I was raised Catholic, but for many of my early adult years, considered myself atheist. During this period I met and married my husband, unbeliever. Today our mutual friends are unbelievers. Many in my own family have walked away from their faith. I recently, wholeheartedly turned and gave my heart to Jesus. I read 2 Corinthians 6:14 today. What am I to understand of this verse? I have very few people in my life that are believers. I still love those who are not.
NASB “Do not be bound together with unbelievers”
NKJV “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers”
NRSV “Do not be mismatched with unbelievers”
TEV “Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers”
NJB “Do not harness yourselves in an equal team with unbelievers”
Paul often uses OT agricultural quotes to illustrate Christian truths (cf. 1Co_9:9; 1Ti_5:18) to reflect Deu_22:10. It is a present imperative with the negative particle, which implies “they were forming” these inappropriate, intimate, interpersonal relationships with unbelievers. The Greek term is a compound of “yoked” (zugeô) and “another of a different kind” (heteros, i.e., different kinds of animals). This verse has been proof-texted in relation to believers marrying unbelievers. However, this text does not seem to be dealing with marriage specifically, although that is surely included in this broader statement. Believers must restrict their most intimate, personal relationships to fellow believers. This helps us fight the pull of fallen culture away from Christ. Faith in Jesus and the indwelling Spirit have caused a sharp and deep cleavage within families, businesses, hobbies, amusements, even churches.
One must take into account passages like 1Co_5:9-13; 1Co_7:12-16; 1Co_10:27 to get the theological balance of this truth. We must remember the wickedness of first century pagan culture. This is not an affirmation of monastic living, but an attempt to reduce intimate personal relationship with the fallen world system (cf. 1Jn_2:15-17).
“what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness” This same truth is repeated in the cyclical letter of Ephesians (cf. 2Co_5:7; 2Co_5:11). Paul’s contrast of righteousness with lawlessness shows clearly that in this context righteousness does not refer to imputed righteousness (cf. Romans 4; Galatians 3), but righteous living (cf. Mat_6:1).
"fellowship:
2Co_6:15
NASB, NKJV “Belial”
NRSV, NJB “Beliar”
TEV “the Devil”
This is a Hebrew term (i.e., beli and ya’al, see BDB 116) whose etymology is somewhat in doubt. Beliar is a variant spelling from some Jewish writings. The possible backgrounds are:
- worthlessness (i.e., a description of evil people, cf. Deu_13:13; 2Sa_23:6; 1Ki_21:10; 1Ki_21:13)
- lawlessness (cf. 2Sa_22:5)
- place from where there is no ascent (i.e., Sheol, cf. Psa_18:4)
- another term for Satan (cf. Nah_1:15; Jubilees 1:20; 15:33; and the Dead Sea Scrolls [ex. IQS 1:18,24; 2:5,19])
2Co_6:16 “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols” This verse must be compared with 1Co_3:16, where the local church is called the temple of God. In 1Co_3:16 there is no article with “temple” (i.e., naos, the central shrine itself). The pronoun “you” is plural, while “temple” is singular, therefore, in this context “temple” must refer to the whole church at Corinth (cf. Eph_2:21-22).
The focus of Jewish faith developed into Temple ritual and liturgy (cf. Jeremiah 7) instead of personal faith in YHWH. It is not where or when or how one worships, but who one is in relationship with, God. Jesus saw His body as the temple of God (cf. Joh_2:21). Jesus is greater than the OT Temple (cf. Mat_12:6). God’s activity has moved from a sacred building into a sacred (i.e., redeemed, holy) believers’ body.
Idols and believers are fully discussed in 1 Corinthians 8 and 1Co_10:14-22. These must be mutually exclusive! All roads do not lead to heaven!
“the living God” The covenant name for the God of the OT was YHWH (see Special Topic at 1Co_2:8), which was a form of the verb “to be.” OT authors often used the adjective “living” to reflect the ever-existing, only-existing God. The OT allusions in 2Co_6:16-18 contain covenant terminology, “I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (cf. Eze_37:27).
The phrase “walk among them” seems to come from Lev_26:12. The OT texts in 2Co_6:16 reflect the new age when YHWH will dwell among His people as was intended in Genesis 2 and temporarily and partially occurred during the wilderness wandering period, but will be fully realized in the new heavens and the new earth (cf. Revelation 21-22).
“God said” This is a loose combination of Lev_26:11-12 and Eze_37:27 from the Septuagint. In this context Paul is applying these promises originally to covenant Israel to the church who is spiritual Israel (cf. Rom_9:6; Gal_6:16).
2Co_6:17 “come out. . .be separate” These are both aorist imperatives. These are allusions to Isa_52:11 in the Septuagint. God’s people are to disassociate themselves from sinners and unbelievers lest they be caught up in their judgment (cf. Rev_18:4).
Often today I hear this verse quoted in connection to which denomination one belongs. Let me quote F. F. Bruce in Answers to Questions, “The use of these words to justify ecclesiastical separation between Christians betokens a grotesque failure to read them in their context” (p. 103).
“and do not touch what is unclean” This is a present middle imperative. Believers must not participate in the sinful actions of their respective cultures. As the redeemed we must exhibit and proclaim the new heart and new mind of God’s people. Everything has changed in Him!
2Co_6:18 This verse reflects the truth of many prophets, but most fully, Hosea (or possibly 2Sa_7:14). Christianity is a family affair.
“Lord Almighty” This reflects the OT term for God, YHWH (cf. Exo_3:14), and El Shaddai (cf. Exo_6:3). In the Septuagint it translates the phrase “Lord of Hosts.” See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY at 1Co_2:8
Bob Utley
J..
In Jesus day they would yoke two oxen together to tread the grain. It looked like a collar around the neck of one beast and attached to a second collar around the neck of the second beast. This means they were yoked and had to work together to tread the grain.
In a marriage the two partners are yoked together. They do life together. If one is a believer and the other is not, then they have different world views and on important issues they won’t necessarily agree. It can cause problems.
If we come to faith in Jesus while married and our spouse doesn’t, we stayed married. If the unbelieving spouse wants to leave the marriage, we let them go.
Loving people and being yoked to people are not the same thing. Being yoked means your falling into line with them and that’s what God is warning about.
"Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers, "Psalm 1:1
I love my non Christians friends, but the relationship I have with Christian friends is deeper and richer because we are coming from the same place. I learn nothing from those who don’t know God because they don’t know God. In Christian community I grow.
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@WrestleWGod, I share with you these verses from 1 Corinthians 7 as Paul’s further explanation of being married to an unbeliever:
Co 7:13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.
1Co 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
1Co 7:15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.
1Co 7:16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
1Co 7:17 Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.
However, if your husband commands you to do something that is against God’s will like staying away from attending church, you have the biblical right to disobey him and to separate from him if he insists.
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Bruce-Leiter has hit the nail on the head.
1Cor 713, And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
Find a sound church, attend it regularly, encourage your husband and children to attend with you, pray for him and be willing and able to say what and why you believe, asking him what he believes and what evidence he has for his lack of belief.
First, I’m so glad you’ve come back to Christ!
The way I see it, 2 Corinthians 6:14 does not mean you need to stop loving every unbeliever in your life or cut off family & friends.
In context, Paul is warning believers about being “yoked together” in a way that pulls them away from Christ or joins them closely with unbelief. A yoke tied two animals together so they moved in the same direction. The question is really about who or what is directing your life now.
Since you’re already married, I would also read 1 Corinthians 7:12-16. Paul specifically speaks to believers who are married to unbelievers, and he does not tell them to leave their spouse. If your husband is willing to remain married to you, Scripture says to remain faithful in the marriage.
As for your friends and family, Jesus certainly loved and spent time with unbelievers. You can love them deeply. You can be their friend. But as you grow in Christ, you may find that you also need Christian fellowship and believers who can encourage you, pray with you, and help you grow in the Word.
I would not read this verse as God telling you to abandon everyone you love. I would read it as a call to make sure Christ is now the One leading your life.
Love your husband. Love your friends and family. Pray for them.
The idea the Apostle is trying to communicate involves relationships which harm faith. While a common interpretation is this is a warning against inter-faith marriage, the Apostle doesn’t expressly state that. And that probably wasn’t the most pressing issue when he wrote that.
Let’s unpack what’s happening here historically. Corinth was a very important port city in the eastern Mediterranean, and thus boasted a highly cosmopolitan population. Lots of people, lots of people from different places, from difficult cultures and backgrounds, lots of trade–and lots of temples.
In the ancient world Temples were civic institutions, Temple rites and practices formed a fundamental backbone of ancient Greco-Roman society. You’d pay homage to a deity of commerce so you would be blessed with good trade, to a god of agriculture so your crops would grow, gods of the weather so you’d have good harvests and avoid famine, gods of the hearth to keep your family safe, etc etc etc. And you’d go to the market, get food, often food that had been dedicated to a god–this is why Paul spends time talking about “food sacrificed to idols”, it’s very likely that if you went to the market the mutton you picked up may have come from a temple, and this is why this particular issue was so important for early Christians (and why Paul wants to be clear in his writings that food is just food because idols are worthless, and at the same time actively receiving food you know is sacrificed to an idol can be a problem).
That’s Corinth. So Christians here are predominantly Gentile converts, former Pagans, and a lot of what Paul tells the Corinthians is about how they can’t mix their former Pagan ways with their new life in Christ.
It is in this context that Paul is telling the Corinthian Christians about the danger of being unequally yoked.
What happens if you, a Christian, are going to go into business with someone–your business partner is a Pagan, and so they naturally want to have this new business approved by the gods, so they do what is normal for Pagans, they go to one of the temples and offer money or offering or both in order that this business venture can be blessed by the gods.
For a Christian, this would be unacceptable. So Paul’s words would make as much sense in a business partnership as anything else.
Does this mean that Christians can’t be friends with non-Christians? Of course not. Does this mean Christians have to cut people out of their lives who aren’t Christian? Absolutely not. Paul himself would find that ridiculous, because if you aren’t engaging and living with non-Christians then how are you witnessing to the Gospel?
This is about vulnerable partnering. I don’t even think Paul is saying “Christians can’t partner with non-Christians in things like business, ever” but he does want to be clear, especially to Christians who until very recently were Pagans themselves, that they must establish boundaries–not to put themselves in situations where they would have to compromise themselves by explicit or implicit participation in Pagan rituals and rites.
Paul isn’t here trying to establish weird rules about who you can be friends with, he is talking about real people with real lived experiences who may be tempted to return to Paganism, or be caught back up in that Pagan life–so Paul wants his readers to be conscious about what they do or don’t do, and to make wise decisions based on their conscience and freedom as Christians–not to engage in weird legalistic practices, but also not to be taken unaware by subtle temptations that might cause them or others to stumble.
It’s always important to remember that when we read the Bible, and this is perhaps doubly true of the epistles in the New Testament, these are real people who were dealing with real situations and circumstances.
I would see your job as setting a good example for your friends and family.
1Co 7:13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
Your prayers and the testimony of your faith could have a powerful effect.
You certainly make a good point and helps explain why the issue was so urgent in Corinth. However, your conclusion is too restrictive. Paul is not merely warning against pagan business practices or civic temple participation. By appealing to the Old Testament imagery of the unequal yoke and by grounding his exhortation in God’s covenant relationship with His people, Paul establishes a broader principle: believers must not enter binding relationships that require shared spiritual allegiance or compromise their identity as God’s holy people. That principle certainly applied to pagan temple associations in Corinth, but it also extends beyond them to marriage, religious partnerships, and any other union that places a believer under an incompatible spiritual yoke. The historical context explains why Paul wrote these words, but the theological argument explains why they continue to apply beyond first-century Corinth.
This verse has been proof-texted in relation to believers marrying unbelievers. However, this text does not seem to be dealing with marriage specifically, although that is surely included in this broader statement. Believers must restrict their most intimate, personal relationships to fellow believers. This helps us fight the pull of fallen culture away from Christ. Faith in Jesus and the indwelling Spirit have caused a sharp and deep cleavage within families, businesses, hobbies, amusements, even churches.
One must take into account passages like 1 Cor. 5:9-13; 7:12-16; 10:27 to get the theological balance of this truth. We must remember the wickedness of first century pagan culture. This is not an affirmation of monastic living, but an attempt to reduce intimate personal relationship with the fallen world system (cf. Rom. 12:2; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17). See Hard Sayings of the Bible, pp. 624-626.
J.