Chapter Six

Exploits of Apostle Paul (1–10). Exhortation to the Corinthians to withdraw from fellowship with the heathen (11–18).

2 Cor 6:1-10. The Apostle is proud that he is chosen by God to participate in the work of the salvation of people. The time of this salvation has now come. At this point, the Apostle, in the form of a hymn, depicts the exploits which he was called to accomplish for the salvation of people by the grace of Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:1. And we, as co-workers, beseech you also not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 Corinthians 6:2. For it says: “In a time of favor I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. The Apostle exhorts the Corinthians, as a co-worker with God (cf. 1 Cor 3:9), so that they do not receive the grace of Christ in vain, but would use it for their perfection in virtue. Now is the most favorable, convenient time for this, because the Servant of the Lord (cf. Isa 49:8), that is, our Lord Jesus Christ, was heard by the Lord-Father in His intercessions for people, and people have been given the full opportunity to accomplish deeds pleasing to God. The Lord Jesus Christ prayed for us, and the heavenly Father, according to His prayer, opens before us the treasures of His grace (cf. commentary on Isa 49:8).

2 Corinthians 6:3. Giving no offense in anything, so that the ministry be not blamed, 2 Corinthians 6:4. but in all things commending ourselves as servants of God: in much patience, in afflictions, in distresses, in difficulties, 2 Corinthians 6:5. in strokes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings, Everything that the Apostle lists here represents only different kinds of one virtue—“patience.” The first kind of “patience” is the endurance of “afflictions,” that is, external persecutions; the second is the endurance of “distresses,” that is, the hardships that accompany or result from persecutions. In the third place stand “difficulties,” which oppress the soul primarily of the persecuted. Then he mentions “strokes,” which he received (Acts 16 and following), his being thrown “in imprisonment,” the necessity of frequently moving from one place to another (“tumults.” According to another translation: popular uprisings). Finally the Apostle shows his patience in his intense “labors” for the benefit of the Church (1 Cor 3:8), in “sleeplessness” at night when necessary (Acts 20:31), and in “fastings” (Acts 13:2-3 and following).

2 Corinthians 6:6. in purity, in knowledge, in longsuffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love, 2 Corinthians 6:7. in truthful speech, in the power of God, with the weapons of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, At the head of the virtues listed here stands “purity” or integrity of heart and will (cf. 1 Pet 1:22). “Kindness”—this is a disposition toward people, a striving to do them good. The Holy Spirit—not the Third Person of the Holy Trinity—if the Apostle had mentioned Him, he would have done so earlier—but that life-giving power of the Spirit which was manifested in the preaching of the Apostle in Corinth (1 Cor 2:4) and in other places. “The power of God”—this is the ability to confirm one’s teaching with miracles. “The weapons of righteousness”—these are all the words and deeds of Paul, directed toward establishing true faith.

2 Corinthians 6:8. in honor and dishonor, in evil report and good report: we are treated as deceivers, yet we are truthful; 2 Corinthians 6:9. we are unknown, yet we are known; we are dying, and behold, we are alive; we are disciplined, yet not killed; 2 Corinthians 6:10. we are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; we are poor, yet enriching many; having nothing, yet possessing everything. In the most varied positions of life, Apostle Paul appeared in all the greatness proper to a true servant of God. The respect shown to him by his listeners (“in honor”) and the shame to which he was subjected by his opponents (“dishonor”) both testify to his position as a servant of God. He, like Christ (cf. Matt 27:63), was called a deceiver, a seducer of the people, but he on the contrary always conducted himself as behooves an honest worker. Many regarded him as someone who had done nothing to deserve the fame to which he aspired (“we are unknown”), yet he was well known in the places which he had illumined with his preaching. The following contrasts develop the thought that no persecutions, no slanders can weaken the zeal of the Apostle for his ministry and hinder the success of his work. There is too much inner strength in him, the Apostle, and consciousness of his beneficial significance for all humanity. He has—everything that man can only desire, striving for true happiness! 2 Cor 6:11-18. The Apostle now explains what he said in the first verse about the proper use of God’s grace. This grace can remain fruitless if the Corinthians do not free themselves from the habits of pagan life. But prior to this new exhortation, the Apostle speaks of his sincere disposition toward the Corinthians and asks them to be also well-disposed toward him. The exhortation itself is then presented in the form of questions, in which the idea is developed that those vices which the Corinthians borrowed from the heathen are incompatible with the Christian state.

2 Corinthians 6:11. Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians; our heart is opened wide. The Apostle speaks with the readers quite openly. His heart is so generous that it will find room for the need of each Corinthian.

2 Corinthians 6:12. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. The Apostle was reproached with the fact that he supposedly constrains the Corinthians, acts tyrannically toward them (cf. 2 Cor 1:24). But this is not so: they themselves are too narrow in their views to understand the magnanimous conduct of Apostle Paul.

2 Corinthians 6:13. For the same measure—I speak as to children—open yourselves also. Seeing in the Corinthians his own children in spirit, the Apostle asks them with hope of fulfillment of his request that they repay him with love for his love toward them.

2 Corinthians 6:14. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what fellowship has light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:15. What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? In the law of Moses it was forbidden to yoke together a clean and unclean animal (Deut 22:10). The Apostle applies this prohibition to the situation of the Corinthians, as having a typological meaning. Five questions that follow are generally understood: they all point to the impropriety for a Christian to maintain fellowship with the heathen in the vices to which they devote themselves. But what does the name “Belial” mean? In the Old Testament this name corresponds to the word “Belial,” which denotes something completely useless, good for nothing: but here, as is evident from the contrast with “Christ,” the word Belial denotes a personality. This word had the same meaning in later Judaism. Here, in context, it can denote the Antichrist or the devil.

2 Corinthians 6:16. And what concord has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, as God said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them; I will be their God, and they shall be My people. The Apostle bases his exhortation on Old Testament statements. That believers are the temple of God he proves on the basis of Lev 26:11 and following. Here God promises Israel a reward if it remains faithful to God’s law. But Christians are the new Israel.

2 Corinthians 6:17. Therefore go out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. 2 Corinthians 6:18. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me, says the Lord, the Almighty. Just as the prophet Isaiah called upon the Hebrews to go out from the sinful Babylon (Isa 52:11), so the Apostle persuades the Corinthian Christians to break fellowship with the pagan world. Where does the expression come from: “and I will be a father to you”? According to our Russian text, the source for the Apostle in this case is the books of Jeremiah and Hosea, but this is hardly so, because such an expression is not found in those books. Modern commentators believe that the Apostle here somewhat modified the expression 2 Sam 7:14, relating to the descendant of David. Some critics consider the passage 6:14–7:1 inauthentic for the following reasons: 1) it deals with a subject not discussed anywhere else in the entire epistle, 2) the style of this passage is not very refined and does not correspond in general to the manner of expression of Apostle Paul, 3) these verses disrupt the flow of speech and with their removal one obtains a fully connected speech: the second verse of the seventh chapter becomes a natural continuation of the thirteenth verse of the sixth chapter. But these considerations are not sufficiently serious. First, there is an allusion to the entanglement of the Corinthians with pagan vices in 2 Cor 13:2. Second, parenthetical passages frequently appear in the Apostle in other epistles, and third, the style here does not in fact contain anything unusual for the works of Apostle Paul. * * * Notes Isa 49:8. Lev 26:12. Isa 52 Jer 3:19; Hos 1