2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit… The Apostle John gives a very similar counsel. In 1 John 3:3 he says, "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." Our hope is based upon the promises; and the promises which the apostle has been recalling to mind are (1) the indwelling of God; (2) his free reception of us; and (3) his fatherhood and our sonship, with all the love and care and keeping which these involve (2 Corinthians 6:16-18). St. Paul argues in this way - Because you are saved, because you have entered into such a state of privilege, because you are covered by such "exceeding great and precious promises," therefore be in earnest to cleanse yourselves from all evil, watch over all the various forms of conduct, and seek to tone and purify every expression of the life. The expression, "filthiness of the flesh and spirit," needs explanation. St. Paul evidently had in mind the immoralities which are associated with idolatry, and which the Corinthian Church had treated too lightly when brought into their midst by the incestuous member. Writing of the apostle's association with Corinth, Archdeacon Farrar says, "There was one characteristic of heathen life which would come home to him with overwhelming force, and fill his pure soul with infinite pain. It was the gross immorality of a city conspicuous for its depravity even amid the depraved cities of a dying heathenism. Its very name had become a synonym for reckless debauchery .... So far from acting as a check upon this headlong immorality, religion had there taken under its immediate protection the very pollutions which it was its highest function to suppress. It was to the converts of this city that he addressed most frequently, and with most solemn warning and burning indignation, his stern prohibition of sensual crime. It was to converts drawn frown the reeking haunts of its slaves and artisans that he writes that they too had once been sunk in the lowest depths of sin and shame. It is of this city that we hear the sorrowful admission that in the world of heathendom a pure life and an honest life was a thing well nigh unknown." Distinguishing between the flesh and the spirit, though these are so subtly related, we may say, "The outward defilement is caused by sins of the flesh, or bodily part of man; the inward by those of the spirit, such as pride, unbelief, or the like." Dealing comprehensively with the topic suggested by the passage, we may show - I. THE VARIETY OF THE PROMISES. They are found scattered throughout the sacred Word, and taking every variety of form. They are sometimes: 1. Involved in the Divine dealings with individuals. 2. At other times they are embodied in doctrinal truths, and found as soon as we try to give those truths practicable applications. 3. And at other times they are words which come to us with the seal of the experience of good men through all the ages. In all God's gracious dealings, as well as in all God's gracious words, lie hid precious and inspiring promises for all who can read aright. II. THE ADAPTATION OF THE PROMISES. As life advances it comes to us with a great and blessed surprise, that we never pass into circumstances and conditions for which precise promises have not been provided. They are manifestly suited just for us, and for just the conditions in which we, at any given time, are placed. It seems as if they were fashioned and sent for us and to us. III. THE ESSENCE OF ALL THE PROMISES. This is given in the promises which St. Paul has been impressing on the Corinthians. It is God's fatherliness. All promises are the assurance of our acceptance with God, our sonship with God, and the expression of the love and the faithfulness with which he fulfils his fatherhood. At the heart of every promise lies this declaration, "I will be a Father unto you." IV. THE MORAL INFLUENCE OF THE PROMISES. They set us upon seeking to be what God would have us be. Assuring strength they set us upon endeavour. Or, to put the matter in relation to the previous division of the subject, realizing the fatherliness of our God, we are set upon seeking to be true and faithful "sons and daughters" - pure sons of the holy Father, obedient sons of the King-Father, loving sons of the loving Father, very sensitive to the things that are unworthy of him, and very earnest in the endeavour to put them wholly away from us. V. THE COMFORTING POWER OF THE PROMISES. This may be added to complete the treatment of the subject, though it is not the point set forth prominently by the apostle, and is a familiar topic. The true comforting, however, of God's promises only can come to those who carry out the Christian duties, walk worthily of the Lord, and need grace and upholding and cheer in their Christian conflict. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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