Paul has just asked his readers to accept his ministry and respond in love toward him. He has done this knowing that many of the Corinthians have turned from him and followed other preachers with a false gospel. So now, he warns his readers of the danger of associating with such false teachers. "He who has become righteous can have nothing to do with unrighteousness", Wendland. Calvin puts it this way, "He has exhorted them to show themselves amenable to him as to a father, and now with the right of a father he reproves the fault into which they have fallen."

6:14a. Although this exhortation seems to demand complete separation from the world, Paul has already, on numerous occasions, stated that a believer must needs live in the world, yet without being corrupted by it. The issue in this passage is not association with a corrupt world, but rather association with corrupt preachers who have abandoned the apostolic gospel.

v14b-16a. Five rhetorical questions serve to drive home Paul's point. Jesus has no part with Satan ("Belial", a common term for Satan, not generally used in the New Testament). A "believer" (a faithful believer) has no part with "an unbeliever" (an unfaithful believer). Paul's point is that they cannot be yoked together. Paul's final rhetorical question drives home his main point that a believer cannot get into a "double harness." We are God's temple in that his Spirit dwells within us and therefore we cannot link up with someone opposed to gospel truth. Elsewhere Paul says, the church is God's temple rather than the individual, and that may well be the sense here. Calvin brings the two thoughts together when he says "God can only dwell in the midst by dwelling in each one."

v16b. Paul now quotes from the Old Testament to underline his point. First, he supports the idea of God dwelling with his people by quoting Lev.26:12 (or a similar verse, eg. Ezk.37:27). God dwells with his gathered people in heaven and on earth, as well as dwelling within (in close fellowship with) the individual believer.

v17. Quoting from Isaiah 52:11, Paul reminds us that God's promise to dwell with his people necessitates a response of purity. Therefore "be separate", in the sense of not adopting the ways of Babel, cf., Jer.51:45. Then from Ezekiel 20:34b we are given the first of three promises from God; "I will welcome you."

v18. Then from 2 Samuel 7:14 we are given two more promises, God will be our Father and we will be his children, cf., Jer.31:9, 31ff. This status is not on the basis of our purity, but by grace through faith in Christ, Gal.3:26, 4:6, Rom.8:15.

7:1. Given that God dwells with his people, we need to be holy. Paul may be referring to the importance of living a godly life, striving to be the person we are in Christ, both inwardly ("spirit", here meaning the inward self) and outwardly ("body"), and this out of respect for the holy God who dwells with us. Yet, it is likely that "holiness" here refers to being separate, set-apart. Paul wants his readers in Corinth to dissociate themselves from the false teachers who are peddling untruth in their midst.

The exhortation "do not be yoked together with unbelievers" is often used in Christian circles to prohibit the marriage of a Christian with an unbeliever. It's not wise for a believer to marry an unbeliever because, at the spiritual level, the two will have little in common. Yet, if we are looking for a prohibition on mixed marriages, the Bible has little to say except where the unbeliever is of another faith. This is evident in the prohibitions found in the Old Testament. The Bible doesn't prohibit us marrying a nominal Christian, even an agnostic. Scripture just teaches that it is unwise, unhelpful.

Some have understood Paul's words in this passage to apply to a believer's contact with the world. Not only should we refrain from marrying unbelievers, but we should have limited contact with unbelievers, no socializing, going into business with unbelievers. This come out of the world approach certainly doesn't fit with Jesus' prayer for us: "my prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one."

Paul's words don't concern our association with the world, rather he is warning against our being sucked in by sectarian Christian teachers. The Corinthians were facing the same type of pressure that we face today. Influential leaders in the Corinthian congregation where questioning Paul's qualifications and the truth of his gospel. There will always be times when our reliance on faith, hope and love is questioned by those who think they have discovered the full gospel, powerful Christian living, abundant spiritual gifts, hidden truths, miracles, healing and the like. The wonderful simplicity of our Christian faith can easily be undermined by the extras offered in the myriad books, DVDs, religious programs offered today. Paul's advice is simple, don't link up with the extra specials on offer, just stick with faith, hope and love.

1. What advice do we give our believing children when they want to go out with an unbeliever?

2. List some of the extras to Christian faith on offer today.

3. At what point does association become assimilation? Illustrate.