Single lesson
2 Corinthians 6: Paul’s Hardships and God’s Grace
2 Corinthians 6:1–13; 2 Corinthians 6:14–18
Children will trace two linked ideas in 2 Corinthians 6: Paul describes faithful service through hardship and godly character, then warns believers not to join themselves in ways that clash with belonging to the living God.
Before you teach
In 2 Corinthians 6:1-13, Paul urges the Corinthians not to receive God’s grace in vain and points to endurance, suffering and godly conduct in service. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, he gives a warning about being unequally yoked and supports it with God’s words about his people.
Students will name two features of God’s servants in 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 and explain from 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 why believers are told not to be unequally yoked.
Welcome: Hear Paul’s urgent ‘now’
4 minRead 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 aloud. Ask children to listen for repeated words. Point out that Paul says not to receive God’s grace in vain, and twice says “now”. Explain simply that Paul is calling for a real response to God’s help and salvation, not a delayed or empty one.
2 Corinthians 6:1, 2 Corinthians 6:2
Read and explain: Hardships and godly qualities
8 minRead 2 Corinthians 6:3-10 in short sections. On a board, make two lists: hard things and godly qualities. Add Paul’s words such as afflictions, imprisonments and labours, then pureness, kindness, sincere love, truth and God’s power. Show that Paul describes faithful service in painful and honourable situations alike.
2 Corinthians 6:3, 2 Corinthians 6:4, 2 Corinthians 6:5, 2 Corinthians 6:6, 2 Corinthians 6:7, 2 Corinthians 6:8, 2 Corinthians 6:9, 2 Corinthians 6:10
Discuss: Open hearts and a clear warning
7 minRead 2 Corinthians 6:11-16. Explain that Paul speaks openly and says his heart is enlarged toward the Corinthians, then asks them to open their hearts. Next, notice his warning against being unequally yoked with unbelievers. Trace the contrasts he uses: righteousness and iniquity, light and darkness, Christ and Belial, temple and idols.
2 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Corinthians 6:12, 2 Corinthians 6:13, 2 Corinthians 6:14, 2 Corinthians 6:15, 2 Corinthians 6:16
Make and respond: A reminder from the passage
7 minInvite each child to choose one short phrase from the passage for a reminder card. They may choose a quality such as “sincere love” or “the word of truth”, or a promise such as “I will dwell in them” or “I will be to you a Father”. Let a few children share one everyday use for their card.
2 Corinthians 6:6, 2 Corinthians 6:7, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 2 Corinthians 6:18
Closing: Why this warning matters
4 minReview the lesson goal together. Ask for one hardship Paul names, one godly quality, and one reason for the warning. Finish with the text’s reason: believers are called God’s temple, and God says, “I will dwell in them”, “I will receive you”, and “I will be to you a Father”.
2 Corinthians 6:4, 2 Corinthians 6:5, 2 Corinthians 6:6, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 2 Corinthians 6:17, 2 Corinthians 6:18
Questions to explore
What words in 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 show that serving God can include both pain and faithful character?
Choose at least one hardship from verses 4-5 and one godly quality from verses 6-7, because Paul places these side by side in his description of service.
2 Corinthians 6:4, 2 Corinthians 6:5, 2 Corinthians 6:6, 2 Corinthians 6:7
How does Paul’s appeal in 2 Corinthians 6:11-14 move from open hearts to a warning?
Notice that Paul first says he has spoken openly and asks for an open-hearted response, then immediately says, “Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers.”
2 Corinthians 6:11, 2 Corinthians 6:12, 2 Corinthians 6:13, 2 Corinthians 6:14
According to 2 Corinthians 6:16-18, what truth about God’s people supports Paul’s warning?
Look for God’s own statements: he will dwell in them, be their God, receive them, and be a Father to them.
2 Corinthians 6:16, 2 Corinthians 6:17, 2 Corinthians 6:18
Make, think or respond
Key Verse Reminder Card
What you’ll need
- paper or card
- pencils or pens
- coloured pencils or markers
- Bible text read aloud or written on a board
Try it together
- Ask each child to choose one phrase from 2 Corinthians 6:1-18.
- Have them write the phrase clearly on a small card and decorate it simply.
- On the back, ask them to write one short reminder linked to the phrase, such as telling the truth, showing kindness, or remembering they belong to God.
- Invite volunteers to read their card and say why they chose it.
The card helps children remember Paul’s description of faithful service and God’s words about his people in 2 Corinthians 6.
Adapt for your group
- For younger children, offer two or three short phrases to choose from and let them answer orally instead of writing a longer response.
- For older or more confident children, ask them to sort Paul’s words into three groups: hardships, godly qualities, and God’s promises.
An optional closing prayer
You may pray: “Father, thank you for your grace. Please help us respond to you, live with truth and sincere love, and remember that we belong to you.”
Read the Bible passage World English Bible Classic
2 Corinthians 6
1 Working together, we entreat also that you do not receive the grace of God in vain.
2 For he says, “At an acceptable time I listened to you. In a day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
3 We give no occasion of stumbling in anything, that our service may not be blamed,
4 but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God: in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
5 in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings,
6 in pureness, in knowledge, in perseverance, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love,
7 in the word of truth, in the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
8 by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true,
9 as unknown and yet well known, as dying and behold—we live, as punished and not killed,
10 as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things.
11 Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians. Our heart is enlarged.
12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.
13 Now in return—I speak as to my children—you also open your hearts.
14 Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship do righteousness and iniquity have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
15 What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what portion does a believer have with an unbeliever?
16 What agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk in them. I will be their God and they will be my people.”
17 Therefore “ ‘Come out from among them, and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you.
18 I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
World English Bible Classic. Public domain.