2 Corinthians 6:11-18 – Unequally Yoked (Part Two)
When Paul uses this analogy of being unequally yoked, he has in mind two completely different points of view, so that horses that are brought together are facing in opposite directions. It prompts him to multiply comparisons here just so you get the idea of how ludicrous it is to think of binding ourselves together with unbelievers in such a way that we are pulling in opposite directions. On the one hand, righteousness, a person who loves Christ, that is seeking to obey and to please Him. And on the other hand, lawlessness, a person who doesn’t care about Jesus and has no concern about His Word, His Law. Those opposites just cannot be bound together. Light and darkness don’t mix together. Light dispels darkness. It makes the darkness retreat so that you can see where you’re going and what you’re doing. Darkness, though, swallows up our vision. It makes it so we’re blind, and we stumble without sight. Christ and idols don’t mix. Christ and demons don’t go together. It’s just impossible to put those two things together. Paul says what you are doing is dangerously wrong. You’re allying yourself with the enemy by being unequally yoked.
Paul’s just said that what agreement has the temple of God with idols? And he goes on then to prove that we are the temple of God. In the Old Testament, the temple was the place where God chose to dwell. It signified the presence of God so that all could see it. In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus has come and He has made His home with His people. He has promised and has fulfilled His promise to send the Spirit to dwell among us. And so we are called by His name. We’re identified as belonging to Him. We are literally the temple of God because God dwells in us. And as a Father, He governs us. His love directs us and claims us. And so He can say, therefore, come out from the midst of them. We are not to love the things that the world loves. We are not to value the things the world values, or to pollute the love and the allegiance that we have for Jesus Christ that’s due to Him alone. The Kingdom of Christ has no equals, and it must have no rival in the loves of your heart.
Question
- How are we the temple of God?
Prayer Points
- Pray that we would strive to not be unequally yoked.
- Use prayer points from your congregation.
- Pray for family matters.