Stand Strong in the Word
Stand Strong in the Word is a weekly bible study that teaches through the Bible verse by verse in chronological order. For more information, visit www.standstrongministries.org.
Stand Strong in the Word
#282 “Living Pure in a Polluted World” (2 Corinthians 7:1)
Have you ever wondered what “perfect holiness in the fear of God” means? In this episode, Jason explores the intriguing challenge in 2 Corinthians 7:1—a compelling call for believers to rid themselves of anything that taints both body and spirit. Join Jason as he unpacks the power of God's promises, confronts the idols that pollute our hearts, and wrestles with what it means to live a life of reverence in an irreverent culture.
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Are you struggling to live a holy life? Living a life separate for God is not just a suggestion, it's our calling. In 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1, we're reminded of the importance of pursuing holiness. So how can we live this out practically? It's all about discipline, community and embracing the grace that God offers us. So let's explore this together by turning to 2 Corinthians, chapter 7. Well, hey there, my friends, welcome to Stand Strong in the Word podcast, jason Jimenez, with you as always. Blessed to be with you guys as we continue our study here in 2 Corinthians, chapter 7.
Speaker 1:Now we're going to only look at this one verse, and this verse is a transition to what we just finished off in 2 Corinthians 6. And we dealt with that critical passage about being unequally yoked and we asked the question what does it mean to be unequally yoked? So, if you missed that previous episode, make sure that you guys take a listen and encouraging you guys and so thankful that we have people who faithfully listen and also give financially to the ministry. We are a nonprofit ministry, which means we're tax exempt. So, as we are coming to the end of this year, if you're listening and you love what we're doing and you're growing in God's word together. We encourage you guys to, yes, continue to listen, to pray for the ministry, leave a review, to continue to help grow this audience, but also prayerfully consider giving a one-time donation or become a monthly Stand Strong supporter, because let me just tell you guys here in the studio, we are not able to do this if it wasn't for the prayer, the support and the listenership. So I want to thank you guys for that. But take a listen to anything that you guys have missed out on. But now, as we transition, let me just kind of tell you where we left off.
Speaker 1:If you remember Paul, when he's talking about being unequally yoked, he said in verse 17 of chapter six therefore, go out from their midst. And then he says and be separate from them. Now, remember why he's saying this? Because he was using those contrasts right, light, darkness, christ with Belal, believer, unbeliever, but he referred to us as the temple of God. And so that is this distinct contrast and this is something that Paul had talked about, remember, in 1 Corinthians 6. If you actually go back to 1 Corinthians 6, we see here that Paul was talking to them about being the temple of the holy God. In fact, listen to what he said.
Speaker 1:He said in verse 13, he says food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for the food, and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual morality but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. Now, this is important because in verse 11, he was saying that we are washed, we've been sanctified, we've been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the spirit of God. So we are not to be advancing things that are in the flesh, but rather, he says and God raised. In verse 14, the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that you, that your bodies are members of Christ? And then, down in verse 19, he says do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, within whom you have from God? You are not your own, but you even bought at a price. And so he then, in chapter seven, was talking about self-control. And yet Satan comes to tempt us. So we're not living a life of self-control. So then, when you see him now in the second letter, in second Corinthians, chapter six, here, and he says that you have been separate because you are the temple of God, that we are not to touch things that are unclean.
Speaker 1:Now, he was using, as we talked about in Isaiah 52, he talked about like he was kind of meshing passages together to highlight the sanctification, the separation, to be holy, that we are sons and daughters of the Lord. And then, because of that, he says here now, in verse one of chapter seven, since we have these promises. Well, what promises was he talking about? Well, he's reflecting on what we just discussed about these Old Testament quotations that were stressing how we've been privileged to be holy, to be saints, that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are a place where God dwells. And remember because he said that in verse 16 of chapter 6, I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them and I will be their God and they shall be my people. That is a promise, the promise that he said I'll be a father to you and you shall be my sons and daughters to me. That is the promise. And these covenantal promises highlight God's profound desire to deal with his people, and that's something that we never forget, my friends, that God has given us the ability that we are adopted. We are adopted into his kingship. That's the beauty and the privilege that we have. These are the promises that we have.
Speaker 1:In fact, let me read for you a portion of scripture that's found in the book of Romans. In Romans, chapter eight, verse two, it says for the law of the spirit of life has set you free, in Christ Jesus, from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do, by sending his son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the spirit. And then later in this passage he talks about in verse 14, he says for all who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God. So we who are being led by the spirit are sons of God. For you, he says in verse 15, did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry Abba, father.
Speaker 1:And the amazing thing is, the promise that we have here, that he's talking about in 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1, is that we are adopted in his kingship, that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, that we are to live faithfully, that we can do it not on our own strength, but these covenantal promises are what God has kept for us because of his love for us. It's not dependent solely on us. Number one, we are not the originators of salvation. Number two, we are not the keepers of salvation. It's God, it's a gift he has given us through his grace. So this divine closeness that we have in this adoption is showing us what we will have one day, what we will gain one day.
Speaker 1:Believers will be empowered. The promise that we have is that he that again, that he that we are sons and daughters, that we are in this family and that we are empowered to reflect God's holiness, to reflect our father's love and, no matter what you guys are journeying in right now, whatever you know you are faced with, whatever challenges, that you will be ready to embrace the faith that you have to live it out. In fact, peter says this in 2 Peter 1, verse 3, says His divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence. So in this promise that we have. We have God's divine power and he's granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness. So if we're struggling to be holy and, my friends, I will admit to you that it is hard in this world living in a body of death, the greed, the lust, the, the, the apathy that that we can have as human beings, and especially if we are not being grounded in god's word, which I I'm so thankful and I look forward to every single week to be in studio, to be able to come to you guys, my brothers and sisters around the world, to study God's word together. That's how we are to grow, to be more like Christ is through the divine power that he's given us, knowing that we are the temple of the Holy spirit, that we're not not walking in the flesh but walking in the spirit, but we're grounded in God's Word. That's why he says Peter says through the knowledge of him, who called us to his own glory and excellence, getting to know him more, more intimately and fearing him, as we're going to be talking about in a minute. So, right off the bat, he says, since we have these promises, and then he says beloved, and this is key because notice this connection that Paul has.
Speaker 1:This has been a struggle for Paul. Let's be honest. They have not been completely open and honest with him. They have called him out on several things. They've gone back to sin, they have been wishy-washy, they have fallen prey to empty philosophy and paganism and trying to to live both lives, one foot in the world, one foot in Christ. And so, as many of them repented and he's responding to that repentance we'll see clearly later in this chapter Right now he's referring to him. He's a beloved. This shows you that, not just the tenacity of Paul, but this shows you the willingness of Paul to set aside his differences and even the heartbreak that he's been experiencing with them.
Speaker 1:My friends, let me just say something on this. This is a sign of a great pastor. This is a sign of someone who you and I need to be under, someone who is showing this type of unconditional love. And then notice he says since we have these promises, so it's a guarantee you are the beloved Because remember he just said your sons and daughters, that we all worship the same heavenly father. Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. All right, so let's unpack this phrase cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. All right, so let's unpack this phrase cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit.
Speaker 1:Now, the Greek word here for cleanse is katharizo. It means to be pure or to be clean. In fact, it has centered around it a very substantive understanding, meaning. It comes from the Old Testament, the language that's being used here, and notice that's what Paul's been doing. Remember going back to 2 Corinthians 6, a lot of the passages he's referring to, taking how God tabernacled with his people and saying now we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, so not a physical temple where we make sacrifices, but we are a living sacrifice. Well, paul then uses this Old Testament ritualistic, ceremonial understanding of cleanliness from contamination to applying it to this word cleanse.
Speaker 1:But notice the extensiveness of this cleansing, he says, from every defilement of body and spirit. So of course this term defilement is referring to that contamination, anything that is making you less like God or drawing you away from the Lord, that is affecting you. Notice, in body and spirit, the Greek word body here is sarx. It just literally just means the human body or dealing with it as a substance. And the word spirit here in Greek is this pneuma, which is highlighting the immaterial part of us, or sometimes we're even reflecting on the human personality.
Speaker 1:So what Paul's doing here is he's speaking of cleansing ourselves from every form of sin that not only defiles or causes us not to be separated as the temple of the Holy Spirit for the Lord, but defiles our physical, outside of our body. So again we can look at certain types of sins. When somebody is doing something physically, when you become addictive to something Now remember, your body and your soul is affected. That's why Paul is saying body and spirit, because there's not one sin that we commit that's not going to affect both aspects. But when he's talking about the spirit side, not contaminating or defiling your spirit, he's now talking about the thoughts and the motives. And this is important because he's also directing it to the intent of our heart. Remember when Jesus was saying in the Sermon on the Mount where your heart is right, that's where your treasure is going to be. And so the intentionality is important here.
Speaker 1:Now I like what Barnes notes on the New Testament says. It says, quote while it is true that all purifying influence and all holiness proceed from God, it is also true that the effect of all the influences of the Holy Spirit is to excite us to diligence, to purify our own hearts and to urge us to make strenuous efforts to overcome our sins. He who expects to be made pure without any effort of his own will never become pure, and he who ever becomes holy will become so in consequence of strenuous efforts to resist the evil of his own heart and to become like God. The argument here is that we have the promises of God to aid us. We do not go about the work in our own strength. It is not a work in which we are to have no aid.
Speaker 1:Now, when I oftentimes look at 2 Corinthians 7, verse 1, what Paul's talking about, about cleansing ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit we can actually pull a passage here that kind of really enhances what Paul's getting at. It's found in Romans, chapter 15, verses 11 through 14. There Paul says besides this, you know the time that the hours come for you to wake from sleep, for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone, the day is at hand. So then, let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual morality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires. So notice, when we are to walk properly, or, as Paul says here, that we are to cleanse ourselves, we are not to pursue things of orgies and drunkenness, sexual immorality Now we know that that has physical connotations as well. As when you go back to 1 Corinthians 6, is you become one with the harlot and when you're married you become one flesh and you're sharing emotions, your heart, your focus, that's the reflectiveness of it. And so when we get into sensuality or quarreling or jealousy, that is not putting on Christ. So when we are to cleanse ourselves, as Paul says in Romans, we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. So when we are to cleanse ourselves, as Paul says in Romans, we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. So we make no provision for the flesh. So oftentimes, part of when the Bible says cleansing, that's it that.
Speaker 1:Notice, the cleansing from the gratifications and desires that oftentimes, or the sensualities that oftentimes carry us away into bondage of sin. And we are to cleanse ourselves. So we're recognizing the need for it. This is not that we start off with a perfect slate, that we're perfect human beings and then over time, if we continue to make mistakes, we just become more defiled. No, we already enter the world as sinners. God loves us. We reflect the image of god. So the image of god is not completely erased from us, it's effaced. But we will have struggles.
Speaker 1:Now I want to make mention here because when he's talking about this next phrase, bringing holiness to completion. So the process number one is we hold to the promises of god that he says here in verse one, that we are beloved and that God loves us. Oftentimes people struggle with that. So to pursue holiness, you have to know that you're loved. You have to know that when we hear even that simple but powerful and eternal message of John 3, 16, for God so loved the world, that includes you and me. And so because we have these promises and because we're beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit. So all the way, not half-heartedly, not just in some areas, but completely. Jesus forgave us of all sins, not just some sins. Now, as we cleanse ourselves not that it's the work that we do entirely of ourselves, but as we pursue the Lord in his work, his finished work, that is and again, as we said in 2 Peter 1, the divine power that gives us the ability to do the work that God has called us to do to cleanse ourselves. Then it says bringing holiness to completion.
Speaker 1:Now I do want to make this point before I get into that phrase bringing holiness to completion. Before I get into that phrase bringing holiness to completion, we are not meant to be perfect. We're not striving to be perfect in this world. We're striving to be like Christ. There's a difference, because when people are always saying, well, no one's perfect of course we know that no one's perfect when the Bible talks about completion here it's not saying bringing holiness to perfection. We are to grow in spiritual maturity. We are to become more sin less, not more, sin full. So we have to make sure that we are being sanctified, because that's part of our responsibility. Now I'll define what I mean by that in a minute and I'm gonna use Philippians, chapter two, to unpack this.
Speaker 1:But if you notice the next part where Paul's saying here he's exhorting us to bring about holiness, that is the key. So when we're cleansing ourselves, it's bringing about holiness. So we are saying no to sin and yes to something better. So the Greek word that we have to understand is when we're bringing out holiness to completion. Again, it doesn't mean to be perfect, but to be complete, to be whole. It's about becoming more like Jesus, because as long as we live in this body of death, as long as we're on the side of heaven, it is a journey, it's going to take time and we're never gonna fully, fully arrive. With the guidance and encouragement of the holy spirit, we can steadily grow in holiness. That's what we have to understand, the more that we are encouraged by the work of the holy spirit and we submit to the work of the holy spirit, to god's word, and we in in our, our obedience and our knowledge is deepened to want to live for god. And as we continue to journey through faith, we will strive to grow in the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this transformative process will continue until that glorious day when you and I will see him face to face.
Speaker 1:So in Philippians, chapter two, when I say it's part of our responsibility, yes, we have to take part in what we believe, we can't just expect because, remember, in Philippians chapter two, it says take on this same mind that is in Christ Jesus. Have this mind among yourselves. So we have an example and you have to put it into practice. God can't force you to do it. Then he says in verse nine therefore, god has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above all names. So that is the name that we worship is Jesus Christ, and this is therefore my beloved.
Speaker 1:In verse 12 of Philippians two, as you have always obeyed. So notice, that is our part is obedience. That's our responsibility. So when you and I are cleansing ourselves, it's not through our own efforts and our own work. We are cleansing ourselves because that's God's standard, that's God's command. He is the ultimate standard. And in order to be cleansed is because we have a greater power, a greater source that defeated the effects of sin. That's not on our doing. So when we are submitting to that and believing in that, there is a responsibility to obey.
Speaker 1:Then it says in Philippians 2.12,. So now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. So a lot of people get sucked into this thinking. What on earth is he talking about? Well, let me read you.
Speaker 1:Read you what Charles Ryrie the great theologian said. He says Paul now turns to the obligations that the example of Christ lays on the Philippian Christians. So notice, just like us today, christ's example is for us to follow. That is, through your free choice to willingly surrender, to be more like Christ. They must learn to stand on their own feet, with a sense of human frailty, but knowing that God was behind them. They should so live in corrupt society that they reflect the light that comes from a heavenly source constantly proclaiming the gospel of the new life. So we have that source. So it's God working in and through us for his good pleasure, because ultimately it's about him, not about us. So becoming like Christ is a journey and it takes time and it takes effort.
Speaker 1:Now, in that moment, as we go back now and we're reflecting on that moment of divine revelation, that when we will be fully transformed and we will bear an everlasting resemblance of our savior for all eternity, and this profound change in our character and spirit, my friends, this is deeply rooted in the reverential fear, in the awe that we have for the lord. Because if you look at verse one, it says bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. So in the beginning we have these promises we're the beloved, we are to cleanse, we are to bring about holiness and we are to fear God. Notice why I just wanted to just focus on this one verse for this podcast today, because it's so powerful when you're breaking down what Paul's getting at here, and this is what I don't want us to miss. And so, when we have this reverential fear, when we have this all for God, it will change our lives. And I'll be honest, I've struggled with that through the years because of my selfishness, because of my greed with that through the years, because of my selfishness, because of my greed, because my my lust for this world at times, knowing, though, every single time that in my spirit I'm grieving the Holy spirit. I know, but I wouldn't be here today sharing this passage with you if it wasn't for the grace of God and learning, as you grow in spiritual maturity, that there's holy reverence that we do have for a God that we are to fear.
Speaker 1:That's a healthy fear. It's not a bad thing. It ignites a deep desire within our hearts to pursue holiness. It actually fosters a yearning to align our lives, to be more closely to the teachings of Jesus and to follow his example. It actually nurtures a desire to become more inspired, to live a life that reflects God's love, his grace, his righteousness and ultimately preparing ourselves for that eternal communion that we will have with him. That he actually says.
Speaker 1:When Jesus says I will go and prepare a place and when I'm ready I'll come get you, he's anticipating it far more than we are, which is why I want to share with you in Philippians 3, verse 12, where Paul says not that I have already obtained this or I'm already perfect. There it is. See, even Paul says I haven't fully obtained being like Christ. I'm not already perfect, but I press on to make it my own. Now again, he's not saying to make Christianity my own and to subjectively follow whatever principles I believe or I deem necessary in my life that I want to follow. That I accept. There's no negotiation here when it comes to salvation with Christ and how we are to live. If God calls something sin, it is sin and you could try to justify it. I could try to justify it all day long. But Paul says I press to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Speaker 1:My friends, when you and I fall in love with the Lord because he first loved us and we understand what he's done for us, wouldn't we want to do anything we possibly can in our own free will to honor him? Of course. So when we are, as the scripture says here, trying to live a life that's pleasing and honorable before the Lord and we are cleansing ourselves and not pursuing things that will defile the flesh, and that we're bringing about holiness to completion in the fear of God, this is a reminder of what John affirms in 1 John 3, verse 1. He says see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of god, see. This connects what we're learning here in second corinthians 7, verse 1, what we saw in philippians, chapter 4, verse 12, and following what we just read in philippians, chapter 3, verse 12 see what kind of love the father has given us, the fact that we are called children of god. And he says so we are, see.
Speaker 1:So John is reaffirming the promises that Paul was laying out here and from the very beginning, because we have these promises, since we have these promises that we're the temple of the Holy Spirit, that we are children of God, that we're loved by the Father. The reason why John says here the world does not know us is that it did not know him Beloved. We are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is, and everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. So even the hope that we have in the return of Christ, you guys, is cleansing us, is bringing about holiness in our life. But we can never negate the fact that in this process, this isn't about legalism, this isn't because we believe it to be right. We do it because we fear God, because that's what Paul says. He says they're bringing about holiness to completion in the fear. Fear God, because that's what Paul says. He says they're bringing about holiness to completion in the fear of God.
Speaker 1:The book of Proverbs repeatedly and I'm just going to give you two references Proverbs 1.7 and Proverbs 8.13, state emphatically that the beginning of knowledge is fearing the Lord. So we can't know how to live if we don't know who to live for. So in light of these commandments, it is imperative for us as Christians to diligently avoid any potential source or anything that can defile or corrupt or put a wedge between us and the Lord within our body and our spirit. So, whether it's externally or internally, we are not to allow that to bring corruption in our life. We are not to allow that to bring corruption in our life.
Speaker 1:And so if there's anything in your life or anything in my life, we have to bring it before the altar and by adhering to this principle and I hate to really call it the principle, but let's just for the sake of argument fearing God is a principle that we are to live by every single day and it will help us move towards holiness, as we have reverence for God. You know, just like when you're afraid when you're a child, to do something because of fear of your parents, of consequences, that is a healthy way that we are to look at with the Lord. It helps us to remain steadfast. It helps us, as Paulul says in chapter 1, verse 20 of second corinthians, for all the promises of god find their yes in him, and then he says that is why it is through him that we utter our amen to god for his glory, it's not for our glory. And so, my friends, as we close on today's podcast, as we just looked at this one verse that says since we have these promises beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of the Lord, in the fear of God, I pray, as Paul made this plea, for personal holiness to be mature, not just externally, but internally, in body and spirit and in mind. I pray that that is a prayer that you will have right now.
Speaker 1:Let's actually pray for that right now, lord, I pray for all my faithful listeners out there, or even somebody who's listening for the very first time, and they are struggling to live a holy life. They have sin in their life that is crippling them, that is causing them to be separated from me, and they feel like a loser. They don't feel loved. Lord, I pray that they would not bow to those wishes of the sin that is crippling them to the flesh that they're giving into Lord, but they would crucify that, that they know that they've been buried with you and that they have been risen from the dead, that the old man is no longer the master over them, but you are our master, you are our savior, and I pray that the promises that you have given us in your scriptures, that we are your children, lord, I pray those who have put their faith and trust in you will desire to cleanse themselves and to pursue holiness to completion in the fear of the Lord. Lord, help us to have a healthy fear of you, and I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:My friends, as I close on today's podcast, I wanna encourage you guys that if you don't take the time to check out our website, to do so, there's other resources and ways to help you guys with wise thinking and bold living. We all need solid answers for why we believe, and at Stan Strong Ministries, we provide those type of resources, whether they are packaged like a podcast or our other podcast, challenging conversations that we do with the Washington Times or with the books that I write or the articles that are available. I encourage you guys to take the opportunity to go to stanstrongministriesorg and take advantage of all the resources that we make available for you, and I'm also encouraging you guys as we're recording this podcast. We're coming to the end of the year. I want to encourage you guys to become a Stand Strong supporter. We need your support.
Speaker 1:We right now are looking to expand, and with this expansion we have great opportunity, but obviously it requires resources, and so we're asking that you will participate in giving, and right now we are looking to raise $30,000 at the end of this year. As you're listening to this even if you're listening this years to come and you love what you listen to I'm just going to give you guys a future blessing down the road that God will bless you if you give cheerfully and to support this work that we're doing around the world. So I just want to say thank you. I love you guys so much. I'm so grateful to be able to provide this resource to the many people who listen. What a blessing it is to help us stand strong in the word. Until next time, keep standing strong in the word of God.