Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Corinthians 6

1. We should act feeling that we are in the immediate presence of God, and so as to meet His acceptance and approval, whether we remain on earth, or whether we are removed to eternity (2 Corinthians 5:9). The prospect of being with Him, and the consciousness that His eye is fixed upon us, should make us diligent, humble, and industrious.

   It should be the great purpose of our lives to secure His favor and meet with His acceptance. It should make no difference to us, in this respect, where we are—whether on earth or in heaven; with the prospect of long life or of an early death; in society or in solitude; at home or abroad; on the land or on the sea; in sickness or in health; in prosperity or in adversity—it should be our great aim so to live as to be "accepted of Him." And the Christian will so act. To act in this manner is the very nature of true piety; and where this desire does not exist, there can be no true religion.

2. We must appear before the judgment seat (2 Corinthians 5:10). We must all appear there. This is inevitable. There is not one of the human family that can escape. Old and young; rich and poor; bond and free; all classes, all conditions, all nations must stand there, give an account for all the deeds done in the body, and receive their eternal doom. How solemn is the thought of being arraigned! How deeply affecting the idea that on the issue of that one trial will depend our eternal well-being or woe! How overwhelming the reflection that from that sentence there can be no appeal, no power of reversing it, no possibility of afterward changing our destiny!

3. We will soon be there (2 Corinthians 5:10). No one knows when he is to die; and death, when it comes, will remove us at once to the judgment seat. A disease that may carry us off in a few hours may take us there; or death that may come in an instant will bear us to that awful bar. How many are struck down in a moment; how many are hurried without any warning to the solemnities of the eternal world! So we may die. No one can insure our lives; no one can guard us from the approach of the invisible king of terrors.

4. We should be ready to depart. If we must stand at that awful bar, and if we may be summoned there any moment, assuredly we should lose no time in being ready to go. It is our great business in life; and it should claim our first attention, and all other things should be postponed so that we may be ready to die. It should be the first inquiry every morning, and the last subject of thought every evening—for who knows when he rises in the morning but that before night he may stand at the judgment seat! Who, when he lies down on his bed at night, knows but that in the silence of the night-watches he may be summoned to go alone—to leave his family and friends, his home and his bed, to answer for all the deeds done in the body?

5. We should endeavor to save others from eternal death (2 Corinthians 5:11). If we ourselves have any just views of the awful terrors of the day of judgment, and if we have any just views of the wrath of God, we should endeavor "to persuade" others to flee from the wrath to come.

   We should plead with them; we should entreat them; we should weep over them; we should pray for them, that they may be saved from going up to meet the awful wrath of God. If our friends are unprepared to meet God, if they are living in impenitence and sin, and if we have any influence over others in any way, we should exert it all to induce them to come to Christ and to save themselves from the awful terrors of that day.

   Paul deemed no self-denial and no sacrifice too great, if he might persuade them to come to God and to save their souls. And who that has any just views of the awful terrors of the day of judgment, of the woes of an eternal hell, and of the glories of an eternal heaven, can deem that labor too great which will be the means of saving immortal souls!

   Not to frighten them should we labor; not merely to alarm them should we plead with them; but we should endeavor by all means to persuade them to come to the Redeemer. We should not use tones of harshness and denunciation; we should not speak of hell as if we would rejoice to execute the sentence; but we should speak with tenderness, earnestness, and with tears , that we may induce our friends and fellow-sinners to be reconciled to God.

6. We should not deem it strange or remarkable if we are charged with being deranged for being active and zealous in the subject of religion (2 Corinthians 5:13). There will always be enough, both in the church and out of it, to charge us with overheated zeal, with want of prudence, or with decided mental alienation. But we are not to forget that Paul was accused of being "mad;" and even the Redeemer was thought to be "beside himself." It is sufficient for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord; and if the Redeemer was charged with derangement on account of His peculiar views and His zeal, we should not suppose that any strange thing has happened to us if we are accused in like manner.

7. The gospel should be offered to all men (2 Corinthians 5:14). If Christ died for all, then salvation is provided for all, and then it should be offered to all freely and fully. It should be done without any mental reservation, for God has no such mental reservation; without any hesitation or misgiving; without any statements that would break the force, or weaken the power of such an offer on the consciences of men.

   If they reject it, they should be left to see that they reject that which is in good faith offered to them, and that for this they must give an account to God. Every man who preaches the gospel should feel that he is not only permitted but REQUIRED to preach the gospel to every creature; nor should he embrace any opinion whatever which will, in form or in fact, cramp him or restrain him in thus offering salvation to all mankind. The fact that Christ died for all, and that all may be saved, should be a fixed and standing point in all systems of theology, and should be allowed to shape every other opinion, and to shed its influence over every other view of truth.

8. All men by nature are dead in sins (2 Corinthians 5:14). They are insensible to their own good, to the appeals of God, to the glories of heaven, and to the terrors of hell. They do not act for eternity; they are without concern in regard to their everlasting destiny. They are as insensible to all these things, until aroused by the Spirit of God, as a dead man in his grave is to surrounding objects. And there is nothing that ever did arouse such a man, or ever could, but the same power that made the world, and the same voice that raised Lazarus from his grave. This melancholy fact strikes us everywhere; and we should be deeply humbled that it is our condition by nature, and should mourn that it is the condition of our fellow-men everywhere.

9. We should form our estimate of objects, and of their respective value and importance, by other considerations than those which are derived from their temporal nature (2 Corinthians 5:16). It should not be simply according to the flesh. It should not be as they estimate them who are living for this world. It should not be by their rank, their splendor, or their fashion. It should be by their reference to eternity, and their bearing on the state of things there.

10. It should be with us a very serious inquiry whether our views of Christ are such as they have who are living according to the flesh, or such only as the unrenewed mind takes (2 Corinthians 5:16). The carnal mind has no just views of the Redeemer. To every impenitent sinner He is a root out of a dry ground. There is no beauty in Him.

    And to every hypocrite, and every deceived professor of religion, there is really no beauty seen in Him. There is no spontaneous, elevated, glowing attachment to Him. It is all forced and unnatural. But to the true Christian there is a beauty seen in His character that is not seen in any other; and the whole soul loves Him and embraces Him.

    His character is seen to be most pure and lovely; His benevolence boundless; His ability and willingness to save infinite. The renewed soul desires no other Savior and rejoices that He is just what He is—rejoices in His humiliation as well as His exaltation; in His poverty as well as His glory; rejoices in the privilege of being saved by Him who was spit upon, and mocked, and crucified, as well as by Him who is at the right hand of God. One thing is certain, unless we have just views of Christ we can never be saved.

11. The new birth is a great and most important change (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is not in name or in profession merely, but it is a deep and radical change of the heart. It is so great that it may be said of each one, that he is a new creation of God; and in relation to each one, that old things are passed away, and all things are become new.

    How important it is that we examine our hearts and see whether this change has taken place, or whether we are still living without God and without hope. It is indispensable that we be born again (John 3). If we are not born again, and if we are not new creatures in Christ, we must perish forever.

    No matter what our wealth, talent, learning, accomplishment, reputation, or morality, unless we have been so changed that it may be said, and that we can say, "old things are passed away, and all things are become new," we must perish forever. There is no power in the universe that can save a man who is not born again.

12. The gospel ministry is a most responsible and important work (2 Corinthians 5:18–19). There is no other office of the same importance; there is no situation in which man can be placed more solemn than that of making known the terms on which God is willing to bestow favor on apostate man.

13. How amazing is the Divine condescension, that God should have ever proposed such a plan of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20–21)! That He should not only have been willing to be reconciled, but that He should have sought, and have been so anxious for it as to be willing to send His own Son to die to secure it!

    It was pure, rich, infinite benevolence. God was not to be benefited by it. He was infinitely blessed and happy, even though man should have been lost. He was pure, and just, and holy, and it was not necessary to resort to this in order to vindicate His own character; He had done man no wrong; and if man had perished in his sins, the throne of God would have been pure and spotless.

    It was love—mere love. It was pure, holy, disinterested, infinite benevolence. It was worthy of God; and it has a claim to the deepest gratitude of man. Let us then, in view of this whole chapter, seek to be reconciled to God. Let us lay aside all our opposition to Him.

    Let us embrace His plans. Let us be willing to submit to Him, and to become His ETERNAL FRIENDS. Let us seek that heaven to which He would raise us; and though our earthly house of this tabernacle must be dissolved, let us be prepared, as we may be, for that eternal habitation which He has fitted up for all who love Him in the heavens.

INTRODUCTION To 2 Corinthians Chapter 6

This chapter, closely connected in sense with the preceding, is designed as an address to the Corinthian Christians, exhorting them to act worthily of their calling and of their situation under such a ministry as they had enjoyed. In the previous chapters, Paul had discoursed at length on the design and the labors of the ministry. The main drift of all this was to show them the nature of reconciliation and the obligation to turn to God and to live for Him.

This idea is pursued in this chapter; and in view of the labors and self-denials of the ministry, Paul urges on the Corinthian Christians the duty of coming out from the world and of separating themselves entirely from all evil. The chapter may be conveniently contemplated in the following parts:

1. Paul states that he and his associates were fellow-laborers with God, and he exhorts the Corinthians not to receive the grace of God in vain. To induce them to make a wise improvement of the privileges which they enjoyed, he quotes a passage from Isaiah and applies it as meaning that it was then an acceptable time, and that they might avail themselves of mercy (1 Corinthians 6:1–2).

2. He enumerates the labors and self-denials of the ministry. He refers to their sincerity, zeal, and honesty of life. He shows how much they had been willing to endure in order to convey the gospel to others, how much they had in fact endured, and how much they had benefited others. He speaks of their afflictions in a most tender and beautiful manner, and of the happy results which had followed from their self-denying labors (2 Corinthians 6:3–10). The design of this is, evidently, to remind them of what their religion had cost, and to appeal to them in view of all this to lead holy and pure lives.

3. Paul expresses his ardent attachment for them and says that if they were straitened, if they did not live as they should, it was not because he and his fellow-laborers had not loved them and sought their welfare, but from a defect in themselves (2 Corinthians 6:11–12).

4. As a reward for all that he had done and suffered for them, he now asked only that they should live as became Christians (2 Corinthians 6:13–18). He sought not silver, or gold, or apparel. He had not labored as he had done with any view to a temporal reward.

   And he now asked simply that they should come out from the world and be dissociated from everything that was evil. He demanded that they should be separate from all idolatry and idolatrous practices; assures them that there can be no union between light and darkness, righteousness and unrighteousness, Christ and Belial; that there can be no agreement between the temple of God and idols; reminds them of the fact that they are the temple of God; and encourages them to do this by the assurance that God would be their God, and that they should be His adopted sons and daughters. The chapter is one of great beauty; and the argument for a holy life among Christians is one that is exceedingly forcible and tender.

We then, as workers together with him. (See the comments on 1 Corinthians 3:9).

The Greek here is sunergountes, "working together"; and may mean either that the apostles and ministers to whom Paul refers were joint laborers in entreating them not to receive the grace of God in vain, or it may mean that they cooperated with God, or were engaged with Him in endeavoring to secure the reconciliation of the world to Himself.

Tindal renders it, "we as helpers." Doddridge, "we then as the joint-laborers of God." Most expositors have concurred in this interpretation. The word properly means, to work together; to cooperate in producing any result.

Macknight supposes that the word here is in the vocative, and is an address to the fellow-laborers of Paul, entreating them not to receive the grace of God in vain. In this opinion he is probably alone, and has manifestly departed from the scope and design of the passage. Probably the most obvious meaning is that of our translators, who regard it as teaching that Paul was a joint-worker with God in securing the salvation of men.

That ye receive not the grace of God in vain. The "grace of God" here means evidently the gracious offer of reconciliation and pardon. And the sense is, "We entreat you not to neglect or slight this offer of pardon, so as to lose the benefit of it, and be lost. It is offered freely and fully. It may be partaken of by all, and all may be saved. But it may also be slighted, and all the benefits of it will then be lost."

The sense is, that it was possible that this offer might be made to them; they might hear of a Savior, be told of the plan of reconciliation, and have the offers of mercy pressed on their attention and acceptance, and yet all be in vain. They might, notwithstanding all this, be lost; for simply to hear of the plan of salvation or the offers of mercy will no more save a sinner than to hear of medicine will save the sick. It must be embraced and applied, or it will be in vain.

It is true that Paul probably addressed this to those who were professors of religion; and the sense is, that they should use all possible care and anxiety lest these offers should have been made in vain. They should examine their own hearts; they should inquire into their own condition; they should guard against self-deception. The same persons (2 Corinthians 5:20) Paul had exhorted also to be reconciled to God; and the idea is, that he would earnestly entreat even professors of religion to give all diligence to secure an interest in the saving mercy of the gospel, and to guard against the possibility of being self-deceived and ruined.

For he says. See Isaiah 49:8. In that passage, the declaration refers to the Messiah, and its purpose there is to show that God would be favorable to him; that he would hear him when he prayed and would make him the medium of establishing a covenant with his own people and of spreading the true religion throughout the earth.

See my note on that passage.

Paul quotes the passage here, not as affirming that he used it in exactly the same sense, or with reference to the same purpose for which it was originally spoken, but as expressing the idea he wished to convey, or in accordance with the general principle implied in its use in Isaiah.

The general idea there, or the principle involved, was that under the Messiah God would be willing to hear; that is, he would be disposed to show mercy to the Jew and to the Gentile. This is the main idea of the passage as used by Paul. Under the Messiah, Isaiah says, God would be willing to show mercy.

That would be an acceptable time. That time, Paul says, has arrived. The Messiah has come, and now God is willing to pardon and save.

The doctrine in this verse is that under the Messiah, or in the time of Christ, God is willing to show mercy to men. In him alone is the throne of grace accessible; and now that he has come, God is willing to pardon, and men should avail themselves of the offers of mercy.

I have heard thee. This refers to the Messiah. I have listened to your prayer for the salvation of the Gentile world.

The promise to the Messiah was that the Gentile world would be given to him; but it was a promise that it would be in answer to his prayers and intercessions: Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession (Psalms 2:8).

The salvation of the Gentile world, and of all who are saved, is to be in answer to the prevailing intercession of the Lord Jesus.

In a time accepted. In Isaiah, this is "in an acceptable time." The idea is that he had prayed at a time when God was disposed to show mercy—the time when, in his wise arrangements, he had designed that his salvation should be extended to the world.

It is a time he had fixed as the appropriate period for extending the knowledge of his truth and his salvation. This proves that there was to be a period which was the favorable period of salvation; that is, which God esteemed to be the proper period for making his salvation known to men.

At such a period, the Messiah would pray, and the prayer would be answered.

In the day of salvation. This means, in the time when I am disposed to show salvation.

Have I succoured thee. This refers to the Messiah. I have sustained you, that is, in the effort to make salvation known.

God here speaks of there being an accepted time, a limited period, in which petitions in favor of the world would be acceptable to him. That time, Paul says, had come; and the idea he urges is that men should avail themselves of it and now embrace the offers of mercy.

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. The meaning of this passage is: "The Messiah has come. The time referred to by Isaiah has arrived. It is now a time when God is ready to show compassion, to hear prayer, and to have mercy on mankind. Only through the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, does he show mercy, and men should therefore now embrace the offers of pardon."

The doctrine taught here, therefore, is that through the Lord Jesus, and where he is preached, God is willing to pardon and save men. This is true wherever he is preached and as long as men live under the sound of the gospel.

The world is under a dispensation of mercy, and God is willing to show compassion. While this exists—that is, while men live—the offers of salvation are to be freely made to them.

The time will come when it will not be an acceptable time with God. The day of mercy will be closed, the period of trial will be ended, and men will be removed to a world where no mercy is shown and where compassion is unknown.

This verse, which should be read as a parenthesis, is intended to be connected with the argument the apostle is urging and which he presented in the previous chapter. The general doctrine is that men should seek reconciliation with God. To enforce that, he here says that it was now the acceptable time—the time when God was willing to be reconciled to men. The general sentiment of this passage may be expressed as follows:

1. Under the gospel, it is an acceptable time, a day of mercy, a time when God is willing to show mercy to men.

2. There may be special seasons which may be peculiarly called the acceptable or accepted time. These include:

   • When the gospel is pressed on the attention by the faithful preaching of his servants or by the urgent entreaties of friends;

   • When it is brought to our attention by any striking dispensation of Providence;

   • When the Spirit of God strives with us and brings us to deep reflection or to conviction for sin;

   • In a revival of religion, when many are pressing into the kingdom. It is at all such seasons an accepted time, a day of salvation, a day which we should improve. It is "NOW" such a season, because:

     1. The time of mercy will pass by, and God will not be willing to pardon the sinner who goes unprepared to eternity.

     2. We cannot calculate on the future. We have no assurance, no evidence that we shall live another day or hour.

     3. It is taught here that the time will come when it will not be an accepted time. Now IS the accepted time; at some future period it will NOT be. If men grieve away the Holy Spirit, if they continue to reject the gospel, if they go unprepared to eternity, no mercy can be found. God does not intend to pardon beyond the grave. He has made no provision for forgiveness there; and those who are not pardoned in this life must be unpardoned forever.

Giving no offense in anything. We are the ministers of God (see 2 Corinthians 6:1). The word translated offense means, properly, stumbling; then offense, or cause of offense, a falling into sin. The meaning here is, “giving no occasion for despising or rejecting the gospel;” and the idea of Paul is that he and his fellow apostles so labored that no one who saw or knew them should have occasion to reproach the ministry or the religion which they preached, but so that in their pure and self-denying lives, the strongest argument should be seen for embracing it (1 Corinthians 8:13; 1 Corinthians 10:32–33).

He states in the following verses how they conducted themselves so as to give no offense.

That the ministry be not blamed. The phrase, “the ministry,” refers here not merely to the ministry of Paul, that is, it does not mean merely that he would be subject to blame and reproach, but that the ministry itself which the Lord Jesus had established would be blamed or reproached by the improper conduct of anyone who was engaged in that work.

The idea is that the misconduct of one minister of the gospel would bring a reproach upon the profession itself and would prevent the usefulness and success of others, just as the misconduct of a physician exposes the profession to reproach, or the bad conduct of a lawyer reflects on the entire profession.

And it is so everywhere. The errors, follies, misconduct, or bad example of one minister of the gospel brings a reproach upon the sacred calling itself and prevents the usefulness of many others. Ministers do not stand alone. And though no one can be responsible for the errors and failings of others, yet no one can avoid suffering regarding their usefulness because of the sins of others.

Therefore, not only from a regard for their personal usefulness should every minister be circumspect in their conduct, but also from respect for the usefulness of all others who sustain the office of the ministry, and from respect for the success of religion all over the world. Paul made it one of the principles of his conduct to act so that no one should have cause to speak reproachfully of the ministry on his account.

To do this, he felt it was necessary not only to claim and assert honor for the ministry but also to lead such a life as should deserve the respect of others. If a person wishes to secure respect for their calling, it must be by living in the manner which that calling demands, and then respect and honor will follow as a matter of course. See Calvin.

But in all things. In every respect. In all that we do. In every way, both by words and deeds. How this was done, Paul proceeds to state in the following verses.

Approving ourselves as the ministers of God. The margin says, "Commending." Tyndale renders it, "In all things let us behave ourselves as the ministers of God." The idea is that Paul and his fellow-laborers endeavored to live as befitted the ministers of God, and so as to commend the ministry to the confidence and affection of people. They endeavored to live as was appropriate for those who were the ministers of God, and so that the world would be disposed to honor the ministry.

In much patience. In the patient endurance of afflictions of all kinds. Some of his trials he proceeds to enumerate. The idea is that a minister of God, in order to do good and to commend his ministry, should set an example of patience. He preaches this as a duty to others; and if, when he is poor, persecuted, oppressed, slandered, or imprisoned, he should murmur or be insubmissive, the consequence would be that he would do little good by all his preaching.

And no one can doubt that God often places his ministers in circumstances of particular trial, among other reasons, so that they may illustrate their own precepts by their example and show to their people with what attitude and spirit they can and ought to suffer. Ministers often do a great deal more good by their example in suffering than they do by their preaching.

It is easy to preach to others; it is not so easy to manifest just the right spirit in time of persecution and trial. People, too, can resist preaching, but they cannot resist the effect and power of a good example in times of suffering. Concerning the manner in which Paul says the ministry may commend itself, it can be observed that he groups several things together, or mentions several classes of influences or means. In this and the next verse, he refers to various kinds of afflictions. In the following verses, he groups several things together pertaining to a holy life and pure conduct.

In afflictions. In all our afflictions; referring to all the afflictions and trials that they were called to bear. The following words, in the manner of a climax, specify more particularly the kinds of trials they were called to endure.

In necessities. This is a stronger term than afflictions and denotes the distress that arose from want. He everywhere endured adversity. It denotes unavoidable distress and calamity.

In distresses. The word used here (stenocwria) properly denotes straitness of place, lack of room; then straits, distress, anguish. It is a stronger word than either of those he had used before. See it explained (refer to the commentary on Romans 2:9).

Paul means that in all these circumstances he had demonstrated patience and had endeavored to act as befitted a minister of God.

In stripes. In this verse, Paul proceeds to specify what he had been called to endure. In the previous verse, he had spoken of his afflictions in general terms. In this expression, he refers to the fact that he and his fellow laborers were scourged in the synagogues and cities as if they had been the worst of men. In 2 Corinthians 11:23–25, Paul says that he had been scourged five times by the Jews, and had been beaten with rods three times. (See the commentary on 2 Corinthians 11:23).

In imprisonments. As at Philippi (Acts 16:24 and following). It was not an uncommon thing for the early preachers of Christianity to be imprisoned.

In tumults. The margin reads, Tossings to and fro. The Greek word (akatastasia) properly denotes instability, and from there disorder, tumult, or commotion. Here it means that in the various tumults and commotions produced by the preaching of the gospel, Paul endeavored to act as was fitting for a minister of God. Such tumults were excited at Corinth (Acts 18:6), at Philippi (Acts 16:19–20), at Lystra and Derbe (Acts 14:19), at Ephesus (Acts 19), and in various other places.

The idea is that if ministers of religion are assailed by a lawless mob, they are to endeavor to show the spirit of Christ there, demonstrate all patience, and do good even in such a scene. Patience and the Christian spirit may often do more good in such scenes than much preaching would do elsewhere.

In labours. This refers probably to the labors of the ministry and its incessant duties, and perhaps also to the labors they performed for their own support, as it is well known that Paul, and probably also the other apostles, often labored to support themselves.

In watchings. This means in wakefulness, or lack of sleep. He probably refers to the fact that in these arduous duties, in his travels, and in anxious cares for the churches and for the advancement of religion, he was often deprived of his ordinary rest. He refers to this again in 2 Corinthians 11:27.

In fastings. This probably refers not only to the somewhat frequent fasts to which he voluntarily submitted as acts of devotion, but also to the fact that in his travels, when abroad and among strangers, he was often destitute of food.

Those who traveled as Paul did, among strangers and without property, would often be compelled to submit to such trials. Indeed, the religion we now enjoy has cost such trials, almost without number.

It first cost the painful life, toils, anxieties, and sufferings of the Redeemer. It has been propagated and perpetuated amidst the deep sorrows, sacrifices, and tears and blood of those who have contributed to perpetuate it on earth.

For such a religion—originated, extended, and preserved in this manner—we can never express suitable gratitude to God. We cannot overestimate the value of such a religion; and for its extension and perpetuity, we also should be willing to practice unwearied self-denial.