John Calvin Commentary 2 Corinthians 6:17

"Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you," — 2 Corinthians 6:17 (ASV)

Wherefore come out from the midst of them. This exhortation is taken from Isaiah 52:11, where the Prophet, when foretelling the deliverance, finally addresses the priests with these words. For he uses a roundabout expression to describe the priests, when he says, Ye that bear the vessels of the Lord, since they had the charge of the vessels, with which the sacrifices and other parts of divine worship were performed.

Undoubtedly, his purpose is to admonish them. While eagerly desiring to come out, they should guard against any contamination from the many pollutions that filled the country. Now this applies to us no less than to the ancient Levites, for if so much purity is required on the part of the keepers of the vessels, how much more in the vessels themselves!

Now all our members are vessels, set apart for the spiritual worship of God; we are also a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Therefore, since we are redeemed by the grace of God, it is fitting that we keep ourselves undefiled from all uncleanness, so that we do not pollute the sanctuary of God.

However, although we remain in this world, we are still redeemed and rescued from its pollutions. Therefore, we are not to leave this life with the intention of departing from all uncleanness. Instead, we must simply avoid all participation in such pollutions. The main point is this: “If with a true affection of the heart, we seek the benefit of redemption, we must be careful not to defile ourselves by any contamination from its pollutions.”