What does 2 Corinthians 6:16 mean?

Paul has been asking a series of questions to illustrate how absurd it is for a believer in Jesus to be "yoked" or harnessed to an unbeliever in a binding relationship. He has asked how there can be a partnership between righteousness and lawlessness; how there can be fellowship between light and darkness; how there can be an accord between Christ and Satan; and what portion of eternal glory a Christian could ever share with a non-Christian.

Now he asks one final question as a transition into his main point in this passage: What agreement can God's temple have with idols? The question creates a picture of worshiping a false idol in the Jewish temple. Such a thing would be the ultimate betrayal of God. Those who knew the law of Moses would immediately declare such a person as being worthy of death under the laws of the nation of Israel.

Paul quickly clarifies, though, that he is not talking about the Jewish temple. Those who are in Christ—true Christian believers—are now God's temple on earth. His Spirit occupies every believer in Jesus. With that understanding, Paul's meaning is clear. Any believer who participates in the worship of an idol is guilty of betraying God in the same way as a Jewish person worshiping an idol in the Jewish temple.

Paul next references several Old Testament passages to make his point even more clear. He begins by quoting from a mix of Leviticus 26:12 and Exodus 29:45. God declared that He would live among the people of Israel. This was accomplished in the ark of the covenant and in the temple. He would walk among them. He would be Israel's God, and they would be His people. Paul is demonstrating that the same is true of all who come to God through faith in Christ. Christians are the people of God. He dwells among them now in the form of the Holy Spirit.