2 Corinthians 6:9-10 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed;10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.
The contrasts begun in v. 8 continue in the following verses. The rhetorical effect of these contrasts is to highlight the second item in the list. The first item is the situation Paul and his companions faced. The second item is evidence of God’s power and grace and at work in their lives. The subtle message to the Corinthians is that faith is the key connection to experiencing this power. They should see Paul’s faith and work and be challenged in their own lives to see to what God is calling them.
Being unknown can also be taken as ignorant, but the passive voice of the participle puts the knowing in the minds of others. Paul and his companions were not known by others. This means that their message was also unknown. Other people recognized and knew Paul, and therefore, they had heard the gospel. The gospel was going out to the whole world.
Death was a constant threat in many of Paul’s travels. He already wrote to the Corinthians about his daily experience of death (1 Corinthians 15:31). Few of us today live with this level of suffering but there are still believers who are at great risk of persecution, even to the point of death. In these critical situations Paul found the life of Christ at work in him (Philippians 1:21). Death was only an interruption and has no hold on those who are in Christ.
Paul and his companions also faced punishment by the religious and political leaders in many cities to which they traveled. God’s protective hand was over them, keeping them from death. Not all early believers escaped death, such as Stephen and James. In the coming years, many others would lose their lives, including Paul and Peter. Tradition states that all the apostles were martyred except John who died of old age. God protects us in many ways about which we do not even know. But we can have assurance that death does not have the final say in our destiny.
Paul also experienced times of sorrow. This letter is often called the weeping letter for the pain that appears in between the words. Sorrow is caused when there is pain or disappointment. We are all bound to have emotional ups and downs. Sorrow is part of our existence. We cannot have everything go our way all the time. We will have conflicts with other people. We will get sick. We will have various stresses. But all of these earth-bound struggles cannot take away our joy. Paul wrote to the Philippians while he was in prison, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). He had learned to have joy even in the most dire of situations. The source of this joy was the Lord Jesus.
Poverty was also a big challenge for many early believers. Many came from the lower strata of society. Some lost their jobs or faced economic hardship for their decision to follow Jesus. Others left everything behind to follow the call of God. But this lack of resources was replaced by the richness of God’s grace. Paul’s poverty and hard work was a testimony to the Corinthians and allowed them to grow in their faith (see 1 Corinthians 9). His struggle enabled them to experience more of God’s grace.
The last pair echoes the previous pair. Having nothing would be the result of an itinerant life of travel. Paul had a few precious items, such as his Scripture rolls and parchments for writing. But he did not have a mansion on a hilltop. Yet, he possessed the greatest treasure of all: eternal life in Jesus Christ. Many people today are just the opposite. They possess everything they need and just about everything they want. Yet, they are poor spiritually. They have missed out on the most important possession of all.
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