Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 7
2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The promises that Paul here speaks of are from the previous chapter. There we learn that we are the temple of the living God because God lives in us who belong to Christ. We also are told that God is our Father. Since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves. The marvelous message of grace that we have in Christ is truly amazing. Law says, “Do this and you will be blessed.” It also tells us that failure to perform brings a curse.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
The grace of God in Christ tells us that we are blessed already and accepted by God. Now we are free to live out of that grace we have received.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
This grace adopts us into God’s family and he is our loving heavenly Father. We have done nothing to deserve this grace from God. It is a free gift that we receive by faith.
Notice that Paul here makes his appeal because of grace. Since we already have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves. He does not say let us cleanse ourselves so that we may attain to this position. He says we already have these promises; therefore we can live a clean and pure life. We cleanse ourselves because we are children of God, not so that we may become children of God.
There truly are many temptations in our world. The fear of God he speaks of is the realization that we can easily slip back into those if we are not circumspect. How do we cleanse ourselves? The Bible tells us to do two things:
1. Confess our sins to God and receive forgiveness and cleansing from him.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
2. Walk in the Spirit.
Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
It is the Holy Spirit who will bring forth holiness in our lives as a tree bears fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). If we walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Don’t war against the flesh. Walk in the Spirit! We might sum this up like this: Receive cleansing from Jesus and then follow him!
In Christ,
Rody
