In 2 Cor 7:1 Paul said, “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”.
Having therefore these promises:
- I will dwell in them
- I will walk in them
- I will be their God
- They shall be my people
- I will receive you
- I will be a Father unto you
- Ye shall be my sons and daughters
Let us cleanse ourselves from ALL filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Let us cleanse ourselves. So this is something that we perform. In the OT when the priests and Levites were to be cleansed before they could serve in the temple and offer sacrifices, they had a specific pattern of cleansing that they had to follow. And then they could do their duties.
Likewise, we have things that we must do to cleanse ourselves.
- come out from among them and be ye separate, 2 Cor 6:17
- and touch not the unclean thing is one thing.
Another thing we must do is confess our sins, 1 Jn 1:7, 1:9.
And the thing we want to spend most time on tonight is you must spend time in the word of God.
How the word of God helps us that we may cleanse ourselves. Jn 15:3 now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. You present yourself before the Lord in his word and he cleans you with it. He cleans ALL filthiness.
Cleanse your flesh
Ps 119:9 wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. You follow his word and he guides you out of ways that were unclean. Gets the filthiness out.
Ps 119:97-104 meditation all the day… refrained my feet from every evil way… I hate every false way. And your follow his word and he guides you away from ways that would defile you. Keeps the filthiness out. You learn to hate them.
In this way you cleanse your flesh. The word changes what you do on your way.
Cleanse your spirit
Eph 5:26 that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. Matt 23:25-26 cleanse first that which is within. Ps 119:11 thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee.
In this way you cleanse your spirit. The word changes who you are. You put off the old man (who you were). Renew spirit of your mind (spirit). And put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (who you become).
Perfect holiness in the fear of God
Ps 19:9 the fear of the Lord is clean. Prov 2:1-5 But must receive God’s words, hide them with thee… then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord. A process of growth and continual cleansing. You get the words inside of you by memory, by application, by life. The words are spirit and they are life, Jn 6:63.