2 Cor 6:11-7:1 Temple of the Living God

Temple of the Living God

2 Corinthians 6:11-7:1

When the Lord delivered his people from Egypt and Babylon, he told them to come out a be separate/set apart. To be the distinct people that they were…the redeemed people of God.

The message is the same in the NT, the redeemed people of God from every tongue, tribe, and nation at any point in history in any location are to be the distinct and set apart people that they are.

Main Idea: As the temple of the living God, we cleanse ourselves from defilement and pursue holiness.

11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide open. 12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. 13 In return (I speak as to children) widen your hearts also.

Much discussion about the flow of the text in chapter 6. Is this an insertion. What does v. 11 and 12 have to do with what proceeds and what follows.

See 5:17-6:10 redeemed ambassadors who are distinct people.

Yet, Paul is being called into question…his integrity and ministry. repeat v. 11-13

Paul is saying I am man of integrity and the ministry of the gospel is one of integrity because of who we are and who we have been called to be.

We are the temple of the living God.

begin in v. 16 to that we first see who we are

indicative/imperative

For we are the temple of the living God;

…the temple, not temples. The dwelling place of the living God instead of dead idols.

Ephesians 2:19–22 ESV

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

What follows is the language of the OT…promises of God at the provision of redemption.

as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

17 Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

18 and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty.”

The final quotation, which combines 2 Sam 7:14 and Is 43:6, shows that if believers are corporately God’s temple, individually they are members of God’s family. (Murray Harris via Wilson 91)

Isaiah 43:1–7 ESV

1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. 4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. 5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. 6 I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, 7 everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

This is who we are in Christ Jesus.

Illus: plain of dura, three young men standing when everyone else knelt. We live a time and season where the world is being pressed into a single agenda…the people of God must realize who they are and the implications of what it means to be the temple of the living God.

As the temple of the living God, we cleanse ourselves from defilement and pursue holiness.

indicative/imperatives

2 Corinthians was written only a matter of months after 1 Corinthians, and it would be surprising if in that brief span the church had managed to right itself so as to attract the apostle’s unreserved approval. ... 6:14–7:1 was brought in as a reminder that the congregation needed to reform. (Naylor 297)

14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Does not mean that believers refuse to have contact with unbelievers...

Illus: Duet. 22 not to yoke ox and donkey. not simply a mismatch, involvement of relationship.

Yoked—shared purpose, belief, task. Pulling the plow of the unbelievers belief. (Wilson 87)

If we bear Christ’s yoke (Matt. 11:29), how can we be attached to those who do not serve him? (Naylor 299)

Typically narrowed to the relationship of marriage. Needs to be widened to any deep and connected relationship that believers have. Particularly membership of the church and those who lead the church.

Membership matters. Regenerate church membership.

Regenerate and mature church leadership. Some scholars believe that Paul is referring not being unequally yoked to so called leaders/preachers who were seeking to infiltrate the congregation at Corinth.

5 questions that speak to not being unequally yoked with unbelievers.

For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? sharing of something or purpose with someone in state of rebellion when you are the righteousness of Christ

Or what fellowship has light with darkness? intimate association, close relationship, partnership with the spiritually blinded, when you see and walk in the light.

15 What accord has Christ with Belial? harmony of opinion, agenda, or character with someone who is dominated by the evil one, the devil when you are in Christ. We should have no more in common with unbelievers than Christ does with Satan. (Pratt 376)

Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? shared interest, inheritance with someone who rejects Christ when you are trusting in Him.

16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? union with false worship when you are the temple of the living God.

While we are called to reach those are lost and without hope with the gospel, we are not called to joined together with them in tight and intertwined relationships.

Excuses and compromise have led more than one believer toward destruction.

What do you do? remember who you are and heed the word of the Lord...

7:1 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.

Since we have these promises, beloved reread 6:16b-18

let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit

Rather than communicating a dichotomy between sins of the flesh and of the spirit, the apostle simply challenges the Corinthians to be holistic in their resolve to reject sinful patterns of life. In other words, everything sinful, whether matters of the spirit or matters of the physical body, must be rejected by the sons of daughters of God. (Guthrie 360)

Podcast on digital education, found in Christian schools porn and bullying were not the big problems with technology…online shopping during school. One young lady summed it up best, with my computer I can finish my worksheet faster in religion class so I can shop while the teacher talks.

We do not simply remove, we replace…pursue holiness

let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

“holiness, in the fear of God” (2 Cor 7:1) serves as a foundation for right Christian living. (Guthrie 341)

1 Peter 1:14–16 ESV

14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

You are what you pursue and consume. Daily —many of us spend on hours on devices looking at sites with powerful algorithms that are feeding us what we want and what the provider wants us to have.

Do we not know who ultimately controls the algorithms of the world, the one who has redeemed his people and calls us to be holy as He is holy?

So What?

As the temple of the living God, are we cleansing ourselves from defilement and pursuing holiness?

All around us we see the church well acclimated to culture: successful, respected, wealthy, full, and growing. But are the transcendent and the holy there? In the area of belief we find widespread indifference to the Bible and ignorance of its contents--and strong resentment if a biblical word of judgment is brought to bear on the life of the congregation. In worship we find notably lacking any sense of the holy presence of God and of what worship is for…. In ethics we find the cultural ideals of friendliness and fellowship more evident than the difficult standards of the New Testament or historic Christendom. (Langdon Gilkey via Hughes 140)

The greatest threat to the church today is not from without. The greatest threat is from within. God’s people ignoring and forgetting who they are, indulging their passions, neglecting their own souls and failing to pursue the things of God. You reap what you sow…every time.

Realize who you and heed the word of the Lord! Who we are dictates what we do...

1 Peter 2:9–11 ESV

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Where is the war waging in your soul?

What passions of the flesh do you need to abstain from?

What is blurring the distinction of who you are?

Will you cleanse yourself before God by confessing your sin and pursue holiness?

Prayer—confession and prayer of dependence.

Song

Giving celebration…most generous summer in recent history.

Sending…Distinct people for a distinct time!

END