2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 study guide: Pursuing Holiness

Community Group Study Guide — Pursuing Holiness

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

Study Information:

God has made us for relationships and those relationships shape us more than we probably realize. Likely when you first started to follow Christ you found a group of Christian friends or joined a Bible study and began to be formed to be more like Christ. Some of us also experience the pull back to sinful actions and attitudes because we had a hard time cutting off old relationships. Paul tells the Corinthian church to not be unequally yoked, meaning to not become partners with those who would lead them away from a Christ like life. The Corinthians struggled with being emotionally entangled with false teachers and the pull back to their old pagan lives and Paul reminds them that they are holy and set apart by God and to separate from these relationships that were damaging their spiritual life. This can feel legalistic and reclusive to some of us, but we should take compromise and drift from God seriously. Paul’s idea here is that since we are already holy in God’s sight, we ought to pursue holiness in everyday life. Let’s explore Paul’s call to purity, the presence of God and how we can pursue holiness.

Purity in our Partnerships

2 Corinthians 6:14-16

The first command here is to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. This cannot mean that we have no relationships or friendships with people who do not follow Christ; to believe that would be to ignore the previous call to the ministry of reconciliation and Jesus’s own friendship with sinners (2 Cor 5:18). However, Paul wants the Corinthians to know the danger of becoming influenced spiritually by those who do not follow Christ and partnering in “ministry” with unbelievers. The Corinthians had become emotionally and spiritually entangled with false teachers whom Paul later called unbelievers (2 Cor 11:4). Likewise, they had a pull back to their old ways of pagan sexual practices and ungodly division, rivalry and pride. This is a call to radically remove ourselves from situations that lead us towards compromise and ungodliness. Paul used five rhetorical questions that each can be answered with “none.” He used words like partnership, fellowship, accord, portion and agreement to highlight a kaleidoscope of ways we can be enmeshed with those who do not follow Christ. Each pair has two sets of opposites in it with righteousness/lawlessness, light/darkness, Christ/Belial, believer/unbeliever, temple/idol.

This image of being unequally yoked is rooted in the Old Testament, especially Deuteronomy 22:9-11 which gives us three pictures of purity from God’s law. First, a command to not sow two types of seeds in a field. Second, to not plow with an ox and a donkey (unequal yoke). Third, to not wear garments with two types of fibers. You may not break the first of these commandments but most of you are probably wearing two types of fibers as you’re reading this. These commandments were given to Israel and lasted as part of the Mosaic covenant, but notice that they each give a picture of purity and that is in order for us to understand what it means for God himself to be set apart and holy. There were definitely some practical reasons for these laws, but God wanted his people to understand this concept of holiness through everyday activities and pictures. Paul brings this point to a conclusion in 2 Corinthians 6:16 when he wrote “for we are the temple.” A temple was a place where heaven and earth overlapped and people would go to worship God. Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand that just as God is holy, so too we are holy and set apart for God’s presence.

The Presence of God

2 Corinthians 6:16-18

Followers of Jesus are sacred space, a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13, 1 Cor 6:19). If you follow Christ you are holy and set apart by God and the Lord wants that truth to motivate how you live. Paul quoted two Old Testament passages to teach us the implications of this.

First, Leviticus 26:12 which contains three promises from God. God promised to make his dwelling among his people, walk with them and be their God as they are his people. These are promises of God’s presence and covenant love. Christians belong to God and do not belong to the world and they can expect that God is with them every day of their lives.

The second passage quoted by Paul was Isaiah 52:11-12 and it contains a call to action and trust based on that knowledge. God, through Isaiah, promised the Israelites in exile that there would be a day where they’d be brought back from exile and when that happened they should leave quickly and not touch any unclean thing on the way out. The context of Isaiah immediately goes a prophecy about the suffering servant, the Christ. Paul quoting this text is a way of saying that this promise was fulfilled in Jesus and that day is today! These two commands are met with two promises, specifically “I will welcome you” and “I will be a father to you.” God does not merely tolerate us, he welcomes us in and makes us family. Think of how challenging it can be to separate from ungodly relationships. Many of us need courage and it comes with risk of feeling alone, abandoned or unworthy, but God promises to receive us. This is God’s way of telling his people that as the separate from ungodly relationships he will always be there to receive them and will be a Father to them. This is a call to trust God and to let go of those things which are causing compromise and ungodliness in our lives, to cut them off and fully embrace the path of following Jesus.

Pursuing Holiness

2 Corinthians 7:1

A Christian’s life is one that pursues becoming more and more like Christ. Our repentance and sanctification is primarily motivated by God’s work to make us new. Likewise, Paul used an interesting phrase that we are “bringing holiness to completion in the fear of the Lord,” meaning that since we are already holy in God’s sight so we take action to live out that reality in both body and spirit (2 Cor 7:1). The first step is to recognize the relationships and temptations in our lives that are leading us to compromise and drift from God. Second, repent and turn towards God rather than away from him. Repentance includes not just saying no to the ungodly action and attitude, it means saying yes to things that are in keeping with our new identity (2 Cor 5:17). Finally, we should put Paul’s command to practice and remove ourselves from those relationships and places that lead to compromise. Some of us are really quick to separate from being light in the world, and if that is you, consider the study guides from the last few passages and the call to the ministry of reconciliation and Paul’s charge to open wide your hearts. However, if you find that there are regular stumbling blocks in your growth in holiness, it is appropriate to remove yourself for a time as you continue to grow spiritually and pursue Christ. Remember God’s promise that he will welcome you and be a father to you, meaning you will not be let down by him.

At your community group:

Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.

How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?

Discussion Questions:

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1

How were the Corinthians at risk of being unequally yoked with unbelievers in Corinth? Why would Paul command them to separate from those relationships?

Paul listed off 5 questions in verses 14-15, what words did he use for this partnership and what does that communicate to us about the level of connection between the Corinthians and the unbelievers?

What promises did God make in verse 16-18 and what commands are there? How do these promises help us put these commands into practice?

Imagine you have a friend who needs to separate from an ungodly relationship. What kind of counsel would you give them based on this passage as they pursue holiness in completion in the fear of the Lord?