Epistles (written)

Saturday, 5 September 2015

And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 2 Corinthians 6:15

In this verse, Paul will continue with his five rhetorical questions which are based on the statement, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” The first question here contains the argument he is making by asking, “And what accord has Christ with Belial?” The second will support the conclusion by asking, “Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?”

In the first, he uses the term “Belial” and asks what accord Christ has with Belial. The answer is obviously, “None.” There can be no true accord when one in Christ is yoked to one in Belial. The word for “accord” is sumphónésis. It is a word unique to the New Testament and by simply speaking it one can determine that it implies “harmony.” It is the noun form of a verb which is found six times in the New Testament, and it is the root of where our word “symphony” comes from. There can be no harmony between the two. Rather, there can only be discord.

This proper name, Belial (in Greek, Beliar), is not found anywhere else in Scripture. However, Belial is used in the Old Testament as a combination of two words which together mean “without profit” and thus “worthless.” There are several possible reasons for the name being given as Beliar. The first is that the change from an l to an r is based on the Syriac pronunciation of the word where the “l” sounded more like an “r.” Another reason is that the word is derived from Belyar, Lord of the forest. It would then be a synonym for Satan.

The second option seems more likely because the premise of the Bible is that we are either “in Christ” or we belong to the devil. There is no other position that we can be in as human beings. Either way, there can be no harmony between Christ and such a foe.

Paul’s second question is, “Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?” The answer is that one has no part with the other. The word “part” indicates the division of a country or an estate. But what belongs to Christ will not be apportioned out to those who don’t believe in Him. The unregenerate have their part in this world and then eternal doom. Those who have called on Christ have a heavenly inheritance. Therefore, the two have no part with one another.

Life application: Paul’s questions continue to put the spotlight on our associations. He is asking us to consider our position in Christ and then to evaluate those associations based on that state. If we are to become yoked to someone who has a different set of priorities and allegiances, then there can be no true harmony with them. They will be working towards one goal while we should be working towards another.

Gracious God, You sent Christ the Lord to purchase Your redeemed back from the power of the devil. Why would we want to align ourselves again with others who have not yet called on Christ and who still serve that wicked god of this world? Help Your people to make wise choices concerning their associations and to not become unequally yoked to non-believers in matters of great importance. Instead, help us to keep our allegiance to Christ pure and undefiled. Amen.

Friday, 4 September 2015

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 2 Corinthians 6:14

After speaking to the Corinthians about opening wide their hearts, Paul now seems to take on a completely different line of thought which some scholars find out of place, as if something was later taken out or added. But there is no reason to assume this. His last words prior to this verse said, “Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.”

With that thought in mind, he simply shows them how to be open. He has gone from petition to instruction. The words of instruction are to “not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” The word for “unequally yoked together” is heterozygéō. It is a word only found here and nowhere else in ancient Greek. It was probably made up by Paul for this very verse.

HELPS Word Studies provides the following concerning this word –

heterozygéō – (from /héteros, “another of a different kind” and /zygós, “a yoke, joining two to a single plow”) – properly, different kinds of people joined together but unevenly matched; hence “unequally yoked” (not aptly joined). … heterozygéō (“mis-matched”) is used figuratively of Christians wrongly committed to a partner holding very different values (priorities), i.e. that run contrary to faith (the kingdom of God).

Adding to this, Vincent’s Word Studies shows that the word “unequally” needs to be properly defined – “Unequally gives an ambiguous sense. It is not inequality, but difference in kind, as is shown by the succeeding words.

Paul’s mind was certainly on Old Testament passages which contain this very idea. One from Leviticus and one from Deuteronomy give us a better sense of what he was thinking about –

“You shall not let your livestock breed with another kind. You shall not sow your field with mixed seed. Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you.” Leviticus 19:19

“You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.” Deuteronomy 22:10

In the first example, it is showing the need to keep from corruption of individual kinds. In the second, it was showing that different kinds have different strengths and are thus designed for different purposes. To join a donkey with an ox would wear out the donkey or frustrate the ox, or both.

Thinking on a human level, we can make logical comparisons to both OT references. And so, in order to direct our thoughts in what he means, he will next ask five questions which will provide insights into the precept. The first three will contain the argument he is making and the last two will support the conclusion.

Before entering into the questions, it should be noted that the word for “fellowship” is also found only here in the NT. It is metoché, and it means “sharing, partnership, fellowship.” It represents “a close relation between partners, i.e. people sharing something held in common; joint-activity.”

Paul is saying that an unequal yoking arises because of different goals and priorities based on one’s world view. A Christian will have one world view and a non-Christian will have another. Therefore, for a Christian to marry, start a business partnership, or otherwise closely associate with a non-Christian in an important way can only be considered an unequal yoking. Later Paul gives the opposite of such yoking in Philippians 4:3 –

“And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.”

In support of his argument, Paul next asks the first two of his five questions. He begins with, “For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?” The obvious answer is “none.” Believers are justified by faith and have been imputed the righteousness of Christ. The sin of unbelievers remains and they stand in a state of unrighteousness before God. There can be no true fellowship in such a state.

His next question is, “And what communion has light with darkness?” This is a theme which permeates Scripture – light and darkness. The two are completely incompatible; where there is one, the other cannot exist. As Christians are “light” and the unbelieving world is “darkness,” there can be no true fellowship between the two. A union of the two only causes confusion and breakdown of the intrinsic nature of one or the other.

Life application: When making important life decisions, we must always consider our position in Christ first. If it is difficult for marriages to survive even when both are agreed on their devotion to the Lord, how much more difficult will a marriage be when only one is wholly devoted to Him? The same is true with business partnerships and any other major aspect of our life where we must entrust our lives to an important goal. Let us first and foremost consider ourselves from a Christian perspective and make our alliances based on that.

Lord God, You have asked Your people to not be unequally yoked with non-believers. How often do we fail to heed this advice! And how difficult it is for us when we do! Help us to make right decisions about our lifetime choices which will be based on our allegiance to Jesus first. Help us to be obedient to Your word and to set our eyes, goals, hearts, and affections on Jesus as we live out these lives You have granted us. Amen.

Thursday, 3 September 2015

Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open. 2 Corinthians 6:13

In the previous two verses, Paul has noted that the apostles had opened their hearts wide to the Corinthians and that they had not withheld their affections for them. On the other hand, the Corinthians had withheld theirs. Now Paul notes what would be good “in return for the same.” Some translations say “for a recompense,” but this leans toward implying a repayment. Rather than a repayment, Paul is simply asking for a like-return. The NIV does a good job with the thought using the words, “a fair exchange.” As if in a fair exchange, he says to them “you also be open.”

This is no different than any other social grace which is given out. If someone says to their neighbor “Hi Tom,” all he would expect in return is a “Hi Paul!” And with each different level of openness between friends, one would expect there to be an exchange in kind for a kindness shown. And in the case of Paul and the believers in Corinth, there is an added reason for this which is implied in the words, “I speak as to children.”

Paul was, as it were, a spiritual father to the congregation. In such a relationship, one would expect the children to give their parents the same kindness that the parents had given to them. If not, then the relationship would be unbalanced and would easily become an unsatisfying one.

Paul uses the same father/child metaphor with them in 1 Corinthians 4:14 and he also conveys it to those in Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 2:11. He considered the churches he established as his family and those in them as his own dear children. To the Galatians, he speaks in a very similar manner concerning the idea of becoming like him –

“Brethren, I urge you to become like me, for I became like you.” Galatians 4:12

Paul was a man of passion for those he shared the gospel with. He cherished them and he desired them to reciprocate with the same feelings of affection.

Life application: One-sided relationships will eventually wear out the one who is always on the giving side. Unfortunately, the giver is often unwilling to ask for a fair exchange of affection in fear of losing the relationship. But Paul shows us that it is right and proper to speak one’s heart in times like this in order to find a happy balance in such matters.

Heavenly Father, help me to be a giving person who is willing to expend myself for the sake of others. And yet, help me not to be duped by those who would take advantage of my attempts to be kind and sharing. It’s often hard to know how far to go with a relationship without giving unnecessary offense. So I would pray for the wisdom to know what is right and appropriate as stressful times come up between me and others. Grant me this wisdom so that You will always be glorified through how I conduct myself. Amen.

Wednesday, 2 September 2015

You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. 2 Corinthians 6:12

Paul just exclaimed in the preceding verse that the hearts of the apostles were wide open to those in Corinth. In contrast to this, he says, “You are not restricted by us.” The sense of this is that though their hearts were wide, allowing room enough for loving the entire congregation, there was a restricting of the hearts of the Corinthians which wasn’t allowing for the same affections towards the apostles.

Instead he says, “…but you are restricted by your own affections.” In this, he means that they were the cause of their own closing of heart towards the apostles. It had nothing to do with the apostles at all, but was a chronic problem with their own congregation. Through their own errors and misapplications of what Paul and the others had instructed them, they had gotten off the proper path of doctrine. This caused a conflict to arise between the two parties and had thus caused them to withhold their affections from being as broad as they should be.

For the word “affections,” Paul uses the Greek word splagchnon. In years past, some older translations, such as the KJV, use the unfortunate word “bowels” to translate it. This is a regrettable and actually meaningless way of translating the Greek. Albert Barnes explains the proper rendering of this word –

“The word used here (σπλάγχνα splangchna) commonly means in the Bible the tender affections. The Greek word properly denotes the upper viscera; the heart, the lungs, the liver. It is applied by Greek writers to denote those parts of victims which were eaten during or after the sacrifice – Robinson (Lexicon). Hence, it is applied to the heart, as the seat of the emotions and passions; and especially the gentler emotions, the tender affections, compassion, pity, love, etc. Our word “bowels” is applied usually to the lower viscera, and by no means expresses the idea of the word which is used in Greek.”

It is always good to remember that being captivated by one translation will inevitably lead to bondage of thought. It is far better to put away nonsense teachings that one version is the only one which should be used and to study with diligence what the true intent of the original languages is.

Life application: Often, our hearts will become hard to other Christians because of our own faulty doctrine. When this occurs, it is always wise to evaluate ourselves and what we believe, knowing that we could be in the wrong. Paul shows the Corinthians this so that they will lovingly reach out in order to be corrected and  returned to a state of true fellowship with others.

Lord God, there are many, many divisions within the church which have been caused by sloppy doctrine or by the bondage of sticking to one translation of the Bible which is faulted in its translation. How can we overcome these things? I know that it is by studying to show ourselves approved and correcting our misperceptions of what You are telling us. Help me to always search for the truth in Your word and apply it to proper doctrine so that I can break down the walls of division and divisiveness. Amen.

Tuesday, 1 September 2015

O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. 2 Corinthians 6:11

In what is the most personal appeal in his letters, Paul directly and openly calls out to the Corinthians. In only two other letters does he directly name his recipients – Galatians 3:1 and Philippians 4:15. But this address to the Corinthians is most personal in nature. The term “we have spoke openly to you” is literally “our mouth is opened to you.” It is a way of saying that a free and full use of language has been imparted to them, holding nothing back.

It is his way of saying that everything said thus far has been candid and unreserved, culminating in the words of the previous verses which showed everything that the apostles had gone through for the sake of their hearers, which included those in Corinth. From there he said, “our heart is wide open.” More literally, “our heart has been expanded.” The Pulpit Commentary helps to explain this –

“After writing the foregoing majestic appeal, he felt that he had disburdened his heart, and as it were made room in it to receive the Corinthians unreservedly, in spite of all the wrongs which some of them had done him.”

The use of the words “mouth” and “heart” in the same thought is not unique to this verse. It is also used by Jesus in Matthew 12 in a negative sense –

“Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34

Also, Paul uses it concerning the process of salvation in Romans 10 –

“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9, 10

Life application: Sometimes it is good to clear out our thoughts to others before we can tell them how much they mean to us. Paul tenderly corrected his hearers on points of contention, but he then moved to his words of love and tender affection for them. If we follow this pattern, we can get such difficulties behind us and move on with the freedom of hearts which are no longer burdened.

Heavenly Father, personal conflict is one of the things I really dislike dealing with. And yet, unless I do, my heart remains burdened with the thing that has affected my relationship. Fear of losing a friend then is mixed with the stress of carrying the offense around. Help me to deal with times like this in a way which will keep me from losing the important person in my life and yet freeing me from the heavy weight my heart feels. Be with me in such times for a happy resolution to the trial. Amen.