1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that could defile the body and the spirit, and thus accomplish holiness out of reverence for God. 2 Make room for us in your hearts; we have wronged no one; we have ruined no one; we have exploited no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you, for I told you before that you are in our hearts so that we die together and live together with you.

4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride on your behalf. I am filled with encouragement; I am overflowing with joy in the midst of all our suffering.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Rebecca Lin

When I first read verse 1, where Paul urges us to “cleanse ourselves” in order to “accomplish holiness”, my gut instinct was that it seems contradictory to what I know about the Bible’s teachings about our salvation. But as I read deeper, this passage became a wonderful reminder of some truths that we learned about in our church’s holiness series from earlier this year.

Firstly, before even getting to this command, Paul tells us the reason for the command with the words “since we have these promises”. This refers to the promises at the end of chapter 6 – the precious promises of closeness with God and being made to be his children. It confirms that we have already been delivered from our sin and brought close to God.

Since the particular context of Paul bringing up these promises was in relation to the Corinthians’ struggle with idols, Paul’s command to “cleanse ourselves” is a reminder to run from idols and things that take our attention away from God, and instead devote ourselves fully to God. That means we can “accomplish holiness” by devoting ourselves to God, because Christ has already brought us near to him.

I also love how in verses 2-4, Paul reminds us of how Christians strive to do this in community and are concerned for the holiness of the whole church, with encouragement to the Corinthians of unity, joy and love.

As I reflect on how I can continue to devote myself to God each day, some things that come to mind are making sure I listen to daily devotions before anything else on my way to work, looking for opportunities to encourage brothers and sisters in Christ and being more intentional with prayer.

How might you continue to devote yourself to God today?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rebecca is a member of our Bossley Park Morning congregation.