The Meaning of 2 Corinthians 6:18 Explained

2 Corinthians 6:18

KJV: And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

YLT: and I will be to you for a Father, and ye -- ye shall be to Me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'

Darby: and I will be to you for a Father, and ye shall be to me for sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

ASV: And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  will be  a Father  unto you,  and  ye  shall be  my  sons  and  daughters,  saith  the Lord  Almighty. 

What does 2 Corinthians 6:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This final mosaic of quotations ( 2 Samuel 7:14; 2 Samuel 7:27; Isaiah 43:6) advances the revelation concerning the Christian"s relationship to God. He is not only our God ( 2 Corinthians 6:16) who is holy ( 2 Corinthians 6:17), but He is our Father. God has a right to demand loyal allegiance from His children. Since He is the Almighty, we must remember that to disregard His word means to incur divine discipline. Paul compared the church here first to a temple ( 2 Corinthians 6:17) and then to a family ( 2 Corinthians 6:18).

Context Summary

2 Corinthians 6:11-18 - Separate From All Uncleanness
Paul's love failed to be appreciated by his converts because the channel of receptiveness, that is, of their faith and love, was so straitened. How often is this the case between Christ and us! Let us dredge the channel. Be ye enlarged! Open your mouth wide and He will fill it.
The best method of doing this is to be only, always, and all for Him. We must not offer Him a share of our heart and devotion. There must be no division between Him and others. Whenever iniquity, darkness, Belial, and unbelievers seek to share our nature with the Holy Spirit, and we permit the partnership, He withdraws. No idols must be permitted in any hidden shrine of the heart. The whole nature-spirit (that is, the Holy of Holies) soul (that is, the seat of our individuality), and body-must be the temple of the Eternal, who rules it from the Shekinah, which is enthroned on the Ark of the Covenant. God still walks the world in those who love Him and are wholly yielded to His indwelling. The loneliest spirit finds Him to be father, mother, brother, sister, all. What an incentive to cleanliness not only of flesh but of spirit! Hebrews 10:22. The Apostle concludes by expressing his intense thankfulness that his converts had not misunderstood the urgency of his former letter. [source]

Chapter Summary: 2 Corinthians 6

1  That he has approved himself a faithful minister of Christ by his exhortations,
3  and by integrity of life,
4  and by patiently enduring all kinds of affliction and disgrace for the gospel
10  Of which he speaks the more boldly amongst them because his heart is open to them,
13  and he expects the like affection from them again;
14  exhorting them to flee the society and pollutions of idolaters,
17  as being themselves temples of the living God

Greek Commentary for 2 Corinthians 6:18

Saith the Lord Almighty [λεγει Κυριος παντοκρατωρ]
2 Samuel 7:8. This use of εις — eis is a Hebraism for Hebrew le instead of predicate nominative. Παντοκρατωρ — Pantokratōr (πασ κρατεω — pāskrateō Ruler of all) is common in the lxx. Occurs also in the inscriptions and papyri. In the N.T. only here and in Revelation. [source]
I will be to you, etc. []
From 2 Samuel 7:14, where the Septuagint and Hebrew agree. Paul says sons and daughters for son. [source]
Almighty [παντοκράτωρ]
The word is peculiar to Revelation, occurring nowhere else in the New Testament. Here it is a quotation. Frequent in the Septuagint. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for 2 Corinthians 6:18

Hebrews 8:10 A God - a people [εἰς θεόν - εἰς λαόν]
Lit. unto a God, etc. A Hebraistic form of expression, εἰς signifying the destination of the substantive verb. The sense is, I will be to them to serve as a God; or my being as related to them will amount to my being a God to them. Comp. Matthew 19:5; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Hebrews 1:5. [source]
Hebrews 1:5 Have I begotten [γεγέννηκα]
Recognized thee publicly as sovereign; established thee in an official sonship-relation. This official installation appears to have its N.T. counterpart in the resurrection of Christ. In Acts 13:33, this is distinctly asserted; and in Romans 1:4, Paul says that Christ was “powerfully declared” to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead. Comp. Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5. Second quotation, 2 Samuel 7:14. The reference is to Solomon. David proposes to build a temple. Nathan tells him that this shall be done by Solomon, whom Jahveh will adopt as his son. In 2 Corinthians 6:18, Paul applies the passage to followers of the Messiah, understanding the original as referring to all the spiritual children of David. [source]
Hebrews 1:5 Unto which [Τινι]
“To which individual angel.” As a class angels are called sons of God (Elohim) (Psalm 29:1), but no single angel is called God‘s Son like the Messiah in Psalm 2:7. Dods takes “have I begotten thee” This quotation is from 2 Samuel 7:14. Note the use of εις — eis in the predicate with the sense of “as” like the Hebrew (lxx idiom), not preserved in the English. See Matthew 19:5; Luke 2:34. Like Old English “to” or “for.” See 2 Corinthians 6:18; Revelation 21:7 for the same passage applied to relation between God and Christians while here it is treated as Messianic. [source]
Revelation 1:8 The Almighty [ὁ παντοκράτωρ]
Used only once outside of Revelation, in 2 Corinthians 6:18, where it is a quotation. Constantly in the Septuagint. [source]
Revelation 1:8 The Lord God [Κυριος ο τεος]
“The Lord the God.” Common phrase in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 6:3, Ezekiel 6:11; Ezekiel 7:2, etc.) and in this book (Revelation 4:8; Revelation 11:17; Revelation 15:3; Revelation 16:7; Revelation 19:6; Revelation 21:22). See Revelation 1:4; Revelation 4:8 for the triple use of ο — ho etc. to express the eternity of God.The Almighty (ο παντοκρατωρ — ho pantokratōr). Late compound (πας — pās and κρατεω — krateō), in Cretan inscription and a legal papyrus, common in lxx and Christian papyri, in N.T. only in 2 Corinthians 6:18 and Revelation 1:8; Revelation 4:8; Revelation 11:17; Revelation 15:3; Revelation 16:7, Revelation 16:14; Revelation 19:6, Revelation 19:15; Revelation 21:22. [source]
Revelation 1:8 The Almighty [ο παντοκρατωρ]
Late compound (πας — pās and κρατεω — krateō), in Cretan inscription and a legal papyrus, common in lxx and Christian papyri, in N.T. only in 2 Corinthians 6:18 and Revelation 1:8; Revelation 4:8; Revelation 11:17; Revelation 15:3; Revelation 16:7, Revelation 16:14; Revelation 19:6, Revelation 19:15; Revelation 21:22. [source]

What do the individual words in 2 Corinthians 6:18 mean?

and I will be to you for a Father you will be to Me sons daughters says [the] Lord Almighty
Καὶ Ἔσομαι ὑμῖν εἰς Πατέρα ὑμεῖς ἔσεσθέ μοι υἱοὺς θυγατέρας λέγει Κύριος Παντοκράτωρ

Ἔσομαι  I  will  be 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 1st Person Singular
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ὑμῖν  to  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 2nd Person Plural
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
Πατέρα  a  Father 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: προπάτωρ 
Sense: generator or male ancestor.
ἔσεσθέ  will  be 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Middle, 2nd Person Plural
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
μοι  to  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
υἱοὺς  sons 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
θυγατέρας  daughters 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Plural
Root: θυγάτηρ  
Sense: a daughter.
λέγει  says 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
Κύριος  [the]  Lord 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κύριος  
Sense: he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord.
Παντοκράτωρ  Almighty 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: παντοκράτωρ  
Sense: he who holds sway over all things.