“Pastor, I understand that we are secure in Christ, but how would you explain 2 Corinthians 6:1-3?”

“We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (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.) Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed” (2 Cor. 6:1-3).

If we remove Paul’s parenthetical thought for a moment, it becomes clear that the apostle had the ministry in mind, not salvation, when he used the phrase “that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.” As ambassadors, representing Christ in His absence, the Corinthians should have been living exemplary lives. However, their conduct was far from beyond reproach, thus placing their ministry, which they had received by the grace of God, in jeopardy of being ineffectual.

With the re-insertion of Paul’s parenthetical phrase, the apostle was seeking to show the Corinthians the gravity of the situation. While they were busy squabbling among themselves, lost souls were perishing.

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