Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Corinthians 6:2

"(for he saith, At an acceptable time I hearkened unto thee, And in a day of salvation did I succor thee: behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation):" — 2 Corinthians 6:2 (ASV)

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.