Separation from the World

2 Corinthians 6 11-18

v.11 Paul addresses the Corinthians specifically. His intention is to capture their attention. What he is about to say is important to him.

* He has spoken freely to them. Paul fearlessly preached the truth to the Corinthians. Despite trials and circumstances, he continued to stay faithful to the message. Too many believers keep their mouths shut when it comes to sharing the truth but open them wide when it comes to idle chatter. As believers we should remember that we are obligated to share the truth constantly with others.

* His heart was wide open. This phrase reveals the measure of love Paul had for the Corinthians. Paul repeated this in 7:3. A legitimate love for others is necessary to the Christian faith. That love compels us to treat others in a certain way as well as to speak the truth to them. Paul truly loved the Corinthians despite the great sorrow they had caused him.

v.12 “Restricted” means “to cramp or fit in tightly”. Paul wants the Corinthians to know that he has not cramped them out of his heart. On the other hand, some of the Corinthians had begun to push Paul out of their hearts. Paul was no longer loved as greatly as he once was by some of the church members.

There are several reasons why individuals may begin to lose affection for a preacher.

* He reveals a sin that they are engaged in through his preaching.

* They are influenced by busy bodies or false teachers.

* He takes a moral stand.

* He fails to meet up to their presuppositions concerning what a preacher should do.

Paul continued to love the Corinthians despite their waning affection for him. His devotion to them reveals that his love was based on his relationship with God and not subject to his own emotions.

v.13 Paul considered the Corinthians very special. In fact he saw them as his children. He had birthed them through the gospel (1 Cor. 4:14-15). He requested that they return the love that he had given to them. He wanted to be enlarged in their hearts, not cramped out of their hearts. Paul wasn’t ready to give up on them. He truly felt the bond of family because all the believers were a part of the same body. Paul’s love for other believers should inspire us to action. We should remember that God wants love to be overflowing within the church. He desires that we all show great love one to another.

We should also recognize Paul’s humility. It is a humbling thing to ask others to love you. Paul realized how important it was that this fruit of the Spirit be in the lives of the Corinthians. He did not demand their love, but he did earnestly seek it.

v.14 As the Corinthians lost affection for Paul they were gaining affection for the false teachers. This prompts him to warn the Corinthians about improper relationships with unbelievers. A yoke is a piece of wooden framework that harnesses two animals together. To be unequally yoked would mean to have two different types of animals bound together by a single yoke. This practice was forbidden in the Old Testament (Deut. 22:10). It was not permitted to plow with a donkey and an ox together because it simply was not practical. The two animals have a different nature, they have a different level of strength, they are a different size, and they have a different step. It would make plowing sloppy, slow, and frustrating.

Close relationships with unbelievers will hinder a person from doing the work of the Lord. Satan wants to join the church. He can do much more damage by joining us than he can by attacking us from the outside. Satan loves to attack the church from the inside. In the book of Acts he soon realized that attacking the church from the outside only makes the church stronger.

He changed his strategy to fighting the church from the inside. A good example of this is the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. The false teachers were destroying the Corinthian congregation from the inside out. The Corinthians were to blame for the victories the false teachers enjoyed because they had willingly yoked themselves together with them.

Paul now asks a series of five questions dealing with improper relationships between believers and unbelievers.

* What partnership hath righteousness with lawlessness? Partners are people united for a common goal. Unbelievers and believers are not united for a common goal. The believer is the righteous person. He/she is striving to live a life pleasing to the Lord. As a result, the world will witness the testimony of a faithful believer and hopefully come to faith in Christ.

The unbeliever is a rebel against God. He/she does not live with the same purpose as the believer. The lost person lives to please himself. The two cannot work together because they do not have the same goal.

* What fellowship hath light with darkness?

Light and darkness cannot coexist. Light always expels darkness. Light describes believers while darkness describes unbelievers. In the Bible light refers to truth while darkness refers to error. Darkness also symbolizes sin while light symbolizes holiness. In eternity believers experience eternal light while unbelievers experience eternal darkness. Believers should dispel darkness. If unbelievers are attracted to our lifestyle with no conviction to change theirs, something is wrong. Believers’ lifestyle should discourage the lifestyle of unbelievers. Ungodly people do not enjoy fellowship with godly people and godly people should not desire fellowship with ungodly people.

* What accord hath Christ with Belial?

Belial means “worthless one”. It is a title used for Satan. “Accord” means “harmony”. It implies that two things agree with one another. It is not possible for Christ and Satan to be in harmony. They are completely opposed on everything. Satan is the ruler of the unbeliever and Christ is the ruler of believers. The subjects of each kingdom obey their leader. Therefore, believers and unbelievers cannot be in harmony. Our leaders are opposed, and we will be as well.

* What part does a believer have with an unbeliever?

This simply summarizes the previous three truths. Believers and unbelievers do not have anything in common. In 5:17 Paul explained that believers are new creatures. The old lifestyle has passed away. This reinforces how drastic the change from believer to unbeliever actually is.

v.16 * What agreement hath the temple of God with idols?

Believers are the temple of God. In the Old Testament the Temple was the place where the Spirit of God dwelt. Under the new covenant the Spirit of God dwells inside believers. It was an abomination to bring any idol within the Temple. God brought judgment upon Israel because King Manasseh built idols within the Temple (2 Kings 21: 4 & 7). When the Philistines placed the Ark of the Covenant in Dagon’s Temple, Dagon’s statue bowed down to the Ark (1 Samuel 5:1-5). Both of these examples prove that the Lord is a jealous God. He will not permit anyone to share in His glory.

We should not allow those who worship idols to pollute our temple. Pollution comes through sin. Unbelievers encourage us (knowingly or unknowingly) to sin. Believers should be careful not to allow themselves to be defiled. We are the Temple of God. Pollution of His Temple may provoke Him to displeasure against us which will result in chastening.

v.17 Paul quotes from Isaiah 52:11. He is obviously concerned that some within the church have not come out of the world and to God. The phrases “go out” and “separate” describe actions that prove a repentant heart. They imply far more than intellectual belief. True faith inspires us to action. We must be willing to leave the lifestyle of the world if we want to come to God.

“Touch not the unclean thing” is a command to stay away from sinful practices. These verses clearly show that a change of behavior must take place in order to be saved. God promises to “welcome” those within the church who are willing to leave the ungodliness in the world.

v.18 The benefits of leaving the old lifestyle are wonderful. God promises to be our Father. This implies that He was not our father before we repented and came to Him in faith. We were the children of the devil. Now we are sons and daughters of the Almighty.

7:1 As a result of the three promises in 6:16-18 Paul tells us how we should react. In those verses God promised that we would be His people, He would receive us, and that we would be His children. As the “beloved” of God we should respond with holiness. We should continue to cleanse ourselves from sin. Both physical and spiritual sin should be constantly dealt with. Spiritual sin could be anything from false teaching to improper worship (lack of prayer, wrong motives, etc.). Our goal is complete holiness. The fear of God motivates believers to live a life of holiness.

Simply put, a relationship with God changes our relationship with the world. It compels us to holiness. If we live a life of sin and are lovers of the world we should be concerned about the salvation of our souls.