Verses 1-2 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. 2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
The Apostle Paul is begging (beseech) the Corinthians to not receive the grace offered by God and have it result in nothing. They can boast of their faith in Jesus Christ, but if there are no fruits of this faith then they are wasting the the precious gift of grace freely given to them by God. They are spiritually destitute and their faith is without effect and of no purpose. The time for submitting to God is when the Gospel is presented and understood, and not at a later, more convenient time. No one is guaranteed physical life tomorrow, therefore “now is the day of salvation”.
Verses 3-5 Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: 4 But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, 5 In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;
Application: Professing Christians give Christianity a bad name. Sad, but true. When people claiming to love the LORD and claiming to be born again believers lie, cheat, criticize, gossip, defraud, divorce, sue, steal and otherwise behave in a woldly manner, the Church is blamed by unbelievers. Believers have to be perfect as He, Jesus Christ, is perfect. Believers have to put up with trials and tribulations that come as a result of following Jesus, whether from unsaved people or from devils, and expect the LORD to give them victory over all situations.
Verses 6 -7 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, 7 By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
Application: The only way to overcome trials and tribulations and to maintain a Christian witness to those who are unbelievers is to take on the character of Jesus Christ. Jesus was/is pure or righteous, longsuffering to all of mankind, kind, loving, and the giver of His Spirit, the Holy Ghost. Jesus was/is the Word of truth, and all powerful so He will help His servants remain blameless and righteous as they travel through time in this wicked and perverse world.
Verses 8-9 By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; 9 As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;
Application: Christian believers must retain their honor and adhere to what is good and right regardless of how the world sees them or how much people speak evil of them. Christian believers will always be falsely accused and criticized because the world and the devils hate them, plain and simple.
The Apostle Paul was letting the Corinthian church know that their receiving the good news of the Gospel came at a price: the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ and the persecutions and sufferings of the apostles. Therefore they should not waste this opportunity and privilege to escape judgement and condemnation with eternal life in Hell. The apostles were continually the recipients of opposites in that some people would speak well of them and others would speak evil of them, some called the apostles false deceivers and others believed they were true and the real deal, some knew who they were and others had never heard of them, some tried to kill them and others tried to save their lives. It was one end of the scale or the other with nothing neutral or in-between for the entire life and ministry of the Apostle Paul and of the other apostles/disciples of the LORD Jesus Christ.
Verse 10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
The Apostle Paul had no worldly possessions as he was an evangelist and traveled from one place to another so there was no place for possessions in his life, and most of the apostles who left the city of Jerusalem to minister were in the same situation. Yet they had the LORD Jesus Christ in their lives and that was what made them rich, rich in spiritual blessings and in the satisfaction of ministering to and for the LORD with the hope and promise of eternal life in Heaven. Physical possessions were not important compared to what awaited them in Heaven.
Verses 11-13 O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. 12 Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. 13 Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.
The apostles loved the Corinthian believers and they were honest and straight forward with them in all their actions and communications. Here the Apostle Paul is asking for them to reciprocate in a loving manner and to welcome and embrace the apostles in Christian love.
Verse 14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
The Apostle Paul admonishes them to not join in any way with unbelievers as they, as Christian believers, have nothing in common with unbelievers just as light and darkness are two different things that cannot come together and have harmony.
Application: This yoking together with unbelievers includes marriage, business relationships, friendships, educational opportunities and so forth. The converted Christian believer lives in a world that is against the things of Jesus Christ and has to interact with it and with the unsaved people that come into his/her life, but forming bonds with the unsaved is forbidden and can only lead to spiritual trouble.
Verse 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
Belial is a name of Satan and it means “worthless or wicked”. Just as Jesus Christ and Satan are enemies and complete opposites in every way, engaging with unrighteous people when a Christian amounts to the same situation in that there is nothing in common and the unbeliever will negatively influence the believer in time.
Verse 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; 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.
The Apostle Paul reminds the Corinthians that because they are now believers and have the Holy Ghost/Spirit of Jesus Christ dwelling in them, they are now part of the spiritual Temple of God. Therefore, they should not be involved with those things that are not of God such as idolatry.
Application: Do people have idols today that are so important to them that they cannot put them aside or disassociate themselves from them? Absolutely. Food, entertainment, technology, sports, music, and even the evening news broadcast can become all consuming to people. Idols do not have to be carved, stone statues. They are anything that takes time and treasure from the worshiper and which controls the thinking of the worshipper.
The worst idol in the Christian community that has and is causing tremendous harm is the idol of Scofieldism. The end-time doctrine of the Jewish attorney and criminal, Cyrus Scofield, developed at the turn of the 20th century and promoted by Zionist interests has become an idol to most believers in most churches in America. It is not found in other countries, but it thrives in the U.S. and is found in Canada as well. Just try taking this false belief away and see Christians become agitated, angry, and rude at the person telling them truth. Most will not even look at the historical and Biblical evidence that proves this doctrine to be false. And because of this idol which promotes the belief that the Jews of today are God’s chosen people and that they have to be supported by the Christian community even when they are wrong, evil, and are breaking the Law of God, evangelical Christian believers are blindly supporting the Zionist/Communist state of Israel as that government annihilates an entire ethnic group of unarmed people who’s peaceful history goes back over 2000 years. The problem with having idols is that God will judge and will bring punishment upon those who adhere to their idols. It does not take a theological degree or any higher education to see that judgement has come and continues to come upon the people of America in the form of catastrophic weather events and financial difficulties. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 Since humility and surrendering the will to the LORD in these last days is not the usual response of the masses today, it can be expected that God’s judgement and anger will continue to be poured out on those nations who are rejecting Him.
Application: Under the Old Covenant, people were required to repent of their sins, bring an offering to the Levitical priests, and pay for their sins in this manner. They were at the mercy of the teachings of the priesthood, scribes and religious leaders. If they could not read the scrolls for themselves, they could be deceived by the religious leaders who were the keepers of the scrolls containing the writings of the prophets. That system was done away with by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood which was done to atone for mankind’s sins and which ushered in a New Covenant and the apostolic Church. Under the New Covenant, priests were/are no longer needed as the presence of the Holy Ghost/Spirit in each converted Christian believer provides spiritual teaching and guidance and assists the believer in understanding Scripture so that each believer can grow in faith and follow after the LORD. God does indeed dwell in His people and walk with them so that He is their God and they are His children.
Verses 17-18 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2 Corinthians 6)
The Apostle Paul is repeating a commandment from the LORD. Christians must become holy or separate from that which is not holy and is not of God. Only then can they be like Jesus Christ and worthy of the title of “Christian” which means “like Christ”.
Application: God is a holy God. In order to be at one with Him, Christian believers must separate themselves from the filth of this world and become holy also. The word “holy” means “set apart or separate”. This does not mean that Christians isolate themselves from unbelievers as Christians have to work and interact daily with unbelievers and should be witnessing the love of Christ Jesus to them. It means that Christians must evaluate their friendships, family relationships, work relationships, and activities and remove themselves as much as is possible from anything or anyone who is not following Jesus Christ and who is not a part of His spiritual Kingdom. Then there will be a holy friendship and relationship with the Heavenly Father and a new family relationship as sons and daughters of God Almighty. Jesus said, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:37 Jesus also said, “And every one that hath forsaken houses or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” Matthew 19:29 Being in relationships with unbelievers is to be unequally yoked and will only lead to providing a door for devils to come into the believer’s life and the end result can be a back sliding from the Faith and a loss of the promise of eternal life in Heaven. Engaging in activities that God considers to be sinful will also hamper the believer’s spiritual walk and can result in a turning away from the Faith and from the LORD Jesus Christ.