Thy Strong Word — 2 Corinthians 6: Don’t Waste the Gift of Grace

The Apostle pleads with the Corinthians, and with us, not to receive the grace of God in vain. That is, not to treat it casually, not to compartmentalize it, and not to keep Jesus at arm’s length when He’s called us to new life. As an Apostle, Paul shares the cost of faithful ministry—beatings, imprisonments, sleepless nights—and yet he opens his heart wider, not smaller. He reminds us that the Christian life is lived now, in the tension between earthly hardship and heavenly promise. It’s not enough to avoid evil; we’re called to be visibly, purposefully set apart.

The Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, IL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 2 Corinthians 6.

To learn more about Trinity Lutheran, visit trinitylutheranministries.org.

What does it mean to follow Christ in weakness? What does true ministry look like in the face of criticism, suffering, and spiritual warfare? And how can the Church hold fast to the Gospel when pressured by the world—and even by false teachers within?

On Thy Strong Word, we walk verse by verse through, arguably, the apostle Paul’s most personal, emotional, and paradoxical letter: 2 Corinthians. From forgiveness and reconciliation to generous giving and boasting only in the Lord, 2 Corinthians calls every believer to follow Christ boldly. This is the way of the cross, where God’s grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in you.

Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. Through the mission gifts of people like you, LHF translates, publishes, distributes and introduces books that are Bible-based, Christ-centered and Reformation-driven. Learn more at lhfmissions.org.

2 Corinthians 6

6 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ²For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ³We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, ⁴but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; ⁷by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; ⁹as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; ¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

¹¹We have spoken freely to you,^[a] Corinthians; our heart is wide open. ¹²You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. ¹³In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

The Temple of the Living God

¹⁴Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵What accord has Christ with Belial?^[b] Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
¹⁷Therefore go out from their midst,
    and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
    then I will welcome you,
¹⁸and I will be a father to you,
    and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 6:11 Greek Our mouth is open to you
2 Corinthians 6:15 Greek Beliar

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe

Native North Carolinian Rev. Dr. Phil Booe serves pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and host of Thy Strong Word on KFUO Radio. His parishioners probably think he can’t teach Bible study without a mug of coffee in his hand, and he’ll always be happy to eat a plate of sushi. When he’s not shepherding his flock or teaching on the radio, you might find him watching bad movies from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, and especially binging RiffTrax and MST3K episodes. Some day he’d love to travel to the Lutheran homeland in Germany, but for now he spends time in Minnesota with his wife, son, daughter, and cat, and looks forward to Holy Week every year.