2 Corinthians 6:17

“Unequally yoked together” translates a single Greek verb, heterozygéō, built from heteros, “different”, and zygos, “yoke”. It means to yoke up differently, to join in one harness two that are unlike. A yoke binds two animals so that they walk, turn and pull as one. The law of Moses forbade yoking an ox and a donkey together (Deuteronomy 22:10), and the Jewish believers in Corinth would have known that law well. Two animals so different in nature and strength make a poor team, and the pair works against itself, to the harm of both. Paul takes that picture and applies it to a believer bound to someone who does not share faith in Christ.

The command comes straight after Paul has described his own ministry, with its sufferings, patience and endurance for the gospel (2 Corinthians 6:3–10), and has asked the Corinthians to open their hearts to him, which suggests that some among them were holding back or compromising. Corinth was a major Roman port, busy with trade and full of cults and schools of philosophy, with temples to Aphrodite, Apollo and Poseidon. Most of the believers had come out of that paganism. Their social and business ties often drew them into feasts held in honour of idols, into the city’s immorality, and into dealings that compromised their faith. The last of Paul’s five questions sets the temple of God against idols, and that shows the danger he had most in mind.

The principle reaches every close and binding union in which the two partners would pull in different directions. It applies most of all to marriage, where a difference in faith touches shared values, the raising of children and the goals of a whole life. It also reaches business partnerships, deep friendships and membership in movements whose core values oppose the truth of Scripture. In each case the question is whether the bond would draw a believer away from Christ, weaken his convictions or lead him into what God forbids.

Paul backs the command with a run of questions, each pairing two opposites, and every one of them expects the reply “none at all”. Each pair adds weight to the one before, until the last question brings the argument to God’s own dwelling place.

“What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” The word for fellowship is metochḗ, from metechō, “to partake” or “to share”, and it means participation or a shared stake in something. Righteousness here is the uprightness of those who are in Christ, and unrighteousness is wickedness and lawlessness, so the two have no common ground or shared work.

“What communion hath light with darkness?” Communion is koinōnía, a richer word for a close bond and a shared life. The New Testament uses it for the life believers share in Christ, as in “fellowship of the Spirit” (Philippians 2:1). Light stands for truth, purity, understanding and the presence of God. Paul tells the Ephesians that they are now light in the Lord and must walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8, 5:8–11). Darkness stands for sin, ignorance, evil and the realm of Satan. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), and God has rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his Son (Colossians 1:13–14, 1:13). Someone who has been carried from one kingdom into the other has a new allegiance and a new life.

“What concord hath Christ with Belial?” Concord is symphṓnēsis, from symphōneō, “to sound together”, and so to be in harmony or agreement. Between Christ and Belial there is only opposition.

“What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” A part is a share, as in an inheritance or a common lot. The infidel is the ápistos, formed from a, “not”, and pistós, “believing” or “trustworthy”. In the KJV the word simply means an unbeliever, someone without saving faith in Christ, and “he that believeth” is the pistós. Their deepest loyalties and the goal of their lives point in different directions.

“What agreement hath the temple of God with idols?” The word for agreement, synkatathesis, means a shared mind or a harmonious accord. The temple of the one true God and the empty images of false gods can reach no such accord. Paul had already put the same choice to this church in setting the cup of the Lord against the cup of devils (1 Corinthians 10:21), and James says that friendship with the world is enmity with God (James 4:4).

The fifth question leads straight into the reason for all of them: “for ye are the temple of the living God”. The word for temple is naós, the inner sanctuary where the god was held to live, as distinct from hieron, the whole temple complex with its courts. Paul is telling the Corinthians that they are the holy place itself. In a city full of temples, he moves the dwelling of God from a building to the people of God. He says the same of the church as a whole in 1 Corinthians 3:16, and of each believer’s body as the temple of the Holy Ghost in 1 Corinthians 6:19.

Idols are eídōlon, from a word meaning an image or a phantom. The word covers carved statues and also anything that takes God’s rightful place in our devotion. Against these lifeless things Paul sets “the living God”, who acts, gives life and is truly present among his people.

Christ himself is the true temple. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), and the word for dwelt means that he pitched his tent among us. Jesus spoke of his own body as the temple that would be destroyed and raised up in three days (John 2:19–21). Through his death and resurrection the way to God was opened, and now the Spirit of Christ lives in those who belong to him (Romans 8:9). Peter calls believers living stones built up into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5), and Paul says that the church grows into a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling of God through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:21–22).

“Wherefore” draws the conclusion. Since God lives among his people, they must come out from among those who would defile his house. Paul takes these words from Isaiah’s call to God’s people to depart from Babylon (Isaiah 52:11), and Jeremiah gives the same call to flee Babylon (Jeremiah 51:45). The church in Corinth stood where Israel had stood, a holy people in the middle of an idolatrous nation.

“Come out” is exérchomai, from ek, “out of”, and érchomai, “to come” or “to go”. As a command it calls for a decisive departure. “Be ye separate” is aphorízō, from apó, “from”, and horízō, “to set a boundary”. It means to mark off by a boundary, to set apart for a purpose. God sets his people apart for himself, and they in turn choose to live within the boundary he has drawn. “Saith the Lord” gives the command God’s own authority. God told Israel, “be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44–45), and told them that he had separated them from the nations to be his (Leviticus 20:26). Peter applies the same words to the church (1 Peter 1:15–16).

The command carries a promise with it: “and I will receive you”. To receive here is to welcome and accept someone into a close relationship. The next verse says what that relationship is: “And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

The word for Father, patḗr, can mean a father near or remote, literal or figurative. Here it speaks of God as the loving head of the family into which he brings his people, who provides for them, protects them and guides them. Huiós, “son”, is the word for one who shares in a family’s name and inheritance. Paul adds “and daughters”, so that every believer, man or woman, is included. The promise echoes God’s word about David’s son, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son” (2 Samuel 7:14), and his calling Israel his firstborn son (Exodus 4:22). In the Roman world of Paul’s readers, adoption was a legal act that gave the adopted child full rights and a full share of the inheritance.

This adoption comes to us through Christ. God sent his Son, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, “that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Galatians 4:4–5), so that we are servants no longer but sons, and heirs of God through Christ (Galatians 4:4–7, 4:5–7). Those led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God (Romans 8:14–17). We have received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15), and we are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). John marvels at this love, that we should be called the sons of God (1 John 3:1–2).

“The Lord Almighty” seals the promise. “Lord” is kýrios, the one with supreme authority. “Almighty” is pantokrátōr, from pâs, “all”, and krátos, “strength”, so “the all-ruling one”. It is a title that the book of Revelation uses often (Revelation 1:8). The God who makes this promise has all power to keep it.

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved.” The promises, epangelía, are God’s announced assurances of good: that he will dwell in us and walk among us, be our God, receive us, and be our Father. Holiness rests on them. Paul calls the Corinthians “dearly beloved” (agapētós), which shows his affection for them and reminds them that they are loved by God, so his call comes from love and privilege. He says “let us”, including himself.

“Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.” The word for filthiness, molysmós, means a stain, and in a moral sense defilement or pollution. Paul names both the flesh and the spirit, so that the cleansing reaches the whole person. Filthiness of the flesh (molysmós sarkós) is outward and visible sin, such as sexual immorality, drunkenness and idolatry. Filthiness of the spirit (molysmós pneúmatos) is inward and hidden sin, such as pride, envy, bitterness, ungodly desire and corrupt motives. Jesus taught that what defiles a person comes from within, out of the heart (Mark 7:20–23). “Cleanse ourselves” lays real responsibility on us.

“Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” To perfect is epiteléō, to carry something through to its end or bring it to completion. With the word for holiness, hagiōsýnē, it describes an ongoing work of growth that lasts a lifetime. The goal is to be conformed to the image of God’s Son (Romans 8:29), putting off the old man and putting on the new, which is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:22–24). Scripture calls us to follow holiness (Hebrews 12:14), and John says that everyone who hopes to see Christ purifies himself, even as he is pure (1 John 3:3).

The fear, phóbos, is at root alarm or fright. When it is the fear of God, it becomes deep reverence and awe before his majesty, his holiness, his authority and his just judgment. A child who loves his Father also honours him, and that reverence moves him to obey gladly and to please him.

The God who lives among his people asks us to look honestly at the bonds that shape our lives. Before we join ourselves to someone in marriage, in business or in a lasting alliance, it is right to ask whether we can pull together in the same direction under Christ. Many of our friendships and daily dealings with unbelievers are the very places where we are salt and light, and Paul leaves them in place.

Separation is a gift, because it belongs to the life of God’s household. We come out from what defiles because the living God has made his home with us and calls us his sons and daughters. That gives us a secure identity in a world that judges people by their achievements, possessions or status. Holiness then grows from gratitude and reverence. We cleanse ourselves outwardly and inwardly, and God, who has given us his promises, works in us to finish what he began.