Proclaimer Blog
How to convey information without showing off
I preached 2 Corinthians 6.14-7.1 this last Sunday. There's a curious sentence: "What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?" Who is this Belial? Some study work required. First of all, in Greek it is Beliar, not Belial. And a good commentary is going to help you.
The term Βελι?ρ (for this form, see Textual Note b.) is found only here in the NT. Paul’s usual word for the devil is (?) Σαταν?ς (10 uses; e.g., 2:11; 11:14; 12:7), but 4:4 (? θε?ς το? α??νος το?του) shows that his usage is not rigid. Βελι?ρ or the variant spelling Βελι?λ represents the Hebrew term belîya‘al, which means “worthlessness” or “destruction.” It is probably never a proper name for Satan in the OT, although it personified the forces of evil and chaos, so that the expression benê belîya‘al (“sons of worthlessness” = “wicked men”) is used of the homosexuals at Gibeah (Judg. 19:22; 20:13) and the wicked men who seduced people to worship other gods (Deut. 13:14; EVV, 13:13). In the Qumran texts belîya‘al is the angel of enmity whose domain is darkness and who counsels evil and superintends angels of destruction, “the lot of Belial,” who fight against the sons of light, “the lot of God.” “In the Pseudepigrapha (esp. in the Martyrdom of Isa. and XII P. [Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs]), Beliar is primarily the tempter who lures man into sin by his spirits and rules over sinful man.” Although Beliar is sometimes identified with the Antichrist in the Pseudepigrapha,44 there is no reason to assume that the antithesis in 6:15 is between Christ and Antichrist. Rather, as the embodiment of righteousness Christ is set over against Beliar as the embodiment of iniquity; Christ, the ruler in the kingdom of light, is contrasted with Satan, the ruler of the domain of darkness (cf. the two preceding antitheses, and Col. 1:12–13). As in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (e.g., Testament of Levi18:12), Βελι?ρ is here the name of the devil, the enemy of God. (Harris, M. J. (2005). The Second Epistle to the Corinthians : A commentary on the Greek text (502–503). Grand Rapids, Mich.; Milton Keynes, UK: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.; Paternoster Press.)
But how do you do communicate that in your sermon? There are all sorts of ways, many of which just end up with you wowing the crowds. "Isn't our pastor clever!?" For example, a preaching numpty might be tempted to quote or paraphrase some (or, perish the thought) all of the above. Here's a better way to do it. One sentence. Simple and straightforward avoiding the words and phrases "inter-testamental" "original Greek" and "variant of Beliar":
Belial, by the way, is simply an old-fashioned Jewish name for Satan.
You've done the technical work and research. Just give them the answer!