Come
Out From Them And Be Separate
(2nd
Corinthians chapter 6)
Last
week when we left off at the end of chapter 5, we found that to be a
believer in Christ means we become completely new persons, that this
is a result of God's ministry of reconciliation, and that we in turn
can enable others to be similarly reconciled to God through Christ by
being ambassadors for Jesus to the rest of the world. This week we'll
be going through chapter 6 in its entirety, where the apostle Paul
exhorts all believers to rise up and be separate from the
non-believing world as a necessary next step on the road to eternal
life, beginning at verse 1.
“As
God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain.
For he says, 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of
salvation I helped you'. I tell you, now is the time of God's favor,
now is the day of salvation. We put no stumbling block in anyone's
path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as
servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great
endurance; in troubles, hardships and distress; in beatings,
imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;
in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit
and in sincere love; in truthful speech and the power of God; with
weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through
glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded
as imposters; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live
on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;
poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing
everything.” (2 Corinth. 6, verses 1-10, NIV)
The
quote Paul uses from the Old Testament in verse two is from the book
of Isaiah, chapter 49, verse 8. The context it is taken from has to
do with the Israelites being led out of Egypt and freed from slavery
('the time of my favor') compared to the supreme sacrifice of Christ
on the Cross ('the day of salvation'). In the first case the Jews
were freed, and in the second instance this liberty is extended to
all of humanity as Jesus sets us free from the bondage of sin by His
death and resurrection. These prophecies are prophesies no more –
they have already been fulfilled. And so Paul writes that, “now
is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation”.
The future, he is writing to all believers from that time until now,
has already arrived. Paul then points out that they, the early church
leaders, commend themselves not by words of boasting or knowledge or
self-importance, but by their actions. Talk is cheap. Actions speak
volumes, even if we say nothing in the process.
In
describing the different trials the apostles and all the thousands of
unnamed others who worshiped in Spirit and in truth went through,
Paul writes quite frankly about all the junk he and the church
leadership had to put up with in order to spread the Gospel. Paul
describes being without food or shelter, enduring all kinds of
hardships including being beaten and imprisoned while continuing to
minister “in
purity, understanding, patience and kindness”.
In the same way we should emulate the apostle Paul in our daily
contact with all kinds of people, adhering to truth and carrying “the
weapons of righteousness” as we continue our willingness to go to
any length to serve the Lord, “having
nothing and yet possessing everything”.
Even when we possess absolutely nothing and are desperately poor, we
are rich if only we have Jesus Christ dwelling within us. Although
some may say, “Yeah, but I can't eat that”, they fail to realize
that the indwelling of the Spirit empowers the individual in ways
they can't even imagine. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is
Spiritual food, but its presence can and does lead to physical
nourishment. To find out more about that, you will have to put it to
the test. How you decide to do that is up to you. Now let's continue
this week's study starting at verse 11.
“We
have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to
you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are
withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange – I speak as to my
children – open wide your hearts also. Do not be yoked together
with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in
common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony
is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in
common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the Temple
of God and idols? For we are the temple of the Living God. As God has
said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their
God, and they will be my people'. 'Therefore come out from 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 will be my sons and
daughters, says the Lord Almighty'.” (2 Corinth. 6, verses 11-18,
NIV)
As
freely as Paul shared the Gospel with the Corinthian church, he
writes encouraging them to do the same without reservation. How can
we be good witnesses and living examples of what it means to follow
Christ if we are unwilling to share it with others? And as living
examples of Christ living within us, we can work for the betterment
of God's Kingdom when we have like-minded partners working along side
us. If you place your faith and trust in the Lord, don't marry
someone who doesn't. If at all possible, don't even have them as a
landlord if you're renting. On the other hand, if you do not yet
believe, consider picking a partner who does for your own spiritual
enrichment. Otherwise things are as Paul wrote, “What
does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”
Come
out from their midst, Paul writes us. If we do so completely and
without reservation, “I
will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says
the Lord Almighty”.
In the Kingdom of God, even an orphan can have a Father who lives in
heaven who counts him or her among His sons and daughters. I should
know. I started out in life that way. Plus, since the Family of God
is the largest family ever, we can all have as many moms and dads,
and as many sisters and brothers, as we want. The sky's the limit in
heaven, and that's the best part of all.
No comments:
Post a Comment