Read 2 Corinthians Chapter 6 Verses 14-18
Verse 14 reads,
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
This is often what we hear about when talking marriage. Certainly this verse encompasses marriage, but I believe it includes more. It is about any committed relationship that requires two people to work together toward a goal. This can be marriage, business, or some other legal partnership.
Paul doesn’t say we shouldn’t hang around the lost. He doesn’t say we shouldn’t be friends with the unsaved. Paul says, “do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” To be yoked is to work closely with someone, to be bound to them. When two oxen are yoked together they are able to pull a heavier load. But it also means that whatever direction one goes the other has to go as well. They must to be headed in the same direction. They must pull the same load and do the same work.
You cannot do the same work as the unbeliever. Let’s say you and your unbelieving partner go into business to save the starving orphans in a small island country. This is a great and good mission. But your idea of saving the orphans should include teaching them the love of Jesus as you provide them food and education and a way to make their own food. Your unbelieving partner believes that in no way should Jesus be included in the plan. While providing them with food and education is still lofty, telling them about Jesus is the Believers first and foremost goal as we follow the great commandment and commission.
Paul tells us that as Believers we have nothing in common with those who are not saved. We have different goals. Our goal is to glorify Christ. Their goal, no matter how good they look, do not include Jesus. They usually glorify themselves, fulfil some sort of greed, or even hurt others. Our aim is love. We pursue love. Dioko Agape. They pursue self-satisfaction. These goals are not the same.
We are different. We are the Temple of the Living God. He is in us. We are one with The Father. We are filled with The Holy Spirit of God and saved by our King Jesus. We are a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, and children of God. Our goal is Love, Agape. Our goal is to be transformed to the image of Christ. Our desire is to enlarge the Kingdom of God. Their goals, no matter how good they look, do not include Jesus.
You are called to be separate, special, and distinct. Do not forget who you are. Verses 16-18 reminds us who we are.
“What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
You are God’s chosen precious child. You are His people and He is your God. He wants you to stand out from the lost. Don’t blend in. Let Jesus shine through you. Yoke yourself to your fellow Believers and see what you will achieve.
Verse 14 reads,
“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?
This is often what we hear about when talking marriage. Certainly this verse encompasses marriage, but I believe it includes more. It is about any committed relationship that requires two people to work together toward a goal. This can be marriage, business, or some other legal partnership.
Paul doesn’t say we shouldn’t hang around the lost. He doesn’t say we shouldn’t be friends with the unsaved. Paul says, “do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” To be yoked is to work closely with someone, to be bound to them. When two oxen are yoked together they are able to pull a heavier load. But it also means that whatever direction one goes the other has to go as well. They must to be headed in the same direction. They must pull the same load and do the same work.
You cannot do the same work as the unbeliever. Let’s say you and your unbelieving partner go into business to save the starving orphans in a small island country. This is a great and good mission. But your idea of saving the orphans should include teaching them the love of Jesus as you provide them food and education and a way to make their own food. Your unbelieving partner believes that in no way should Jesus be included in the plan. While providing them with food and education is still lofty, telling them about Jesus is the Believers first and foremost goal as we follow the great commandment and commission.
Paul tells us that as Believers we have nothing in common with those who are not saved. We have different goals. Our goal is to glorify Christ. Their goal, no matter how good they look, do not include Jesus. They usually glorify themselves, fulfil some sort of greed, or even hurt others. Our aim is love. We pursue love. Dioko Agape. They pursue self-satisfaction. These goals are not the same.
We are different. We are the Temple of the Living God. He is in us. We are one with The Father. We are filled with The Holy Spirit of God and saved by our King Jesus. We are a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, and children of God. Our goal is Love, Agape. Our goal is to be transformed to the image of Christ. Our desire is to enlarge the Kingdom of God. Their goals, no matter how good they look, do not include Jesus.
You are called to be separate, special, and distinct. Do not forget who you are. Verses 16-18 reminds us who we are.
“What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
You are God’s chosen precious child. You are His people and He is your God. He wants you to stand out from the lost. Don’t blend in. Let Jesus shine through you. Yoke yourself to your fellow Believers and see what you will achieve.
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