In previous blog posts, we saw that Paul calls upon believers to distance themselves from those who abandon the truth. In 2 Timothy 2, he added that the goal of this is not separation for its own sake, but rather that we might be vessels for honor, useful to the Owner.
We encounter this same line of thought in 2 Corinthians 6. This passage is often applied to a marriage between a believer and an unbeliever. Although that principle can certainly be derived from these words, the context shows that Paul is speaking primarily about religious fellowship.
2 Corinthians 6 ISA
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have, or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
15 And what agreement is there between Christ and Belial, or what share does a believer have with an unbeliever?
16 And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For you are the temple of the living God, just as God said: I will dwell among them, and I will walk in their midst, and I will be their God and they shall be My people.
17 Therefore: Come out from their midst and separate yourselves, says the Lord, and do not touch the unclean thing, and I will welcome you in.
founded on Scripture
It is striking that Paul fully substantiates his call using the Old Testament. Deuteronomy 22 provides the image of the unequal yoke. Exodus, Leviticus, and Ezekiel show that God’s people are His temple. Isaiah calls upon God’s people to withdraw from what is unclean. Paul takes various passages from the Tanakh and applies them to the ecclesia.
an unequal yoke
The image of an unequal yoke comes from agriculture. Two draft animals would be harnessed side by side under a yoke to work together. The Law of Moses forbade yoking an ox and a donkey together to the plow (Deut. 22:10). Two different animals do not pull evenly; the yoke chafes, rubs, and hinders both of them. That is the image Paul uses.
By this, Paul does not mean that a believer must avoid every form of contact or cooperation with unbelievers. After all, we live in the midst of the world and interact with them daily. An unequal yoke arises when a partnership requires one of the parties to abandon their convictions or make compromises. That is when the friction occurs—just like with two mismatched draft animals under a single yoke.
the context is religious
Paul then elaborates on his appeal with a series of questions:
What fellowship does righteousness have with lawlessness?
What fellowship does light have with darkness?
What agreement does Christ have with Belial?
What share does a believer have with an unbeliever?
And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols?
It is striking that Paul mentions only spiritual contrasts. He speaks of Christ and Belial, of light and darkness, of believers and unbelievers, and finally of the temple of God and idols. This makes it clear that his subject is religious fellowship.
In verse 16, Paul arrives at the heart of his argument:
For you are the temple of the living God.
This is followed by a series of Old Testament quotations. Paul does not quote a single passage of Scripture but weaves various promises together into a unified whole. Among others, he draws upon:
Exodus 29:45-46, where God promises to dwell among Israel.
Leviticus 26:11-12, where He says: “I will walk among you and I will be your God.”
Ezekiel 37:26-27, where God promises to place His sanctuary in the midst of His people forever.
All these promises were originally given to Israel. Paul now applies them to the ecclesia. The ecclesia is the temple of the living God. Therefore, there can be no fellowship between God’s temple and idols. The examples from the Tanakh are clear: religion is idolatry. God does not call His people to ally themselves with it, but to separate themselves from it.
Now it also becomes clear why Paul began by speaking of an unequal yoke. His primary concern is not marriage or a business partnership, but religious fellowship in which truth and idolatry are mixed together.
come out from their midst
From this line of thought, the conclusion follows:
Therefore, come out from their midst and separate yourselves, says the Lord, and touch nothing unclean.
Here too, Paul quotes the Old Testament. The words are drawn from Isaiah 52:11, where God calls upon His people to separate themselves from the unclean. This call appears in the section of Isaiah that announces Israel’s deliverance from exile.
Paul applies these words to the ecclesia. Once again, we see the same pattern as in the previous blog posts. He does not call upon believers to reform the religious world, but to leave it.
That is precisely the same idea as:
“Turn away from these people as well.” (2 Tim. 3:5)
“If anyone cleanses himself from these…” (2 Tim. 2:21)
Paul remains remarkably consistent in this regard.
no compromise
It is sometimes thought that Paul calls for finding as many commonalities as possible between different religious movements. The opposite is true. He actually calls for avoiding any fellowship that requires compromising the truth. Where truth and error are mixed, an unequal yoke arises. This is not because believers are better than others, but because God does not mix His truth with error.
not isolation, but faithfulness
Here, too, distancing oneself is not the goal. Paul calls for separating from religious mixtures so that the believer is free to serve God without compromise. Once again, it is not a matter of abandoning people, but of leaving a religious community in which truth and error are intermingled.