Discovery: The main point of this section can be found in v. 14: "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers..." Because this phrase is an imperative statement, it can also be translated as "Stop yoking yourselves..." This has obviously been a problem for the Corinthian church because they are constantly conforming to the society around them instead of conforming themselves into the likeness of Christ.
Most traditional and contemporary teachings regarding v. 14 deal with marriage and relationships. The principle is that we should not be "yoked" to someone who is not a believer or spiritually compatible. Yet the implications of this verse and the principles found in it extends far beyond just these things.
In vv. 14-16, we see a series of 5 questions that tap into a number of different aspects of our lives.
"For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?"
"Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
"What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?"
"What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?"
"What agreement is there between God and idols?"
These highlighted words and the contrasting words associated with them shows us that there are many things that are cannot be yoked to the things of God. The contrast is stark and absolute. Paul's charge is to stop yoking ourselves with things that are not of God.
Application: Paul's corrective challenge can be found in v. 16: "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."
There are three key things that makes us a temple of the living God:
1. "I will live with them" God desires to live in the midst of His people. Just like the wandering Israelites had the tabernacle of God in the midst of their camp during the 40 years of wandering, so too does God want to live in the midst of (not around, near, or adjacent to) His people.
2. "and walk among them" God walks to walk in and through freely in our lives. Our youth pastor Pat gave a great analogy about this. When we have people over to our house, we usually clean the public space where people hangout and mingle. But there is always that drawer or closet (or in our case a whole room) in which we stuff all of our junk. We are okay with people walking around and looking at the parts of the house that we deem acceptable but we would never want someone to look in that messy drawer, closet, or room. God wants to walk freely in and through all aspects of our lives.
3. "I will be their God and they will be my people." This is a reoccurring promise to God's people. It is repeated over and over because we tend to forget that we are God's prized possession. God is the author and initiator of this covenant relationship and He reminds us over and over that His plans for us and good and trustworthy.
Friends... stop yoking yourself to bad things and let us start living as temples to the living God.
Prayer: Help me turn away from the things that don't lead me to You. Help me instead to allow you to inspect all aspects of my life and strive to live for You.
