Author: Rev. Lek Aik Wee

2 Corinthians 6:17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

The entanglement with sin and idolatry threatens the spiritual well-being of God’s people. The Apostle Paul sought the church to come clean. Repent, put away the unclean thing. It is an admonition to the Lord.

In the conquest of the Promised Land, God’s instruction was for Israel to completely rid the cities they conquered of the idolatrous inhabitants. Israel disobeyed.

2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Believers are the temple of the living God. We are to keep ourselves pure and unspotted from the world. When God commanded the children of Israel to build the Tabernacle in the wilderness, it was for the purpose of manifesting the presence and purity of God. The brazen altar was placed in the outer court for the sacrifice brought by children of Israel for the remission of sins. The priest had to offer a sacrifice for themselves before they could enter the holy place. It was a visible symbol of God’s presence with His people.

2 Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

It is interesting to observe the background giving rise to the Apostle Paul’s indictment, “In 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 and 10:14-30, Paul dealt extensively with problems relating to dining in pagan temples and eating meat sacrificed to idols. These activities were not simply a function of pagan religiosity from which the new believer could easily abstain. Rather, they were an integral part of the social fabric of Roman society and were often associated with the fulfilment of civic responsibilities. Since only the well-to-do had homes large enough for a formal dining room, the abundant temples of Corinth provided facilities for entertaining dinner parties. The related fees were naturally used for the support of the temple and cult. Numerous invitations to these ancient cocktail parties survive.”¹

2 Corinthians 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

The word “concord” means “agreement”. Belial literally means “worthless, wicked”, the name of Satan. Christ’s mission is in concord with His Father’s will. Whereas Satan is in rebellion against God. Therefore, there is no common ground for cooperation. When we commit our lives to God in Christ, we are exhorted to be separate from evil, in thought and in deed. This would mean separating from those who are not in Christ for there is no common allegiance.

This was God’s warning to the children of Israel – Deuteronomy 13:6-8 If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

The Apostle Paul uses 4 imageries to illustrate the distinct contrast between righteousness and unrighteousness or lawlessness as listed below:

Righteousness versus Lawlessness¹

Light Darkness

Christ Belial

Believer Unbeliever

Temple of God Idols

The imagery of light and darkness is the first. Jesus is called the Light, the Giver of eternal life as contrasted with the darkness of death by the Apostle John in John 1:4-7 In him (Jesus) was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. John the Baptiser was raised by God to bear witness of Jesus, called the Light. By Jesus, life is imparted to man. Jesus is the Giver of life.

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

The Apostle Paul exhorted members in the Corinthian church to be continually watchful of the lure of the ungodly to stifle them from their steadfastness in the Christian faith. The word “fellowship” means “sharing, partnership, as a participation in a common fellowship”. Righteousness or uprightness, the way of God, has nothing to do with lawlessness (unrighteousness).

2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Calling to mind the injunction in Deuteronomy 22:10 “Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together”, the Apostle Paul The ox was a clean animal and the donkey unclean, and their step and pull are unequal. [MacDonald]

Oxen and donkeys pulled differently, so plowing a straight line would have been nearly impossible. Drawing a spiritual principle from the literal command, Paul argues that it is a mistake to hitch together a believer and an unbeliever in a close relationship that requires pulling together in a unified direction—whether marriage, business, or any other formal, longer-term contractual or covenant relationship. Why? Because believers and unbelievers have different goals, different worldviews, different methods, and different rules.¹ [Swindoll]