2 Corinthians 6:1-2 - Being sanctified daily

In 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Paul had established that God had given him the message and ministry of reconciliation. So in chapter 6 he began by saying that he was working with God. He saw his ministry as a collaborated effort between him and God. So he urged the Corinthians not to allow the grace of God that they had received be made of no effect, by neglecting to live the way Christians should live.  Verse 2 is a parenthesis. How do we know? The two dashes, one at the end of verse 1 and one at the end of verse 2 tell us so.  In the parenthesis Paul quoted Isaiah 49:8.   

The apostle was using the quotation rhetorically. He added the word “now’ twice to the quotation. Bear in mind that he was writing to Christians. This being so, we can conclude that he was pointing to Christians on the necessity to live life daily, demonstrating the effect of God’s grace working in our life. To Paul there must be a continual and daily application of the work of God’s grace in our life. The effect of God’s grace working in our life, changing and transforming us, should be a “now” event. Why? It’s because our salvation is not just an instant event, it is a continuing process. We are progressively being saved from the effect of sin through the continual sanctifying work of the Spirit.

The removal of our sin nature takes place instantly when we accept Christ into our hearts. But the effect of that sin nature needs to be dealt with through the process of time. This progressive process is known as sanctification. Through daily events and circumstances that we encounter, God brings to light areas in our life so that we can deal with them. And we must deal with them with the help of God whenever they surface. That’s the reason Paul said, “‘now’ is the day of salvation.” As we co-operate with God instant by instant, He transforms us. For areas where we would not co-operate with God and deal with them, they keep coming back time and again. Our growth in grace in our daily living depends largely on how much we will collaborate with God in our day to day living. The pertinent question is: Are we willing to be transformed?