2 Corinthians 6:1-10 meaning

Paul defends his ministry further in 2 Corinthians 6:1-10.

The first two verses of Chapter 6 are a continuation of what Paul has so powerfully presented in Chapter 5. The central theme of being a “new creation in Christ” from 2 Corinthians 5:17 is advanced. It is God who has given us the “ministry” and the “word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Therefore, Paul sees us working together with Him (v. 1a). 

On the one hand, it is a great privilege and responsibility to work together with Him, meaning with God. That God would involve us in any way in the ministry of reconciliation is truly amazing grace and a very humbling responsibility. Through the gospel of Christ, God is reconciling the world to Himself, as Paul asserted just a few verses earlier (2 Corinthians 5:19). That reconciliation to Himself occurs both through the good news of the gift of eternal life as well as the good news that we can walk apart from sin and gain the experience and rewards of eternal life.

Paul appears to see believers as instruments of grace. He sees “that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). God takes the lead and initiative to lead us, and believers have the opportunity to respond to God’s direction and be instruments of His grace in demonstrating and sharing the good news of reconciliation with others.

To the extent that we are working together with Him it would seem that we are doing so as a part of the Body of Christ. Thus Christ is reconciling the world to Himself through Himself, but He is using the Body He created with the new creations (human believers) to accomplish His mission.

We have been appointed as “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador is one who speaks on behalf of someone in authority. Paul makes it clear that it is God “making an appeal through us.” So, when believers speak as they ought, it is not our message, but God’s, that we convey.

The calling and the importance of what we are to be and what we are to do brings an urgency to our life. Paul exhorts we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain (v. 1b). 

The Greek word translated vain is “kenos.” It is translated in Mark 12:3 and Luke 20:10-11 as “empty-handed,” and in 1 Corinthians 15:14 as “empty.” The Greek word translated grace is “charis” and means “favor.” We can gain context of “charis” in Luke:

“And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor [‘charis’] with God and men”
(Luke 2:52).

We can see from this verse that both men and God give favor to young Jesus. People always have a reason to give “favor” to others. In this verse, it appears people gave favor (“charis”) to Jesus because He was increasing in both “wisdom and stature.”

In context, we are speaking of God’s favor/grace upon humanity to reconcile them to Himself through Christ. As has just been asserted, when humans believe on Jesus, they are made new creations in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). That God would favor humankind by His love to give His only son is favor/grace beyond comprehension (John 3:16).

Anyone who has believed on Jesus has been made a new creation. They are indwelt by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). They have been delivered from the penalty of sin (Colossians 2:14, Romans 3:24, 28).

However, believers can continue to walk in the sin from which we have been delivered (Romans 6:16). We can choose to walk in the flesh, our old nature, rather than in the Spirit, our new nature (Galatians 5:13-16). Although we are new creations in Christ and indwelt by God’s Spirit, we can still choose to walk in the sinfulness of our flesh. When we make this choice we receive the grace of God in vain. We can expect the experience of our lives to be empty.

God has created us as a new creation, with a new nature, but when we walk in intentional sin we do not gain the benefit of this great gift. We receive the gift but do not experience the current benefit. It is therefore in vain with respect to our walk and experience.

Since on this side of glory we will continue to have our old nature, believers will always have sin, because we still have a sin nature. As the Apostle John says, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8).

John exhorts us to confess sins as they come to our attention and assures us that Jesus will cleanse us from all unrighteousness as we do (1 John 1:7, 9). Hebrews makes a similar admonition (Hebrews 10:19-22).

The receiving of God’s grace to be justified in His sight is never in vain, it is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is totally of God, through His grace, and His gift brings us salvation from the penalty of sin. But God leaves it up to us to decide how to walk in our daily lives. Salvation from the penalty of sin is not the “result of works,” it is a gift God freely gives to all who believe (Romans 3:22).

However, the purpose for which Christ makes believers a new creation in Him is so that they might walk in good works. These are works He prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10). This means God has a specific purpose for each believer, a job for them to do. When believers fail to walk in these good works by faith our hands are empty (vain) rather than full.

Nothing anyone can ever do could earn the gift of God’s grace. As Paul says in his letter to the Romans, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Being reconciled in God’s sight is a gift that is freely given. Jesus paid the price for our sins in full (Colossians 2:14).

But Jesus created each believer as a “new creature” or creation in Himself for the purpose of doing good works. As Jesus made clear when He gave the Great Commission, it is His desire to do His works through the agency of His people (Matthew 28:18-20).

When believers do not serve the purpose for which God created us as new creations in Him, we receive His grace, but we do not achieve His purpose for us. This is to receive the grace of God in vain. It is to have God’s grace without fully completing the purpose for which He made us new creations in Him. It is our privilege, but not our obligation, to return thanks by serving Him in full obedience.

To arouse the Corinthians to a proper sense of urgency as ambassadors of God to the world, which is this ministry of reconciliation, Paul quotes a prophecy from the second Servant Song of Isaiah (Isaiah 49):

for he says, 

“At the acceptable time I listened to you,
And on the day of salvation I helped you” (v. 2a). 

The pronoun he refers to the prophet Isaiah, who wrote this prophecy roughly eight-hundred years before Paul wrote the epistle of 2 Corinthians.

But the context of Isaiah’s prophecy indicates that it is the LORD who is speaking these things to His Servant, the Messiah (Jesus),

“Thus says the LORD,
‘In a favorable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You.’”
(Isaiah 49:8a)

In this portion of the Servant Song, the LORD is responding to the sense of failure His Servant felt as Israel rejected Him when He confessed to the LORD: “I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity” (Isaiah 49:4a).

The LORD reassured His Servant that it was not in vain, for “It is too small a thing…to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved ones of Israel [only]” (Isaiah 49:6a), because The LORD planned to “also make You [His Servant] a light to the nations so that My salvation may reach the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6b). In other words, it is God’s plan that Israel’s rejection of Jesus will result in salvation for the entire world (Romans 11:11).

The LORD then begins to describe what this salvation that will go to the “end of the earth” will entail further on in the Servant Song—including Isaiah 49:8, which is what Paul quotes to the Corinthians in verse 2.

The “favorable” (Isaiah 49:8a) or acceptable time originally refers to the appointed time God had to rescue the Messiah. Specifically, the acceptable time was God’s resurrection of Jesus from the dead, which accomplished and signified the hope of eternal life for the entire world (“to the ends of the earth”). That was “the day of salvation I [the LORD] have helped You [My Servant, Jesus]” (Isaiah 49:8b).

God’s resurrection of Jesus changed everything!

Because Jesus’s Father listened to His Son when Jesus prayed “Father into Your hands I commit My spirit,” (Luke 23:46), and He helped Him when raised His Servant from the dead three days later, the Gift of Eternal Life is freely offered to anyone who believes in Jesus (John 3:16). Then for any believer who is willing, the gates of God’s kingdom are flung wide open to all who will obey Him and enter (Matthew 7:21b).

This is why Paul now reminds the drowsy Corinthians that the time to live faithfully is now: It is each believer’s choice whether to obey God and fully participate in His ministry of reconciliation. The only time we can make that choice is now, in the present. The past is gone, and we have no agency to make choices in the future. We only have the present as the time when we can make the choice to walk in obedience to God’s Spirit and set aside the corruption of the flesh (James 1:21).

Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation” (v 2b).

The word salvation in the phrase now is the day of salvation translates the Greek word “soteria” and means deliverance. The context determines what is being delivered from what. In the Isaiah passage, the prophecy speaks of the Servant being delivered from spending His life in vanity and toil. The LORD redeems the Messiah’s life in “the day of salvation” (Isaiah 49:8a). Similarly, Paul desires the Corinthians not spend their lives toiling in vanity, seeking treasure that will not last rather than lasting rewards in heaven (Matthew 6:19).

In saying Behold…now, Paul is saying “Wake up and get going now!” The prophecies of Jesus have been fulfilled. He is God’s resurrected Servant and now is the time to act to follow Him in obedient faith.

The Corinthians to whom Paul is writing have believed in Jesus, but they do not seem to be taking full advantage of the opportunity to enter the kingdom or win the Prize of Eternal Life. In the previous chapter, Paul reminded them that we will all stand before the judgement seat of Christ to receive rewards, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). He is trying to get them to make present choices for that day rather than seeking comfort or acceptance from the world.

The Corinthian believers are not walking in fellowship with Christ to the extent they could be walking. Paul was begging them to be reconciled in fellowship to Jesus who has already reconciled them to God by saving them from the penalty of sin (2 Corinthians 5:20).

As believers of Jesus, the Corinthians should themselves be ambassadors of Christ to their neighbors as living examples and by sharing the good news of redemption. But first they need to be reconciled to their Savior in fellowship by following Him as faithful witnesses.

If they do not, they are in danger of losing their reward (1 Corinthians 3:11-15) and being ashamed when they stand before Christ’s judgment of their lives (2 Corinthians 5:10).

The Isaiah passage quoted earlier by Paul goes on to say:

And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people,
To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages.’”
(Isaiah 49:8b)

God rewards those who overcome sin and temptation and follow His ways (Revelation 3:21). This reward is often spoken of as an inheritance, as in this passage which speaks of the “reward of the inheritance”:

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
(Colossians 3:23-24)

The nation of Israel sought an inheritance of a physical land on this earth. New Testament believers are asked to seek an inheritance in a future city (Hebrews 11:16). This is obtained through a walk of faith, seeking God’s reward (Hebrews 11:6).

The prophecy in Isaiah continues:

And I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people,
To restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages.’”
(Isaiah 49:8b)

Instead of toiling in futility, the Messiah’s life and efforts bring about “the covenant of the people” that will restore the land and their inheritance.

By application, Paul is urging the Corinthians to choose to walk in the Spirit and be delivered from the bondage of sin and the world. He wants them to live freely in Christ’s kingdom and receive the full reward of their inheritance.

Paul asserts that the basic choice believers have each day is whether to walk in God’s Spirit, following His ways, or walk in the ways of the world and the flesh (Romans 6:16, Galatians 5:16-17). If we walk in the Spirit we gain the rewards of the Spirit: life and peace. If we walk in the flesh we get the reward or result of the flesh, which is corruption (Galatians 6:8-9).

If believers walk in the flesh we forfeit the blessings or rewards of God’s kingdom (1 Corinthians 3:15, Galatians 5:21). Jesus, the LORD’s Servant sacrificed Himself so we could live in harmony with God and restore us to a divine inheritance in Him (1 Peter 1:3-5).

For a New Testament believer, each day is a day of salvation. 

There are three tenses to salvation for a believer: past, present, and future. The past and future salvations are provided by God and do not involve our efforts. But here, Paul speaks of the present tense, which does involve our effort: now. 

In the past, each believer was saved or delivered from the penalty of sin—separation from being a part of God’s family. God gives each person who believes in Jesus the free gift of eternal life simply because they believed (John 3:14-15). This gift is received apart from any efforts we might make (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is a gift freely given.

In the future, each believer will be delivered or saved from the presence of sin when we live in a new earth where righteousness dwells (Romans 13:11; 2 Peter 3:13).

But now, in the present, believers are delivered from the power of sin and the flesh only when we make a choice to set aside our flesh and walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-17). Each day we have an opportunity to follow and know God by faith and enjoy life with Him.

We can also squander our opportunity and follow our own ways apart from Him, to our own folly. Each day is a choice—a choice for life or death; a choice to obey God or our own will; a choice for salvation from the power and adverse consequences of sin or to miss out on the reward.

Jesus commanded His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him each day:

“And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.”
(Matthew 10:38-39)

The word “worthy” in this passage carries the thought of being deserving of reward. The greatest reward believers can gain is to come to know Jesus by faith. This life will be the only time we can follow God by faith. And this day, today, the present, right now is the only time we have to make this choice. As Jesus asserted, to know Him is to gain the greatest reward of life: eternal life (John 17:3).

TODAY we should also heed Paul’s admonition. And we should repeat each day until the day when Jesus returns. We should have the same urgency that Paul has been developing. Just as Paul told the Corinthians in the last chapter, so it is with us that:

• “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” to be judged for deeds done while living on earth (2 Corinthians 5:10), and

• this “fear of the Lord” should move us to “persuade men” to walk in such a manner that they are well rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:11).

As Paul said in the previous chapter, we may be “besides ourselves” and seem to the world as a bit off-kilter (2 Corinthians 5:13). But if this is the case it should be because “the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). That love will lead us to “beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

For a non-believer, the reconciliation needed is to believe on Jesus and receive His free gift of being saved from the penalty of sin. For a believer, the reconciliation needed is to seek the rewards of life offered by Jesus and forsake the rewards of death offered by Satan. In each case, the need is urgent and the time is NOW: Behold, now is the day of salvation.

Paul’s desire is that nothing about him personally will impede the ministry he has been given by God, so he writes, giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited (v. 3). 

Paul exhorts the Corinthian believers to live out their faith and be an excellent example for people to follow. If believers only speak, but do not do, the ministry or service to Christ as apostles/representatives of Christ is discredited. The standard Paul raises is high, as he exhorts believers to be a good example (no cause for offense) in everything. That would apply to all areas of their lives.

Paul himself has been an excellent example, to the point where he exhorts the Corinthians to imitate him because he imitates Christ (1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1).

Notwithstanding his excellent example, as previously noted Paul has been charged by some in the church, or perhaps some in opposition to the church, of not being worthy of being called an apostle, or perhaps even a leader. Some examples follow:

• “For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not mere men?” (1 Corinthians 3:3)
• “when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now” (1 Corinthians 4:13)
• “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this” (1 Corinthians 9:1-3)
•  ^“For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 2:17)
• “Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you?” (2 Corinthians 3:1)

Paul endures this opposition, viewing it simply as a part of his witness for Jesus. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:12, “but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.” All this is part of being the kind of example that gives no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited.

He does not merely want believers to avoid bad examples but to be a living testimony as good examples: but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God (v. 4a). 

Onlookers should see the life of a believer and conclude “That is a genuine servant of God.” This applies to everything. It is not a Sunday-only concept. It is not a religious-activity-only concept. This applies to all activities in all areas of life. Scripture asks us to love our neighbors as well as our enemies (Matthew 5:44, 22:37-39, Romans 12:20-21).

God desires that we follow His ways in every interaction we have with every person with whom we interact. Paul has followed this path and this is what gives him the authority to minister to the Corinthians.

Paul provides examples to them of what he means by servants of God in verses four through ten. This passage illustrates how in everything, servants of God, specifically Paul, has done continuously, in much endurance (v. 4b).

As previously stated, in both letters we have that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church (1 and 2 Corinthians), we know that Paul was being accused of not being an actual apostle and even his character and integrity were under attack. Though we do not have the actual accusations or charges, we can glean some of them from Paul’s response, as highlighted above.

Paul’s answer to their accusations might be characterized as, “If I am in this for personal gain I am really dumb, because look what I have endured in order to serve God with all my heart and strength.”

A modern perspective of the list in verses four through ten consider such suffering as an evidence of failure, that God does not approve. But that is not a scriptural perspective. As Paul asserts to his successor, Timothy:

“indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”
(2 Timothy 3:12).

The idea that “If I appease God I will get what I want” is the concept behind idolatry—we pay the sacrifice to the priest so we can get what we want. It is also the concept which God disapproved of severely in the Book of Job, where God chastised Job’s friends for advocating that He could be manipulated to provide blessings (Job 21:22, 42:7).

To understand what Paul is defending, we can look through a lens he presented in 1 Corinthians:

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”
(1 Corinthians 1:18).

While his accusers might see weakness, incompetence, or perhaps evidence of God’s displeasure, Paul would see the power of God working in his life. Let us first look at his one long statement in vv 4-10 as a whole:

In much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of god; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things (vv. 4b-10).

It seems the singular, introductory phrase in much endurance is a summary statement: “I have endured an immense amount of difficulty in ministering the gospel for you and others.” This is then followed by a list of specific difficulties Paul has endured in his ministry for the gospel. It is hard to imagine enduring such immense trials and still persisting. But as Paul told us in Chapter 4, he considers these travails as “momentary” and “light afflictions” when compared to the “eternal weight of glory” he is pursuing in winning the prize of pleasing God (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

Paul lists a number of specific trials he has endured:

• seventeen descriptives that Paul lists introduced by the word in, 
• three introduced by the word by, and
• seven that are introduced by the word as. 

It seems as if Paul grouped some of these together while helping the Corinthian believers to see the greater picture of what it meant to be an apostle and follower of Jesus Christ.

The first three trials are general in nature and would seem to happen as a part of life. However, to many followers of Christ, from the Corinthians until the present, they are not something we necessarily see as a welcomed part of the Christian life. We would more likely view that these could be avoided, and reason that our work and ministry might be of greater effectiveness without them. However, that is not Paul’s perspective. His perspective is that Christ works through him In afflictions, in hardships, in distresses (v. 4). 

The Greek word “thlipsis” translated afflictions is used elsewhere to describe dangerous circumstances that might lead to someone’s death, as in Matthew 24:9, 21, 29 where “thlipsis” is translated “tribulation.” In John 16:21, “thlipsis” is translated as “anguish” and refers to the agony a woman endures in childbirth. Acts 7:10 uses “thlipsis” to describe Joseph’s “afflictions” in being sold by his brothers as a slave in Egypt.

The Greek word “anagke” translated hardships is variously translated as “compulsion,” “constraint,” “distresses,” “necessity,” “inevitable” and “need.” The idea seems to be adverse circumstantial pressure that cannot be ignored.

The Greek word “stenochoria” translated distresses is translated “difficulties” later in 2 Corinthians 12:10 and might be more of an umbrella term that encompasses any circumstance that creates difficulty.

Paul names specific afflictions, hardships and distresses he has endured. They include:

In beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults (v. 5). 

Tumults likely refers to what we might call riots. We are told of several occasions of riots, in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, Ephesus, and Jerusalem (Acts 13:50, 14:5, 19, 16:22, 18:12, 19:23, 21:27). These riots placed Paul in mortal danger for his wellbeing.

Paul refers to multiple imprisonments. Several examples follow:

• Acts 16:23 tells of Paul’s imprisonment with his ministry partner Silas during their first visit to Philippi.
• Philippians 1:13 refers to Paul’s “imprisonment in the cause of Christ” while in Rome.
• Colossians 4:10 refers to Aristarchus as “my fellow prisoner.”
• In 2 Timothy 1:8, Paul refers to himself as a “prisoner.” It was here that he was facing martyrdom, being “poured out as a drink offering” (2 Timothy 4:6).

With respect to beatings, later in this letter Paul writes, “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten by rods” (2 Corinthians 11:23-24a).

It is ironic that this was his earthly reward for seeking to be a minister of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19). It seems apparent that there are forces in the world that greatly oppose humans being reconciled to God, both in their relationship with Him—being born into His family—or in their fellowship with Him—walking in His light.

Paul’s next grouping comes from his own commitment, desire, and discipline to carry out the mission Christ has given him: In labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger (v. 5). 

He does not cite specific examples here but we have ample instances of labors noted in Acts and Paul’s other writings. For instance, Paul worked with his own hands to pay his own ministry expenses, in addition to traveling across the Roman world to spread the gospel (Acts 18:3, 20:34). We saw sleeplessness when Paul was in prison with Silas, singing hymns at night (Acts 16:25). We saw Paul experience hunger when he was shipwrecked (Acts 27:21).

We know that at all times Paul was compelled by the love of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14), that he drove himself through all difficulties to accomplish that which God had given him, which was “the ministry and the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

That ministry of reconciliation is both to bring people into the family of God as well as to align those within the family of God with God’s will for them, which is to be sanctified, set apart from the world, and live consistent with God’s (good) design for us (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

Paul then turns to the spiritual power and inner resources given by God in order to continue the mission even in the face of what he has just listed: In purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God (vv. 6-7). 

To face the trials and tribulations he has just listed, he wants the Corinthians to know that he is not depending upon his own strength or even his identity as an apostle. His dependence is on and in the Holy Spirit. Paul is not enduring all these trials on his own, but in the power of God. 

It is interesting that Paul includes in genuine love as well as in the word of truth sandwiched between his insistence that his ministry has been done through the power of God and in the Holy Spirit. Love is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). The Holy Spirit is also referred to as “the Spirit of truth.” The natural outworking of walking in the power of God through the Holy Spirit is to yield a life of both truth and love (John 1:14).

Paul often emphasizes love, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, in his letters. For example:

• In 1 Corinthians 13:3, Paul asserts that the only profitable activities in life are those done in love,
• In Colossians 3:12-16, Paul instructs believers to have “the word of Christ richly dwell” within them, and in doing so “put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity,” and
• In Galatians 5:16-25, Paul exhorts believers to walk in the Spirit and gives them specific ways to discern whether they are doing so, by contrasting fruits of the flesh with fruits of the Spirit. The first fruit of the Spirit he lists is “love.”

Paul is an authority, being an apostle of God. But his letters show that his preference is not to command but rather to lead his disciples into the truth. He desires to enlighten them to make good decisions on their own. He wants them to follow his example (1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1). He wants them to follow Christ, as he follows Christ. He is not looking for them to follow him and fall under his authority (1 Corinthians 3:4).

Paul lived with the continuing conviction “that one [Jesus] died for all, therefore all [who believed] died; and He died for all, so that they might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). This verse asserts that the great benefit and opportunity each believer has is to live for Jesus. It is in this way we can gain the greatest possible experience from life.

As Paul mentions several times, he wants the Corinthian believers to see and feel his heart to know how much love he has for the Corinthians. He wants the best for them. And the best for them is to live for Christ.

He is intent on showing them that he is a true apostle of Jesus Christ, even though he may not fit the expected profile for an apostle. Notwithstanding, his ministry is to teach them how to gain the greatest possible benefit they have have in their lives. And that requires a new perspective, one that is rooted in eternity (Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 5:10).

Now Paul declares that no matter what and who he encounters along the way in his apostolic ministry, he will meet them by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report (v. 7-8). 

For Paul, righteousness is at the heart of the ministry of reconciliation. The Greek word translated of righteousness is “dikaiosyne.” This word appears in Paul’s letter to the Romans thirty-four times. It is the primary question Paul addresses in Romans: “What is righteousness (“dikaiosyne”) and how is it achieved?”

Paul answers that righteousness in the presence of God comes only by faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21-22). Then righteousness in the daily experience of a believer comes through a daily walk of faith, following God’s ways (Romans 1:16-17).

Each believer in Jesus gains righteousness in God’s sight by faith, even as Abraham gained righteousness in God’s sight through faith (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3).

In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul asserted “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Righteousness in God’s sight comes only by grace, through faith.

As we saw, when we become “a new creature in Christ” (5:17), we are declared righteous in God’s sight.

In Romans 4:9, we read of Abraham, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” In Romans 3:21, Paul writes,

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested...even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.”

Righteousness is a declaration by God to those who believe that they are righteous in His sight.

But Paul also asserts that living the experience of righteousness (“dikaiosyne”) in our everyday lives comes through walking by faith (Romans 1:16-17). In Romans 1:17, Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4, which asserts that the person who lives righteously is the one who lives by faith that God’s ways are better than our own ways. Habakkuk 2:4 contrasts faith in God with faith in ourselves (pride).

This means that to accomplish living the experience of righteousness, we must set aside self (pride) and walk in faith that God’s ways are for our best. That pits us against the world and the flesh. All that is in the world serves the lust of the flesh (1 John 2:16). This means that there is a spiritual battle we must wage against the world and its ways in order to walk in the ways of righteousness (“dikaiosyne”).

When Paul concludes his treatise in Romans on what righteousness is experientially, he concludes that righteousness is harmony of all parts of the Body of Christ working together under the head, which is Christ (Romans 12:3-6). He asserted the same thing in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 12:12-13).

Paul also concluded that righteousness is gained and experienced in life, and is worked out in our daily lives, by walking in faith (Romans 1:16-17). It is through believing God and following His ways that believers please Him (Hebrews 11:6). If we truly believe God’s word, it will lead us to adopt a perspective that the best thing for us is to live as a living sacrifice to God (Romans 12:1-2). We come to this conclusion when our minds are transformed by God’s word and His Spirit.

To gain, keep, and live this perspective requires a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:12). Paul says he wages this battle by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left (v 7). 

The right hand is often used in scripture as a metaphor for a person’s fighting strength (Exodus 15:6, Psalm 17:7). The term “right or left” often refers to the totality of space as in “there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left” (Numbers 22:26). The idea here might be both that fighting this spiritual battle against the world requires all our faculties at all times in all places.

Not only are we to fight with our right hand, as would be expected. We also need to be equipped with weapons of righteousness for our left hand as well. To defeat the spiritual forces of unrighteousness requires all our faculties. In Ephesians 6:13-19, Paul likens our daily spiritual battle to a Roman centurion needing to put on his armor daily in order to prepare for battle.

These weapons of righteousness we are to put on each day come about in the word of truth and in the power of God. In Ephesians 6:17, Paul calls the “word of God” the “sword of the Spirit.” This would be the weapon to hold in our right hand. It is the word of God that contains the truth. In our left we might hold the “shield of faith” (Ephesians 16). It is by faith that God’s ways are for our best that we gain a transformed mind and escape the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).

After speaking of wielding the word of truth and other weapons of righteousness, Paul begins to describe a broad array of circumstances. It does not matter what sort of environment we might find ourselves in, in each instance we are to fight the spiritual battle of walking by faith in God’s ways:

by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things (vv 8-10).

If we are experiencing circumstances of glory we still need to take that circumstance captive by the word of God through faith. When we experience glory in this world we are tempted to rely on those plentiful circumstances. We are tempted to bend to the world’s ways in order to maintain the glory we have experienced.

But the world’s broad way always leads to destruction. So we should not trust in circumstances. As James says, circumstances do not tempt us; temptation comes from our own “lust”—our flesh that leads us to sin (James 1:13-14). No matter our circumstance, we need to keep our eye on Jesus and walk in the truth of His word.

When we experience dishonor from the world we might be prone to despair. We might be tempted to compromise in order to change dishonor into honor. But Paul says, “No.” No matter the circumstance, we are to continue to fight the spiritual battle to live in righteousness, walking by faith in God that His ways are for our best.

Paul continues contrasting a span of possible circumstances that one can encounter:

• evil report and good report—
• no matter whether we are being spoken of well or poorly, our aim should be to continue to walk in righteousness.

When Paul was establishing the church in Corinth and received help from Silas and Timothy, he devoted himself to God’s word (Acts 18:5). It is through being transformed by the renewing of our minds that we can walk in God’s ways (Romans 12:1-2).

Whether there was an evil report or good report, Paul was not going to be deterred from doing and being what he knew God wanted. That is why he could say in 2 Corinthians 5:13, “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.” If Paul had anything that commended him, it was that it was the “righteousness of God in [Jesus]” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Paul wraps up his list where he used the introduction word as seven times. These are contrasting statements and the NASB has interjected the word regarded to refer to antagonists against Paul, how they regarded Paul:

• regarded as deceivers and yet true—
• Paul seems to be basically saying“When we are being slandered by opponents we will remain committed to walk in the truth.”
• Paul’s detractors claimed he taught falsely (Romans 3:8). But Paul spoke what was true. Paul is being open and transparent to the Corinthians because he knows that his calling to the ministry of reconciliation is from God.
  
  
• as unknown yet well-known (v 9)—
• This could mean that Paul’s enemies are making false claims against him that are false (unknown) but Paul has openly disclosed himself to the Corinthians, so to them he should be well-known.
• Paul, when he was known as Saul, was well-known as a Jewish leader before he met Christ. Ananias testified in Acts 9:13, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man.” Ananias had heard that Saul was a persecutor of the church.
• Now after meeting Jesus and believing in Him, Paul is known by God and called by God. He is now well-known by his faithful service for the gospel.
  
  
• as dying yet behold, we live; 
• This could refer to Paul’s travails and near-death experiences he has endured (2 Corinthians 11:23-29).
• It could also refer to 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, where Paul acknowledges that his outer man is perishing, yet his inner man lives and will live even more when he dies.
• As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:10, “always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”
• Even though he had been in riots, beatings, and imprisonments, he uses the strong words, yet behold, we live. 
  
  
• as punished yet not put to death, 
• This might refer to the fact that Paul has suffered greatly yet still lives, endures, and continues to strive for the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:23-29).
• With the phrase as punished yet not put to death, Paul might have been referring to the discipline of God (Revelation 3:19; 2 Corinthians 12:7) or the earthly punishments that had been unjustly administered. In either case, he wanted the Corinthians to know the reality that he had not been put to death, either by God or man.
  
  
• as sorrowful yet always rejoicing (v 10), 
• Paul has expressed that he avoided a physical visit to Corinth to avoid inevitable sorrow (2 Corinthians 2:3).
• Paul could be sorrowful over those who had rejected him and his ministry or those who sided against him and made charges about his character or his fitness to be an apostle, but there was even greater reason to rejoice.
• Through the suffering he has endured, Paul takes his comfort in Christ, from whom he gains joy regardless of circumstances (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
  
  
• as poor yet making many rich, 
• Paul had few material possessions, working to pay his own way in the ministry. But his ministry brought lasting treasures to those to whom he ministered, for true treasure is that which can be laid up in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20; Revelation 3:18-20-21).
• In this, Paul is following the example of Jesus (2 Corinthians 8:9).
• As the world looked at him, Paul most certainly would have looked poor. But he did not look at earthly possessions. He saw himself as an heir of Christ, expecting to receive the reward of Christ because he had suffered with Christ (Romans 8:17).
• Paul was yet making many rich by bringing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the riches of God’s grace, as he prayed for the Ephesians, “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16).

• as having nothing yet possessing all things
• Paul has few material possessions in this world, but in Christ he has an “eternal weight of glory” awaiting as a reward; he only needs to endure in faithfulness in order to receive his full inheritance (2 Corinthians 4:17, Colossians 3:23).
• He wrote to the Romans, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)
• He says in his letter to the Philippians that he considers the “loss of all things” that he has endured as though he had simply lost some “rubbish” because his difficulties have resulted in the immense reward of “knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things” (Philippians 3:8-10)
• To the world, Paul possessed very little, if anything, in terms of material possessions. Yet, he lived as a citizen of the kingdom of God (Ephesians 3:20) and he practiced the words of Jesus, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The all things Paul expected to inherit/possess are to be a co-inheritor with Jesus, who has inherited all things (Romans 8:17, Colossians 3:23, Hebrews 2:9-10, Revelation 3:23)

Paul had his eyes on the kingdom of God and there was always a reason to rejoice. In verse 4, Paul said commending ourselves as servants of God, then lists the things his detractors claimed against him, things he is answering in this list of commending. By his enemies he is regarded as a deceiver, unknown, dying, punished, sorrowful, poor, having nothing (v. 8). 

However, because of much endurance, Paul is accomplishing the opposite of what his detractors claim. In Christ, he is actually true, well-known, rich, and possessing all things. He is doing all these things through Christ, who strengthens him (Philippians 4:13).