2 Corinthians 6:2 Kommentar

In this chapter the apostle gives an account of his general errand to all to whom he preached; with the several arguments and methods he used (Co2 6:1-10). Then he addresses himself particularly to the Corinthians, giving them good cautions with great affection and strong arguments (Co2 6:11-18).

We then, as workers together with him,.... The ministers of the Gospel are workers or labourers; their ministry is a work, and a very laborious one, which none have strength equal to, and are sufficient for; of themselves: it is a work that requires faithfulness and diligence, is honourable; and those who perform it aright deserve respect. These do not work alone: according to our version, they are "workers together with him"; meaning either God or Christ, not as co-ordinate with him, but as subordinate to him: he is the chief shepherd, they under ones; he is the chief master builder, they under workers; but inasmuch as he is with them, and they with him, he is over them, and stands by them, great honour is done them; they have encouragement to work; and hence it is that their work is successful. Though the phrase, "with him", is not in the original text, where only one word, is used, and may be rendered "fellow workers", or "fellow labourers", meaning with one another: and since therefore reconciliation was made by Christ, and the ministry of it was committed to them, and they were appointed ambassadors for him, and were in his stead, therefore, say they, we beseech you also; you ministers also; as we have entreated the members of the church, to be reconciled to the order of the Gospel, and the laws of Christ in his house, so as fellow labourers with you, and jointly concerned in the same embassy of peace, we beseech you the ministers of the word in this church, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain: by "the grace of God", is not meant the grace of God in regeneration, and effectual calling, which can never be received in vain; for the grace of God never fails of producing a thorough work of conversion; nor is it ever lost, but is strictly connected with eternal, glory: but by it is meant either the doctrine of grace, the Gospel of Christ, so called, because it is a declaration of the love and grace of God to sinners, ascribes salvation in part, and in whole, to the free grace of God, and is a means of implanting and increasing grace in the hearts of men. Now this may be received in vain by ministers and people, when it is but notionally received, or received in word only: when it is abused and perverted to vile purposes, and when men drop, deny it, and fall off from it; or else by the grace of God may be designed gifts of grace, qualifying for ministerial service; and the sense of the exhortation be, that they be careful that the gifts bestowed on them might not be neglected by them, but be used and improved to the advantage of the church, and the glory of Christ; by giving up themselves to study, meditation, and prayer, by labouring constantly in the word and doctrine, and by having a strict regard to their lives and conversations, "that the ministry be not blamed"; which exhortation he pursues in, and by his own example and others, in some following verses, the next being included in a "parenthesis".

For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted,.... These words are a citation from Isa 49:8 and are spoken by the Father to Christ, declaring he had heard him, as he always did. He heard him when he put up that prayer to him, recorded Joh 17:1 for the glorification of himself, by strengthening him as man in his work, by raising him from the dead, setting him at his own right hand, and giving him the glory he had with him before the world was; for the good of his people, the preservation of those that were called, the conversion of them that are called, and the glorification of all the Father had given him: he heard him in the garden, and answered him; the will of God was done according to his desire, and his will was conformed to the will of his Father, and he was delivered from the fear of death; his ends in his prayer there were answered, which were to show the greatness of his sufferings, the impossibility of man's salvation in any other way, and that there could be no alteration made in the methods of obtaining it. He heard him on the cross with respect to the deliverance of him from man, with regard to his being forsaken by God, and for the forgiveness of his enemies. Now this period of time in which he was heard on account of these several things, is called a time accepted; or, as in the Hebrew text, , "a time of good will, or acceptance"; a season in which God expressed good will to the sons of men, by sending his own Son to work out salvation for them; this was good will to men, and not to angels, to such as were ungodly, enemies, sinners, and the worst of sinners: it was a time very grateful to him; it was "the accepted year of the Lord"; the sufferings, sacrifice, satisfaction, and righteousness of his Son were well pleasing to him; because his purposes, promises, and covenant transactions had their accomplishment, his perfections were glorified, and his people saved. And it was a time of acceptance, or an acceptable time to men, since it was the day of their salvation, and therefore must be exceedingly agreeable to all such who see their need of it, know the worth of it, and are sensible that there is no other way of salvation than by him. And in the day of salvation have I succoured thee. These words are still spoken to Christ, who whilst he was in human nature, working out the salvation of his people, by his obedience, sufferings, and death, was succoured, or helped by his Father. This help was promised to him as man, and he expected it, and exercised faith on God for it, and which was actually and punctually given him; and which is no instance of weakness in Christ, who is the mighty God, and was mighty to save; but an indication of the Father's regard to the human nature of Christ, and of his concern for the salvation of men; and also shows what power and strength were necessary to accomplish it. Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. These are the words of the apostle, applying the former to the present Gospel dispensation; which he introduces with prefixing a "behold" to each sentence, in order to raise both attention to, and admiration at what is delivered: now is the accepted time; not that the Gospel dispensation is a milder dispensation of things, in which God will accept of an imperfect sincere obedience to his law, in the room of a perfect one; or in which Christ is now offered to sinners, and it is left to them whether they will accept of him or not: but it is so called, because God and Christ now testify their good will to the sons of men, and are ready to accept of, and embrace poor sensible sinners coming to them; and because the Gospel publishes salvation by Christ, which, as it is worthy of their acceptation, cannot but be acceptable to them: now is the day of salvation: now is salvation preached, as being done, already obtained by Christ for sinners, the chief of sinners; it is now brought home to their souls by the ministration of the Gospel under the influence of the Spirit of God; now sinners are convinced of their need of it, and that it cannot be had elsewhere; now they are made to submit to Christ, to be saved by him, and him alone, are encouraged to believe in him, and are by him actually possessed of it. "Now" is, and not yesterday was, the day of salvation; and "now", and that for ever, that is, as long as the Gospel dispensation continues; for it will be always now till all the elect of God are gathered in. This day of grace and salvation will never be over till that time comes; it is still "now is the day of salvation": though men may have long withstood the ministration of the Gospel, and notwithstanding their manifold sins and transgressions. There is no withstanding the "now" of grace when it comes with the power of the Holy Ghost.

“Now is the acceptable time,” says the apostle, “now is the day of salvation.” This is the time for repentance; the next life, for reward. Now is the time to endure; then will be the day of consolation. Now God is the helper of such as turn aside from the evil way; then he will be the dread and unerring inquisitor of the thoughts and words and deeds of humankind. Now we enjoy his longanimity; then we shall know his just judgment, when we have risen, some to never-ending punishment, others to life everlasting, and everyone shall receive according to his works.

"The acceptable time." What is this? That of the Gift, that of the Grace, when it is appointed not that an account should be required of our sins nor penalty exacted; but besides being delivered, that we should also enjoy ten thousand goods, righteousness, sanctification, and all the rest. For how much toil would it have behoved us to undergo in order to obtain this "time!" But, behold, without our toiling at all it hath come, bringing remission of all that was before. Wherefore also He calls it "acceptable," because He both accepted those that had transgressed in ten thousand things, and not acceded merely, but advanced them to the highest honor; just as when a monarch arrives, it is a time not for judgment, but for grace and pardon. Wherefore also He calleth it acceptable.

Whilst then we are yet in the lists, whilst we are at work in the vineyard, whilst the eleventh hour is left [us], let us draw nigh and show forth life; for it is also easy. For he that striveth for the mastery at such a time, when so great a gift hath been shed forth, when so great grace, will early obtain the prizes. For in the case of monarchs here below also, at the time of their festivals, and when they appear in the dress of Consuls, he who bringeth a small offering receiveth large gifts; but on the days in which they sit in judgment, much strictness, much sifting is requisite. Let us too therefore strive for the mastery in the time of this gift. It is a day of grace, of grace divine; wherefore with ease even we shall obtain the crown.

Paul is teaching that God’s grace in Christ was predestined. God decreed that his mercy would be poured out in this way, that help would be lavished on those who called for it in the name of Christ.

Paul backs his exhortation up with this prophetic testimony.

The holy apostle presents testimony from the prophets when he says: “At an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.” And this follows: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Hence I also testify to you that these are the days of redemption, that this is the time, as it were, of heavenly medicine, when we shall be able to heal every stain of our vices and all the wounds of our sins. We shall do so if we faithfully implore the physician of our souls and do not, as people scarcely worthy of the undertaking, despise his precepts. For a person wearied of his illness has found healing when he very carefully observes his doctor’s orders; but if he does one thing when another is ordered, then the transgressor and not the physician is guilty if the sickness is aggravated.

For the blessed Paul also knew the distance between the present world and the world to come. He knew that only in the present world could the blessing of salvation be acquired but that only in the world to come could a just reward be given to individuals according to the quality of their works, good or wicked. So, when he had repeated the prophetic testimony which God speaks: “In an acceptable time, I heard you, and on the day of salvation, I helped you,” he immediately followed it up by adding, “Behold now is a very acceptable time, now is the day of salvation.” But concerning the future he says, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.” Therefore, eternal life will be given in the future only to the one to whom forgiveness of sins has been given in this world. Only he will receive the forgiveness of sins here who renounces his sins and hastens to the highest and true God with true conversion of heart. For the future will not be a time of forgiveness but of retribution. There mercy will not justify the sinner, but justice will distinguish the just and the sinner.

There they will be tortured endlessly, not only with the hellish punishment of soul together with body but also by the very darkness of the will set in evil. Here for such people there will be the evil will itself for a heaping up of punishment, because of which there remains for them torment without end. They now scorn the opportunity offered by the acceptable time and on the day of salvation; they do not seek to be helped by God. God has conveyed this time to us in the words of the prophet, saying, “In an acceptable time, I heard you and on the day of salvation, I helped you.” When the blessed apostle inserted this testimony in his letter, he immediately added, “Behold, now is the very acceptable time; behold now is the day of salvation.”

If we go on crying out and do not receive any answer, this is for our advantage: instead of losing heart and growing weary, we should go on brazenly asking God, for it is certain that “at an acceptable time” and at the appropriate hour he will answer us and deliver us.

What is this favorable time? The time of grace, in which there is forgiveness of sins and the imparting of justification. The favorable time is that in which God accepts us, hears us, and saves us. For in the time of judgment He will neither hear, nor help, nor save. Therefore, we must strive in this time of grace, because we will easily receive rewards.

But lest anyone doubt that he has received this grace from God, the Apostle proves that they have already received or are prepared to receive it, saying: For he says, "At the acceptable time I have listened to you. In regard to this he does two things. First, he quotes the Prophet; secondly, he adapts the quotation to his thesis (v. 2b). He says therefore: I say that you should be prepared to receive this grace fruitfully, which has been conferred on you or prepared for you, for the Lord says as much in Is. (44:8): "In a time of favor I have answered you." In regard to this it should be noted that the Lord is said to make grace for us either by hearing us in our petitions or by helping us in our actions. But he hears that we might receive what we ask: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it will be given him" (Jas. 1:5); "If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence" (Ps. 94:17). This grace is of two kinds: prevenient and cooperating, i.e., subsequent, which it is necessary for us to obtain. First of all, prevenient grace, which we ought to desire in order to be accepted by God: "Therefore let every one who is godly offer prayer to you" (Ps. 32:6). As to this he says, At an acceptable time, i.e., for accepting and being put in the state of grace, for in that acceptable time that is done which is done gratuitously: "So also David pronounces a blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works" (Rom. 4:6). I have listened to you, i.e., accepted you. Or at an acceptable time, i.e., in the time of grace; and in this way prevenient grace is the name given to the grace by which we are freed from sin, and subsequent grace that by which we the virtues and perseverance in good are conferred on us. Secondly, we need cooperating grace, such as David requested in Ps. 23 (v. 6): "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." As to this he says, and helped you on the day of salvation, for the time before Christ was not day but night: "The night is far gone, the day is at hand" (Rom 13:12). But the time of Christ is called the day, and not only the day, but the day of salvation. For before there was not salvation, because no one reached the end of salvation, namely, the vision of God. But now, when salvation has been born in the world, men attain to salvation: "And you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21); "Work out your salvation" (Phil. 2:12). And this is done by the help of cooperating grace, by which we arrive at eternal life through our works: "For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). Then he adapts this text to his purpose, saying, Behold, now is the acceptable time. As if to say: the things which the Lord says by the prophet about the time of grace are now being fulfilled, because behold, now is the acceptable time, i.e., for being adorned with grace, through which we are heard by God, because the fulness of time has already come, namely, of the Incarnation of Christ (Gal. 4:4); and this as to the first part of the quotation: "At an acceptable time, O God" (Ps. 69:13). Behold, now is the day of salvation, in which, helped by cooperating grace, we can work for the attainment of eternal salvation: "We must work the works of him who sent me" (Jn. 9:4); "As we have the opportunity, let us do good to all men" (Gal. 6:10).

We should not receive the grace of God in vain, having such promises of support from him, Co2 6:1, Co2 6:2. We should act so as to bring no disgrace on the Gospel, Co2 6:3. How the apostles behaved themselves, preached, suffered, and rejoiced, Co2 6:4-10. St. Paul's affectionate concern for the Corinthians, Co2 6:11-13. He counsels them not to be yoked with unbelievers, and advances several arguments why they should avoid them, Co2 6:14-16. Exhorts them to avoid evil companions and evil practices, on the promise that God will be their Father and that they shall be his sons and his daughters, Co2 6:17, Co2 6:18,

For he saith - That is, God hath said it, by the prophet Isaiah, Isa 49:8; which place the apostle quotes verbatim et literatim from the Septuagint. And from this we may at once see what is the accepted time, and what the day of salvation. The advent of the Messiah was the עת רצון eth ratson, the time of God's pleasure or benevolence, of which all the faithful were in expectation; and the day of salvation, יום שועה yom yeshuah, was the time in which this salvation should be manifested and applied. The apostle therefore informs them that this is the time predicted by the prophet; and the ministry of reconciliation being exercised in full force is a proof that the prophecy is fulfilled; and therefore the apostle confidently asserts, Behold, Now is this accepted time, Now the Messiah reigns, Now is the Gospel dispensation, and therefore Now is the day of salvation; that is, the very time in which the power of God is present to heal, and in which every sinner believing on the Lord Jesus may be saved. I rather think that this second verse should be read immediately after the last verse of the preceding chapter; as where it now stands it greatly disturbs the connection between the first and the third verses. I will set down the whole in the order in which I think they should stand. Co2 5:20 : Now then we are ambassadors for Christ; as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, to be reconciled to God. For he hath made him a sin-offering for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him: 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. Immediately after this, the sixth chapter will very properly commence, and we shall see that the connection will be then undisturbed: - We then, as fellow workers, beseech you also, that ye receive not this grace of God in vain, giving no offense in any thing, that this ministry be not blamed. This change of the place of the second verse, which every one allows must, if it stand here, be read in a parenthesis, preserves the whole connection of the apostle's discourse, and certainly sets his argument before us in a stronger light. Let us review the whole: 1. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, Co2 5:18. 2. He appointed the apostles to proclaim to mankind the doctrine of reconciliation, Co2 5:19. 3. The apostles, in consequence, proclaim this doctrine; and show that Christ was a sacrifice for sin, and that through him we may be perfectly saved, Co2 5:20, Co2 5:21. 4. They show also that all this was agreeable to the declaration of God by the prophet Isaiah, Isa 49:8, where he predicts the days of the Messiah, and the grace then to be communicated, Co2 6:2. 5. The apostle then, speaking in the person of all his fellow laborers, who had this ministry of reconciliation intrusted to them, exhorts them not to receive such a benefit of God in vain, Co2 6:1. 6. He exhorts those who had embraced the Gospel not to put a stumbling block in the way of others, by acting irreligiously, lest this ministry of reconciliation should be reproached on their account, Co2 6:3. 7. He shows what conscientious and scrupulous care he and his fellow apostles took to preach and walk so that this ministry might have its full effect, Co2 6:4, etc. This view of the subject, if I mistake not, shows a beautiful consistency throughout the whole.

HIS APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IS APPROVED BY FAITHFULNESS IN EXHORTATION, IN SUFFERINGS, IN EXHIBITION OF THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST: HIS LARGENESS OF HEART TO THEM CALLS FOR ENLARGEMENT OF THEIR HEART TO HIM. EXHORTATIONS TO SEPARATION FROM POLLUTION. (2Co. 6:1-18) workers together--with God (Act 15:4; Co1 3:9). Not only as "ambassadors." beseech--entreat (Co2 5:20). He is describing his ministry, not exhorting directly. you also--rather, "WE ALSO (as well as God, Co2 5:20) beseech" or "entreat you": Co2 6:14-15, on to Co2 7:1, is part of this entreaty or exhortation. in vain--by making the grace of God a ground for continuance in sin (Co2 6:3). By a life of sin, showing that the word of reconciliation has been in vain, so far as you are concerned (Heb 12:15; Jde 1:4). "The grace of God" here, is "the reconciliation" provided by God's love (Co2 5:18-19; compare Gal 2:2).

For--God's own promise is the ground of our exhortation. he saith--God the Father saith to God the Son, and so to all believers who are regarded as one with Him. heard thee--In the eternal purposes of my love I have hearkened to thy prayer for the salvation of thy people (compare Joh 17:9, Joh 17:15, Joh 17:20, Joh 17:24). accepted . . . accepted--The Greek of the latter is more emphatic, "well-accepted." What was "an accepted time" in the prophecy (Isa 49:8, Hebrew, "in the season of grace") becomes "the well-accepted time" in the fulfilment (compare Psa 69:13). As it is God's time of receiving sinners, receive ye His grace: accept (Co2 6:1) the word of reconciliation in His accepted time. in the day of salvation--"in a day of salvation" (Luk 4:18-19, Luk 4:21; Luk 19:42; Heb 3:7).