“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,
“’I will dwell in them and walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you.
And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’
Says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NASB1995)
“Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1 NASB1995)
This word translated here as “bound” is the word “yoke” which has to do with joining one to another of a different kind; joining two to a single plow (source Bible Hub interlinear). It has to do with Christians being united, joined with, partnered (merged, combined, bonded) with the ungodly, with the world, with those who are not serving the same master, the same Lord. And this is exactly what the majority of the church in the USA has done.
How so?, you say! The church in the USA has always been tax exempt. But in the 1950’s the church at large (not every congregation) was talked into incorporating (merging, combining, uniting, partnering with) under the state (with the government, with the world) via the 501c3 tax exempt nonprofit organization status, which puts them underneath the rule of the government and answerable to the US government for what they do or don’t do.
So, overall, there has been no more separation of church and state, at least since the 1950’s, when I was a young child. And when I was growing up as a child we had the flag of the USA in the front of what was then called “the sanctuary” where we had our church gatherings. And we were taught, in the church, to put hand over heart and to pledge allegiance (loyalty, fidelity, faithfulness) to the US government, as though they were a god to be worshiped. And we were taught patriotic songs of worship of the government and to honor our military as though they were our saviors who protected us.
Gradually, over time, the churches then became more and more like the world, serving up the same types of things the world is serving to the people. They became more and more secularized and worldly, and they began to turn their church gatherings into businesses to be marketed to the world just like other businesses. And so they compromised with the world. And so many of them altered the gospel message to make it more appealing and acceptable to the world and to human flesh, to where the gospel that most are teaching these days is so contrary to the teachings of Christ Jesus.
And this is exactly what God warned his church against in this passage of Scripture written about 2000 years ago. We, as the body of Christ, are not to bring ourselves, as the body, under any other authority other than Jesus Christ. We are not to partner with (incorporate under) the government (the state) in an unholy union, and we are not to then market “the church” to the world, altering the meaning of “church” and the gospel of Christ in order to “draw in large crowds of people from the world” into our gatherings.
And so we need to listen to God and to what he says here. We are to come out from among these “churches” which are partnered with the state (with the ungodly and with the world) in an unholy union. And we are to be separate because we are to be becoming like Jesus Christ, and we are to be following what he teaches us about what our gatherings should look like. And we are not to engage in what is ungodly and which is contrary to the teachings of the Scriptures, but we are to be holy unto God alone. And then he will welcome us and we will be his people and he will be our Father.
[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 18:1-5]
And since we have these promises, we are to now cleanse ourselves, as the people of God, from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear (awe, respect, honor, obedience) of God. And we are to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their correct biblical context and who are living, in practice, what they teach us with regard to how we are to live as followers of Christ, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as obedient servants of the Lord who are following his lead in doing what he says. So please take these words to heart, for God means what he says.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
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The Temple of The Living God
An Original Work / August 16, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
