2 Corinthians 6: Now Is the Day — ReidOne Bible Study

2 Corinthians 6 (WEB)

1 Working together, we entreat also that you not receive the grace of God in vain,

2 for he says, “At an acceptable time I listened to you, in a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.

3 We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed,

4 but in everything commending ourselves, as servants of God, in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,

5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;

6 in pureness, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love,

7 in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

8 by glory and dishonor, 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 punished, and not killed;

10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

11 Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians. Our heart is enlarged.

12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.

13 Now in return, I speak as to my children, you also be open wide.

14 Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

15 What agreement has Christ with Belial? Or what portion has a believer with an unbeliever?

16 What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

17 Therefore “‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.

18 I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”

2 Corinthians 6 (KJV)

1 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.)

3 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;

6 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,

8 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;

10 As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

11 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.

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

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.

17 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 (ASV)

1 And working together with him we entreat also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain

2 (for he saith, At an acceptable time I hearkened unto thee, And in a day of salvation did I succor thee: behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation):

3 giving no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our ministration be not blamed;

4 but in everything commending ourselves, as ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

5 in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;

6 in pureness, in knowledge, in longsuffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned,

7 in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

8 by glory and dishonor, 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;

10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

11 Our mouth is open unto you, O Corinthians, our heart is enlarged.

12 Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own affections.

13 Now for a recompense in like kind (I speak as unto my children), be ye also enlarged.

14 Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever?

16 And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you,

18 And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Summary

Working together with God, Paul appeals to the Corinthians not to receive the grace of God in vain, quoting Scripture's promise of help in the day of salvation and pressing home that now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. He is careful to put no stumbling block in anyone's way so that his ministry will not be discredited, and instead commends himself as a servant of God through a long catalog of experiences: great endurance in afflictions, hardships, distresses, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, and hunger; and through purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, sincere love, truthful speech, and the power of God, with the weapons of righteousness in both hands. He has served through honor and dishonor, slander and praise, treated as a deceiver yet true, as unknown yet well known, as dying yet alive, as punished yet not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing everything. Then his tone softens into deep affection: he tells the Corinthians that he has spoken freely to them and that his heart is wide open; any restriction in the relationship is on their side, not his, and he asks them, as his children, to open their hearts wide in return. Finally he urges them not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for righteousness has no partnership with lawlessness, light none with darkness, Christ none with Belial, and the temple of God none with idols. Since they are the temple of the living God, he applies God's promise to dwell among his people, calling them to come out and be separate, to touch nothing unclean, with the assurance that the Lord Almighty will be a Father to them and they will be his sons and daughters.

Main Characters

Paul — The apostle who pleads that grace not be wasted, commends his ministry through every hardship, and opens his heart wide to the Corinthians as his children.
The Corinthian believers — The beloved church, the temple of the living God, urged to open their hearts and to live as people set apart for him.
God the Father — The Lord Almighty who promises to dwell among his people, to receive them, and to be a Father to those who are separate unto him.
Belial / idols — Figures of the darkness and falsehood with which the people of God can have no true fellowship, set in contrast to Christ and the living God.

Key Verse

2 Corinthians 6:2 (WEB)

Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.

Lessons Learned

God's grace is not to be received in vain; today is the time to respond.
Faithful ministry is proven through endurance in hardship, not ease or applause.
Genuine love opens its heart wide and invites others to do the same.
Belonging to God calls us to be set apart from the darkness, as his temple and his children.

Now is the day of salvation. “Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2, WEB). Grace calls for a present, not a postponed, response.
Ministry is commended by endurance. Paul commends himself “in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses” (2 Corinthians 6:4, WEB). Faithfulness under pressure authenticates the servant of God.
Love keeps an open heart. “Our heart is enlarged… you also be open wide” (2 Corinthians 6:11, 13, WEB). Real affection refuses to close itself off.
God's people are his temple. “You are a temple of the living God… I will dwell in them, and walk in them” (2 Corinthians 6:16, WEB). His indwelling presence calls us to holiness.

What does it mean to “receive the grace of God in vain” (6:1), and why does Paul stress that now is the day of salvation?
Look over Paul's list of hardships and virtues in verses 4-10. What kind of ministry does this picture?
How do the paradoxes of verses 8-10 (sorrowful yet rejoicing, poor yet making many rich) capture the Christian life?
What does Paul mean by being “unequally yoked with unbelievers” (6:14), and how does belonging to God shape our partnerships?
Where is God inviting you to open your heart more widely, either to him or to fellow believers?

To receive grace “in vain” is to hear the gospel yet fail to let it take root and bear fruit—to profess it without truly living in it. Paul stresses “now is the day of salvation” (6:2) because the time to respond is the present, not some imagined later. Grace is urgent; it calls for a wholehearted answer today.
Paul commends himself not by credentials but by endurance through “afflictions… beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, watchings, fastings” and by godly character—“pureness… kindness… sincere love” (6:4-6). It pictures a costly, cross-shaped ministry sustained “by the power of God.” The genuine servant is marked by perseverance and integrity, not comfort.
The paradoxes hold together suffering and joy: “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” (6:10). They capture how the Christian life looks weak and impoverished by the world's measure yet is rich beyond measure in Christ. Outward loss and inward abundance coexist in the gospel.
Being “unequally yoked” means binding ourselves in compromising partnership with what is opposed to God, for “what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity?” (6:14). Because believers are “a temple of the living God” (6:16), their deepest loyalties and entanglements must be consistent with belonging to him. It calls for discernment in alliances, not isolation from people.
This is a personal-application question. Paul models an open, enlarged heart and asks the church to “be open wide” (6:13). Invite members to consider where fear, hurt, or self-protection has closed them off to God or others, and one step toward openness. As leader, keep the tone warm and unhurried, and do not press private matters.