September 17 / II Cor. 6:1-13

II Corinthians 6:1-13

I would encourage you to read my comments from last year. Rewording the prepositions adds (for me) a great deal of clarity as to how Paul sees his ministry.

You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. (v. 12) A confusing verse… What does Paul mean by You are not restricted by us? Clearly he is restricting them – matters of sexuality and food come immediately to mind. He also has talked about the “freedom” that they seem to have, freedom to do “whatever” and are seemingly unrestrained in doing so – which has implications for the second half of that verse. Again the NKJV translation is helpful here: …you are restricted by your own affections. I can easily see myself restricted by my own desires! Later on we will read of Paul feeling the same way: For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. … For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. (Romans 7:15a, 19) Things haven’t changed much in 2,000 years!

See also: May 28 / II Cor. 6:1-18

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