II Corinthians 6:11-7:1
Thank you so much for joining us for today’s teaching, we are honored to be with you and look forward to learning from God’s Word together. As an introduction to today’s lesson, I’d like you to think about this question. If you had only one word to describe God, what word would you use? I don’t think there is only one right answer to this question, there are many words which are accurate, and I’d love to hear your responses. The one I’d like us to think about is one used many times in the Bible. This is the only word used three times in succession when referring to God. The word is holy. This word is rich in meaning and when it is used 3 times it becomes even more powerful.
Today our lesson is The Pursuit of Holiness, what we are saying is holiness is good and needs to be pursued. God tells us, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” So being holy is not a bad thing, it is a good thing, it’s healthy to be holy.
Bible teacher J Mark is here, so let’s go with him to II Corinthians 6 and study topic together.
All of us want to be happy; that’s normal. A recent study on happiness asked, “Why are 18- to 25-year-olds so miserable?” The researchers pointed to two factors. First, on average, high social media use negatively affects well-being and mental health. Second (and now I am quoting directly), “…study after study, ours, and others, have indicated that family life and participation in religious communities contribute across these aspects of flourishing. And participation in both of those are down substantially,” (end of quote).
Well, isn’t that interesting? Faith in God and family connections are foundational to a meaningful and happy life. That sounds like the plan the Scriptures give us for personal fulfillment or happiness. We humans were designed for relationships: relationships with God and relationships with each other.
We don’t have a biblical command to pursue happiness, but we do have a biblical command to pursue holiness. Holiness and happiness are closely related. And that’s what we will explore in our study today, “The Pursuit of Holiness.” Our text is Second Corinthians 6:11 to 7:1.
11 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you; our heart is wide open.
12 You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.
13 Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore, “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”
18 “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty.”
7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
When you think of pursuit, what comes to your mind? Police chasing a suspected criminal? The pursuit of a dream or business by an entrepreneur? Those are legitimate, but the word has other meanings. One is “to find or employ measures to obtain or accomplish.” You could pursue a degree in nursing, agriculture, or management. That is, you would take measures, or steps, to reach the goal of graduation and certification. We’ll use this meaning as we reflect on the pursuit of holiness.
In this text, Paul highlights several necessary MEASURES to aid us in our pursuit of holiness.
The First MEASURE (to aid us in our pursuit of holiness) is,
The Measure of Openness
Paul highlights this in verses 11 through 13. While it isn’t stated directly here in our text, the New Testament makes it clear that success in our pursuit of holiness depends on our relationships with others.
There is a mentality in our world today that I don’t need anybody else to be a Christ-follower. In the words of a song from my youth, “Me and Jesus, we got our own thing going, me and Jesus, we got it all worked out. “Me and Jesus, we got our own thing going; we don’t need anybody to tell us what it’s all about.” In other words, mind your own business.
But in our text, and many other places in the New Testament, it is obvious that the life of a Christ-follower is to be lived in a community with other Believers. Hebrews 12:14 commands us, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord…” In his letter to the Ephesian Believers, Paul instructs them to “submit to each other in the fear of God.” In James 5:16, we read, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” How do you obey these commands if it’s just you and Jesus?
So, when I say we need a measure of openness to aid us in our pursuit of holiness, I’m looking at Paul’s example in this text. He writes to the Corinthian Believers, reminding them of his transparency in ministry to them. He says, and here I think the rendering of the KJV is best, “Our mouth is open to you.” We have spoken clearly to you. We haven’t held anything back from you in our presentation of the Gospel and in teaching you about the glory of God! We have freely given ourselves to you without restraint and compulsion.
Then, he expands the picture by saying, “Our heart is enlarged,” or our heart has been opened wide to you. Paul had just listed for them a host of things he suffered to bring the Gospel to them. He had, as we say, “bared his soul.”
I heard a quadriplegic say, “Suffering is best put to use when it enlarges your heart, making it a bigger reservoir for God’s grace. Suffering is like a painful shovel that uproots sin and selfishness. It means God is making room for his overflowing grace. So, I am not about to waste my suffering. I’m asking God to use it to stretch my soul for his many graces. Do not view your suffering through a keyhole. Ask God to use it to make you largehearted for Jesus.”
The language of verse 12 in the KJV is archaic and a bit confusing, so I prefer the ESV rendering, “You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections.” Or we could render it like this, “we are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding your affection from us.” Not restricted is another way of saying enlarged. Some of the Corinthian Believers had restricted their affection toward Paul based on the accusations of his critics. They were pulling back from their previous love for him and openness to him.
But Paul wanted them to be as open and loving with him as he had been and was with them. In this second letter, we noted numerous times how gentle and gracious Paul was in dealing with issues in their church fellowship. And so, he says to them, “Now, as a fair exchange (I speak to you as children), open wide your hearts to us also.” Paul was their spiritual father, and just like a physical father, he wanted his children to confide in him to open their hearts freely.
If you and I hope to progress in our pursuit of holiness, we must cultivate this kind of openness among ourselves in the local church. We all have areas of need in our lives that we are prone to hide or cover-up. But that will not help us advance in our pursuit of holiness.
So many times, we rob ourselves of spiritual growth and blessing because we close our hearts to each other. I have experiences in life that will help you, and you most likely have experiences that will help me, but if we’re not free to share, we’ll never discover those things. We’ll go in thinking that we’re the only ones who struggle in this particular area, and Satan will encourage our thoughts of isolation.
If you and I are truly serious about pursuing holiness, we must develop a measure of openness with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Next MEASURE (you and I can take to aid us in our pursuit of holiness) is,
The Measure of Discernment
Discernment is the ability to see things as they really are, not simply as they appear to be on the surface. Proverbs 14:12 states, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” If you and I hope to progress in our pursuit of holiness, we will need to develop a measure of discernment.
In the following several verses, Paul uses five words in a question format to help us discern or distinguish the contrasts. The words are fellowship, communion, accord, part, and agreement. We’ll take some time to look at each of these in a few moments.
Paul begins this section with an emphatic command, “Stop becoming unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” Some in Corinth were already being compromised. It seems evident that Paul was appealing to Deuteronomy 22:10, “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.” What is the reasoning behind this prohibition?
First, an ox was designated a clean animal, and a donkey was unclean. In addition, you couldn’t plow a straight furrow with these two. These animals’ temperament, natural instincts, and physical characteristics make it impossible. God cares about straight furrows!
As in the natural world, so in the spiritual. Paul teaches us that it isn’t right to join a spiritual enterprise with those who don’t have the exact nature as we do—the nature of Christ. Having the nature of Christ doesn’t make us intrinsically better than others, but it does make us different. Involving unbelievers in the work of Christ will only result in frustration. This prohibition often applies to marriage, but let’s add business, politics, labor unions, and more.
Indeed, Paul isn’t forbidding contact with unbelievers. Paul explained that in his first letter to them. “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.”
The idea here is to become “mixed up” with them. Incidentally, the prohibition against using an ox and a donkey in the same yoke is bookended by the ban on mixing seeds in the garden and two different fibers in a garment. I think that helps us understand better the idea of becoming too “mixed” with unbelievers. In the context of what was happening at Corinth, there were the factions in the church and the surrounding pagan idolatry.
To illustrate further what he means, Paul asks several rhetorical questions. Rhetorical questions are often used in the context of persuasive arguments to confront people and make them think. They are often asked in such a way that the answer is clearly known, and the questioner isn’t really asking for a verbal response.
But those questions must wait until our next visit because we’re almost out of time for today’s program.
Thanks, J Mark, for the first part of this teaching on holiness. The end for today’s teaching came quickly, but that is not the end of the lesson. Please join us next week for the rest of this teaching on holiness. As I mentioned at the beginning, this is important, and we should desire to be holy.
If you have any questions about today’s teaching or if you would like to hear it again. Please feel free to contact us. Here is how you can reach us. The best way is via email and our email is [email protected]. Or you can connect with us on our website which is heraldsofhope.org. And of course, it is always possible to write to us. Our address is Hope for Today, Box 3 Breezewood, Pennsylvania 15533. We would love to hear from you, so feel free to contact us however it is easiest for you.
Thanks again for listening to Hope for Today. Be sure to join us next we for the second part of “The Pursuit of Holiness.” I leave you with the last verse of today’s lesson and may this be our goal for the week. “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
*This episode is an exposition by J. Otis Yoder, re-recorded by J. Mark Horst, with an opening and closing by Arlin Horst.