2 Corinthians 6–7

6Working together ^wwith Him, we also appeal to you, “Don’t receive God’s grace in vain.” ²For He says:

I heard you in an acceptable time,

and I helped you in the day of salvation. ^xy

Look, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation. ^z

The Character of Paul’s Ministry

³We give no opportunity for stumbling to anyone, so that the ministry will not be blamed. ⁴But as God’s ministers, we commend ourselves in everything:

by great endurance, by afflictions,

by hardship, by difficulties,

⁵by beatings, by imprisonments, ^a

by riots, by labors,

by sleepless nights, by times of hunger,

⁶by purity, ^bby knowledge, ^c

by patience, ^dby kindness, ^e

by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, ^f

⁷by the message of truth, ^g

by the power of God; ^h

through weapons of righteousness

on the right hand and the left,

⁸through glory ⁱand dishonor,

through slander and good report;

as deceivers yet true;

⁹as unknown yet recognized;

as dying and look—we live;

as being disciplined yet not killed;

¹⁰as grieving yet always rejoicing; ^j

as poor yet enriching many;

as having nothing yet possessing everything.

¹¹We have spoken openly ^kto you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide. ¹²You are not limited by us, but you are limited by your own affections. ¹³I speak as to my children. As a proper response, you should also be open to us.

Separation to God

¹⁴Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? ^lOr what fellowship does light ^mhave with darkness? ⁿ¹⁵What agreement does Christ have with Belial? ^oOr what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶And what agreement does God’s sanctuary have with idols? ^pFor we ^qare the sanctuary of the living God, as God said:

I will dwell among them ^r

and walk among them,

and I will be their God, ^s

and they will be My people. ^tu

¹⁷Therefore, come out from among them

and be separate, says the Lord;

do not touch any unclean thing,

and I will welcome you. ^vw

¹⁸I will be a Father ^xto you,

and you will be sons ^yand daughters to Me,

says the Lord Almighty. ^za

7Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, ^blet us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, ^ccompleting our sanctification ^din the fear of God. ^e

Joy and Repentance

²Accept us. ^fWe have wronged no one, corrupted ^gno one, defrauded no one. ³I don’t say this to condemn you, for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to live together and to die together. ⁴I have great confidence in you; I have great pride in you. I am filled with encouragement; I am overcome with joy in all our afflictions.

⁵In fact, when we came into Macedonia, ^hwe ⁱhad no rest. Instead, we were troubled in every way: conflicts ^jon the outside, fears ^kinside. ⁶But God, who comforts the humble, ^lcomforted us by the arrival of Titus, ⁷and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he received from you. He told us about your deep longing, your sorrow, ^mand your zeal ⁿfor me, so that I rejoiced even more. ⁸For even if I grieved you with my letter, ^oI do not regret it—even though I did regret it since I saw that the letter grieved you, yet only for a little while. ⁹Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because your grief led to repentance. For you were grieved as God willed, so that you didn’t experience any loss from us. ¹⁰For godly grief produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation, but worldly grief produces death. ^p11For consider how much diligence this very thing—this grieving as God wills—has produced in you: what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice! In every way you showed yourselves to be pure ^qin this matter. ¹²So even though I wrote to you, it was not because of the one who did wrong, or because of the one who was wronged, but in order that your diligence for us might be made plain to you in the sight of God. ¹³For this reason we have been comforted.

In addition to our comfort, we rejoiced even more over the joy Titus ^rhad, ^sbecause his spirit was refreshed by all of you. ¹⁴For if I have made any boast to him about you, I have not been embarrassed; but as I have spoken everything to you in truth, ^tso our boasting to Titus has also turned out to be the truth. ¹⁵And his affection toward you is even greater as he remembers the obedience of all of you, and how you received him with fear and trembling. ¹⁶I rejoice that I have complete confidence in you.