IICor.6.11-13
6:11-13 Paul’s impassioned plea reveals his inner feelings. • our hearts are open to you . . . Open your hearts to us! These sentiments are continued in 7:2 (see study notes on 6:14–7:1; 7:2-4).
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6:11-13 Paul’s impassioned plea reveals his inner feelings. • our hearts are open to you . . . Open your hearts to us! These sentiments are continued in 7:2 (see study notes on 6:14–7:1; 7:2-4).
6:1-2 To win over the disaffected believers at Corinth, Paul appeals to them to listen to him and Timothy as God’s servants and messengers. • As God’s partners: Literally As we work together, which leaves open the question whether Paul meant that they were working together in a team effort, or that they were working together with God.
6:14 Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers: This instruction alludes to the Jewish prohibition of certain mixtures (Lev 19:19; Deut 22:10). Paul was probably referring to how the Corinthians had been involving themselves in idolatrous practices (see 1 Cor 8–10; cp. 1 Cor 10:14-22).
6:14–7:1 The connection between 6:13 and 7:2 has led many scholars to conclude that 6:14–7:1 is an inserted fragment from another letter (perhaps the one mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9). However, this section might just as well be a digression in Paul’s writing, a suitable challenge to the Corinthians to forsake their opposition to Paul and his message. Paul was anx...
6:14–7:1 The connection between 6:13 and 7:2 has led many scholars to conclude that 6:14–7:1 is an inserted fragment from another letter (perhaps the one mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9). However, this section might just as well be a digression in Paul’s writing, a suitable challenge to the Corinthians to forsake their opposition to Paul and his message. Paul was anxious to see relationships restored; here, Paul draws a picture of believers in Christ forming a holy temple. Believers’ identity as the temple of God motivates the need for harmony among them as well as separation from the impurity of unbelieving attitudes and behaviors. Paul therefore draws the contrast between Christian and pagan morality with quotations from the Old Testament.
leviticus 19:19
deuteronomy 22:10
2 samuel 7:12-16
2 samuel 7:14
1 kings 8:12-53
1 kings 9:1-9
2 chronicles 6:20
psalms 11:4
The Church as God’s Temple
The Church as God’s Temple The imagery of the church as the temple of God has its roots in the Old Testament. David and Solomon received a promise that the Temple in Jerusalem would be the place of God’s abiding presence with his people (see 2 Sam 7:12-16; 1 Kgs 9:1-9). That Temple was completed in 960 BC but was destroyed in 586 BC. Yet the prophets of Israel looked forward to a new temple; they announced a message of hope that God would once again live among his people (see, e.g., Isa 56:7; Ezek 40–43). While the Temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt after the Exile—and reached a pinnacle during the renovations of Herod the Great—the hopes of God’s people were ultimately fulfilled in the coming of Jesus (see John 1:14; 2:19-22; 4:21-24). He himself is God’s temple, the place where God’s holiness resides, and he calls his people to join him. Thus, God’s people are to be a holy temple of God, a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit (see 1 Cor 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21; 1 Pet 2:5; Rev 3:12). Paul called on believers to realize their identity as God’s “holy people” (2 Cor 1:1) in two ways: They were to separate themselves from moral evil, and they were to be dedicated to Go...