“Love and Holiness · Inseparable” ~ ✨
Whenever believers speak of human sin, they are quick to blame the devil. In the beginning, if Eve had not been enticed by her own desires and had only listened to God’s word, the devil’s words could not have entered her mind. If Adam had listened to God’s word rather than his wife’s, he would not have sinned either (Genesis 2:17 & 3:1-6). The two of them violated God’s command; thus sin entered the world (Romans 5:12).
Sin has made this world filthy and defiled (Romans 5:14). The apostle Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 6:17, “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you,” are the core message of both epistles to the Corinthians. The former letter, in 1 Corinthians 3:16, points out that believers are the temple of God, and this temple is holy, for God’s Spirit dwells within it. The latter letter, 2 Corinthians 6:16, reiterates that believers are the temple of the living God; God will dwell among them and walk among them; He will be their God, and they will be His people. This has been God’s heart throughout the ages, as seen in many books of the Old Testament.
On the night before He went to the cross, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Lord Jesus prayed to the Heavenly Father for His disciples, saying:
“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” (John 17:16-19). In other words, those justified by faith live in this world but are no longer of this world, because God has set them apart by the truth to be holy; this truth is Jesus Christ.
Now Paul, quoting God’s words, spoke to the church in Corinth and the saints throughout Achaia then, and speaks to us as Christians today: “Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters.” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18). The “them” referred to here are those who are unclean or hardened in unbelief.
God sets believers apart by truth to be holy. So, what is the definition of “holiness”?
In the books of the Old Testament, God says this (Leviticus 20:26): “You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.” At that time, God was speaking to the Israelites; meaning, the Israelites were to be set apart from other nations and their God-disregarding practices.
Thus, the term “holiness” can be defined as being set apart from the Gentiles/the world and belonging to God. Simply put, anything not belonging to God is unclean. So, what does “sanctification” mean? Those who are set apart—the believers in Christ—must still maintain their lives in holiness within the Lord while in the world; for the holy does not associate with the defiled, nor the pure with the counterfeit. Such people no longer follow the world but follow God’s standard; God’s standard is God’s word. Whether it was God’s people of the old time or God’s children today, God desires them to be holy until the end of the age. This way of becoming holy has been fully revealed by Jesus Christ in these last days!
Those justified by faith in Jesus Christ become the temple of God, with the indwelling Holy Spirit accompanying them. If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is holy. This also means a believer must not become someone who destroys God’s temple. Therefore, believers must constantly watch and pray, not allowing sin to defile themselves. It is terrifying if a believer approaches God while still dwelling in sin; for God does not associate with sin. When God approaches sin, His wrath comes upon the rebellious.
I quote an example in Numbers 16:19-21. We read of God’s people, the Levite clan of Korah. Korah gathered the whole congregation before the tabernacle to oppose Moses and Aaron. The glory of the Lord God appeared to all the congregation, and He spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” Conversely, God draws near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit; He treats the truly repentant with lovingkindness, mercy and forgiveness (Psalm 34:18).
In many of his epistles, Paul teaches believers not to conform to this world; this refers to their mindsets and conduct no longer following unclean traditions or trendy ideas. Christ sanctified Himself and prayed to the Heavenly Father that we might be sanctified by truth. Paul reminds us that since we have heard the word of Christ, received His salvation, and learned His truth, we must put off the old self with its former way of life, be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:21-24). If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonourable, he will be a vessel for honourable use, set apart as holy, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work (2 Timothy 2:21).
Paul’s teaching inherits the Lord’s command: to enter through the narrow gate, to walk the difficult path with single-minded devotion (Matthew 7:13-14), not to be double-minded (James 1:8), and not to love both God and money (Matthew 6:24). A sincere faith, a clear conscience, a love born of salvation and a clean tongue are marks of holiness, enabling us to serve God before Him all our days in holiness and righteousness without fear (Luke 1:75). Paul taught believers with the Lord’s commands and followed them himself. God’s word has shown us that emulating Christ is the condition for complete sanctification.
We see many believers with one foot on the path of salvation and the other on the path of the world. They gladly accept the Lord as their Saviour but are unwilling to accept Him as the Lord of their lives. Have you heard this saying—if a child does not believe in the Lord, unless the other foot is on the world’s path, they cannot please their child. Should believers seek to please their children or to please the Lord (Ephesians 5:10)? Adam, to please Eve, ate the fruit God had forbidden, which she gave him, bringing God’s curse upon the earth.
Finally, I conclude this sharing with the words spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He commands us to be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48); and He warns us: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). Blessed is the one who endures trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him and do the Father’s will. The Lord also said: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38).
✨✨💖 ~
en yan hua fang 