1 As God’s partners,[a] we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. 2 For God says,
“At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.”[b]
Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
Paul’s Hardships
3 We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. 4 In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5 We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us,[c] and by our sincere love. 7 We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. 9 We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. 10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.
11 Oh, dear Corinthian friends! We have spoken honestly with you, and our hearts are open to you. 12 There is no lack of love on our part, but you have withheld your love from us. 13 I am asking you to respond as if you were my own children. Open your hearts to us!
The Temple of the Living God
14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? 15 What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil[d]? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? 16 And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:
“I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.[e] 17 Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.[f] 18 And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.[g]”
Footnotes:
a. 2 Corinthians 6:1 Or As we work together.
b. 2 Corinthians 6:2 Isa 49:8 (Greek version).
c. 2 Corinthians 6:6 Or by our holiness of spirit.
d. 2 Corinthians 6:15 Greek Beliar; various other manuscripts render this proper name of the devil as Belian, Beliab, or Belial.
e. 2 Corinthians 6:16 Lev 26:12; Ezek 37:27.
f. 2 Corinthians 6:17 Isa 52:11; Ezek 20:34 (Greek version).
g. 2 Corinthians 6:18 2 Sam 7:14.
5 comments:
cas-
I'm not sure if I can heave for you. :)
“At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.”[b]
Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.
I wish I could read or hear those words every morning, cause they are resoundingly true for me. God has always helped me at just the right time, and the day to get things done for Him is today.
dsc-I struggle with this concept also, spent an hour discussing this at a men's ministry once, and to be honest still haven't come to a conclusion. I think a different translation uses the word "yoke" as in "don't yoke up with unbelievers". Lots of different ways to go on this one, but I think I can say with certainty that we need to make sure we don't get caught up having the same goals as unbelievers, i.e. personal gain, booming business, worldly pleasures. Make sure our goals are to be closer to God and to further Christ's reach.
Father, thank you for this day and these men. Let me make you proud today and take advantage of the blessings you've laid on my table, put them to good use. Watch over cas' coworker today, and let him know that there are people praying for him. Help continue to unravel your mystery through our constant study of your word, and let us be your beacons today Father.
In Jesus' name
Amen
crb
Seriously heavy for me.
8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us.
and
v10...We own nothing, and yet we have everything.
Father, make my heart like this.
In Christ,
cas
2 Cor 6
v 14 Don't team up ...
I was having te same thoughts as dsc. Where do you draw the line?
It seems that God calls each of to individual professions, and I believe He does that so that we can each have a unique sphere of influence. Problem is that often Christians either have a reputation of being lazy in the workplace, because they see their career as "unimportant", or they treat their career in many respects just like non-believers, don't "stand out" and have a limited impact for the Lord. I am currently struggling more with the latter.
I guess that is where crb's comment comes in, "be closer to God".
If I am striving to be closer to God as I develop my career, then perhaps I can do it the right way. I want to be in the jobs along the way that God wants me in and I want the people I touch, manage, and work for to know that I am the Lord's first, but that I can and will work hard for the needs of the company and our customers.
If any of you have that licked, let me know. Far be it from me to say how. I am just striving.
Lord, let my work ethic put me in places that can have a unique impact for you, but help me guard my close relationships, and my priorities, so that you will be more visible than my in my career. humbly, jmb
jmb
Don't have the answers, but I would certainly recommend a book that is a perfect read for your questions, if you haven't read it already. Wild at heart by John Eldridge.
I was stuck in a similar spot and this book at least shed a lot of light on what it means to truly be a man of God, working hard and striving to be as bright a light for God as we can be.
One of the things I struggled with was the whole "this isn't important, how am I helping people" but where we are in life is a mission from God and he's our boss. We need to work as hard as we can with Him in mind in the aspects of our job that we can do. We can't and shouldn't all be pastors, but if we do our job well, and do it for Him, then we are doing the things he wants us to do. It is possible to be succesful without doing it for personal gain.
Hope this helps.
crb
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