Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Corinthians 6:6
By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
6. by pureness ] The preposition in the Greek is not changed here, though the Apostle turns from outward to inward signs of his sincerity, a change marked in our version by the use of ‘by’ for ‘in.’ Wiclif and the Rhemish, following the Vulgate, give the more restricted sense chastity here. But see 1Ti 5:22; 1Pe 1:22 ; 1Jn 3:3.
by the Holy Ghost ] i.e. by Whom we are inspired in our whole mind and conduct. Cf. Rom 8:4-5; Gal 5:16; Gal 5:25.
unfeigned ] Love might easily enough be feigned for selfish purposes. St Paul could appeal to his own career to shew that his love was as real as its expression was ardent. Cf. 2Co 6:11 and note. Also Rom 12:9, where the Greek is the same as here.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
By pureness – Paul, having in the previous verses, grouped together some of the sufferings which he endured and by which he had endeavored to commend and extend the true religion, proceeds here to group together certain other influences by which he had sought the same object. The substance of what he here says is, that it had not only been done by sufferings and trials, but by a holy life, and by entire consecration to the great cause to which he had devoted himself. He begins by stating that it was by pureness, that is, by integrity, sanctity, a holy and pure life. All preaching, and all labors would have been in vain without this; and Paul well knew that if he succeeded in the ministry, he must be a good man. The same is true in all other professions. One of the essential requisites of an orator, according to Quintilian, is, that he must be a good man; and no man may expect ultimately to succeed in any calling of life unless he is pure. But however this may be in other callings, no one will doubt it in regard to the ministry of the gospel.
By knowledge – Interpreters have differed much in the interpretation of this. Rosenmuller and Schleusner understand by it prudence. Grotius interprets it as meaning a knowledge of the Law. Doddridge supposes that it refers to a solicitude to improve in the knowledge of those truths which they were called to communicate to others. Probably the idea is a very simple one. Paul is showing how he endeavored to commend the gospel to others, 2Co 6:4. He says, therefore, that one way was by communicating knowledge, true knowledge. He proclaimed that which was true, and which was real knowledge, in opposition to the false science of the Greeks, and in opposition to those who would substitute declamation for argument, and the mere ornaments of rhetoric for truth. The idea is, that the ministry should not be ignorant, but that if they wished to commend their office, they should be well informed, and should be people of good sense. Paul had no belief that an ignorant ministry was preferable to one that was characterized by true knowledge; and he felt that if he was to be useful it was to be by his imparting to others truth that would be useful. The priests lips should keep knowledge; Mal 2:7.
By long-suffering – By patience in our trials, and in the provocations which we meet with. We endeavor to obtain and keep a control over our passions, and to keep them in subjection. See this word explained in the notes on 1Co 13:4.
By kindness – see the note, 1Co 13:4. By gentleness of manner, of temper, and of spirit. By endeavoring to evince this spirit to all, whatever may be their treatment of us, and whatever may be our provocations. Paul felt that if a minister would do good he must be kind, and gentle to all.
By the Holy Ghost – By the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit. By those graces and virtues which it is his office especially to produce in the heart; compare Gal 5:22-23. Paul here evidently refers not to the miraculous agency of the Holy Spirit, but he is referring to the Spirit which he and his fellow-ministers manifested, and means here, doubtless, that they evinced such feelings as the Holy Spirit produced in the hearts of the children of God.
By love unfeigned – Sincere, true, ardent love to all. By undissembled, pure, and genuine affection for the souls of people. What good can a minister do if he does not love his people, and the souls of people? The prominent characteristic in the life of the Redeemer was love – love to all. So if we are like him, and if we do any good, we shall have love to people. No man is useful without it; and ministers, in general, are useful just in proportion as they have it. It will prompt to labor, self-denial, and toil; it will make them patient, ardent, kind; it will give them zeal, and will give them access to the heart; it will accomplish what no eloquence, labor, or learning will do without it. He who shows that he loves me has access at once to my heart; he who does not, cannot make a way there by any argument, eloquence, denunciation, or learning. No minister is useful without it; no one with it can be otherwise than useful.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Co 6:6-9
By pureness.
Pureness
The Greek word–like the cognate form, holiness–seems to come from a root denoting reverence. It suggests the thought of the awe with which nature herself regards the presence of purity. All kinds of purity carry an awe with them. Whether it be the purity of aim and motive in all things–the singleness, disinterestedness, unselfishness, which we see rarely but certainly manifested in social, political, ecclesiastical life–that high and noble principle which carries a man straight to the mark of truth and duty, without one side-look to the convenient, the remunerative, or the popular; or whether it be–and probably this is the thing more directly in view–that chastity of the heart and of the soul, which alone can see God, and alone move unscathed and unscathing on an earth rife with temptation–in either case we have here the primary condition of a blameless ministry, lay or clerical; in either case we have here the quality which wins reverence–which makes men feel, and the more closely they approach it, that here is a Divine presence–that here, in this man of like passions as they are, there is, moving and working, a Spirit not of man but of God–a Spirit which has a further message for them, whether they will hear it or whether they will forbear. (Dean Vaughan.)
By knowledge.—
By knowledge
A remarkable, yet most just, transition. St. Paul anticipates here a coming abuse and distortion. Pureness cannot be over-estimated. But there is a pursuit of pureness which is not according to knowledge. Witness the monastery and the confessional; witness the narrow, the enthralling, the degrading processes by which ministers of God have given offence in this matter–making purity the whole of grace, and debasing purity itself–as St. Paul saw some would debase charity–into a negative and a self-neutralising virtue. I read here the Divine warrant for the expansion of the human intellect; the assurance that the gospel is the friend and the nurse of enlightenment; that the true gospel never runs into corners, or hides its head in the sand, by reason of a fear of knowledge. I read here the benediction of God upon education–upon all that braces and adorns the intellect; upon all that enables a young man to judge of truth by truth, to exercise a sound mind upon doctrine presented to him, to try the very spirits of the prophets, whether they are of God, by ascertaining the vigour, and the consistency, and the satisfactoriness to conscience, of the language they speak. Above all, I read here the solemn, the awful duty of each minister and of each Christian to gain a clear and a piercing insight into the gospel as a whole, into the Bible as the Book of Books. The knowledge of which St. Paul wrote was pre-eminently a gospel knowledge. He lived in days when that title, so honourable, so easily assumed, was beginning to be fraught with mischief and ruin to the Church of God. He himself said elsewhere, Knowledge puffeth up; it is love which edifieth. And therefore we may be quite sure that the knowledge by which he approved himself, was distinctly a knowledge of revelation–yet a knowledge no less checked and tempered by other knowledge, than prompted and inspired by a Spirit not of the world. In these days the importance of knowledge, side by side with pureness, is asserting itself as perhaps never before. The necessity of Christian people being also an educated people. That they should be able to hold their own against all comers. That they should be able to refute–and not to be frightened at–the gainsayers. The timidity of conscious ignorance is the cause of half our compromises and our cowardices. We Christians flee where no man pursueth, because we have not taken the measure of the possible capacities of the imagined pursuer. But not less is it necessary that Christian men should know their own gospel. We snatch up, here and there, a text or a word, a phrase or a clause, detach it from its context, never define, never balance, and then, following some party leader, fight for the name and never know the thing. And so it may happen that, under the banner of the name, we may even be fighting against the thing. We may have a zeal for God Himself–and not according to knowledge. I speak fearlessly the praises of knowledge. Only let us take heed, first, that we be not bringing a science falsely so called into antagonism with Him who is the truth; and secondly, that we be quite sure that our Divine truth is the whole of truth–in other words, is Christ Himself–in His Deity, and in His Humanity–in His holiness, and His wisdom, and His love! (Dean Vaughan.)
By kindness.—
Kindness
If there be one virtue which most commends Christians, it is that of kindness: it is to love the people of God, to love the Church, to love poor sinners, to love all. But how many have we in our churches of crab-tree Christians, who have mixed such a vast amount of vinegar, and such a tremendous quantity of gall in their constitutions, that they can scarcely speak one good word to you. They imagine it impossible to defend religion except by passionate ebullitions; they cannot speak for their dishonoured Master without being angry with their opponent; and if anything is awry, whether it be in the house, the church, or anywhere else, they conceive it to be their duty to set their faces like flint, and to defy everybody. They are like isolated icebergs, no one cares to go near them. Imitate Christ in your loving spirits; speak kindly, act kindly, and think kindly, that men may say of you, He has been with Jesus. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
By the Holy Ghost.—
Power
This clause might be so interpreted as to include the rest. Pureness, knowledge, and love, are all gifts of the One Spirit. This reflection shows that when St. Paul wrote, By the Holy Ghost, amongst a number of particulars, he must have meant something more precise and less comprehensive. A man might have pureness and knowledge, and yet lack two things. We have known men of clean hands and a pure heart, of extensive knowledge and well-defined doctrine, who were singularly deficient in power. That elevating, transforming, re-creating influence, which brings a glow, and a force, and a rush into the whole being, and turns the commonplace into the original, and the natural into the spiritual, and the earthly into the heavenly, has not yet passed over them. They are clean and sound, but they are not illuminated and transfigured. Their life is not a motive life. It does not kindle, because it is not alight. No one catches fire at sleeping embers. These men are like a fire laid, to which the match has not yet brought the life-giving spark. Something of this kind is often made the special office of the Holy Ghost. The cleansing water is one of His emblems; but the rushing wind is another, and the enkindling fire is a third. And though the miraculous gifts are gone–gone because their work is done, and they would but impede the gospel progress in this nineteenth century–still power remains, as one of the proofs, and not one of the meanest or least convincing proofs, of the Divine origin of the gospel. Only let your mind receive into it, in answer to prayer, the real presence of God Himself in the Holy Spirit–and you are a man of power at once. The energy communicated to your soul must act and influence. The grace of pureness, the grace of knowledge, pass on into the grace of power. Multitudes,. even of sincere Christians, stop short of this; and, though safety may be theirs, it is a half-selfish safety–they go for next to nothing in the real battle-field of the gospel. Let us be Christians through and through. (Dean Vaughan.)
By love unfeigned.—
Love unfeigned
Pureness, and knowledge, and power–not even in this combination is the Christian character perfected. There might be a hardness, coldness, self-complacency, censoriousness, still–showing some lamentable deficiency in the presentation of the mind that was in Christ. Love, as the Greek says, unhypocritical, is an indispensable part of the approving, of the not offending, of the minister, of the Christian. What is purity without love? Cold, stern, how Unlike the holiness of Jesus! What is knowledge without love? Self-engrossing, contemptuous–how opposite to that Divine insight of which St. Paul says, If Shy man love, the same knoweth, or is known! What is power without love? Imperious, exacting, perhaps cruel–how, how incongruous with the position of a creature, of a sinner! Nature herself is witness that there is yet a more excellent way. Love–love unfeigned. Yes, that love which at the altar of Gods own love has kindled alike the love of God and the love of man. That love which is the handing on of love; the transmission, the transfusion–as of course, as that which must be, which could not be coerced or cabined–of a forgiveness, of a peace, of a joy, felt first, and felt as a gift, within. That love which has no stint and no limit, because it is the reflection of a love infinite, inexhaustible. Who does not know, who does not feel as he but listens, that the man who has this love in him is indeed approved as Gods minister? And without this love unhypocritical, what are gifts of intellect, of eloquence, of insight into truth, of scrupulosity in duty? Where is the attestation, in all these, of the ministry, or of the gospel? He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God–men feel that God is in him, as a light, as a strength, as a love, as a consolation. (Dean Vaughan.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 6. By pureness] . In simplicity of intention, and purity of affection; together with that chastity and holiness of life which the Gospel enjoins.
By knowledge] Of the Divine mysteries.
By long-suffering] Under all provocations.
By kindness] To our most virulent persecutors, and to all men.
By the Holy Ghost] There are doubts among learned men whether the apostle here means that SPIRIT who is called the third person of the holy TRINITY; or some grace, disposition, or quality of the soul, which was thus denominated, as implying a spirit wholly purified, and fitted to be a habitation of God.
Schoettgen quotes a passage from Rabbi Bechai, in which it appears to him to have this latter meaning: “Rabbi Pinchas, the son of Jair, said: Reflection leads to sedulity; sedulity to innocence; innocence to abstinence; abstinence to cleanness; cleanness to sanctity; sanctity to the fear of sin; fear of sin to humility; humility to piety; and piety to the Holy Spirit. Of these ten virtues five are external, or belong to the body; and five internal, or belonging to the soul; but all men prefer the tenth, which is ruach haktodesh, the Holy Spirit.” Even allowing Rabbi Pinchas to be a person on whose judgment we could rely, and whose authority was decisive, there does not appear to me any reason why we should depart from the usual meaning of the term from any thing that is said here. It appears to me plain enough that the rabbi means the constant indwelling of the Holy Spirit; and St. Paul, in this place, may have the same thing in view, and with it the various gifts of the Holy Spirit by which he was enabled to work miracles.
By love unfeigned] . Love without hypocrisy; such as disposed us at all times to lay down our life for the brethren, and to spend and be spent for the glory of God and the good of mankind.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By pureness: as the apostle in the former words had declared the patience of his conversation, in the enduring of the afflictions of the gospel; so in this verse he declares the more internal holiness of it, under the general notion of pureness; showed in his knowledge, faith, gentleness, kindness, or goodness towards all men. The word translated pureness, signifieth rather the universal rectitude of his heart and ways, than (as some think) the habit or exercise of any particular virtue. In or by knowledge; a right understanding and notion of spiritual things; if it doth not here signify faith, which is a superstructure on this foundation, and that habit which hath a special influence upon purifying the heart, Act 15:9. Without knowledge there can be no purity, Pro 19:2.
By long-suffering; the apostle means, not being easily provoked by such as had offended him, or done him wrong.
By kindness; the word translated kindness, signifies generally any goodness by which a man may show himself either sweet and pleasant, or useful and profitable, unto his neighbour.
By the Holy Ghost: thus the apostle showeth how he behaved himself; but not through his own strength, but through the influence and assistance of the Holy Ghost.
By love unfeigned; the love unfeigned here mentioned, is a general term, signifying that habit of grace wrought in his soul by the Holy Spirit of God, which was the principle of the long-suffering and kindness before mentioned.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. By . . . by, c.rather, asGreek, “In . . . in,” implying not the instrument,but the sphere or element in which his ministry moved.
knowledgespiritual: inGospel mysteries, unattainable by mere reason (1Co 2:6-162Co 3:6; 2Co 3:17;2Co 3:18).
long-suffering . . .kindnessassociated with “charity” or “love“(1Co 13:4), as here.
by the Holy Ghostinvirtue of His influences which produce these graces, and other gifts,”love unfeigned” being the foremost of them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
By pureness,…. The apostle having observed how he, and other ministers of God, showed themselves to be such by patiently bearing everything that was afflictive and distressing to the outward man, proceeds to show how they approved themselves in other respects; and which more chiefly regard the inward man, the exercise of grace, and a spiritual behaviour: “by pureness”; of doctrine and conversation, chastity of body and mind, sincerity of heart, and integrity of life:
by knowledge; of the Scriptures of truth, the mysteries of grace; or by a prudent conduct, a walking in wisdom with caution and circumspection:
by longsuffering: not easily provoked to wrath, but bearing with patience every indignity and affront:
by kindness; gentleness, sweetness of temper and manners, affability and courteousness:
by the Holy Ghost; influencing and assisting in the exercise of every grace, and the discharge of every duty, or by the gifts of the Holy Ghost, ordinary and extraordinary:
by love unfeigned; without dissimulation, being not in word only, but in deed and in truth towards the brethren, and to all men.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In love unfeigned ( ). Late and rare word ( privative and , from ) This is the only love that is worth while (Ro 12:9).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “By pureness,” (en agnoteti) “in a state of purity,” chaste behavior, commending ourselves; purity of intent and thought, life, speech, motive, and chastity, 1Th 2:10; Jas 3:17; 1Jn 3:3.
2) “By knowledge,” (en gnosei) “In knowledge,” commending ourselves; by right views of God, Eph 3:4; Perhaps by the gift of knowledge that then continued, 1Co 12:8.
3) “By longsuffering,” (en makrothumia) In longsuffering,” forbearance, commending ourselves; Even under ill-treatment, God’s servants must be long-suffering, 2Ti 3:10; 2Ti 4:2.
4) “By kindness “ (en chrestoteti) “In kindness,” commending ourselves: This is a divine attribute, to be reflected in and through ministers and servants of Christ, a Christian virtue, Rom 2:4; Rom 11:22; Eph 2:7; 2Pe 1:7.
KINDNESS
If there be one virtue which most commends Christians, it is that of kindness: it is to love the people of God, to love the Church, to love poor sinners, to love all. But how many have we in our churches of crabtree Christians, who have mixed such a vast amount of vinegar, and such a tremendous quantity of gall in their constitutions, that they can scarcely speak one good word to you. They imagine it impossible to defend religion except by passionate ablutions, they cannot speak for their dishonored Master without being angry with their opponent; and if anything is awry, whether it be in the house, the church, or anywhere else, they conceive it to be their duty to set their faces like flint, and to defy everybody. They are like isolated icebergs, no one cares to go near them. Imitate Christ in your loving spirits; speak kindly, act kindly, and think kindly, that men may say of you,” He has been with Jesus.”
-C. H. Spurgeon
5) “By the Holy Ghost,” (en pneumati hagio) “in a holy (sanctified) Spirit,” or disposition, commending ourselves; 1Co 6:19-20; Gal 5:16; Gal 5:25.
6) “By love unfeigned,” (en agape anupokrito) “in love unfeigned (unpretentious),” without pretence, commending ourselves. This refers to love for men, without pretence, or shame, or hypocrisy; 2Co 12:15; Joh 13:34-35; 1Jn 3:14; 1Jn 3:17; 1Jn 4:7.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Knowledge may be taken in two senses — either as meaning doctrine itself, or skill in acting properly and knowingly. The latter appears to me the more likely, as he immediately adds — the word of truth The Spirit is taken by metonymy, to denote spiritual graces. Frivolous, however, is the cavil of Chrysostom, who infers from this, that the other excellences are peculiar to the Apostle, because he makes mention of the Spirit separately, as if kindness, knowledge, pureness, armor of righteousness, were from any other source, than from the Holy Spirit. He makes mention, however, of the Spirit separately, as a general term in the midst of particular instances. (592) The power of God showed itself in many things — in magnanimity, in efficacy in the maintaining of the truth, in the propagation of the Gospel, in victory over enemies, and the like.
(592) “ ᾿Εν πνεύματι ἁγίω — ’In demonstration of the Holy Spirit — so that I showed that the Holy Spirit wrought by me.’ It is possible, that in these words, Paul makes an allusion to the χαρίσματα, ( gifts,) but it seems better, nevertheless, to suppose with Calvin, that he sets genus and species over against each other.” — Billroth. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(6) By pureness . . .The word may possibly mean purity of motive in its widest sense, but the use of the corresponding adjective in 2Co. 11:2; 1Ti. 5:22; Tit. 2:3; 1Pe. 3:2, and, indeed, its general sense elsewhere, is decisive in favour of purity from sensual sinpersonal chastity. In the general state of morals throughout the empire, and especially in writing to such a city as Corinth, it was natural to dwell on this aspect of the Christian character. (Comp. 1Co. 7:7.) The knowledge is obviously not that of earthly things, but of the mysteries of God (Eph. 3:4). In kindness we trace the consciousness of an effort to reproduce the graciousness which he looked on as a characteristic attribute of God and Christ (Eph. 2:7; Tit. 3:4). In the Holy Ghost we may see a reference both to spiritual gifts, such as those of tongues and prophecy (1Co. 14:18-19), and to the impulses and promptings in which he traced the general guidance of the Spirit (Act. 16:6-7). Love unfeigned (i.e., without hypocrisy) presents the same combination as in Rom. 12:9 (without dissimulation in the English version).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. The high qualities of the men who thus suffer, by which they entitle themselves to acceptance, are now enumerated.
Pureness From all false deeds or motives.
Knowledge Full possession of the Christ-history, with all the truths embraced in it.
Holy Ghost Whose indwelling is manifested by our sanctity of spirit. With this verse closes the list of subjective traits. Next comes a manifestive list.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘In pureness, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God.’
Paul then goes on to describe his own personal and moral attributes. His deep troubles do not embitter him. Rather through Christ they produce within him the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), purity, understanding, longsuffering and kindness. These all result from the work of the Holy Spirit, and the genuine love He produces within (compare 1Co 13:4). They present a full-orbed description of the life of a servant of God who should seek to be pure, truly knowledgeable, longsuffering and kind.
Hagnotes (purity) only occurs here but the more common cognate hagnos ranges in meaning from an inward disposition such as purity of heart (2Co 11:3) to outward behaviour (“innocent,” 2Co 7:11; “chaste,” 2Co 11:2; “without defect,” Php 4:8; “blameless,” 1Ti 5:22). Its connection here with longsuffering and kindness suggests that it includes a right and blameless attitude to those with whom he has dealings (compare 2Co 1:12; 2Co 4:2; 2Co 6:3).
‘Knowledge’ (gnosis) comes next , and may refer to “insight” (Phillips), or “understanding” (NIV), or a “grasp of truth” (NEB), a knowledge of genuine spiritual truth and an awareness of people and how to deal with them. It includes the God-given ability to know the right thing to do in a given situation because soaked in the Scriptures. This contrasts with the knowledge of some among the Corinthians (2Co 11:5; 1Co 8:1-2) which produced only pride, and was airy fairy and without consideration for others.
This is followed by long-suffering. This word is frequently used in the Old Testament of God’s long-suffering attitude toward his people. It represents tender concern and loving patience toward those whose failings would normally provoke anger and annoyance.
‘Kindness (Chrestotes) is the fourth quality. It represents the capacity to show kindness even to the weak and undeserving and to evidence a sympathetic interest in the problems of others. It is goodness in action. All these have their source in love.
The genuineness, thoughtfulness, long-suffering and kindness that Paul exhibited arose from himself enjoying the experience of the compassion that Christ has for His own. It was ‘in the Holy Spirit’, that is, it resulted from His work within, and was the consequence of His producing genuine unfeigned love, of His making sure the word of truth within, which thus possessed Paul’s heart, and of His continual provision of ‘the power of God’. The one who has the right foundations of love, truth and God-power will exhibit the right attitudes and response.
‘In the Holy Spirit.’ It is often asked why ‘the Holy Spirit’ should appear in a list of attributes, and some have therefore sought to see it as an attribute (e.g. ‘holy spirit’), but the reason is not hard to find. He wanted first to draw attention to the outward aspects of behaviour and attitude, for they are the manifestation of ‘patient endurance’ as he emphasised at the beginning, but he also wanted them to be aware of the source of it all. To have listed all the others without their source would indeed have seemed like boasting. Furthermore ‘in the Holy Spirit’ can be seen as including all the other virtues which he has not had space to include (Gal 5:22), and is especially connected with the idea of unfeigned love which follows (1 Corinthians 13; Gal 5:22).
He follows the mention of the Holy Spirit with the marks of genuine ministry, which are themselves the work of the Spirit. Fullness of unfeigned love (1 Corinthians 13; Rom 15:30; Gal 5:22; Col 1:8; 2Ti 1:7), being immersed in the truth (Joh 14:17; Joh 15:26; Eph 5:9) and in its proclamation (compare 2Co 5:14-21), and the experience of God’s infinite power (compare 1Co 1:18 where word and power are connected; and 1Co 2:4 where Spirit and power are connected, contrast 1Co 4:19). Without these our ministry is indeed vain. Perhaps they should be listed in every pulpit. It is these which result in the gold, silver and precious stones of 1Co 3:12-15.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2Co 6:6. By pureness, by knowledge, &c. By purity, or chastity. Heylin. “By knowledge of those divine truths which it is our great business to teach others; and by the due exercise of that knowledge, through the power of grace, in a constant command over our passions.” Dr. Scott by knowledge understands Christian prudence.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
6 By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
Ver. 6. By pureness ] By lamb-like simplicity or sincerity. Religion loves to lie clean, said one. Godliness must run through our whole lives as the woof doth through the web. See Isa 33:14 . No gold or precious stone is so pure as the prudent mind of a pious man, said divine Plato. , ~
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
6. ] The nine preceding datives (see on 2Co 6:4 ) have expanded . We now resume the main catalogue, with , in purity : which is variously explained: of bodily chastity , Grot.: of unselfishness , Theodoret, and Chrys., as an alternative ( , , . . ib.): I prefer the second of Chrys.’s meanings, general purity of character , , unblamableness of life, and singleness of purpose.
] knowledge of the Gospel , in a high and singular degree; see 1Co 2:6 ff. So Chrys.: .
] kindness : a kind and considerate demeanour.
. ] in the Holy Spirit , as the Power by Whom all these motives are wrought. The omission of the article, aft. , constitutes no objection to this rendering, as Bp. Middleton (in loc.) supposes: cf. . , Rom 5:5 , and the very same words as these, 1Th 1:5 , in both which places the meaning is undoubted; neither of which, however, is noticed by Middleton. The words do not appear to hold any logical place in the list, any more than . below.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
2Co 6:6-7 . (ii.) The inward gifts and qualities by the display of which the Christian minister commends himself are now enumerated. ( a ) We have, first, four graces, each described by a single word: , , , : in pureness, sc. , not only chastity, but purity of intention and thought in general ( cf. chap. 2Co 7:11 , Jas 3:17 , 1Jn 3:3 ), in knowledge, sc. , of Divine things (the is one of the gifts of the Spirit, 1Co 12:8 ), in long-suffering (a grace specially needful for a Christian missionary; in Rom 2:4 ; Rom 9:22 , 1Ti 1:16 , St. Paul speaks of God’s , but generally he applies it to man; see Pro 25:15 ), in kindness (see reff.; it is a Divine attribute in Rom 2:4 ; Rom 11:22 , Eph 2:7 , Tit 3:4 ; cf. Mat 11:30 ). ( b ) We have next four qualifications, each described in two words: , , , : in the Holy Spirit (this ought to stand at the head of the list, but the order in which the various graces are mentioned is determined rather by sound and rhythm than by strictly logical considerations), in love unfeigned, sc. , love to man, not love to God (see note on chap. 2Co 5:14 and cf. , Rom 12:9 ), in the Word of Truth, sc. , the message of the Gospel (see reff. and cf. chap. 2Co 2:17 , 2Co 4:2 ), in the Power of God , which (Rom 1:16 , 1Co 1:18 ) he declares the Gospel itself to be. This, of course, is not the force of the phrase here; nor are we to think solely of “miraculous” powers (Act 8:10 , 1Co 2:5 ), which were “signs of an Apostle” (Rom 15:19 , chap. 2Co 12:12 ), but of the Divine grace given him for his special work (see reff.). “In verbo veritatis, in virtute Dei” may still stand for the watchword of Christian preaching. (iii.) We have now three clauses beginning with ; the preposition in the first of them being instrumental , in the other two expressing a state or condition. ( a ) : by the weapons of Righteousness on the right hand and on the left, sc. , both offensive and defensive armour the sword on the right and the shield on the left. See Eph 6:11 , 1Th 5:8 for St. Paul’s more detailed description of “the panoply of God”; the idea being apparently taken from Wis 5:18 ff.; cf. for Rom 6:13 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
By = In. Greek. en, as in 2Co 6:2.
pureness. Greek. hagnotes. Only here. Compare the adjective hagnos in 2Co 7:11.
knowledge. Greek. gnosis. App-132.
kindness. App-184.
Holy Ghost. No arts. App-101.
love. Greek. agape. App-136.
unfeigned. Greek. anupokritos. See Rom 12:9.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6.] The nine preceding datives (see on 2Co 6:4) have expanded . We now resume the main catalogue, with , in purity: which is variously explained: of bodily chastity, Grot.:-of unselfishness, Theodoret, and Chrys., as an alternative ( , , . . ib.):-I prefer the second of Chrys.s meanings, general purity of character, ,-unblamableness of life, and singleness of purpose.
] knowledge of the Gospel, in a high and singular degree; see 1Co 2:6 ff. So Chrys.: .
] kindness: a kind and considerate demeanour.
. ] in the Holy Spirit, as the Power by Whom all these motives are wrought. The omission of the article, aft. , constitutes no objection to this rendering, as Bp. Middleton (in loc.) supposes: cf. . , Rom 5:5,-and the very same words as these, 1Th 1:5,-in both which places the meaning is undoubted; neither of which, however, is noticed by Middleton. The words do not appear to hold any logical place in the list, any more than . below.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
2Co 6:6. ) often means leniency [quitas], which inclines to and admits of putting favourable constructions on things somewhat harsh; and this interpretation is consonant with the phrase, in long-suffering, which follows; comp. 2Pe 1:5; 1Pe 3:7, note.- , , in long-suffering, in kindness) These words are also joined together in 1Co 13:4 under the name of one virtue [charity].- , in the Holy Spirit) That we may always have the Holy Spirit present, that we may always be active, as also in the putting forth into exercise miraculous gifts, 1Th 1:5. There immediately follows, in love, which is the principal fruit of the Spirit, and which regulates the use of spiritual gifts.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
2Co 6:6
2Co 6:6
in pureness,-In this and the following words, he gives qualities he constantly exercised that no reproach be brought on his ministry. He does this by following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, by an earnest and unselfish desire for the good of all. [By pureness he means not only chastity, which is certainly included, but also purity of intention and thought, sincerity and purpose. There is nowhere any trace of an imputation against Paul, even from his worst enemies, on the score of licentiousness.]
in knowledge,-[Knowledge, in this case goes hand in hand with chastity, and with the requirement of it from all others as strictly incumbent upon all believers. By mentioning knowledge he reminds them that he had exhibited no unenlightened bigotry in regard to legal cleanness and uncleanness, and so the warning he delivers cannot be attributed to ignorance or narrow views of moral distinctions.]
in longsuffering,-[He patiently submitted to injustice and undeserved injuries heaped upon him, and bore long with the faults and failings of those whom he had converted to the faith.]
in kindness,-[He endeavored to manifest a kindly spirit to all, whatever their sin, and whatever might be their treatment of him. He fully realized that if he would do good he must be kind and gentle to all.]
in the Holy Spirit,-[By those graces and virtues which it is the Holy Spirits office to produce in the heart. Paul here evidently does not refer to the miraculous agency of the Holy Spirit, but to such feelings as he produces in the heart of the children of God. (Gal 5:22-23). ]
in love unfeigned,-[In the preceding clause he refers to the love manifested to the evil and the good; here it must be that which is due to those in Christ. Let love be without hypocrisy. … In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another. (Rom 12:9-10).]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
pureness: 2Co 7:2, 1Th 2:10, 1Ti 4:12, 1Ti 5:2, Tit 2:7
knowledge: 2Co 4:6, 2Co 11:6, 1Co 2:1, 1Co 2:2, 1Co 2:16, Eph 3:4, Col 1:9, Col 1:10, Col 1:27, Col 2:3, long suffering, 1Co 13:4, Gal 5:22, Eph 4:2, Eph 4:32, Col 1:11, Col 3:12, 2Ti 3:10, 2Ti 4:2
by the: 2Co 3:3, 2Co 11:4, Rom 15:19, 1Co 2:4, Gal 3:2, Gal 3:5, 1Th 1:5, 1Th 1:6, 1Pe 1:12
love: 2Co 2:4, 2Co 11:11, 2Co 12:15, Jdg 16:15, Eze 33:31, Rom 12:9, 1Pe 1:22, 1Jo 3:18
Reciprocal: Joh 14:26 – Holy Ghost 2Co 8:8 – prove Col 3:13 – Forbearing 2Ti 1:5 – unfeigned
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE HOLY GHOST
By the Holy Ghost.
2Co 6:6
The Holy Ghost is the greatest power in the world in the formation of character, in the shaping of history, in the ordering of the universe. To ignore this in education is to put the clock back; to neglect it in morals is retrogressive to the last degree; to supersede its influence is to put a bar in the way of progress.
I. Patient, kind, long-suffering a man may be, but he will not be what he might be without the Holy Ghost.It may be that the Holy Ghost is a power unrecognised, ignored, and forgotten, and even unknown, but still He is a great force for all that. So the lightning flash toppled down towers, crashed trees, and killed life before men bound electricity to be their servant. So steam displayed its power in every house in the land before men thought how to bind that power to their service. So now and then a brilliant life starts up out of an inexplicable environment. The lake fisherman lives where great names are forgotten, a humble Customs House officer writes a book of imperishable fame. A saint starts up out of Csars household, and the victories of simple goodness startle and confound those who thought to appeal to their generation, and to demand the homage of those who now neglect them. But still few pause to think of this great power as connected with us all, as offered to us all, open to us allthe Holy Ghost. We are face to face to-day with the greatest of all influences, the Holy Ghost. Here is the Maker of heroism, the Fount of saintliness, the Author of greatness, the Parent of unselfishness. Here is the Influence in Whose power, if we were true to it, we could become really ourselves, and give that message to the world for which we were sent here, that message which we alone can give, that individual contribution, that lifes work which we are kept alive to accomplish.
II. The Holy Ghost is the very spirit of unity and truth.Do not let us for one moment think that unity is to be brought about by the concession of vital faith, or that any unity is possible but unity in the truth. If we are true to ourselves, if we are true to God and His revelation, then as in some strong building as it rises in its might there will be seen those points of junction, those projecting stones and half-turned arches which speak of incompleteness and invite union; but you will never be able to build on to a crumbling wall without foundation, without stability. In bridging a river we see just rising up, on deeply submerged foundations, those solid piers, stately, tall, isolated as they seem, which are, however, at last to carry the roadway. So one contribution to unity among Christians to-day, and a solid one, will be to build up ourselves on our most holy faith, and to throw into that great cause our own individual life, strong in the power of the Holy Ghost. A great deal of the controversy of the day, which keeps us so much apart, is kept alive by men who have failed, by men who have spent their whole lives in watching other people, and who turn polemical bitterness into gain. One great source of discord would be removed if there were a greater effort after self-discipline, if people bestowed on themselves much of that criticism which they expend on others. If every man were to answer to the call which God makes, and throw himself resolutely into that which henceforth becomes to him his vocation, then he would stretch out hands on either side of him, not to rivals but to fellow-workers; then he would seek not to pull down, but to build up; then he would feel that the work was great, and the work was large, and that his contribution to the unity of the whole was first himself, and then the portion of the work allotted to him.
III. Let us anxiously seek to know whether this Holy Spirit is the predominant power in the formation of our character, for He brooks no rival. It is no use attempting to be centres of unity if our own lives are torn and distracted and rent with rebellious factions which war in our members. It is no use praying for the unity of Christendom if we are merely praying for the success of our own party or for the wilful having of our own way. It is no use pulling down the sheepfold in order to increase, as we think, the amplitude of our flock. It is no use burning and slaying with political rancour and deadly rivalry, and making a solitude and calling it peace. My first contribution to unity to-day shall be myself. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty; where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is unity; where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is power. Are all the channels open by which He may enter into my heart? Prayer, with its wide door reaching up into the very courts of heaven. Sacraments, laden with which the spies from the good land come to me, bearing the fruits of the country. The Holy Scriptures, with their never-dying message, the news of a far country, welcome as cold in the time of harvest. At certain great times of our life the Holy Spirit has entered. He breathed order upon chaos at baptism and gave us the gift of new life. He strengthened us with His might at confirmation, He dissipated in absolution the powers of evils. By His might Jesus Christ waits to be gracious to us in His Sacrament. Only remember that in whatever way He comes, it is for us to yield ourselves to His power. The Holy Spirit and sin cannot dwell together in the same heart. And if we will then trust Him, and work with Him, we shall see how true it is that here is a power greater than skill, intellect, endowment, or any bodily strength; here is a centre of unity which nothing can resistthe power of the Holy Ghost.
Rev. Canon Newbolt.
Illustration
A distinguished modern psychologist has said, Economically the saintly group of qualities is indispensable to the worlds welfare. The great saints are immediate successes; the smaller ones are at least heralds and harbingers, and they may be leavens also of a better mundane order.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
2Co 6:6. This and the next verse should be connected with “approving ourselves” in verse 4. The verses are to specify the items in their conduct by which they were to be “approved.” Pureness literally means “without mixture.” Paul endeavored to lead a life “unspotted from the world” (Jas 1:27). Knowledge denotes the information that had been received from the Lord by inspiration. Longsuffering means patience in dealing with the rebellious, and kindness indicates a gentle attitude toward those who would mistreat the apostle. By the Holy Ghost (or Spirit) means he regulated his work for the Lord by being thus divinely guided. Love unfeigned signifies a genuine interest in the welfare of others and not merely a pretended one.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
2Co 6:6. in pureness… in the Holy Ghostprobably such manifestations of the power of the truth as left no room for doubt that it was the Holy Ghost giving testimony to the word of His grace.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
The apostle, in the foregoing verses, had declared how many difficulties and dangers must be encountered by him that will attain the ends of his ministry, and approve himself unto God in integrity and uprightness; here he shows by how many ways and means the work of the ministry is promoted, and how the ministers of the gospel must be qualified for it: namely, by pureness of conversation, by knowlege of divine mysteries and study of the holy scriptures, by long-suffering under all provocations, by kindness towards all men, by the gifts and assistances of the Holy Ghost, by the word of truth clearly preached, and by the power of God confirming it; by the armour of righteousness, which completely covers and protects us on the right hand and on the left, both in prosperity and adversity; by passing through honour and dishonour, by going through evil report and good report.
Here note, That the ministers of God do approve themselves, and trial is made of them, as well by the things on the right hand as on the left. A minister of Christ is tried as well by honour as disgrace, as well by praise as by disparagement. The good report which we meet with in the world, is certaianly as great, yea, a more dangerous temptation, than the ill reports we pass under. ‘Tis a great trial to a minister to be dispraised and despised, to have dirt thrown undeservedly in his face; but verily it is as great a trial to be praised, commended, and applauded, to be lifted up in the thoughts and upon the tongues of men.
Solomon has an excellent proverb to this purpose, Pro 27:21 As the fining-pot for silver, and the furnace for gold, so is a man to his praise; that is, a man is tried by his praise, as really as silver is tried in the fining-pot, or gold in the furnace. Whenever a minister is praised, he is tried; his humility is tried, his self-denial is tried; when he is praised by men, he is tried whether he can give the entire praise to God. When people cry up such and such a preacher, they put him into the fining-pot; and he that is but dross, consumes. Let ministers remember there are trials on the right hand, as well as on the left; that passing through honour, and going through good reports, are great trails, as well as passing through dishonour and evil reports. God prepare us for both!
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Verse 6 He had remained holy, not allowing trials to cause him to compromise the truth. He quietly suffered all the trials and was kind to his greatest tormentors. The Holy Spirit gave Paul strength and he rose to a true love of Christ and his service.
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
in pureness [he had lived a holy and chaste life], in knowledge [His sufferings had not perverted his understanding of the gospel, or of God’s plan. As he had endured all temptations to self-indulgence, so had he likewise withstood all those whisperings of Satan which bade him make life easier by compromising the truth which he knew], in longsuffering, in kindness [If he had been loyal in the sight of God, in that he had abstained from self-indulgence and heresy, so he had been faithful toward men in patiently enduring their misconstructions and insults, and in constantly returning good for evil], in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned [If Paul’s sufferings had given an appearance of weakness to his life, the Holy Spirit had given it unquestioned power and had crowned his ministry with success (1Th 1:5; Rom 15:18-19). And if the Spirit had thus sanctioned his work by outward conquests, he had likewise sanctioned it by inward victories, so that Paul had risen to that love unfeigned which is the supreme gift of the Spirit (1Co 8:1; 1Co 13:1-13; Rom 12:9-21; 2Co 12:15; 1Pe 1:22; 2Pe 1:5-8). From those traits and gifts which were more passive, Paul now turns to enumerate those which were more active],
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
6:6 {5} By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
(5) Secondly he reckons up such virtues as are necessary, and ought alway be in them, and by which as by good armour, all pitfalls and hindrances may be overcome.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Paul now named various graces (positive character qualities) that God had produced within him mainly in and through these trials. He moved from external circumstances to internal qualities.
"Pureness" is single-mindedness as well as moral uprightness.
"Knowledge" or "understanding" includes understanding of the Christian faith, insight, and sensitivity to God’s will (cf. 1Pe 3:7).
"Patience" is longsuffering with difficult people without retaliation.
"Kindness" reflects a generous and sympathetic disposition that manifests itself in good actions (cf. Luk 6:35).
Perhaps Paul used "the Holy Spirit" here in the same sense that he did in Gal 5:16. We should walk in the Spirit just as we walk in purity, knowledge, etc. The Spirit as a gift rather than as a person may be in view.
"Genuine love" is the honest desire to do what is best for those in view.
"The word of truth" probably refers to "truthful speech" or perhaps the message of truth (cf. 2Co 5:19).
"The power of God" was the power that God manifested when His ambassadors followed Him faithfully and proclaimed His Word.