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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 God.

You may have heard the saying, ‘I’m not what I want to be, and I’m not what I’m going to be, but praise God, I’m not what I was.’

‘I’m not what I’m going to be.’

‘Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.’ 1 John 3:2.

In our 2 Corinthians text there is the hope that we will one day be what we’re going to be. When Jesus returns we will be like Him, and when we are perfectly in His image this will be holiness completed.

‘Sanctification’ is the name for the process all believers enter into at conversion. It is one of gradual change into the likeness of Christ. Although this process may not be fully completed in our lifetime, by the power of the Holy Spirit we can make great strides towards it.

How much holiness do you want? To a large degree, I think it is true to say that in this Christian life you get what you go in for.

‘You cannot study the Bible diligently and earnestly without being struck by an obvious fact—the whole matter of personal holiness is highly important to God!

I cannot think of even one lonely passage in the New Testament which speaks of Christ’s revelation, manifestation, appearing or coming that is not directly linked with moral conduct, faith and spiritual holiness.’ A.W. Tower.

However far we may have travelled on the Christian pilgrimage, this we can safely say: there’s more! There are higher heights and deeper depths.

Prayer: Lord, lead me on where you are going. Take me deeper into you.

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 God.

His name was Raphael, and I will never forget him. I knew him a little at Bible College, but he was a few years my senior, both in age and as a student. He was impressive, and I was a little in awe of him and his fierce intelligence, academic brilliance and almost tangible godliness.

One day, he was preaching at a student service, and he referred to the story of Daniel and his friends, being taken to Babylon and given a daily portion of the king’s meat and wine (Dn.1:5). However ( and this was one of Raphael’s points), ‘Daniel discerned a defilement’ (Dn.1:8). He ‘resolved’ not to defile himself in this way.

Many ‘defilements’ are obvious. They are things clearly outlawed in the Bible. But at other times it isn’t like this. We have to ‘discern’ what is not going to be good for us, and avoid it. These things can be subtle rather than blatant, and we need eyes to see what is going to do us harm; we require ‘noses’ that can detect corruption

The extent of the exhortation is this: we are to ‘cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit’.

The life of discipleship calls for an all out war against sin (Matt.5:29,30). There has to be a radical and ruthless approach to it.

Are you aware of anything in your life that is defiling you at the moment, or has the potential to do so? What are you going to do about it?

Remember God’s grace is always available and always sufficient.

‘ With these promises ringing in our ears, dear friends, let us keep clear of anything that smirches body or soul.’ J.B.Phillips

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 God. ESVUK

We have spent several days looking at a key New Testament ‘holiness’ passage. It begins at 2 Cor 6:14 and concludes with today’s verse (7:1). We will take four more days to look at this verse in which everything that has been stated earlier will be pressed home in a great exhortation. We are going to consider:

• The ground of the exhortation
• The extent of the exhortation
• The hope in the exhortation
• The motive for the exhortation

Here is the ground of the exhortation: ”we have these promises”. In quoting 6:14-18 below, I highlight in bold what I believe are the ”promises” Paul is referring to:

¹⁴ Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? ¹⁵ What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
    and I will be their God,
    and they shall be my people.
¹⁷ Therefore go out from their midst,
    and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
    then I will welcome you,
¹⁸ and I will be a father to you,
    and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”

In essence, these promises relate to enjoying an intimate relationship with God as ”sons and daughters” of the Father. We may still be God’s children and play in the mud, but while we do so we cannot expect to enjoy the fullness of relationship with a Holy God that is open to us. We can’t anticipate intimate table fellowship without ‘washing our hands’ (see James 4:8-10).

Notice, though, that all Paul writes here is from a heart of love. He calls his readers ”beloved”. It is not ‘telly-offy’ in tone. It comes from the pastoral heart of one who wants what is best for them. He knows that holiness is health. It is for our ultimate good that we should separate from our favourite sins.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to see through all of sin’s deceptions, and not be seduced by its allurements. Give me, please, both the desire and the power to pursue holiness