Be Not Unequally Yoked - Study 4/5/12
Be Not Unequally Yoked - Study 4/5/12 (Happy Easter)
Water and oil cannot mix that is why the people in the gulf region are suffering the contamination of the BP oil spill. Usually the story goes like this. A Christian sister (also brother) meets a guy and falls in love. Unfortunately, this guy is not a believer in Jesus. The Christian sister seeks counsel and consistently those who really love her say, “but he is not a Christian” The sister often would respond, “Oh we are very much in love. I am praying for him and I know he will turn around”. Her mind is made up and they get married. The first two years become like hell on earth and now she is looking for an out; praying, fasting and feeling miserable. This is what I call a failed “missionary marriage”. It often does not work because it is clearly against the specific commands of God. There may be exceptions by God’s special grace. “Be not unequally yoked” applies to all of us not just for marriage. Infact this passage is not addressing marriage.
In his continued pleading with the Corinthians to reconcile to God and to him, Paul makes the strong appeal as follows: “14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[b] are the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).
The context is important. Paul is defending his ministry and refuting the “false teachers” who have invaded the Corinthian Church and poisoned their minds (See 2 Cor.5:12). Paul is addressing serious heart issues we all must deal with in an ongoing basis. Who and what we align with will eventually influence us. To the Corinthians, Paul is saying, do you see why you are acting the way you do? You are sleeping (literally) with unbelievers; now you are aligned with false teachers and using methods/standards of this World.
Why the fuss? We are new creatures in Christ so we are not the same with every other person. We have been called out by God to himself. We are in this world but we are not of this world. We are peculiar “strange” people to the unbelieving. We now have a different Father from those who do not believe so we have different rules and purpose for living. We are to be and remain holy for our Father is holy. Yes, he did not count our sins to save us.
Who is influencing you and me from walking and living this Christian life in the Spirit instead we are often at the flesh level? Could it be human associates in business, church, school or what we are allowing into our minds through TV, internet or etc? It boils down to the trust issue. Can we trust God and live by faith? It is a struggle for me that I cry out to God on daily (sometimes by minutes) to help me by the power of his Spirit to depend on him. God’s grace comes with responsibility on my part to live pure otherwise His grace is in vain in my life. Lord, transform me through the renewing of my mind by your Word. Amen.
2 Corinthians 6: 14-7:1
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[b]? 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.”[c]
17 “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”[d] 18 “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”[e]
1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. The idea of unequal yoke is first described in Deuteronomy 22:10 - “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together”. The idea is that they are not of equal strength. One will eventually kill/strangle the other. The root word means another that is one not of the same nature, form, class, kind, different. Paul gives this picture of donkey and ox to the Corinthians because they can relate to that. We can relate to it too.
2. But Paul is very specific about whom we are not to be yoked with – “Unbelievers”. This is the one who has not yet put their trust in God and on what God has accomplished for us in Christ on the Cross. Why not join with the unbeliever? It is because they are not living by faith. How can two walk together if there be no agreement? We as believers live by faith and without faith, it is impossible to please God. Paul also answers it- “What fellowship can light have with darkness”. In essence, the unbeliever is in darkness and unrighteousness and lawlessness rules his heart. We were like that and God saved us.
3. Specific to the Corinthians, the false teachers/apostles were in darkness and they do not have the truth about the saving grace of Jesus. 2 Corinthians 11 is where Paul really confronts the false teachers. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” vs. 13-15. The false teachers are slick and slippery and preach a different gospel. In our day, such would be the prosperity preachers, the Mormons, JWs, etc who appear real but are only after their own profit and stomach.
4. Apparently the Corinthians are not getting the point and Paul goes further. “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[b] are the temple of the living God” vs.16. In his first letter, Paul also made it clear, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot?... 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body[c] and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Cor.6:15-20). We are the bride of Christ, so uniting with anyone else is adultery and unholy. Marriage and all our relationships are sacred and should be viewed from the point of uniting Christ to others. Do you have any idols (false gods) in your life? The city of Corinth was full of idols and yes we have many in America and around the world.
5. God is calling us to “come out from them and be separate, says the Lord”. Does this mean we no longer live in this world? Not really. We do not have to partake in what the world partakes of nor do we agree with its point of view even when the world will laugh at us. It comes down to having the mind of Christ and operating in that mindset. WWJD becomes relevant. What will Jesus do should be our guild in whatever we do. In essence, it is living by the Holy Spirit’s leading on a day to day basis.
6. Paul concludes by warning us of contamination. “Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” vs.7:1. Everything that contaminates (defiles) body and spirit – there are many of those things and that is why we must trust God to live His life through us. How can you perfect holiness? You cannot. Paul is saying only the Holy Spirit can live this life through us but we must cooperate in the ongoing work of sanctification (making us complete and mature) “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:19-20). Notice “let us purify ourselves” and not “let me purify others”.
God has received us to himself based on his unchanging promise. We are now sons and daughters of God and He is our Father. You can see that our faith is built on relationship and trust. As such, anything that draws us away from our Father is unholy and we should not partake. We relate to our Father based on His love for us and “out of reverence for God”. This is the life we live – a life of gratitude to God.
On a practical level these truths will apply to us at different intersections of life. If you are single and considering marriage, please do not make the mistake of marrying someone who is not truly a believer in Christ. Marriage is even hard with believers what more with unbelievers. If you are married you and I have no business uniting in intimacy with another man or woman who is not our spouse. In business, we must be careful in selecting our business partner. This is tax season and there have been serious conflicts between Christian and non Christian business partners on telling the truth about the business income. Our eyes, ears and all of us must watch and pray that we do not enter into unholy alliances that will compromise our faith and relationship with the one who loved us and died for us. If you are in an unequally yoked marriage to an unbeliever, I pray that God’s grace will be sufficient for you. Amen.
May be you do not have an issue in this area. You can pray for me that I remain pure in thought and indeed. Being unequally yoked is pre-meditated and so often we have time and opportunity to cut it off. Are you in that stage right now? Please cut it off by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Dear Father, please cleanse me from every unrighteousness, deliver me from the evil one and temptations. I repent of the times I have been unequally yoked in thought and in action. Please help me to trust you to live your Holy life through me to say no to every unrighteousness, in Jesus name. Amen
Let’s keep in mind that we still have an obligation to bring God’s message of reconciliation to the unbeliever. We are like the ship sailing the waters of this world to deliver God's goodness/gospel. The water does not have to enter and become part of the ship; if it does the ship will sink. Let’s not sink. Amen.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
Happy Easter
Water and oil cannot mix that is why the people in the gulf region are suffering the contamination of the BP oil spill. Usually the story goes like this. A Christian sister (also brother) meets a guy and falls in love. Unfortunately, this guy is not a believer in Jesus. The Christian sister seeks counsel and consistently those who really love her say, “but he is not a Christian” The sister often would respond, “Oh we are very much in love. I am praying for him and I know he will turn around”. Her mind is made up and they get married. The first two years become like hell on earth and now she is looking for an out; praying, fasting and feeling miserable. This is what I call a failed “missionary marriage”. It often does not work because it is clearly against the specific commands of God. There may be exceptions by God’s special grace. “Be not unequally yoked” applies to all of us not just for marriage. Infact this passage is not addressing marriage.
In his continued pleading with the Corinthians to reconcile to God and to him, Paul makes the strong appeal as follows: “14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[b] are the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).
The context is important. Paul is defending his ministry and refuting the “false teachers” who have invaded the Corinthian Church and poisoned their minds (See 2 Cor.5:12). Paul is addressing serious heart issues we all must deal with in an ongoing basis. Who and what we align with will eventually influence us. To the Corinthians, Paul is saying, do you see why you are acting the way you do? You are sleeping (literally) with unbelievers; now you are aligned with false teachers and using methods/standards of this World.
Why the fuss? We are new creatures in Christ so we are not the same with every other person. We have been called out by God to himself. We are in this world but we are not of this world. We are peculiar “strange” people to the unbelieving. We now have a different Father from those who do not believe so we have different rules and purpose for living. We are to be and remain holy for our Father is holy. Yes, he did not count our sins to save us.
Who is influencing you and me from walking and living this Christian life in the Spirit instead we are often at the flesh level? Could it be human associates in business, church, school or what we are allowing into our minds through TV, internet or etc? It boils down to the trust issue. Can we trust God and live by faith? It is a struggle for me that I cry out to God on daily (sometimes by minutes) to help me by the power of his Spirit to depend on him. God’s grace comes with responsibility on my part to live pure otherwise His grace is in vain in my life. Lord, transform me through the renewing of my mind by your Word. Amen.
2 Corinthians 6: 14-7:1
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[b]? 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.”[c]
17 “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”[d] 18 “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”[e]
1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
Here are my observations in addition to the ones you may have:
1. The idea of unequal yoke is first described in Deuteronomy 22:10 - “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together”. The idea is that they are not of equal strength. One will eventually kill/strangle the other. The root word means another that is one not of the same nature, form, class, kind, different. Paul gives this picture of donkey and ox to the Corinthians because they can relate to that. We can relate to it too.
2. But Paul is very specific about whom we are not to be yoked with – “Unbelievers”. This is the one who has not yet put their trust in God and on what God has accomplished for us in Christ on the Cross. Why not join with the unbeliever? It is because they are not living by faith. How can two walk together if there be no agreement? We as believers live by faith and without faith, it is impossible to please God. Paul also answers it- “What fellowship can light have with darkness”. In essence, the unbeliever is in darkness and unrighteousness and lawlessness rules his heart. We were like that and God saved us.
3. Specific to the Corinthians, the false teachers/apostles were in darkness and they do not have the truth about the saving grace of Jesus. 2 Corinthians 11 is where Paul really confronts the false teachers. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” vs. 13-15. The false teachers are slick and slippery and preach a different gospel. In our day, such would be the prosperity preachers, the Mormons, JWs, etc who appear real but are only after their own profit and stomach.
4. Apparently the Corinthians are not getting the point and Paul goes further. “And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you[b] are the temple of the living God” vs.16. In his first letter, Paul also made it clear, “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot?... 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body[c] and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Cor.6:15-20). We are the bride of Christ, so uniting with anyone else is adultery and unholy. Marriage and all our relationships are sacred and should be viewed from the point of uniting Christ to others. Do you have any idols (false gods) in your life? The city of Corinth was full of idols and yes we have many in America and around the world.
5. God is calling us to “come out from them and be separate, says the Lord”. Does this mean we no longer live in this world? Not really. We do not have to partake in what the world partakes of nor do we agree with its point of view even when the world will laugh at us. It comes down to having the mind of Christ and operating in that mindset. WWJD becomes relevant. What will Jesus do should be our guild in whatever we do. In essence, it is living by the Holy Spirit’s leading on a day to day basis.
6. Paul concludes by warning us of contamination. “Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” vs.7:1. Everything that contaminates (defiles) body and spirit – there are many of those things and that is why we must trust God to live His life through us. How can you perfect holiness? You cannot. Paul is saying only the Holy Spirit can live this life through us but we must cooperate in the ongoing work of sanctification (making us complete and mature) “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:19-20). Notice “let us purify ourselves” and not “let me purify others”.
God has received us to himself based on his unchanging promise. We are now sons and daughters of God and He is our Father. You can see that our faith is built on relationship and trust. As such, anything that draws us away from our Father is unholy and we should not partake. We relate to our Father based on His love for us and “out of reverence for God”. This is the life we live – a life of gratitude to God.
On a practical level these truths will apply to us at different intersections of life. If you are single and considering marriage, please do not make the mistake of marrying someone who is not truly a believer in Christ. Marriage is even hard with believers what more with unbelievers. If you are married you and I have no business uniting in intimacy with another man or woman who is not our spouse. In business, we must be careful in selecting our business partner. This is tax season and there have been serious conflicts between Christian and non Christian business partners on telling the truth about the business income. Our eyes, ears and all of us must watch and pray that we do not enter into unholy alliances that will compromise our faith and relationship with the one who loved us and died for us. If you are in an unequally yoked marriage to an unbeliever, I pray that God’s grace will be sufficient for you. Amen.
May be you do not have an issue in this area. You can pray for me that I remain pure in thought and indeed. Being unequally yoked is pre-meditated and so often we have time and opportunity to cut it off. Are you in that stage right now? Please cut it off by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Dear Father, please cleanse me from every unrighteousness, deliver me from the evil one and temptations. I repent of the times I have been unequally yoked in thought and in action. Please help me to trust you to live your Holy life through me to say no to every unrighteousness, in Jesus name. Amen
Let’s keep in mind that we still have an obligation to bring God’s message of reconciliation to the unbeliever. We are like the ship sailing the waters of this world to deliver God's goodness/gospel. The water does not have to enter and become part of the ship; if it does the ship will sink. Let’s not sink. Amen.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
Happy Easter
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