2 Corinthians 6:1-18
Do Not Be Yoked to the Unbeliever
1 As God’s co-workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says,
“In the time of my favor I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.”
I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.
Paul’s Hardships
3 We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. 12 We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. 13 As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.
Warning Against Idolatry
14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will live with them
and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they will be my people.”
17 Therefore,
“Come out from them
and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.”
18 And,
“I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Paul believed and taught the Corinthians that followers of Jesus should be together, live together, and work together in harmony, kindness, and peace...Jesus gives us the power to live in this troubled world...He can give us a peace, not of this world, but of His Kingdom...
Paul warned do not be yoked together with unbelievers...For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?...They do not have common beliefs and truths...Wickedness has little truth, if any...What fellowship can the Light have with darkness?...What harmony is there between Christ and the evil one?...Or what viewsdoes a believer share with an unbeliever?...Paul is emphasizing the importance of maintaining spiritual purity and avoiding close relationships with those who do not share our faith in Jesus and act out who often act out in meanness and show no kindness to their neighbors...He suggests that yoking ourselves to unbelievers can hinder our spiritual growth and compromise our commitment to Christ...This will divide the family of God and Jesus' believers...Paul emphasizes the importance of having and keeping unity among believers and warns against the dangers of division among them...He encourages the Corinthians to keep their hearts open to one another and avoid being yoked together with the unbeliever...
Paul highlights the power of the gospel and its ability to transform lives as it has his...He reminds the Corinthians of the hardships he has endured for the sake of the gospel and encourages them to remain steadfast in their faith in Jesus...Paul put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that his ministry and teachings would not be discredited...Rather, as he spoke in missionary fashion to the Gentiles, he was a servant of God...Those who worked with him and ministered with him had great endurance; and in troubles, hardships and distresses they lived on in Jesus' name...Paul had been beaten several times with forty lashes...In these beatings, imprisonments and riots against him he had learned to be content in all circumstances...So in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; as well as purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech he believed and lived in the good and the bad with the Power of God...And in all his experiences whether a bad report or good report; fighting impostors; in great uncertainty he traveled and taught the Gospel...Yet in this uncertainty everywhere he went; he lived on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything in Jesus...
So Paul had learned as we read in his letter to the Corinthians to be content in whatever the circumstances, he was in...He knows what it was to be beaten, to be thrown in jail and in prison, to have troubles, hardships, and many distresses...He knew what it was to be in need, and he knew what it was to have plenty...He had learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether being well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want...He knew that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him...
Paul reminds the Corinthians of God's promise to dwell among His people...He encourages them to come out from this world and seek a relationship with God...He wants them to seek God and to find Him...
Overall, this passage offers a powerful reminder of the importance of remaining faithful to Christ and avoiding spiritual compromise...It encourages believers to live a life that is pleasing to God and to seek unity within the church and to live in harmony with those around you...