2 Corinthians 6:11 - Meaning and Application

The apostle now speaks more directly to the Corinthians and warns them against joining with unbelievers. He does this with great warmth and tenderness, like a father speaking to his children (2 Corinthians 6:11-13). Even though Paul was gifted with many words, he still seemed to lack words strong enough to show how deeply he loved them.

He is saying, in effect, “Corinthians, I want you to see how much I care for you. We want the spiritual and lasting good of everyone we preach to, but you have a special place in our hearts.” Because his heart was so full of love, he spoke so openly and honestly to them. “You are not limited by us,” he says. “We would gladly do everything we can for your comfort and growth as helpers of your faith and joy. If there is any distance between us, it is not because we have closed our hearts. It is because you have not responded to us as you should, perhaps because you have misunderstood us.”

Paul asks only for a fair return of love, the kind children should have for a father. It is a good thing when ministers and their people share real affection. That kind of bond brings comfort and helps both sides.

He then gives the warning itself, not to join closely with unbelievers, not to be unequally yoked with them (2 Corinthians 6:14). This applies in several ways. First, it is wrong to choose marriage or other close family ties with the wicked and careless. Such relationships pull in different directions and become painful. Our chosen relationships should be guided by God’s rule, and it is safer for God’s children to join with those who belong to him too.

Second, we should also be careful in ordinary friendship and close company. We cannot avoid seeing unbelievers or having dealings with them, but we should not choose them as our closest friends. Third, and even more, we must not join with them in religious fellowship. We must not take part in idol worship, false worship, or any evil practice. We must not mix together the Lord’s table and the table of demons, or God’s house and an idol’s house.

Paul gives several reasons against this kind of corrupt mixing. First, it is a serious contradiction (2 Corinthians 6:14, 2 Corinthians 6:15). It is like yoking together things that cannot work together. It is as wrong as putting an ox and a donkey under one yoke, or mixing different kinds of seed in one field. How can righteousness and unrighteousness be joined, or light and darkness, or fire and water? Believers are meant to be righteous, and unbelievers are in darkness. Christ and Belial, that is, Satan and all evil power, have opposite goals. There can be no real agreement between them.

Second, it dishonors the Christian life (2 Corinthians 6:16). Christians are, by profession and should be in reality, temples of the living God. A temple is a place set apart for God’s use. God has promised to live among his people, to walk with them, and to claim them as his own people. There can be no harmony between God’s temple and idols, because idols compete with God for glory. God is jealous for his honor and will not give it to another.

Third, there is real danger in mixing with unbelievers and idolaters. There is danger of becoming stained by their sin and danger of being rejected by God. So the command is to come out from among them and keep a proper distance, to be separate, like someone avoiding people with leprosy or the plague for fear of catching it (2 Corinthians 6:17). We must not touch what is unclean, or we will be defiled. Who can handle pitch and not get dirty? In the same way, we must be careful not to pollute ourselves by close contact with people who pollute themselves with sin. This is God’s will if we hope to be accepted by him and not rejected.

Fourth, it would be shameful ingratitude toward God for all he has done and promised to believers (2 Corinthians 6:18). God has promised to be a Father to them, and they are to be his sons and daughters. What higher honor or greater happiness could there be? How ungrateful it would be for people with such a privilege to lower themselves by mixing closely with unbelievers. Do we repay the Lord in this foolish and unwise way?