Who are the "unbelievers" in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15?

There’s been a lot of discussion about who the “unbelievers” are in 2 Corinthians 6:14-15, and it is interesting that so many are absolutely convinced that Paul must be talking about the “unsaved.” Why is that? Is the description “unbeliever” always reserved for the unsaved only? What do the Scriptures show us?  

The Greek word for “believe” is pistos, which is translated as both “believe” and “faith” throughout the Scriptures. The word “unbelief” is the Greek word apistos, which is simply the word pistos with a negative participle on it, a.  So when one sees the word “unbelievers,” one can also translate that into “un-faith-ers.”  Therefore we could read the passage like this:

2 Corinthians 6:14-15

[You, the church which is at Corinth] Do not be bound together with unbelievers [those that do not have faith]; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has believers [those who have faith] in common with unbelievers [those who do not have faith]?

So let’s briefly look at a couple of examples to see how God uses the term “unbelievers,” and whether it is in reference to the “saved” or the “unsaved.”

In order to stay within direct context, let’s skip back a couple of chapters in 2 Corinthians and see Paul use the same term, ‘unbelievers’-

2 Corinthians 4:3-4  

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The context here is crucial. Just prior to making this claim concerning the veiling of the gospel, and how it is veiled to those unbelievers whose minds have been blinded by the god of this world [Satan], Paul makes a comment concerning Moses and the veil he wore. To paraphrase, Paul writes that Moses had to cover his face with a veil because of the glory that shone from it after having met with the Lord. Moses wore the veil because the sons of Israel “could not look intently at [his face].” Paul goes on to say that his current ministry of righteousness [i.e. his gospel], given now through the Spirit, surpasses the glory of old and will not fade away as it had when Moses encountered it.

Paul goes on to state that we are to be bold in our speech because of the hope this ministry of righteousness now gives us; we are not to be like Moses and keep that veil over this glory. He goes on to say that the veil is still there with the sons of Israel, for their minds are “hardened" in that when Moses is read to them they cannot see past the letter of it to the life within it that is given by the Spirit. They are still veiled because they will not turn back to God via Jesus the Christ; the veil lies over their heart and can only be removed in Christ.

These “unbelievers” that Paul speaks of are the sons of Israel who refused [and were still refusing] to believe that Jesus was who He said He was – the One that the whole nation was waiting for to usher in the blessings of the promises given to the forefathers. Promises concerning a kingdom of righteousness, a government of peace, and ruling over their enemies within a theocracy. The nation as a whole rejected Jesus because they did not believe Him. 

This rejection had nothing whatsoever to do with their “saved” status. The nation of Israel at Christ’s first coming was a “saved” nation; they individually possessed spiritual life. All that is necessary to become “saved” is to believe in the provision of death and shed blood that God gives as a substitutionary sacrifice. Prior to Jesus’ death on the cross, the nation had the passover lambs and that was fully acceptable to God up until the point the Perfect Passover Lamb was slain. (This is addressed at length in the Bible study, "The Word of the Kingdom.")

So the nation of Israel, a group of saved individuals, were unbelievers when it came to who their Messiah was.

For more evidence as to how God uses the term “unbelievers,” I draw your attention to what the author of Hebrews wrote—

Hebrews 3:5-19

And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.' 11 So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'"

12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."

16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

The first generation of Israel (all but 2) were unable to enter into their Promised Land, receive their inheritance, and take part in the theocracy because they did not believe. What was it they didn’t believe? Did they believe in God? You bet. Did they believe in the provision of a substitutionary sacrifice that, by its blood, was used by God to effect their redemption out of bondage to slavery? YES (Because if they hadn’t, they never would have left Egypt). 1 Corinthians 10:1-12 tells us clearly that that whole generation partook of spiritual things as they followed after the Spirit of the Lord. That entire generation that came out of Egypt was saved, yet God clearly calls them immoral, disobedient, hard of heart, evil, and unbelieving. Did you catch that? God called them unbelieving. And why was God so harsh with them? Because He taught them (and He taught them) and He showed them (and He showed) them all of His truths, and they flatly refused to do what He said in reference to entering into their land. They were fearful, and they chose to listen and believe the ten leaders who said that God couldn’t possibly accomplish what He said He would. They chose to believe man and not God. They had no faith.

Can a saved person not have faith? Yes. And in keeping with the Greek, if someone does not have faith, they are apistos, un-faith-ing, unbelieving. A Christian can, at any time, choose not to believe (not have faith in) what God has said concerning how they are to live their Christian life and then so choose not to do what God has said. This would make them an unbeliever. That decision to not believe has no bearing on their eternal salvation because eternal salvation, once given, can never be lost or given back. But the inheritance, the entrance into the land, and positions of authority within a theocracy can most certainly be lost. The first generation of Israel taught us that. And Paul and the author of Hebrews tirelessly remind us, the Church (the brethren), about it so that we, too, won’t fall in the same way or become unbelieving in the same way.

So as Paul wraps up his comments concerning being “unequally yoked” with unbelievers, he makes a poignant remark that sums it up. He says—

2 Corinthians 7:1  

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Do not touch what is unclean [e.g. the lawless unbelievers], but cleanse yourself from all defilement because of the precious promises we have from God, through Christ.

I could certainly go on and give more information on the subject, but that should be a good starting point for that particular question. I now encourage everyone to keep in mind what I wrote and then go back and reread 2 Corinthians and decide for yourself who Paul is speaking about. Do not assume that every time the word “unbeliever” is used it is speaking of an “unsaved” person; this is man’s conditioning of terminology, not God’s. And as was stated prior, should anyone have any additional questions to help aid in their earnest understanding, I would be more than happy to answer.