Movatterモバイル変換

1 Samuel 5:2-4
When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon…

1 Kings 18:21
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORDbe God, follow him: but if Baal,then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

1 Corinthians 10:20,21
ButI say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils…

or.

Ezra 4:3
But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.

Mark 16:16
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Acts 8:20
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

an.

1 Timothy 5:8
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
This phrase underscores the fundamental differences in values, beliefs, and purposes between those who follow Christ and those who do not. The term "believer" refers to someone who has faith in Jesus Christ and lives according to His teachings, while "unbeliever" denotes someone who rejects or is indifferent to the Christian faith. This distinction is rooted in the biblical call for believers to live a life set apart, as seen in1 Peter 2:9, which describes Christians as a chosen people and a royal priesthood. The question challenges believers to consider the implications of forming close partnerships or alliances with those who do not share their faith, echoing the Old Testament warnings against intermarriage with pagan nations (Deuteronomy 7:3-4) and the New Testament exhortation to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). This separation is not about isolation but about maintaining spiritual integrity and witness.

Paul’s first question insists that there is absolutely no shared ground between the Lord Jesus and the being who embodies rebellion. He frames Christ as the Light and Belial (another name for Satan) as utter darkness. The contrast is total, leaving no middle space.

• Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

• Scripture explains that “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

• Belial’s realm is exposed by “Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)

• Christ’s mission is explicit: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)

• God has already “rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son.” (Colossians 1:13)

Because Light and darkness cannot blend, believers are commanded to guard against any partnership—doctrinal, moral, or relational—that would splice the purity of Christ with the corruption of Belial.

Paul’s second question brings the argument home to everyday relationships. Once a person is made new in Christ, the fundamental core changes. Shared hobbies or personalities may remain, but the deepest loyalties and values diverge sharply.

• Nature: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

• Understanding: “The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God… they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14)

• Identity: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.” (1 Peter 2:9)

• Affection: “Do not love the world or anything in the world.” (1 John 2:15)

• Direction: “Can two walk together without agreeing where to go?” (Amos 3:3)

• Destiny: “Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there.” (Philippians 3:20)

Because these foundational realities are not shared with the unbeliever, intimate bonds—especially those that shape worldview, worship, or moral choices—place the believer in a tug-of-war between incompatible masters.

Paul’s twin questions slam the door on any notion that Christ can be blended with Satan’s agenda or that a believer’s deepest life can mesh with an unbeliever’s. The passage calls every follower of Jesus to stand in the clear light of their Savior, refuse spiritual compromise, and order every relationship and partnership under the unshared lordship of Christ.

"Belial came last, than whom a spirit more lewd,

Fell not from heaven, or more gross to love

Vice for itself."--Paradise Lost, i. 490.

"Belial, the dissolutest spirit that fell,

The sensualest, and, after Asmodai, . . .

"To him no temples rose,
No altars smoked." Perhaps, as has been conjectured, this clause, which contains two such unusual words, may be a quotation. It is, however, no ground of objection that Belial does not occur elsewhere in St. Paul, for until the pastoral Epistles he only usesdiabolos twice (Ephesians 4:27;Ephesians 6:11).What part, etc.? This is not, like the other clauses, an illustration, but the statement of the fact itself which "has come in amidst the lively, sweeping flow of the discourse."With an infidel;i.e. with an unconverted Gentile.

Parallel Commentaries ...