Second, Paul revealed the church's equipment to carry on its ministry to the world. We are ready to minister only when we separate from the world's sins and conform to God's will. Paul contrasts with his critics in this letter in all these respects. As these characteristics mark us we, too, will be ready to minister.

Third, Paul revealed the exercise of the church's ministry to the world. In exercising its ministry the church does three things according to this epistle.

1. It exercises discipline to restore the erring to effective ministry. Paul's great concern in this epistle was the restoration of the rebellious critics in the Corinthian church to unity and usefulness.

2. The church also is to give no occasion of stumbling to others. Paul's concern was that the behavior of the Corinthian Christians would be an encouragement to other believers and a base from which the gospel could proceed even farther into unevangelized regions beyond.

3. Third, the church exercises the grace of giving. It seeks to facilitate the principle of equality that God has demonstrated throughout history, namely that those who have should share with those who have not. This applies not only to the gospel message but to the physical necessities of life (chs. 8-9).

From these emphases the message of the book emerges. The church needs to submit to revealed authority, to draw upon supernatural resources and equipment, and to experience triumph through tribulation as it executes its mission. As it does so it will effectively carry out its ministry of proclaiming the message of reconciliation to the world.

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction 1:1-11

A. Salutation 1:1-2

B. Thanksgiving for comfort in affliction 1:3-11

1. Thanksgiving for comfort 1:3-7

2. Thanksgiving for deliverance 1:8-11

II. Answers to insinuations about the sincerity of Paul's commitment to the Corinthians and to the ministry 1:12-7:16

A. Defense of his conduct with regard to his promised visit and the offender 1:12-2:17

1. The postponement of the intended visit 1:12-2:4

2. The treatment of the offender and the result of the severe letter 2:5-17

B. Exposition of Paul's view of the ministry 3:1-6:10

1. The superiority of Christian ministry to Mosaic ministry 3:1-11

2. The great boldness of the new ministers 3:12-4:6

3. The sufferings and supports of a minister of the gospel 4:7-5:10

4. The life of a minister of Christ 5:11-6:10

C. Appeal for restoration of the Corinthians' confidence in him 6:11-7:16

1. An appeal for large-heartedness and consistency 6:11-7:4

2. The encouraging response of the Corinthians so far 7:5-16

III. Instructions concerning the collection for the poor saints in Judea 8:1-9:15

A. The example of the Macedonians 8:1-7

B. The supreme motive for giving 8:8-15

C. The delegates of the churches 8:16-24

D. The anticipated visit of Paul 9:1-5

E. The benefits of generous giving 9:6-15

IV. Appeals concerning Paul's apostolic authority 10:1-13:10

A. Replies to charges made against Paul 10:1-18

1. Reply to the charge of cowardice 10:1-6

2. Reply to the charge of weakness 10:7-11

3. Reply to the charge of intrusion 10:12-18

B. Claims made by Paul 11:1-12:18

1. Paul's reasons for making these claims 11:1-6

2. Freedom to minister without charge 11:7-15

3. Paul's service and sufferings 11:16-33

4. Special revelations Paul received 12:1-10

5. Paul's supernatural miracles and paternal love 12:11-18

C. Exhortations in view of Paul's approaching visit 12:19-13:10

1. Paul's concerns 12:19-21

2. Paul's warnings 13:1-10

V. Conclusion 13:11-14

A. The exhortation 13:11-12

B. The salutation 13:13

C. The benediction 13:14

Constable: 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE SECOND

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

The subject and design of this second Epistle to the Corinthians, is much the same as of the former. He comforts and congratulates with those who were now reformed by his admonitions. He blames the faulty with apostolical liberty; and being forced to justify himself and his proceedings against the upstart false teachers, he gives an ample account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces, which God had bestowed upon him. This Epistle was written not long after the first, (an. 57. [in the year 57.]) some months before that to the Romans, from some place in Macedonia, perhaps from Philippi, as marked at the end of divers Greek copies, though it is observed, that those subscriptions are not much to be relied upon. (Witham) --- In this Epistle St. Paul comforts those who are now reformed by his admonitions to them in the former, and absolves the incestuous man on doing penance, whom he had before excommunicated for his crime. Hence he treats of true penance, and of the dignity of the ministers of the New Testament. He cautions the faithful against false teachers, and the society of infidels. He gives an account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces which God hath bestowed on him. (Challoner) --- St. Paul, not being able to come to the Corinthians as soon as he had promised, writes this Epistle to inform them, that it was not through inconstancy, but on account of several weighty reasons, which had hitherto hindered him. Several other reasons, likewise, compelled him to write. For during his absence, several false teachers of the Jews had come amongst them, teaching them that it was necessary to observe the law of Moses, in order to be saved. St. Paul, therefore, first excuses himself, by saying, that the afflictions and troubles he had met with, had hindered him from coming to them. He next orders the fornicator to be restored to favour; after which, he extols his apostleship, forming a comparison between the law of Christ, and of Moses, wherein he blames the false teachers. He then subjoins an exhortation to a pious and holy life, with liberality in their alms, after the example of the Macedonians. As the false teachers had been very industrious in establishing their own reputation, by detracting from that of St. Paul, he enumerates his own sufferings, and the favours he had received from God, shewing that he had much more reason to glory than they; and concludes by exhorting them to correct those faults with which they still remained infected. (Estius) --- This letter may be justly appreciated as a perfect masterpiece of that animated and solid eloquence, which all interpreters so much admire in St. Paul. (Bible de Vence)

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Gill: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS

This epistle, according to the subscription at the end of it, was written from Philippi of Macedonia; and though the subscriptions annexed to the epistles are not always to be depended on, yet it seems very likely that this was written from thence; for the apostle not finding Titus at Troas, as he expected, went into Macedonia, where he met with him, and had an account from him of the success of his first epistle; of the state and condition of the church, and of the temper and disposition of mind in which the members of it were, and which gave him great satisfaction; upon which he immediately wrote this second epistle, and sent it by the same person to them; see 2Co 2:12, 2Co 7:5. It is very probable it might be written the year after the former; and so it is placed by Dr. Lightfoot in the year 56, as the former is in the year 55; though some place this in the year 60, and the other in 59. The occasion of this epistle was partly to excuse his not coming to them according to promise, and to vindicate himself from the charge of unfaithfulness, levity, and inconstancy on that account; and partly, since what he had wrote about the incestuous person, had had a good effect both upon him and them, to direct them to take off the censure that had been laid upon him, and restore him to their communion, and comfort him; likewise to stir them up to finish the collection for the poor saints they had begun; as also to defend himself against the calumnies of the false teachers, who were very industrious to sink his character and credit in this church; which he does by observing the doctrines of the Gospel he preached, which were far more glorious than, and abundantly preferable to, the ministration of the law of Moses, which those men desired to be teachers of; as likewise the success of his ministry in every place; the many sufferings he had underwent for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; the high favours and privileges he had received of the Lord, as well as the signs, wonders, and miracles done by him in proof of his apostleship; and in which are interspersed many things useful and instructive.

College: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

Studying 2 Corinthians plunges the modern reader back to the real, tumultuous world of early Christianity. The simple ideals of sharing and goodwill described in Acts 2:42-47 seem to have little place among the diverse converts from this boomtown of Corinth where Paul chooses to anchor his Greek mission. Rather, this microcosm of the early church bickers and accuses, revels in disorder and confusion, reeks of unrenounced pagan practices, and uncritically pursues self-promotion and even disloyalty to Paul, its founder.

When we speak of restoring the NT church, the Corinthian church is not what we have in mind. But maybe this is where we should really start: a real community of believers struggling to understand and implement their Christian faith against the helter-skelter backdrop of values and principles they desired to leave behind. As we understand what Paul teaches this troubled church, we will learn badly needed principles to help bring to maturity our own, real churches which inherit the same struggle.

Second Corinthians stands in stark contrast to Paul's other NT writings in a number of ways. Other letters, like 1 Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, and Colossians are carefully ordered, easily outlined, logical, controlled, as Paul confidently responds to carefully gauged concerns. Methodically, he establishes crucial, theological principles as the basis for practical, behavioral appeals.

By contrast, 2 Corinthians is chaotic and disjointed. Digressions lead the reader far afield before returning to the point. So uneven is 2 Corinthians, that many scholars suggest it is a composite of four or five writings, even a number of conservative scholars admitting two. Intensity, emotion, defensiveness, and second-guessing rather than controlled reasoning bind this epistle together. We see Paul at his weakest, basest, most human. Yet seeing him work through the truth of the gospel in the midst of exasperating difficulties is enlightening.

To a certain extent, it is healthy for our lofty ideals of this giant to be punctured and brought down to reality, even as the Corinthian church does so for our view of the early church. Paul's relationship with the Corinthians at this historical juncture is ugly, and readers deserve to be warned about how disconcerting seeing this can be.

These features of 2 Corinthians make studying and understanding the text much more dependent than usual on grasping the historical circumstances behind and leading up to its writing. Without a clear grasp of the historic story, hopeless confusion will engulf efforts to interpret the text at a number of points.

So, study of 2 Corinthians must begin by seeking to understand the Corinth of Paul's day and Paul's relationship to the local church there before preceding to a reliable interpretation of the text.

THE CITY OF CORINTH

Fortunately, Corinth is a NT city we know a great deal about. It has been heavily excavated and was minutely described by classical writers like Strabo and Dio Chrysostom.

The city that Paul entered in A.D. 50 had been resurrected from the ashes of the old city burned to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C. Having laid in ruins for 100 years, two years before his death in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar decreed that Corinth (and also Carthage) should be rebuilt. Although located just 60 miles from Athens on the narrow isthmus strategically joining the Greek mainland to the Peloponnesus, the new Corinth was built and organized as a Roman city. Its colonists were gleaned from freedmen, former slaves originating from Syria, Egypt, Judea, Greece, and from retiring Roman soldiers.

The city's layout and its buildings were Roman, as was its governmental organization and law. Its official language was Latin, although Greek was the common language for business and conversation. The people prized Roman articles, importing them in great quantities. In addition to the four magistrates elected each year and its city council, it was administrated by a proconsul appointed annually by the Roman senate.

Corinth's dominance over the five-mile wide isthmus insured economic vitality. Ships traveling between Italy and Asia Minor were happy to pay the fee to cross the isthmus rather than sail the extra 200 miles south around treacherous Cape Malae. Besides, Corinth had even constructed a grooved pavement, called the Diolkos, between the ports on either side of the isthmus on which smaller ships could be hauled in wheeled vehicles. For a larger ship, the goods were loaded on transport carts and reloaded onto another ship waiting at the other harbor.

Julius Caesar dreamed of increasing Corinth's stock by constructing a canal across the isthmus. Not until Nero, A.D. 67., was such a project begun. Actual completion, however was not achieved until modern times, in 1893.

With the two ports, Laechaeum, on the Corinthian Gulf, and Cenchraea, on the Saronic Gulf, Corinth thrived as a center for trade. The major land route between the Greek mainland and the Peloponnesus also went through it. Besides shipbuilding and repair, it hosted bronze, tile, and pottery factories, as well as the necessary warehousing for transportable goods. Corinth's market areas boasted hundreds of stalls filled with craftsmen plying their trade, locals selling merchandise and food, as well as visitors from throughout the empire hawking imported items. They even had places which sold drinks cooled by underground water systems. Paul himself, we know, took up a leather-working stall in this area for eighteen months (Acts 18:1-3).

New Corinth was an eclectic, international city from its inception. In Paul's day, it was a bustling, wide open, boomtown, with over 80,000 inhabitants, and growing every day. It had already outstripped Athens politically, replacing it as the capital of Achaia.

Corinth's prestige was further enhanced by its hosting of the Isthmian Games, second only in significance to the Olympics. Held every two years in Corinth since A.D. 3, these games drew thousands of tourists and lots of business. The city's most prestigious political official was the one responsible for administering the games, occupying a prominent year-round governmental office. The games were dedicated to the Greek sea god, Poseidon, and featured oratory, music, and drama, as well as athletic contests. A dramatic theater as well as a 20,000 seat stadium were used for these events.

Corinth's eclecticism revealed itself in an array of religious choices established by its multicultural inhabitants. Egyptians promoted the cults of Isis and Osiris. Isis was worshiped as a god for sailors because the myth tells of her enduring search on the seas for her betrayed and lost husband Osiris. Osiris is a god of afterlife, who after his death was resurrected to become head of the underworld.

Greeks and Romans honored Poseidon, god of the sea; Athena, goddess of war, the sea, cities and the arts; Aphrodite, goddess of love and fertility; Apollo, god of prophecy; Asklepios, god of healing; and emperors beginning with Julius Caesar. Prominent temples and statues are dedicated to all of these. Apollos often features prominently in colonized cities as an ode of good fortune. His famous Delphic oracle is only some 30 miles from Corinth. The much publicized report that Old Corinth's temple to Aphrodite housed over 1,000 sacred prostitutes is regarded as Athenian slander and is not so certain to still be functioning this way in Paul's day, although this does not mean to imply that Corinth was any more sexually pristine than any other seaport.

One of the busiest religious centers in Paul's day was the Asklepium. Comparable to a modern-day health club, people came here to bathe in its fountain, sleep (healing in their dreams), excercise, read, and dine (on sacrificial meat, cf. 1 Cor 8:10; 10:21). Replicas of body parts found in excavations were offered to the Asklepios by thankful beneficiaries of his healing.

Though not a god, Sisyphus, was considered one of the founding kings of ancient Corinth. Noted for his craftiness, in Greek mythology he was banished to Hades with the everlasting task of pushing a rock up a hill only to have it slip back down. For the Corinthian in Paul's day, he stands for successful cunning in business, but behind the temporary luster, perhaps, he signifies the emptiness of life's ambitions that lurked in the background of people's thoughts.

Judaism came with the early Jewish colonists and seems to have thrived. A dynamic synagogue certainly was functioning when Paul arrived, according to Acts 18:4-17. Also, a building inscription reading "Synagogue of the Hebrews" has been found by archaeologists along the Lechaeum road. Although the inscription is somewhat later than Paul's day, its location in the city center suggests the prominence of Judaism from the early days of New Corinth. Significant increases to the Jewish population likely occurred in A.D. 19 and in the late 40s when Tiberius and then Claudius expelled Jews from Rome. According to Acts 18:2, the latter purge is what brought Aquila and Priscilla and their tentmaking business to Corinth for the eighteen months Paul evangelized there. As Acts 18:8,17 indicate, the Jewish community probably had a certain amount of freedom to manage its own affairs and to appoint its own officials.

Due to Roman influence, Corinthians banded together into self-governing clubs and societies of 10 to 15 people which met in homes around the city. These clubs were delineated by individual trades or professions. Something like small unions, they provided vital social interaction and shared meals but even underwrote members' burial expenses from their kitty of dues. Although each had its sponsoring god, they were not religious in nature.

Most likely, the Corinthian church of Paul's day took on the pattern of these clubs as they met in various homes throughout the city. This helps explain the household factions decried in 1 Cor 1:10-12 and even the food-related problems of 1 Corinthians 8 and 11:17-34.

Corinth in the time of Paul was a city of wealth and prosperity. The families who had come a generation or two previously had worked hard. They had carved out successful lives by their own sweat and ingenuity. Like American immigrants, they were proud of their accomplishments, which they demonstrated in their proliferation of self-commending inscriptions around the city. But like the grandchildren of immigrants today, the Corinthians of Paul's day were noted for their superficial materialism and moral perversity. Such traits are epitomized by the fact that before the century was over, Corinth would become the first Greek city in the Roman Empire to hold bloodthirsty gladiatorial shows.

PAUL AND THE CORINTHIANS

Paul's rocky, seven-year relationship with the Corinthians begins in the fall of A.D. 50 as he enters Corinth on what becomes the last stop of his second missionary journey. Already on the road for a year, he had established churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens, despite opposition from Gentiles, Jews, and intellectuals (Acts 16-17). As Acts 18 describes, he enters the din of Corinth alone but is quickly befriended by Aquila and Priscilla, who were probably already Christians when they came to Corinth from Rome. For eighteen months the three of them lived, worked, and spread the gospel together there, eventually joined by Silas and Timothy.

At first, Paul shared the gospel and fielded questions in the Jewish synagogue. It wasn't too long, however, before stiff opposition to his presence arose, and he was ejected. However, he took with him many new Christians from among the God-fearing Gentiles who attended the synagogue, as well as Jews including the head of the synagogue, Crispus. Boldly, they set up shop for the first church right next door in the home of Titius Justus. Presumably, they continued to meet there and in other homes around the city for the next eighteen months, since God had instructed Paul to remain in Corinth despite the risks of conflict.

Sparks did fly, and at one point the Jews pressed charges against Paul for breaking Jewish law before Gallio, the Roman proconsul. Quite rightly, Gallio rebuffed the Jewish accusations as being outside any Roman concern. Although this may seem like a relatively minor incident in the life of Paul, the mention of Gallio in Acts 18:14 emerges as the single most important event enabling us to date Paul's life with accuracy. The reason for this is that archaeologists have discovered a datable inscription about a boundary dispute from Emperor Claudius to Gallio which places Gallio's one-year term between A.D. 51 and 52. Anchored by Paul's encounter with Gallio being A.D. 51, the rest of Paul's life can be dated backward and forward from time periods provided in the Acts and his letters.

Upon leaving Corinth, Paul sailed to Syria, probably Antioch, before quickly setting out over land to revisit the previously established churches in Asia Minor and then settling in Ephesus for three years. While in Ephesus, he sent the Corinthians three letters and slipped across the Aegean Sea in a vessel for a brief, surprise visit.

The first letter, commonly known as the "previous letter," is mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9-11. Given the wild immorality of Corinth, it is not surprising that Paul emphasized separation from such people in this letter. However, it has never been found, although a few scholars believe 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 may have originally been part of it.

Next, Paul received a letter from the Corinthians asking various specific questions about Christian life and practice. He is also informed verbally from members of Chloe's household (1 Cor 1:11) about the factionalism that is hurting the church's witness. He responded with the letter we know of as 1 Corinthians. During this period, Timothy was dispatched to Corinth for a brief time (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10) as Paul's personal ambassador, perhaps to give further voice to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians or to other issues Paul anticipated. We have no indication as to how long Timothy stayed.

Paul's brief trip to Corinth in A.D. 54 and the letter on its heels upon his return are chief events which underlie Paul's writing of 2 Corinthians in A.D. 56. We don't know why Paul went. Maybe Timothy reported that Paul's personal presence was needed. Possibly, conservative agitators had followed Paul to Corinth as they previously had to Galatia and were stirring up trouble, causing the Corinthians to second-guess Paul's credibility (2 Cor 11:13). What we do know is that this trip, usually described as "the painful visit" (2 Cor 2:1), was a complete disaster. Paul left angry and humiliated. Apparently, he confronted the ringleader of the trouble (perhaps someone in the church who had been influenced by the outsiders) face to face but when the man insulted him, no one in the church came to Paul's defense.

Speculation regarding the accusations hurled at Paul include the illegitimacy of his authority over the Corinthians and his misuse of funds collected for the Jerusalem offering (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 7:2; 8:11). This was not a theological issue so much as one of personal integrity. Paul speaks of his being hurt emotionally most by the fact that the church did not side with him (2 Cor 2:5-11).

Upon his return, Paul wrote a third letter to the Corinthians, "the severe letter" (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8). Although not existing today, as described in 2 Cor 2:4-11 and 7:5-13, it was undoubtedly the most emotional and strident of any of Paul's letters. Apparently, he unleashed his anger and disappointment, scolding the church for not supporting him and demanding that the majority of the church take charge and discipline the offender as well as apologize to him. The letter is so harsh that Paul seems genuinely afraid ("fears within" - 2 Cor 7:5) that it will drive the church farther away from him and from Christ. But he sees no choice; this situation can't be left like it is.

Titus received the formidable task of delivering this explosive letter into the charged atmosphere of the Corinthian church and carrying out its demands. Paul's anxieties over Titus's success seem to overwhelm him as he waits for news. Apparently, the arrangements with Titus were that they would meet in Troas after a set period of time, maybe as long as six months. Second Corinthians 2:12 tells us that Paul went by land up to Troas, probably in A.D. 55 but was crushed to find Titus was not there. Remaining for some time evangelizing, maybe a month or so, he crossed over to Macedonia, probably Philippi, desperate to find Titus there. Finally, Titus arrived with the great news that the Corinthians - or most of them - were back in the fold. Genuinely remorseful over their hurtful behavior toward Paul, they had, indeed, dealt with the offender and expressed their renewed devotion to him (2 Cor 7:7,11,12).

The letter we call 2 Corinthians historically comes as Paul's fourth letter to Corinth. Buoyed by Titus's positive report, Paul writes this highly emotional letter, sending it back with Titus (2 Cor 7:17), probably A.D. 56. The letter interacts over and over with the events of the Painful Visit and the Severe Letter. Paul gushes with joy over the Corinthians' response (2 Cor 7:7,13-16), even recommending that they lift the punishment on the person who offended him (2 Cor 2:7). However, the tone of the letter is extremely defensive as Paul squirms under pressure from the Corinthians (most likely as advised by Titus) to toot his own horn regarding his own apostolic credentials. Out of his love for them, but against his own convictions against boasting, he is willing to explain the superiority of his apostleship in terms the Corinthians seem to require. These terms - such as providing letters of recommendation (2 Cor 3:1) and lists of accomplishments (2 Cor 6:3-13; 11:16-12:10) - Paul regards as superficial and unnecessary (2 Cor 3:2-3; 10:7) and probably reflect the influence of the conservative agitators upon the Corinthians. Paul seems to know he must respond, however uncomfortable it is for him, in order to block any further inroads from these outsiders and thus reinforce his renewed relationship with the Corinthians.

Titus brought 2 Corinthians to Corinth armed with Paul's commendation within the letter to spur the church to complete its collection of the offering for the Jerusalem Christians (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:10-24). Paul followed a few months later (2 Cor 12:14; Acts 20:3) and remained in Corinth three months. During this period, he wrote Romans, but we know nothing of his interaction with the Corinthian church. Presumably, he finalized the Corinthian offering, but he must have worked diligently to solidify this troubled church and contend personally with the outside agitators and their remaining pockets of influence. At any rate, once the various representatives from the Greek and Asian churches arrived in Corinth with their offerings (Acts 20:1-6), he tried to set sail with them to Syria but, discovering treachery from the Jewish community in Corinth, he and the others traveled first to Troas, and, then, set sail from there.

We have no certainty of further communication or visitation between Paul and the Corinthian church after this. Possibly, following release from his first Roman imprisonment, he returned to Corinth and other churches in Greece and Asia Minor, as the Pastoral epistles suggest (1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 4:20).

THE UNITY OF 2 CORINTHIANS

One may rightly comment that the literary unity of 2 Corinthians "cannot just be presupposed." Analyses which question whether various sections of 2 Corinthians are original to it have come long and hard during the past two centuries of critical scholarship. Second Corinthian's sharp shifts in content and uneven tone make it the most susceptible of all the NT books to patchwork theories despite the fact that none of the Greek manuscripts (dating back to the third century) give the slightest hint that 2 Corinthians was ever anything different than what we read today. Although the ebb and flow of research has sidelined many conjectures, questions still remain regarding some parts of 2 Corinthians. As many as nine sections of 2 Corinthians have been scrutinized. However, just five will be discussed here.

First, 2 Cor 2:14-7:4 has been noted as at one time existing separately from 2 Corinthians. Even a casual reader is jolted at the jump between the travelogue commentary in 2:12-13 and the military parade description of the gospel in 2:13-17 which opens a five-chapter philosophy of apostolic ministry. It is all the more noticeable when, beginning at 7:5, the travelogue picks up again and continues on until 7:16. However, upon closer perusal, scholars are increasingly reluctant to name this as part of a separate letter. Despite the abruptness between 2:13 and 2:14, the theme of human weakness and divine power in 2:12-17 connects to 1:8-10, and the theme of divine ownership connects 1:22 and 2:14. Despite the change of subject between 7:4 and 7:5, the verbal links supplied by "encouragement" (7:4,13), "joy" (7:4,7) and "troubles" (7:4,5) supply sturdy connections. Besides, the efforts to postulate yet another letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians or to connect this to the Severe Letter are unwarranted. More recent efforts to anaylze 2 Corinthians 1-7 through the eyes of Roman rhetoric as well as chiastic structure loudly confirm separation of 2:14-7:4 as ill-conceived. Certainly, it is a digression but not without purpose and point to the context as a whole.

Second, perhaps less obvious to the casual reader because it is such a short section is 2 Cor 6:14-7:1. Here, again, though, the careful reader observes an interruption between 6:13 ("Open wide your hearts also") and 7:2 ("Make room for us in your hearts"). Scholarly analysis of these six verses suggests that not only are they out of place, they don't sound like Paul, using six words he never uses elsewhere in his writings nor used by anyone else in the NT ( hapax legomenae ). Is this a snippet of something someone else said or wrote that Paul has adapted into his material, or is it something Paul wrote or spoke at another time and place that he decides to use here?

Despite some of the unusual language, Pauline themes do appear here: the church as the temple of God, the polarization of righteousness and unrighteousness as well as between light and dark. Also, plenty of characteristic Pauline language occurs: "living God" (2 Cor 3:3; 1 Thess 1:9), "unbeliever" (twelve other occurrences in 1 and 2 Cor), and "holiness" (Rom 1:4; 1 Thess 3:13). Although conclusions vary, many today incline toward this section being from Paul.

Eyeing the language of separation from unrighteousness, some have been tempted to conclude that 6:14-7:1 is part of the "previous" letter mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9. However, the point is explicitly different. Paul emphasizes that in the previous letter he urged separation from the immorality of believers not dissociation from unbelievers as emphasized in 6:14-7:1.

Most likely, then, Paul himself has inserted this pre-formed, self-contained unit of material from previous teaching, either oral or written, perhaps influenced by others. Interesting comparisons to Qumran materials as well as writings of Philo have been made. The placement exactly here in 2 Corinthians is so awkward as to be unlikely to come from anyone other than Paul. However, two points should be kept in mind. One is that Paul dictated this letter as he did all his letters. This fact enhances the potential for distraction, interruption, and loose digressions such as this. A second point is that although the section's relationship to the immediately previous verses is not obvious, as one backs up to 6:1 and reads of Paul's concern about receiving "God's grace in vain" or to 5:19 to see Paul's emphasis on people "no longer living for themselves but for him who died for them," Paul's emphasis on separation and holiness in 6:14-7:1 fits well.

Probably inconceivable to the casual reader is the suggestion that 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9 both were not originally part of 2 Corinthians. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 8 - repetition of information about Titus (7:13-15; 8:16-17), presumption of knowledge about the two brothers coming with him (8:18,22), or even evidence that 2 Corinthians 8 as well as 2 Corinthians 9 are formal business letters - do not convince many. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 9, first proposed by Semler 200 years ago, that 2 Corinthians 9 was originally a letter sent to Christians outside Corinth, are more formidable, and give scholars more pause.

What pulls them up short is the language Paul uses to refer to the collection ("service") in 9:1, which, in Greek, reads like a first mention of the collection. In addition to that, the regional reference to Achaia in 9:2 and the repetition of information from chapter 8 in chapter 9 regarding the collection give added support to the idea of chapter 9 being originally independent.

On the other side of the question is the fact that Paul's reference to the collection in 9:1 is modified by ( men gar , "and for") which suggests a resumption of a previous subject perhaps after a brief pause in dictation. The repetition of details regarding the collection is probably emphatic, and the regional reference to Achaia seems unlikely to exclude Corinth. Tipping the scale against an independent chapter 9, as noted by Furnish, are two references in chapter 9 which presume information from chapter 8: the mention of the brothers (9:3; 8:18) and the emphasis on their completing the collection (9:4-5; 8:7-15).

Admittedly, this is a close call. However, the evidence does not demand that chapters 8 and 9 are two separate letters about the collection, one to Corinth, and one to Achaia. Rather, these are interdependent chapters in 2 Corinthians, chapter 8 dealing with the details of the collection project and chapter 9 emphasizing motivation for the project, as noted by Danker.

Fourth, without a doubt the most serious challenge to the unity of 2 Corinthians comes from chapters 10-13. As long ago as 1870, Hausrath broadcast his belief that in these chapters, he had discovered the missing "severe" letter to the Corinthians. No doubt, in chapters 10-13 Paul erupts into harsh tones of anger and disappointment which seem to undercut completely the exuberance and joy which he builds up to by chapters 7, 8, and 9.

But Hausrath looked closer and pointed to evidence that chapters 10-13 were written previous to chapters 1-9. Particularly he saw passages in chapters 1-9 written in the past tense which appear to allude to passages from chapters 10-13 written in future tenses, such as 1:23 which says that Paul "did not return" to them in order to spare them, corresponding to 13:2 in which Paul asserts that he "will not return" in order to spare them or when Paul says in 2:3-4 that he "wrote" them out of great distress and in 13:10 when he says "I write" so that I may not have to be harsh. Hausrath also contends that Paul's reference to Rome (west of Corinth) as "regions beyond you" in 2 Cor 10:16 makes much better sense if he is in Ephesus (east of Corinth), where he wrote the Severe Letter, rather than Macedonia (north of Corinth), where he wrote 2 Corinthians.

Criticism against Hausrath's identification of 2 Cor 10-13 with the "severe" letter has withered its persuasiveness among scholars. Primarily, chapters 10-13 do not contain something we know specifically was in the Severe Letter: Paul's demand that an individual who offended him be punished (2:5-6; 7:12). Also, chapters 10-13 promise a visit (12:14; 13:1), but the Severe Letter was sent in place of a Painful Visit (1:23; 2:1). Regarding "regions beyond you," the language need not be taken so literally and the Macedonian region should be recognized as much more culturally distinct from Achaia than it looks like on a map.

More appealing to scholars of all stripes, including many conservatives, is to view 2 Cor 10-13 as a separate, fifth letter, written after Titus returns with new, bad news after delivering 2 Corinthians 1-9. This position still takes into account Hausrath's future tense passages. It helps make sense of 2 Cor 12:18 which refers to Titus's visit in the past tense when it was in the planning stage in 2 Corinthians 7-9. Also, it explains the increased strident tones of chapters 10-13 as Paul's response to new, outside influences claiming some kind of rival apostolic authority to Paul's (11:13; 12:11) rather than to internal problems which seem to be his concern in chapters 1-9.

This way of viewing chapters 10-13 is attractive but is not demanded by the evidence. As Witherington points out, the past (aorist) tenses describing Titus's visit in 12:17-18 need not be real. Especially as Paul reaches the end of the book, they could well be epistolary (spoken from the standpoint of the audience reading the letter). The mention of the unnamed brother traveling with Titus does correspond with 2 Cor 8:18,22. Reading 12:17-18 this way opens up the very real possibility that Paul could have received new information about problems in Corinth before sending 2 Corinthians but after writing chapters 1-9. This could explain the gulf between chapters 10-13 as well as an entirely separate letter.

Other ways which account for the change of tone in chapter 10-13 have to do with how one reads the letter. Perhaps chapters 1-9 are directed to the majority of the church which has fallen into line with Paul after the Painful Visit, the Severe Letter, and Titus's hard work while chapters 10-13 are to the minority who are still under the sway of outside opposition to Paul. After all, 2 Cor 2:6 does speak of "the majority" which imposed discipline upon the offender named in the Severe Letter.

Perhaps, as a growing group of scholars are showing, Paul's heightened criticism of the Corinthians in chapters 10-13 concludes a calculated rhetorical plan employing counterattack ( synkrisis ) or strong emotional appeal ( peroratio ) to win his defense against the charges being leveled at him by the Corinthians. One must admit that Paul never relaxes from a defensive posture in 2 Corinthians from the beginning to the end. While Paul's harsh tones in chapters 10-13 following the lead up in chapters 7, 8, and 9 may seem abrupt, his concerns from early in the letter haven't really changed, just his emotionalism. The issue of his character raised in chapter 1 and of the legitimacy of his apostleship raised in chapter 3 remain the object of his defense in chapters 10-13.

The correspondence of these issues is enough to suggest that even though outside influence of "false apostles" (11:13) is not named earlier, they influence the minority of the Corinthian church and provide the ammunition against Paul observed in the earlier chapters. Who else would have brandished "letters of recommendation" (3:1)? Their earliest influences could even be in the background of Paul's problems associated with the Painful Visit.

As evident from 2 Cor 7:8-13, the offending individual merely became the pretext for the whole church failing to rally behind Paul until after the Severe Letter. Although Paul can be ecstatic that most of the church has recommitted themselves to him and to the gospel by the time he writes 2 Corinthians, nevertheless, pockets of opposition likely remain under the growing influence of the outside agitators. With chapters 10-13 Paul intends to level a decisive blow against this opposition not only to bring the remainder of the church back to the true gospel but also to shore up any lingering doubts from those who have pledged their loyalty.

Paul's transition to chapter 10 indeed is rocky but, as Danker points out, no more so than Phil 3 or Rom 9. In this commentary, therefore, we will treat 2 Corinthians as a unity and will treat chapters 10-13 as primarily aimed at responding to a vocal minority of the church who remain mesmerized by the outsiders' criticisms of Paul.

PAUL'S OPPONENTS

Second Corinthians resounds with the echo of outside voices filling the Corinthians' heads with notions geared to sever their relationship with Paul. Since Paul originally brought the gospel to Corinth and made it possible for people there to be reconciled with God through Christ and begin a vibrant church meeting in homes throughout the city, others have come to Corinth presenting themselves as superior in authority to the apostle Paul himself. Presuming the opponents in 2 Cor 10-13 and 1-9 are the same, they supposedly have letters of authentication from Jerusalem (3:1-3), Paul blasts them as "false apostles" (11:13) and sarcastically as "super apostles" in 12:11. Nevertheless, they have influenced and confused the Corinthians enough to force Paul to write 2 Corinthians and fill it with self-commendation regarding his integrity and his "superior" apostolic credentials over theirs. He does this because he feels he must in order to win the Corinthians back, but he finds doing so personally disturbing and repugnant.

Whereas Paul finds it difficult to boast about himself, self-commendation seems to be the chief characteristic of these outsiders. Clues from 2 Corinthians indicate that they were proud of their Jewish heritage (11:22), their "Christian" service (11:23), their oratorical skill (11:6), their self-confidence (1:15-17), and their charismatic experiences (12:12). They preached a different gospel than Paul's (11:4). They also accepted money from the Corinthians, unlike Paul who refused it (12:16). They may have viewed Paul's effort to collect money from the Corinthians for the Jerusalem Christians as cutting off their own purse strings and threatening their prosperity in Corinth.

Their heated, personalized efforts to undercut Paul sound like Paul's opposition in Galatians, commonly called Judaizers (Gal 4:17). However, no mention of the law or circumcision in 2 Corinthians clouds this identification and requires that, if these are the same people, they have changed their tune considerably since Galatians. The fact that they tout letters of recommendation - where else but from Jerusalem - makes it difficult to lay aside the picture of a band of renegade, conservative Jewish Christians who first followed Paul to Galatia and now to Corinth with the expressed purpose of replacing Paul's gospel and his authority to represent true Christianity (Gal 1:6-7).

It is going too far to say that their credentials were currently legitimate or that they were actual apostles since Acts 15:24 reports that a faction of Jewish Christians had gone out falsely representing the church to new, Gentile congregations. It is possible, though, that they do have apostolic credentials - perhaps even knew Jesus before his crucifixion - but now are misusing these credentials to subvert Paul's successful mission to Gentiles in Galatia and now also in Corinth and other churches as well.

The picture of these Corinthian opponents as ultraconservative Jewish Christians clashes with a considerable amount of the evidence which points to their Greek or even gnostic origins. Their connection to revelations and wonders, rhetorical skills, "worldly" wisdom, and just their overall egotistical posture must be reckoned with. Undermining at least the gnostic element is the positive use of "knowledge" in 2 Corinthians. Nevertheless, a typical result when these ingredients are combined emerges with a conclusion that they were "Hellenistic Jews who were propagating . . . a 'spiritual gnosticism.'"

However, it seems inconceivable that ultraconservative Jewish Christians coming out of Jerusalem could be pushing a gospel so infiltrated with Greek ideas as to be outside the bounds of Paul's own radicalized message which had stripped unnecessary Jewish elements. Could these Jewish agitators be so clever as to be able to manipulate the Corinthians against Paul by successfully incorporating elements from Greek culture into their opposition to Paul which they themselves don't believe? It doesn't seem likely, but then no identification satisfactorily combines the paradoxical elements of these opponents as currently gleaned from the information we have from 2 Corinthians and the first century. As one commentator astutely points out, any final resolution is also hampered considerably by the fact that 2 Corinthians provides no information about the doctrine or theology of these opponents. Most current discussion recognizes the limitations involved in this discussion and offers no more than conjectures as has been done here.

It's best, then, to keep in mind the characteristics of Paul's opponents available from reading 2 Corinthians without any adamant historical identification until better information becomes available. They were Jewish. They were Greek. They considered themselves Christians. They hated Paul. They hurt Paul, and he feared what more they could do. It was up to him to marshal all the strength and the skills he had to prevent them from doing any further damage. They had backed him into a corner, and he responds with ferocity and emotion in 2 Corinthians, compelled out of his deep love for the Corinthians and his commitment to true, saving Christianity and humble, self-sacrificing leadership.

RELEVANCE

Christians treat 2 Corinthians like the ugly twin sister of 1 Corinthians. First Corinthian's poignant theology about challenging issues attracts everyone's constant attention. Meanwhile, 2 Corinthians sits in the corner waiting for someone to ask it to dance. Yet, once we make some effort to get to know 2 Corinthians, we will be pleasantly surprised.

Today, as in the days of the early church, various outside forces threaten to sever people's loyalty to Christ and cut away at the fabric of the church. It might be a cult like Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. It might be cultural forces like the challenges of postmodernism or the mind-set of the so-called Generation X which questions absolutes like God and salvation in Christ alone. It might just be an obstinate person who envies the authority of the minister, elders, or deacons and questions their integrity and decision-making at every turn and who draws around him or her an anti-faction.

If you are someone who cares deeply about your local church and would do almost anything to maintain its success and its integrity as a body of Christian believers, then 2 Corinthians will speak to your heart and nourish your soul. You will relate to Paul's agony over this church , feel his compassion, and be engulfed by his intense emotion in this letter. You will take in the principles of genuine church leadership and apply them to your life responsibly to enable you to enrich the quality of your local church.

The comments which follow are intended to help you both to understand 2 Corinthians in its own historical context and to apply its key principles to your own personal context in the church today.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

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-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

ABBREVIATIONS

1 Clem 1 Clement

1QH The Thanksgiving Hymns (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QM The War Scroll (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QS Rule of the Community (Dead Sea Scroll)

2 Clem 2 Clement

AJP American Journal of Philology

ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römishen Welt, ed. Temporini and Haase

AusBR Australian Biblical Review

AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies

BA Biblical Archaeologist

BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research

BSac Bibliotheca Sacra

BT Bible Translator

BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

CD The Damascus Document (Dead Sea Scroll)

DPL Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Hawthorne, Martin, and Reid

Ebr. De Ebrietate (Philo)

EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

ExpTim Expository Times

HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology

Heres Qui Rerum Divinarum Heres sit (Philo)

HTR Harvard Theological Review

ICC International Critical Commentary

Int Interpretation

JB Jerusalem Bible

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JRH Journal of Religious History

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

LB Living Bible

NAB New American Bible

NASB New American Standard Bible

NEB New English Bible

Neot Neotestamentica

NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament

NIDNTT New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Brown

NIV New International Version

NLT New Living Translation

NovT Novum Testamentum

NovTSupp Novum Testamentum Supplements

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NTS New Testament Studies

RB Revue Biblique

ResQ Restoration Quarterly

RSV Revised Standard Version

SCJ Stone-Campbell Journal

SJT Scottish Journal of Theology

Spec.Leg. Philo, De Specialibus Legibus

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Kittel and Friedrich

TEV Today's English Version

T.Jos Testament of Joseph

T.Levi Testament of Levi

T.Naph Testament of Naphtali

TS Theological Studies

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

WW Word and World

ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenshaft

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. OPENING - 1:1-2

II. THANKSGIVING - 1:3-11

A. GOD COMFORTS - 1:3-7

B. GOD DELIVERS - 1:8-11

III. DEFENSE OF INTEGRITY - 1:12-2:13

A. CLARITY SOUGHT - 1:12-14

B. SECOND TRAVEL ITINERARY EXPLAINED - 1:15-17

C. CANDOR DEMANDED - 1:18-22

D. THIRD TRAVEL ITINERARY DEFENDED - 1:23-2:4

E. THE OFFENDER FORGIVEN - 2:5-11

F. ACTUAL TRAVEL DESCRIBED - 2:12-13

IV. DEFENSE OF APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IN PRINCIPLE - 2:14-7:4

A. SUFFICIENT FOR MINISTRY - 2:14-3:6

1. The Aroma of Christ Spread - 2:14-17

2. A Living Letter of Recommendation Sent - 3:1-3

3. A Personal Reference Provided - 3:4-6

B. SUPERIOR TO THE OLD COVENANT - 3:7-18

1. Glory Unsurpassed 3:7-11

2. Glory Unobstructed 3:12-18

C. TENACIOUS DESPITE SHORTCOMINGS - 4:1-5:10

1. Christ Preached Plainly - 4:1-6

2. Hardships Overcome because of Jesus' Death - 4:7-12

3. Increasing Multitudes Brought to Life - 4:13-15

4. Driven by Unseen, Eternal Reward - 4:16-18

5. Confident in Eternal Home - 5:1-10

a) Permanent Home Guaranteed - 5:1-5

b) Pleasing the Lord Prioritizes Life - 5:6-10

D. PREACHING RECONCILIATION THROUGH CHRIST - 5:11-6:2

1. Motivated by Christ's Love - 5:11-15

2. Christ's Message of Reconciliation Delivered - 5:16-6:2

E. HARDSHIPS IN MINISTRY - 6:3-10

F. AN APPEAL FOR OPENNESS AND RECONCILIATION - 6:11-7:4

1. Paul's Heart Opened - 6:11-13

2. Holiness Demanded - 6:14-7:1

3. Paul's Trust Expressed - 7:2-4

V. ENCOURAGING NEWS: RELATIONSHIP FULLY RESTORED - 7:5-16

A. TITUS REPORTS LOVE FOR PAUL - 7:5-7

B. TRUE REPENTANCE DEMONSTRATES INNOCENCE - 7:8-13a

C. TITUS EXPRESSED DEEP AFFECTION - 7:13b-16

VI. PREPARATION FOR THE COLLECTION - 8:1-9:15

A. INCENTIVES TOWARD GENEROSITY - 8:1-15

1. Excel Like the Macedonians - 8:1-7

2. Give Like Christ - 8:8-9

3. Complete Your Offering - 8:10-12

4. Achieve Equity - 8:13-15

B. TITUS PLUS TWO OTHERS SENT TO CORINTH TO HELP - 8:16-9:5

1. Criticism to Be Thwarted - 8:16-21

2. Measure Up to Expectations - 8:22-24

3. Follow Through on What Was Begun - 9:1-5

C. MORE INCENTIVE TO BE GENEROUS - 9:6-15

1. God Will Be Generous - 9:6-11

2. God Will Be Praised - 9:12-15

VII. FINAL DEFENSE OF MINISTRY - 10:1-13:10

A. LAUNCH OF A MASSIVE COUNTERATTACK - 10:1-18

1. Powerful Weapons Employed - 10:1-6

2. Forceful Personal Presence Warned - 10:7-10

3. God's Expansion of the Gospel Boasted - 10:12-18

B. COMPARISON TO FALSE APOSTLES MADE - 11:1-15

1. True Message of Jesus Preached - 11:1-6

2. No Money Accepted - 11:7-12

3. The False Apostles Serve Satan - 11:13-15

C. BOASTING AS A "FOOL" - 11:16-33

1. Rationale Provided - 11:16-21a

2. Ancestry and Hardships Listed - 11:21b-29

3. Weakness Boasted - 11:30-33

D. MORE BOASTING - 12:1-10

1. A Vision Divulged - 12:1-6

2. An Irremovable Thorn Remains - 12:7-10

E. "BOASTING" RETROSPECTIVE - 12:11-13

F. PREPARATION FOR THE THIRD VISIT - 12:14-13:10

1. No Exploitation Tactics Employed - 12:14-18

2. More Trouble Feared - 12:19-21

3. Harsh Treatment for Sinners Warned - 13:1-4

4. Faith-testing Evidences Paul's Strength - 13:5-10

VIII. CLOSING REMARKS - 13:11-14

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV