November 5th, 2024
There is a verse that’s been, as my pastor would say, chasing me for weeks. 2 Corinthians 7:1 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 God.”
My heart has been dwelling on the significance of being consecrated for service to Lord, but just this week, God showed me something I hadn’t considered, Paul said, “since we have these promises…” Which promises was Paul referring to?
The verses preceding this one expound on the promises that should motivate us to “bring holiness to completion in the fear of God.”
2 Corinthians 6:16-18 says,
‘What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as He said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”’
In these verses, cited from a couple different books in the Old Testament, God made the following powerful promises:
1. He would dwell with His people and walk among them.
2. He would be their God.
3. He would welcome His people.
4. He would be a Father to them, making them sons and daughters.
In between those promises lies the instruction, the requirement for this intimacy with the Almighty. I encourage you to read that verse again. He commands separation, purity, and consecration, for “we are the temple of the living God.”
In Exodus, we see this demonstrated with the whole nation of Israel, when God brought them out of Egypt. Exodus 19:5-6 says,
“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
The word holy in the Bible means set apart and consecrated. All the people of Israel were called to be priests, to be set apart and holy. They were commanded to be pure and consecrated to meet with God. If they tried to draw near to His glory without the required holiness, they would be put to death. They were to be separate from all the other peoples of the world. That is the call of every believer to this day!
When God’s glory descended on Mount Sinai, it must have been an awesome sight. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. A thick cloud of smoke ascended to heaven as God’s glory burned on the mountain like fire. The whole mountain trembled under God’s glory and the people were terrified. In fact, in the face of His glory, they chose to stay at a distance. Exodus 20:18-21 says,
“Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Moses spoke to God on their behalf. They were so afraid of God’s glory that when Moses came down from the mountain and his face shone with the glory of God, he had to cover it with a veil, to keep from disturbing the people. The nation of Israel was uncomfortable with the presence of the One who had delivered them, provided for them, and promised to set them apart for Himself, as His sons and daughters. Fear kept them from the fullness of encounter.
Moses experienced intimacy with God they would not know. They stood at a distance and watched God meet with Moses. The majority of the people were content to hear God’s instruction through Moses instead of hearing Him themselves.
How many of us are also content to live this way? It’s not enough to hear the word of God from a preacher or heed the instruction of a pastor. Those things are important but first and foremost, we must have intimacy with the One who saved us. We must hear His voice ourselves! We can choose to draw near, as Moses did!
God is still as holy now as He was then. This is why Paul urged the church to “bring holiness to completion in the fear of God.” By God’s mercy and grace, we are not required to come in our own holiness. We now draw near to God in a righteousness not our own. Hebrews 10:19-22 says,
“Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
We cannot take lightly what Jesus did for us on the cross. By His blood, He set us free, once and for all, from the power of sin. We can draw near to the God whose glory will still shake mountains. We must, as Paul said, cleanse ourselves from every defilement and bring holiness to completion in the fear of God. That fear should be a respect that leads us to intimacy. The promise that should motivate consecration is the promise of His presence. Anything else is just religion. Holiness is simply the separation and purity that allows us to encounter the One about whom angels never cease to cry “holy.” He is holy and He has always been holy. When we see Him, we’ll cry holy, and even now we can experience the presence of the Almighty. This week I encourage you to consider these promises. God wants to dwell with you, to walk with you, to be near to you. Jesus paid the highest price so that we could all come as Moses did. Don’t stand at a distance and let someone else hear God for you. He’s calling you near to Himself and you can choose to answer that call today!
“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.”
My heart has been dwelling on the significance of being consecrated for service to Lord, but just this week, God showed me something I hadn’t considered, Paul said, “since we have these promises…” Which promises was Paul referring to?
The verses preceding this one expound on the promises that should motivate us to “bring holiness to completion in the fear of God.”
2 Corinthians 6:16-18 says,
‘What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, as He said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”’
In these verses, cited from a couple different books in the Old Testament, God made the following powerful promises:
1. He would dwell with His people and walk among them.
2. He would be their God.
3. He would welcome His people.
4. He would be a Father to them, making them sons and daughters.
In between those promises lies the instruction, the requirement for this intimacy with the Almighty. I encourage you to read that verse again. He commands separation, purity, and consecration, for “we are the temple of the living God.”
In Exodus, we see this demonstrated with the whole nation of Israel, when God brought them out of Egypt. Exodus 19:5-6 says,
“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
The word holy in the Bible means set apart and consecrated. All the people of Israel were called to be priests, to be set apart and holy. They were commanded to be pure and consecrated to meet with God. If they tried to draw near to His glory without the required holiness, they would be put to death. They were to be separate from all the other peoples of the world. That is the call of every believer to this day!
When God’s glory descended on Mount Sinai, it must have been an awesome sight. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. A thick cloud of smoke ascended to heaven as God’s glory burned on the mountain like fire. The whole mountain trembled under God’s glory and the people were terrified. In fact, in the face of His glory, they chose to stay at a distance. Exodus 20:18-21 says,
“Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Moses spoke to God on their behalf. They were so afraid of God’s glory that when Moses came down from the mountain and his face shone with the glory of God, he had to cover it with a veil, to keep from disturbing the people. The nation of Israel was uncomfortable with the presence of the One who had delivered them, provided for them, and promised to set them apart for Himself, as His sons and daughters. Fear kept them from the fullness of encounter.
Moses experienced intimacy with God they would not know. They stood at a distance and watched God meet with Moses. The majority of the people were content to hear God’s instruction through Moses instead of hearing Him themselves.
How many of us are also content to live this way? It’s not enough to hear the word of God from a preacher or heed the instruction of a pastor. Those things are important but first and foremost, we must have intimacy with the One who saved us. We must hear His voice ourselves! We can choose to draw near, as Moses did!
God is still as holy now as He was then. This is why Paul urged the church to “bring holiness to completion in the fear of God.” By God’s mercy and grace, we are not required to come in our own holiness. We now draw near to God in a righteousness not our own. Hebrews 10:19-22 says,
“Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
We cannot take lightly what Jesus did for us on the cross. By His blood, He set us free, once and for all, from the power of sin. We can draw near to the God whose glory will still shake mountains. We must, as Paul said, cleanse ourselves from every defilement and bring holiness to completion in the fear of God. That fear should be a respect that leads us to intimacy. The promise that should motivate consecration is the promise of His presence. Anything else is just religion. Holiness is simply the separation and purity that allows us to encounter the One about whom angels never cease to cry “holy.” He is holy and He has always been holy. When we see Him, we’ll cry holy, and even now we can experience the presence of the Almighty. This week I encourage you to consider these promises. God wants to dwell with you, to walk with you, to be near to you. Jesus paid the highest price so that we could all come as Moses did. Don’t stand at a distance and let someone else hear God for you. He’s calling you near to Himself and you can choose to answer that call today!
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