2 Corinthians 6:6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, sincere love;
Paul’s list of personal attributes that commend himself and his ministry companions switches to positive elements. These are qualities that help these “servants of God” (v. 4) confirm their salvation and function as ambassadors of reconciliation.
Purity is related to being holy. It has a strong ethical quality to it. As first in the list, it models the key characteristic of God. As the Spirit of holiness transforms us, we take on more of this essential quality.
Knowledge is important because it is how we connect our living to our thinking and faith. Knowing what is right and wrong will guide us to live out our faith in Christ. This is more than simply intellectual knowledge but is based on relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit who will teach us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Patience is another essential character quality that the Holy Spirit teaches us (Galatians 5:22). This word can also be translated as endurance–putting up with a difficult situation or difficult person and waiting for the situation to change. Even if nothing changes, we can still tolerate what is going on because our faith and hope look beyond the challenge. We can see God at work in spite of pain, sorrow, discomfort, or even confusion.
Kindness is an action that God shows towards us through Christ (Titus 3:4) and one we should show to others (Ephesians 4:32). It is the outflow of a loving heart and is one of the fruits the Holy Spirit grows within us (Galatians 5:22-23). Kindness is especially needed in stressful situations because the natural response many people give will be anger and frustration.
The Holy Spirit is the one who helps people develop all of these qualities in their lives and live them out in relationships. With the Spirit’s guidance and reminders, we rely on our own efforts which are often influenced by selfish motives and self-preservation.
Sincere love is genuine and unhypocritical. There are no conditions attached to it. It does not judge people or require them to meet a certain standard do a certain action in order to be the recipients of love. It just simply loves people. This type of love can be extraordinarily difficult to do because people are always maneuvering to get advantage. Politics is all about advantage. Sincere love is pure and unconditional.
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