Christ Who Lives In Me

 

“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.” (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Starting with these precious promises that Paul is writing of earlier. Going back to earlier in 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul notes, “And we all, with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 4:6-7 goes on to note, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Paul goes on to say that his desire is that Jesus may be revealed in them and so where he has fixed his eyes is not on what is seen, but what is unseen and eternal (2 Corinthians 4:10,18). His deep longing is to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, where are lives are swallowed up by the eternal.

In 2 Corinthians 5:5, “Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirt as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

What these promises speak of are both the transformation into His likeness as we grow and mature as His Bride and our ultimate full redemption and adoption as sons where we become just like Him and walk in the fullness of His Spirit.

All this to say that we were not only made for Him, but we are made to be like Him. Our ultimate purpose as the body and Bride of Christ is to become so one with Him that in our life here and in our eternal dwelling is to fully reflect Him.

Coming back to the verse, it is because of our purpose to reflect Him that we are to cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. Defilement, by definition, is a state of being unclean. It means ones’ spirit is impure, dishonored, or desecrated.

Defilement is something that resides rather than a one-time activity. It is something that clings to our spirit and is an open door to the demonic realm. Unforgiveness and bitterness both can defile ones’ spirit (Matthew 18:21-35 & Hebrews 12:15). Also, worshiping other gods, turning to mediums or seeking out spiritualist will defile your spirit (Leviticus 19:31).

Matthew 15:18-20 says, “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.”

Instead, we are to work towards “complete holiness because we fear God.” Other translations note that we should “honor God and try to be completely like him.” Again, it is this transformation of becoming like Christ and reflecting Him that brings God glory and reflects holiness. It is not a state of trying to follow the letter of the Law and live up to His commands.

But rather, it is about living in relationship with Him and becoming like Him and we behold Him. It comes from the heart, just like what defiles someone. This is why we are to guard our hearts above all things, for it is our gateway to life and death. We follow Him by letting our hearts by led by His Spirit. He gave us His Holy Spirit to incline our hearts to His ways that we would be able to walk in His ways.

So how do we know if we are walking in His ways? As Jesus walked the earth, there were several things that He reflected. First, Jesus was a humble leader. He did not follow along with the world but gently led everyone around Him into greater truth and understanding with wisdom from above.

Jesus asks some religious leaders in Matthew 9:4, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?” Jesus never entertained thoughts from the enemy that were not in line with the Word of God. His thoughts aligned with the Spirit of God.

Jesus trustingly was led by the Spirit in all that He did. He stayed in constant commune with His Father through the Holy Spirit. He never let circumstances dictate His actions but He led His circumstances through the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit, being guided by love. He let the Holy Spirit give Him His compassion for others and desires for others benefit even at His own expense.

Last week I had a dream that I was reading and meditating on a bible verse that said, "Let us lead in love in all things." Important as good leaders love others well and cause them to flourish. Poor leaders, as the Bible shows through Saul, Sampson, and others, are full of want and striving to gain for themselves. They are looking for significance to be filled versus being so filled that they can freely give to others.

To be Leading in love reminds me of 1 Corinthians 16:14 that says, "Let love and kindness be the motivation behind all that you do." Loving others well comes from a place of knowing that we are encircled in love. It is only when we are connected to the source of love that we can love others well.

We need to be filled with love to love others well, especially sacrificially. Genuine love is sacrificial and puts others ahead of themselves. It also loves others at their worst. As Jesus went to the cross for us, He demonstrated the greatest love in laying down His life for us while we were still sinners and at enmity with God. The very people He sacrificially loved by laying down His life, persecuted Him and wanted His death by crucifixion.

Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, was overflowing in compassion. He saw things differently than the world. True love leads us, in His compassion, to help others. If we are not compassionate of others and merciful towards them, woundedness, unforgiveness, bitterness, or distance from God are keeping are hindering the flow of His love through us to the world around us.

And as we allow ourselves to be filled with His compassion, naturally, we will desire, like Jesus, what He desired. Jesus never walked by anyone who desired to be healed. In Matthew 20:34, when the blind men called out to Jesus and asked to be healed, it says, “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed Him.”

As people were laid at His feet, none of them left without what they needed. And nothing was too hard for Him as He knew the power and authority that belonged to Him. What he did most in his ministry was to bring hope, deliverance and healing. He drove out spirits, helped the lame to walk, deaf to hear, blind to see and the poor heard the good news that there was hope for them.

Jesus always measures up. He tells a parable about workers in a Vineyard. At the end, when all the workers compared themselves to each other, some thought it was unfair that the ones who came last received the same amount. But the landowner asks them if they despise His generosity. The labors who came first, received the full amount to make them whole. The labors who came last, received the full amount to make them whole. It was not about the amount, it was about making them whole.

I see this all the time with my work. People who come in from jail, prison or other places that are undeserving, do not stay at the end of the line in lack having to limp along and barely making it. They do not get a measure of His goodness, but the fullness of His goodness. They often move to the front of the line as they are filled with wonder and awe over His goodness. He levels them up. They just need to believe and walk in this. Where people who have this measure already, will not see such drastic impact in their lives. There are those who are forgiven much and those who are forgiven little, but all are fully forgiven.

"Here in the love of Christ I stand" sings in the background.

Lord, you desire for us to be like you. Help us to see how this looks and walk in it. I am so grateful for what was done at the cross to take all that I struggled with and give me freedom. My life is so different. Thank you for the ways that you give us all that we need. But you do not leave us there, you then bring us to the throne room where we are seated with You in heavenly places. Help us to walk in the fullness of this authority as we walk in and with You.