Daily Bread - APR/12/07

2 Corinthians 7:1 - Having these promises then beloved let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

It is a well-established fact that God has made us holy through the new birth. He has made us a new creation, and this new creation possesses the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3-4). We know that the blood of Jesus has cleansed (katharitzo) us from all sin and that He has cleansed (katharise) us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7, 9). What then does Paul mean that we should cleanse (katharitzo) ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh and spirit? To understand this we must begin with the contrast that Paul makes in the previous verses between the holy and unholy things. He makes this contrast very clear in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 when he says "be not unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what participation has righteousness and iniquity, and what fellowship has light with darkness and what agreement has Christ with Belial, or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has a temple of God with idols?

You are a temple of the living God according as God has said, "I will dwell among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be to me a people." The Bible Exposition Commentary has an insightful comment here, "It is nature that determines association. Because a pig has a pig's nature, it associates with pigs in the mud hole. Because a sheep has a sheep's nature, it munches grass with the flock in the pasture. The Christian possesses a divine nature (2 Peter 1:3- 4), and therefore he should want to associate himself only with that which pleases the Lord." In light of the promises that have been given to us, as well as the fact that we are the temple of God, we must perfect holiness in the fear of God.

How are we to perfect holiness? We do this through obedience to God's Word. We do this by identifying what is good and what is evil and then refusing the evil and choosing the good. We must value the holiness/purity that has been given to us through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus and not give ourselves to the pollution and corruption that would contaminate our bodies and spirits. It must be recognized that the only way that we can grow properly is to abide in the vine, Christ Jesus. As we dwell in His Presence, the fruits of righteousness spring forth in our lives, and the Father cleanses/prunes the branch so that it may bring forth more fruit (John 15:2). The author and finisher of our salvation who has made us perfectly holy has given us the Holy Spirit to train us up in every manner of His own nature. In order to cleanse (katharitzo) ourselves in this context we must be willing to separate ourselves from every unholy thing. God is to be glorified in our body and spirit. If we associate with unholy things (filthiness) then we will be influenced by it. A related word to 'katharitzo' is 'hagnos' which is found in a related passage in 1 John 3:3, "And every man that has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure."

Jesus was separate from sinners and although He loved the lost and came to give His life for them He did not in anyway participate with their iniquity but called them to repentance (Luke 5:32; Hebrews 7:26; 2 Timothy 2:19). As we walk among those who are in the world we are to show them love and kindness, but the filthiness of the flesh and spirit that control their lives must not be allowed to influence us. We must understand how to bathe ourselves in the presence of the Lord and allow His rivers of living water to flow through us so that all of those things that would attempt to influence us are washed away. In order to effectively cleanse or separate ourselves from the uncleanness of this world then we must identify those things that are unholy and sinful and determine to have no fellowship with it. We are to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them (Ephesians 5:7,11; 1 Corinthians 5:9-11; 10:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:14; 1 Timothy 6:5; 2 Timothy 3:5; 2 John 10-11). The choice must be made by us everyday to obey the word of God and follow the Holy Spirit as He leads us to separate ourselves from all that is in the world thus perfecting holiness in the choices that we make. "Knowing then that we have been made holy being purified by the blood of Jesus, let us stay away from everything that would defile our bodies and spirits from being clean" (Contemporary English Version). The Lord Jesus has redeemed us from all iniquity and has purified to Himself a people zealous of good works (Titus 2:12).

Be Holy (1 Peter 1:5)

Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
abidingplace.org