2 Corinthians 7:1 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
In the previous chapter, Paul admonished his readers to separate themselves from anything that had a worldly influence, "come out from them and be separate" (2 Corinthians 6:17). He also encourages all with a beautiful promise from God that He will be their Father and they will be His sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18). The closeness of our relationship with God is proportional to our connection to the world.
In other words, if you want to
experience maximum closeness and intimacy with God, you must cut off all ties
with the world's ways. The reward is that He will be our Father, and we will be
His children. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8). The
same petition to open your hearts to God, as seen in 2 Corinthians 6 and 7, is
also seen in James 4:8.
At the writing of this letter from Paul to the Christians at Corinth, the Gentile Christians were having a problem cutting all ties to Pagan ceremonies and festivals. This breakdown is most likely what Paul referred to when he admonished the Corinthian Christians to purify themselves from all things that might pollute their bodies and spirits. When we trust Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior and surrender our hearts and souls to Him, we experience a cleansing or purification that can come only from God. On the other hand, we also do a cleansing on our own effort. In other words, we can experience the cleansing from God only when we separate ourselves from the ways of the world; the second part is up to us. We cannot expect God to purify and cleanse our hearts if we continue to indulge ourselves in the evils of this world.
Paul is not speaking of some state of sinless perfection that we all know we will never attain in this life (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10). Instead, he is speaking of removing ourselves from the evil that continually surrounds us every day of our lives. However, it is not enough that we should only separate ourselves from this worldly, immoral influence; we must focus on surrendering ourselves to God.
There is also a contrast between the pollution of the body and the spirit. We might find it more challenging to deal with the corruption of the soul than of the body. For example, during the earthly ministry of Jesus, the harlots and tax collectors, with contamination of the body, found it easier to come to Jesus than did the Pharisees, who were suffering from contamination of the spirit.
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