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Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

A reading plan that walks through the entire New Testament in 24 weeks of daily readings.

Duration: 168 days

2 Corinthians 5-6

Chapter 5

¹Now we know that if the earthly tent in which we live is destroyed, we have a dwelling prepared for us by God, a dwelling in the heavens, not made with human hands, that will be eternal. ²While we are in this earthly tent, we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling; ³for when we have put it on, we will not be naked.^[a]

⁴While we are enclosed in this earthly tent we groan, burdened because we do not wish to be stripped naked but rather to be further clothed, so that our mortal state may be swallowed up by immortality. ⁵God is the one who has prepared us for this destiny, and he has given us the Spirit as a pledge of this.

⁶Therefore, we are always confident, even though we realize that as long as we are at home in the body, we are exiles from the Lord, ⁷for we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸Yet we are filled with confidence, even as we long to be exiled from the body and be at home with the Lord.

⁹For this reason, whether at home or away, we strive to please him. ¹⁰For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive suitable recompense for his conduct in the body, whether good or bad.

¹¹Well Known to God. And so, with this fear of the Lord always foremost in our thoughts, we try to persuade others. We ourselves are well known to God, and I hope we are also well known to your consciences. ¹²We are not once again commending ourselves to you, but we are rather affording you an opportunity to boast about us. Then you will have an answer to those who boast of external appearances and not the heart. ¹³If, indeed, we are out of our minds, it is for God; if we are rational, it is for your sake.

¹⁴The Ministry of Reconciliation. For the love of Christ urges us forward, once we conclude that one has died for all, and therefore all have died. ¹⁵And he died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sakes died and was raised to life.

¹⁶Therefore, from now on we will not regard anyone according to human standards. Even though we once judged Christ from a human point of view,^[b] we no longer do so. ¹⁷Consequently, anyone united to Christ is a new creation. The old order has passed away. Behold, all has become new.

¹⁸All this has been done by God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and entrusted us with the ministry of reconciliation. ¹⁹In other words, God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, and not holding people’s transgressions against them, and he committed to us the message of reconciliation.

²⁰Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is appealing to you through us. We implore you through Christ to be reconciled to God. ²¹He made him who did not know sin to be sin for our sake, so that through him we might become the righteousness of God.^[c]

Chapter 6

¹As his coworkers, we urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. ²For he says,

“In an acceptable time I have listened to you,
and on the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.^[d]

Ministers of God. ³We avoid placing obstacles in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry. ⁴On the contrary, in everything we do we present ourselves as ministers of God: in steadfast perseverance; in afflictions, hardships, and distress; ⁵in floggings, imprisonments, and riots; in labors, sleepless nights, and fasts; ⁶in purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness; in holiness of spirit, genuine love, ⁷truthfulness, and the power of God.

We wield weapons of righteousness with right hand and left,^[e] ⁸in times of honor or dishonor, praise or insult. We are regarded as impostors, and yet we speak the truth; ⁹as unknown men, and nevertheless we are well known; as dying, and behold we live on; as scourged, but we are not put to death; ¹⁰as sorrowful, and yet we are always rejoicing; as poor, and yet we make many rich;^[f] as having nothing, and yet we possess everything.

Relations Have Been Established^[g]

¹¹Paul’s Heart Is Wide Open. O Corinthians, we have spoken frankly to you, and we have opened our heart to you. ¹²We are not withholding our love from you, but you have withheld yours from us. ¹³I speak to you as my children. In return, also open wide your hearts to us.

¹⁴What Relation Can There Be between Righteousness and Iniquity? Do not associate with unbelievers.^[h] For what basis can there be for a partnership between righteousness and lawlessness? What do light and darkness have in common? ¹⁵Can Christ ever be in accord with Beliar?^[i] What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶Can there be an agreement between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God, and for this we have God’s word:

“I will live in them and walk among them.
    I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
¹⁷Therefore, come out from their midst
    and separate yourselves from them,
    says the Lord.
Do not touch anything unclean,
    and I will welcome you.
¹⁸I will be a father to you,
    and you shall be my sons and daughters,
    says the Lord Almighty.”

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 5:3 Naked: without an earthly tent (body), which is the condition of those who have died.
2 Corinthians 5:16 We once judged Christ from a human point of view: literally: “we knew Christ according to the flesh.” The literal translation does not mean that Paul met Jesus during the latter’s mortal life; it means, rather, that before Paul was converted he had human prejudices regarding Jesus, but now no longer does so.
2 Corinthians 5:21 This is a splendid summary of the redemption. God made the penalty for sins to fall on Jesus (see Isa 53:6; Gal 3:13). Christ, the only one who is entirely righteous, took our sins upon himself at Calvary and endured the punishment reserved for us, i.e., death and separation from God. He made it possible for us to receive his righteousness and be recommended to God. Yet all this stems from the love of the Father, who prompted Christ by his plan and enabled him to bring it about by his grace.
2 Corinthians 6:2 This verse does not exclude from grace and salvation those people who lived before Christ’s coming. For they received the promises that were later fulfilled in Christ (2 Cor 1:20) and saw and welcomed their fulfillment from a distance (see Jn 8:56; Heb 11:13).
2 Corinthians 6:7 Weapons . . . with right hand and left: with the right hand, offensive weapons (the sword); with the left, defensive weapons (the shield).
2 Corinthians 6:10 We make many rich: i.e., rich toward God, for true wealth does not consist in worldly possessions (see Lk 12:15, 21). Even if believers have none of the world’s goods, they possess everything in him who is Lord of all (see 1 Cor 1:4f; 3:21-23; Eph 2:7; 3:8; Phil 4:19; Col 2:3).
2 Corinthians 6:11 After the gripping testimony concerning the apostolate and its mystery, the Letter returns to concrete situations of the community of Corinth. Moving appeals, pastoral concern, and profound attachment come to the fore in these lines.
2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not associate with unbelievers: Paul is here thinking of the Old Testament prohibition on intermingling (Deut 22:10ff). The false teachers among the Corinthians are servants of Satan; hence, believers should not associate with them, for such association will destroy the harmony and fellowship that unite them in Christ.
2 Corinthians 6:15 Beliar: (= nothingness, uselessness) is a Greek variant of the Hebrew “Belial,” which designates idols and Satan, a title used for Satan in the writings of Qumran. This passage may have been taken from another Letter of Paul to the Corinthians. The passage interweaves several citations from the Old Testament (which are in order: Lev 26:11-12; Ezek 37:27; Isa 52:11; Jer 51:45; 2 Sam 7:14; Jer 31:9; Isa 43:6).

New Catholic Bible (NCB)