1. 2 CORITHIAS 7 COMMETARYEdited by Glenn Pease1Therefore, since we have these promises, dearfriends, let us purify ourselves from everythingthat contaminates body and spirit, perfectingholiness out of reverence for God.1. BARES, Having therefore these promises - The promises referred to in2Co_6:17-18; the promise that God would be a Father, a protector, and a friend The ideais, that as we have a promise that God would dwell in us, that he would be our God, thathe would be to us a Father, we should remove from us whatever is offensive in his sight,and become perfectly holy.Let us cleanse ourselves - Let us purify ourselves. Paul was not afraid to bring intoview the agency of Christians themselves in the work of salvation. He, therefore, says, letus purify ourselves, as if Christians had much to do; as if their own agency was to beemployed; and as if their purifying was dependent on their own efforts. While it is truethat all purifying influence and all holiness proceeds from God, it is also true that theeffect of all the influences of the Holy Spirit is to excite us to diligence to purify our ownhearts, and to urge us to make strenuous efforts to overcome our own sins. He whoexpects to be made pure without any effort of his own, will never become pure; and hewho ever becomes holy will become so in consequence of strenuous efforts to resist theevil of his own heart, and to become like God. The argument here is, that we have thepromises of God to aid us. We do not go about the work in our own strength. It is not awork in which we are to have no aid. But it is a work which God desires, and where hewill give us all the aid which we need.From all filthiness of the flesh - The noun used here ( molusmos) occursnowhere else in the New Testament. The verb occurs in 1Co_8:7; Rev_3:4; Rev_14:4,and means to stain, defile, pollute, as a garment; and the word used here means asoiling, hence, defilement, pollution, and refers to the defiling and corrupting influenceof fleshly desires and carnal appetites. The filthiness of the flesh here denotes evidentlythe gross and corrupt appetites and passions of the body, including all such actions of allkinds as are inconsistent with the virtue and purity with which the body, regarded as thetemple of the Holy Spirit, should be kept holy - all such passions and appetites as theHoly Spirit of God would not produce.And spirit - By filthiness of the spirit, the apostle means, probably, all the thoughtsor mental associations that defile the man. Thus, the Saviour Mat_15:19 speaks of evilthoughts, etc. that proceed out of the heart, and that pollute the man. And probably Paulhere includes all the sins and passions which pertain particularly to mind or to the soulrather than to carnal appetites, such as the desire of revenge, pride, avarice, ambition,

2. etc. These are in themselves as polluting and defiling as the gross sensual pleasures.They stand as much in the way of sanctification, they are as offensive to God, and theyprove as certainly that the heart is depraved as the grossest sensual passions. The maindifference is, that they are more decent in the external appearance; they can be betterconcealed; they are usually indulged by a more elevated class in society; but they are notthe less offensive to God. It may be added, also, that they are often conjoined in the sameperson; and that the man who is defiled in his spirit is often a man most corrupt andsensual in his flesh. Sin sweeps with a desolating influence through the whole frame,and it usually leaves no part unaffected, though some part may be more deeplycorrupted than others.Perfecting - This word ( epitelountes) means properly to bring to an end,to finish, complete. The idea here is, that of carrying it out to the completion. Holinesshad been commenced in the heart, and the exhortation of the apostle is, that they shouldmake every effort that it might be complete in all its parts. He does not say that this workof perfection had ever been accomplished - nor does he say that it had not been. He onlyurges the obligation to make an effort to be entirely holy; and this obligation is notaffected by the inquiry whether anyone has been or has not been perfect. It is anobligation which results from the nature of the Law of God and his unchangeable claimson the soul. The fact that no one has been perfect does not relax the claim; the fact thatno one will be in this life does not weaken the obligation. It proves only the deep anddreadful depravity of the human heart, and should humble us under the stubbornness ofguilt.The obligation to be perfect is one that is unchangeable and eternal; see Mat_5:48;1Pe_1:15. Tyndale renders this: and grow up to full holiness in the fear, of God. Theunceasing and steady aim of every Christian should be perfection - perfection in allthings - in the love of God, of Christ, of man; perfection of heart, and feeling, andemotion; perfection in his words, and plans, and dealings with people; perfection in hisprayers, and in his submission to the will of God. No man can be a Christian who doesnot sincerely desire it. and who does not constantly aim at it. No man is a friend of Godwho can acquiesce in a state of sin, and who is satisfied and contented that he is not asholy as God is holy. And any man who has no desire to be perfect as God is, and whodoes not make it his daily and constant aim to be as perfect as God, may set it down asdemonstrably certain that he has no true religion, How can a man be a Christian who iswilling to acquiesce in a state of sin, and who does not desire to be just like his Masterand Lord?In the fear of God - Out of fear and reverence of God. From a regard to hiscommands, and a reverence for his name. The idea seems to be, that we are always in thepresence of God; we are professedly under His Law; and we should be awed andrestrained by a sense of his presence from the commission of sin, and from indulgence inthe pollutions of the flesh and spirit. There are many sins that the presence of a child willrestrain a man from committing; and how should the conscious presence of a holy Godkeep us from sin! If the fear of man or of a child will restrain us, and make us attempt tobe holy and pure, how should the fear of the all-present and the all-seeing God keep usnot only from outward sins, but from polluted thoughts and unholy desires!2, CLARKE, Having therefore these promises - The promises mentioned inthe three last verses of the preceding chapter, to which this verse should certainly bejoined. 3. Let us cleanse ourselves - Let us apply to him for the requisite grace ofpurification; and avoid every thing in spirit and practice which is opposite to thedoctrine of God, and which has a tendency to pollute the soul.Filthiness of the flesh - The apostle undoubtedly means, drunkenness, fornication,adultery, and all such sins as are done immediately against the body; and by filthiness ofthe spirit, all impure desires, unholy thoughts, and polluting imaginations. If we avoidand abhor evil inclinations, and turn away our eyes from beholding vanity, incentives toevil being thus lessened, (for the eye affects the heart), there will be the less danger ofour falling into outward sin. And if we avoid all outward occasions of sinning, evilpropensities will certainly be lessened. All this is our work under the common aids of thegrace of God. We may turn away our eyes and ears from evil, or we may indulge both inwhat will infallibly beget evil desires and tempers in the soul; and under the sameinfluence we may avoid every act of iniquity; for even Satan himself cannot, by anypower he has, constrain us to commit uncleanness, robbery, drunkenness, murder, etc.These are things in which both body and soul must consent. But still withholding theeye, the ear, the hand, and the body in general, from sights, reports, and acts of evil, willnot purify a fallen spirit; it is the grace and Spirit of Christ alone, powerfully applied forthis very purpose, that can purify the conscience and the heart from all dead works. Butif we do not withhold the food by which the man of sin is nourished and supported, wecannot expect God to purify our hearts. While we are striving against sin, we may expectthe Spirit of God to purify us by his inspiration from all unrighteousness, that we mayperfectly love and magnify our Maker. How can those expect God to purify their heartswho are continually indulging their eyes, ears, and hands in what is forbidden, and inwhat tends to increase and bring into action all the evil propensities of the soul?Perfecting holiness - Getting the whole mind of Christ brought into the soul. This isthe grand object of a genuine Christians pursuit. The means of accomplishing this are,1. Resisting and avoiding sin, in all its inviting and seducing forms.2. Setting the fear of God before our eyes, that we may dread his displeasure, andabhor whatever might excite it, and whatever might provoke him to withhold hismanna from our mouth. We see, therefore, that there is a strong and orthodoxsense in which we may cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and of thespirit, and thus perfect holiness in the fear of God.3. GILL, Having therefore these promises,.... That God will walk in his temple,and dwell in his churches, be their God, and they his people, that he will receive them,and be their Father, and they his sons and daughters; which promises they had not inhope, as Old Testament saints had the promises of the Messiah and his kingdom, and asNew Testament saints have of the resurrection, the new heavens and new earth, and ofappearing with Christ in glory; but in hand, in actual possession; for God was reallybecome their God and Father, and they were his people and children; they had hadcommunion with him, and were received, protected, and preserved by him; whichpromises and blessings of grace, and which are absolute and unconditional, the apostlemakes use of to engage them to purity and holiness; and is a clear proof, that thedoctrine of an absolute and unconditional covenant of grace has no tendency tolicentiousness, but the contrary: and that his following exhortation might be attended to,and cheerfully received, he uses a very affectionate appellation,dearly beloved; so they were of God, being his people, his sons and daughters, 4. adopted, justified, called, and chosen by him; and so they were by the apostle and hisfellow ministers, who, as he says in a following verse, were in their hearts to die and livewith them; some copies read brethren, and so the Ethiopic version. The exhortation heurges them to, and, that it might be the better received, joins himself with them in it, is,let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit: by thefilthiness of the flesh is meant external pollution, defilement by outward actions,actions committed in the body, whereby the man is defiled; such as all impure words,filthiness, and foolish talking, all rotten and corrupt communication, which defile aman's own body; as the tongue, a little member, when so used does, and corrupts thegood manners of others; all filthy actions, as idolatry, adultery, fornication, incest,sodomy, murder, drunkenness, revellings, c. and everything that makes up a filthyconversation, which is to be hated, abhorred, and abstained from by the saints: byfilthiness of the spirit is meant internal pollution, defilement by the internal acts of themind, such as evil thoughts, lusts, pride, malice, envy, covetousness, and the like: such adistinction of , the filthiness of the body, and , the filthiness of thesoul, is to be met with among the Jews; who say (r), that when a man has taken care toavoid the former, it is fit he should take care of the latter; they also call the evilimagination, or corruption of nature, the filth of the body (s). Now when the apostlesays, let us cleanse ourselves, this does not suppose that men have a power to cleansethemselves from the pollution of their nature, or the defilement of their actions; for thisis God's work alone, as appears from his promises to cleanse his people from their sins;from the end of Christ's shedding his blood, and the efficacy of it; from the sanctifyinginfluences of the Spirit; and from the prayers of the saints to God, to create in them cleanhearts, to wash them thoroughly from their iniquity, and cleanse them from their sin:besides, the apostle is not here speaking either of the justification of these persons, inwhich sense they were already cleansed, and that thoroughly, from all their sins andiniquities; nor of the inward work of sanctification, in respect of which they weresprinkled with clean water, and were washed in the layer of regeneration; but what theapostle respects is the exercise of both internal and external religion, which lies in purityof heart and conversation, the one not being acceptable to God without the other; he isspeaking of, and exhorting to the same thing, as in the latter part of the precedingchapter; and suggests, that it becomes those who have received such gracious promisesto be separate from sin and sinners, to abstain from all appearance of sin, and to have nofellowship with sinners; to lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of haughtiness, and,under a sense of either external or internal pollution, to have recourse to the fountainopened; to deal by faith with the blood of Christ, which cleanses from all sin, of heart,lip, and life; and which is the only effectual method a believer can make use of, to cleansehimself from sin; namely, by washing his garments, and making them white in the bloodof the Lamb:perfecting holiness in the fear of God; by holiness is not meant the work ofsanctification upon the heart, for that is wholly the work of the Spirit of God, and not ofman; he begins it, carries it on, and perfects it of himself; but holiness of life andconversation is here designed, which in conversion the people of God are called unto,and which highly becomes them: and this they are to be perfecting; not that a believeris able to live a life of holiness, without sin being in him, or committed by him; this is in,possible and impracticable in the present life; but the sense of the word is,that he is to be carrying on a course of righteousness and holiness to the end; to the endof his life, he is to persevere as in faith, so in holiness; as he is to go on believing in 5. Christ, so he is to go on to live soberly, righteously, and godly, to the end of his days;which requires divine power to preserve him from sin, and keep him from falling; andthe grace of God, the strength of Christ, and the assistance of the Spirit, to enable him toperform acts of holiness, and the several duties of religion, and to continue in well doing:all which is to be done, in the fear of God; not in a servile slavish fear, a fear of hell anddamnation, but in a filial fear, a reverential affection for God, an humble trust in him,and dependence on him, for grace and strength; it is that fear which has God for itsauthor, is a blessing of the new covenant, is implanted in regeneration, and is increasedby discoveries of pardoning grace; and it has God for its object, not his wrath andvindictive justice, but his goodness, grace, and mercy. This shows from what principle,and upon what views believers act in a course of righteousness and holiness; not fromthe fear of hell, nor from the fear of men, or with a view to gain their applause, but as inthe sight of God, from a reverential affection to him, a child like fear of him, and with aview to his glory.4. HERY, These verses contain a double exhortation: -I. To make a progress in holiness, or to perfect holiness in the fear of God, 2Co_7:1.This exhortation is given with most tender affection to those who were dearly beloved,and enforced by strong arguments, even the consideration of those exceedingly great andprecious promises which were mentioned in the former chapter, and which theCorinthians had an interest in and a title to. The promises of God are stronginducements to sanctification, in both the branches thereof; namely, 1. The dying untosin, or mortifying our lusts and corruptions: we must cleanse ourselves from allfilthiness of flesh and spirit. Sin is filthiness, and there are defilements of body andmind. There are sins of the flesh, that are committed with the body, and sins of thespirit, spiritual wickednesses; and we must cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of both,for God is to be glorified both with body and soul. 2. The living unto righteousness andholiness. If we hope God is our Father, we must endeavour to be partakers of hisholiness, to be holy as he is holy, and perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. We mustbe still perfecting holiness, and not be contented with sincerity (which is our gospelperfection), without aiming at sinless perfection, though we shall always come short of itwhile we are in this world; and this we must do in the fear of God, which is the root andprinciple of all religion, and there is no holiness without it. Note, Faith and hope in thepromises of God must not destroy our fear of God, who taketh pleasure in those thatfear him and hope in his mercy.5. JAMISO, 2Co_7:1-16. Self-purification their duty resulting from the foregoing.His love to them, and joy at the good effects on them of his former epistle, as reportedby Titus.cleanse ourselves This is the conclusion of the exhortation (2Co_6:1, 2Co_6:14;1Jo_3:3; Rev_22:11).filthiness the unclean thing (2Co_6:17).of the flesh for instance, fornication, prevalent at Corinth (1Co_6:15-18).and spirit for instance, idolatry, direct or indirect (1Co_6:9; 1Co_8:1, 1Co_8:7;1Co_10:7, 1Co_10:21, 1Co_10:22). The spirit (Psa_32:2) receives pollution through theflesh, the instrument of uncleanness.perfecting holiness The cleansing away impurity is a positive step towardsholiness (2Co_6:17). It is not enough to begin; the end crowns the work (Gal_3:3; Gal_5:7; Phi_1:6). 6. fear of God often conjoined with the consideration of the most glorious promises(2Co_5:11; Heb_4:1). Privilege and promise go hand in hand.5B. CALVIN, These promises, therefore. God, it is true, anticipates us in his promisesby his pure favor; but when he has, of his own accord, conferred upon us his favor, heimmediately afterwards requires from us gratitude in return. Thus what he said toAbraham, I am thy God, (Genesis 17:7,) was an offer of his undeserved goodness, yet heat the same time added what he required from him Walk before me, and be thouperfect As, however, this second clause is not always expressed, Paul instructs us that inall the promises this condition is implied, 624 that they must be incitements to us topromote the glory of God. For from what does he deduce an argument to stimulate us? Itis from this, that God confers upon us such a distinguished honor. Such, then, is thenature of the promises, that they call us to sanctification, as if God had interposed by animplied agreement. We know, too, what the Scripture teaches in various passages inreference to the design of redemption, and the same thing must be viewed as applying toevery token of his favor.From all filthiness of flesh and spirit. Having already shown, that we are called topurity, 625 he now adds, that it ought to be seen in the body, as well as in the soul; forthat the term flesh is taken here to mean the body, and the term spirit to mean the soul,is manifest from this, that if the term spirit meant the grace of regeneration, Paulsstatement in reference to the pollution of the spirit would be absurd. He would have us,therefore, pure from defilements, not merely inward, such as have God alone as theirwitness; but also outward, such as fall under the observation of men. Let us not merelyhave chaste consciences in the sight of God. We must also consecrate to him our wholebody and all its members, that no impurity may be seen in any part of us. 626Now if we consider what is the point that he handles, we shall readily perceive, thatthose act with excessive impudence, 627 who excuse outward idolatry on I know notwhat pretexts. 628 For as inward impiety, and superstition, of whatever kind, is adefilement of the spirit, what will they understand by defilement of the flesh, but anoutward profession of impiety, whether it be pretended, or uttered from the heart? Theyboast of a pure conscience; that, indeed, is on false grounds, but granting them whatthey falsely boast of, they have only the half of what Paul requires from believers. Hencethey have no ground to think, that they have given satisfaction to God by that half; for leta person show any appearance of idolatry at all, or any indication of it, or take part inwicked or superstitious rites, even though he were what he cannot be perfectlyupright in his own mind, he would, nevertheless, not be exempt from the guilt ofpolluting his body.Perfecting holiness. As the verb in Greek sometimes means, to perfect,and sometimes to perform sacred rites, 629 it is elegantly made use of here by Paul inthe former signification, which is the more frequent one in such a way, however, as toallude to sanctification, of which he is now treating. For while it denotes perfection, itseems to have been intentionally transferred to sacred offices, because there ought to benothing defective in the service of God, but everything complete. Hence, in order thatyou may sanctify yourself to God aright, you must dedicate both body and soul entirelyto him.In the fear of God. For if the fear of God influences us, we will not be so muchdisposed to indulge ourselves, nor will there be a bursting forth of that audacity ofwantonness, which showed itself among the Corinthians. For how does it happen, thatmany delight themselves so much in outward idolatry, and haughtily defend so gross avice, unless it be, that they think that they mock God with impunity? If the fear of God 7. had dominion over them, they would immediately, on the first moment, leave off allcavils, without requiring to be constrained to it by any disputations.6. BI, Having the promises of GodUnder what notion have we the promises of God?1. We have them as manifest tokens of Gods favour towards us.2. We have them as fruits of Christs purchase.3. They are plain and ample declarations of the good-will of God towards men, andtherefore as Gods part of the covenant of grace.4. They are a foundation of our faith, and we have them as such; and also of ourhope, on these we are to build all our expectations from God; and in all temptationsand trials we have them to rest our souls upon.5. We have them as the directions and encouragements of our desires in prayer.6. We have them as the means by which the grace of God works for our holiness andcomfort, for by these we are made partakers of a Divine nature; and faith, applyingthese promises, is said to work by love.7. We have the promises as the earnest and assurance of future blessedness.(Matthew Henry.)Personal purificationI. The ground of the apostles requestHaving these promises (2Co_6:16-18). Observethe gospel principle of action: it is not, Separate yourself from all uncleanness in orderthat you may get a right of sonship; but, Because ye are sons of God, therefore be pure. Itis not, Work in order to be saved; but, Because you are saved, therefore work out yoursalvation. Ye are the temple of God: therefore cleanse yourself. The law says: This do,and thou shalt live. The gospel says: This do, because thou art redeemed. We all knowthe force of this kind of appeal. You know there are some things a soldier will not do,because he is a soldier: he is in uniform, and he cannot disgrace his corps. There aresome things of which a man of high birth is incapable: he has a character to sustain.Precisely on this ground is the gospel appeal made to us.II. The request itself. St. Paul demanded their holiness. In Jewish literalness this meantseparation from external defilement, but the thing implied was inward holiness. Wemust keep ourselves apart, then, not only from sensual but also from spiritualdefilement. The Jewish law required only the purification of the flesh; the gospeldemands the purification of the spirit (Heb_9:13). There is a contamination whichpasses through the avenue of the senses, and sinks into the spirit. Who shall dislodge itthence? Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh outof the mouth, this defileth a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts. Theheartthere is the evil! And now what is the remedy for this?1. The fear of God. An awful thought! a living God, infinitely pure, is conscious ofyour contaminated thoughts! So the only true courage sometimes comes from fear.We cannot do without awe: there is no depth of character without it. Tender motives 8. are not enough to restrain from sin; yet neither is awe enough.2. The promises of God. Think of what you area child of God, an heir of heaven.Realise the grandeur of saintliness, and you will shrink from degrading your soul anddebasing your spirit. To come down, however, from these sublime motives to simplerules(1) Cultivate all generous and high feelings. A base appetite may be expelled by anobler passion; the invasion of a country has sometimes waked men from lowsensuality, has roused them to deeds of self-sacrifice, and left no access for thebaser passions. An honourable affection can quench low and indiscriminate vice.(2) Seek exercise and occupation. If a man finds himself haunted by evil desiresand unholy images, let him commit to memory passages of Scripture, or passagesfrom the best writers in verse or prose. Let him store his mind with these, assafeguards. Let these be to him the sword, turning everywhere to keep the way ofthe Garden of Life from the intrusion of profaner footsteps.III. The entireness of this severance from evilperfecting holiness. Perfection meansentireness, in opposition to one-sidedness. This expression seems to be suggested by theterms flesh and spirit; for the purification of the flesh alone would not be perfect, butsuperficial holiness. Christian sanctification, therefore, is an entire and whole thing; it isnothing less than presenting the whole man a sacrifice to Christ. I pray God your wholespirit and soul and body be preserved blameless. (F. W. Robertson, M. A.)The Christian in various aspectsI. As possessed of most glorious privilegesHaving these promises. Not promises inreversion merely, but in actual possession.1. The promises referred to are(1) Divine indwelling.(2) Divine manifestation:(3) Divine covenanting.(4) Divine acceptance.(5) Divine adoption.2. These promises are already fulfilled in our experience.II. As labouring to be rid of obnoxious evils.1. The matter has in it(1) Personality: Let us cleanse ourselves.(2) Activity; we must continue vigorously to cleanse both body and mind.(3) Universality: From all filthiness.(4) Thoroughness: Of the flesh and spirit.2. If God dwells in us, let us make the house clean for so pure a God.3. Has the Lord entered into covenant with us that we should be His people? Does 9. not this involve a call upon us to live as becometh godliness?4. Are we His children? Let us not grieve our Father, but imitate Him as dearchildren.III. As aiming at a most exalted positionPerfecting holiness.1. We must set before us perfect holiness as a thing to be reached.2. We must blame ourselves if we fall short of it.3. We must continue in any degree of holiness which we have reached.4. We must agonise after the perfecting of our character.IV. As prompted by the most sacred of motivesIn the fear of God. The fear of God1. Casts out the fear of man, and thus saves us from one prolific cause of sin.2. Casts out the love of sin, and with the root the fruit is sure to go.3. Works in and through love, and this is a great factor of holiness.4. Is the root of faith, worship, obedience, and so it produces all manner of holyservice.Conclusion: See how1. Promises supply arguments for precepts.2. Precepts naturally grow out of promises. (C. H. Spurgeon.)Holiness inculcated on gospel principles1. The tender compellation by which these Corinthians are here addresseddearlybeloved. However deficient some of them were in affection for this apostle (1Co_4:14-15), and with all their faults, he retained a paternal affection for them. Howcareful should both ministers and people be to guard against everything that tends toimpair their mutual affection.2. The duty to which the Corinthians are here exhorted, and we together with them.3. The manner in which the apostle urges the exhortation. He speaks not in thesecond person, but in the first, let us cleanse. The same exhortation that he gives tothem he also takes to himself. We must recommend by our example the duties whichwe doctrinally inculcate.4. The manner in which the exhortation is to be complied with, and the dutyperformed: in the fear of God. Not slavish fear.5. The motive by which this exhortation is enforced: Having these promises, etc. Itis the duty of public teachers in the Church to make known to their hearers both theprecepts and threatenings of the law, as well as the promises of the gospel.I. The first thing to be spoken of is the duty here enjoined. This, in general, is self-sanctification.1. Because the law of God necessarily requires it. That law, even before sin enteredinto the world, prohibited every species of moral pollution, and required the utmostperfection of holiness in heart and life, in nature and practice. Through the entrance 10. of sin God neither lost His authority to command, nor did the law of God lose itsbinding obligation.2. Because, when the Holy Ghost comes to accomplish this work, He always does itin a way of stirring up the person to diligence in the duty which is incumbent uponhim in this respect. Thus we are made a kind of instruments in promoting Hisgracious design in ourselves. In justification we are wholly passive; because, thisbeing a judicial deed, none can be active in it but He whose prerogative it is to forgivesins. In regeneration also, which, indeed, is the beginning of sanctification, we mustbe passive; because we can perform none of the functions of spiritual life while wecontinue dead in trespasses and sins. But the moment that the principle of life isimplanted the soul begins to be active; and it continues to be a co-worker with Godin every part of its own sanctification. Now, sanctification consists of two parts,usually called mortification and vivication; and we must be active in both.(1) To the duty of mortification, which is here expressed by our cleansingourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. By all sin we contractfilthiness as well as guilt. The guilt of sin exposes us to condemnation andpunishment; and the filth of it renders us hateful in the sight of God. Thisfilthiness has infected every part of human nature. Both body and soul arepolluted. With regard to the body, being a piece of matter, it may be thoughtincapable of spiritual or moral pollution. And doubtless so it would if it subsistedby itself. But, being united to a rational soul, it is a part of a human person, whois a subject of moral government; and every part of the rational person is defiled.A great part of the filthiness of our corrupt nature consists in a disposition togratify our appetites in a manner prohibited by the law of God, and ruinous tothe dearest interests of the immortal soul. With regard to the soul or rationalspirit, that also is become altogether filthy. Its whole constitution is depraved, itsextensive desires are all perverted, being set upon sinful and vain objects. All itsfaculties are depraved. Though the cleansing of the whole man from this spiritualfilthiness must be a work beyond the power of any mere creature, yet there arevarious things incumbent upon us by which we may actively contribute to thegaining of this desirable end. To this purpose let us betake ourselves, by renewedactings of faith, to the blood of Jesus Christ, in its sanctifying as well as in itsjustifying efficacy. Let us carefully abstain from all those outward acts of sin bywhich our corruptions might be gratified. Let us earnestly pray to God for Hissanctifying Spirit. Let us confidently trust in God, that, according to His promise,He will cleanse us from all our filthiness. And if we are favoured with the motionsof the Holy Ghost to this effect, let us cherish them with the utmost care.(2) We are exhorted to the duty of vivication, or living unto righteousness, hereexpressed by perfecting holiness. Concerning this we may observe the followingthings. Holiness is that perfection which is opposed to moral impurity. InScripture it is represented as the glory of the Divine nature (Exo_15:11). Amongcreatures it is that which renders a rational being agreeable in the sight of God,and fit to be employed in His service. It consists not barely in freedom fromspiritual filthiness, but is opposed to it, as light is opposed to darkness. Everycorruption has an opposite grace. And grace does not barely consist in freedomfrom corruption, but includes something positive in opposition to it. Thusholiness is not only something required of us by the law of God, it is somethinghighly ornamental to our nature. Hence we read of the beauty of holiness (Psa_29:2). This holiness is not only a thing absolutely necessary to the happiness of arational being, but is itself a principal branch of happiness. That it is necessary to 11. happiness is clear from various considerations. There is no happiness adequateto the desires of a rational soul without the enjoyment of God; and this can neverbe attained without holiness. As happiness can never be perfect without thegratification of all the persons desires, it is manifest that an unholy person nevercan be happy. While he continues possessed of a rational soul his desires must beinfinite; nor can anything satisfy them but an infinite object. Impure desires cannever find an infinite object to fix upon; for nothing unholy can be infinite. Theoriginal standard of all holiness is in the nature of God. What is conformable tothat infinite nature is holy; and what is contrary to it must be impure and unholy.But as the nature of God is not perfectly understood by any creature, nor iscapable of being so, it is impossible for us to judge of our holiness immediately bythat standard. For this reason God has given us in His holy law a transcript of Hisnature adapted to our capacities; and this is the rule of all holiness to mankind.As broad as that law is, so extensive is holiness. It must reach to the inward aswell as the outward man. To perfect holiness every genuine Christian will aspire.In the text we are expressly required to perfect holiness. But why require of usan impossibility? For us to perfect holiness is not only impossible by any strengthof our own, but it is impossible by the help of any grace that we can expect in thisworld? Every argument that enforces holiness at all pleads equally for theperfection of it. The broad law of God requires it; and without it we never can beconformable to that unerring rule. It is absolutely necessary to perfect happiness;and as no man can satisfy himself with an imperfect happiness, no man can act asbecomes a rational creature without aiming at perfect holiness. As much as ourholiness is imperfect, so much pollution must remain about us, and it must be sofar unfit for the full enjoyment of God. As our cleansing from filthiness, so, moreespecially, the perfecting of holiness in us must be the work of God. There arevarious things which you ought to do in order to your making progress inholiness. Make continual application by faith and prayer to that infinite fulness ofgrace and strength, that God has made to dwell in Christ, for all those suppliesthat are necessary to enable you to be holy. Strive to live in the constant exerciseof all those graces which constitute that inward holiness of heart in which youwish to grow. The weapon that is seldom used gathers rust. Continue in theexercise of that love to God which is the principle of all practical holiness, and istherefore called the fulfilling of the holy law of God. Attend carefully andregularly upon all the ordinances of Gods worship in their appointed seasons.Frequent the society of holy persons, and maintain communion with them inholy duties. Think much of the obligations that you lie under to be holy. Of all thedifferent species of spiritual filthiness none is more hateful to God than the filthof legality. Bear it always in mind that no holiness of yours can ever be arighteousness to answer the demands that the law of works has upon you.II. The manner in which this duty is to be performedIn the fear of the Lord.1. There is a slavish fear of God, such as a slave entertains of the whip in the hand ofa rigorous master. Though this is not the fear mentioned in the text, it is in danger ofbeing mistaken for it; and therefore it is proper that Christians should knowsomething of the nature of it. It may be distinguished by the following marks. It isalways the fruit of a legal principle, i.e., a disposition to seek righteousness as it wereby the works of the law. It is always accompanied with a servile hope. In proportionas his fear prevails when he is under the conviction of sin, his hope preponderateswhen he can persuade himself that his services are regular. In proportion as he fearsthe punishment of his sin, he vainly hopes for happiness as a reward for his 12. obedience. Where it reigns the person is neither affected with Gods displeasure northe dishonour done to him by sin. He fears for himself only. In a word, it is alwaysaccompanied with torment; and the degree of torment is always in proportion to themeasure of fear.2. There is a holy filial fear that God puts into the hearts of His people when Heimplants every other gracious habit in the day of regeneration. It includes a holyreverence of God and a profound awe of His omniscient eye. There may be reverencewhere there is no fear; but this fear cannot subsist without reverence. Neither canthere be due reverence to God in any person who has sin about him without amixture of fear. It includes a holy caution and circumspection in the persons walk.Knowing how ready he is to turn aside, he examines every step of his way before hetakes it, and reflects upon it after he has taken it, comparing it with the Word of God.If it is asked, What influence this fear of God may be expected to have in exciting usto sanctify and purge ourselves? we answer, much every way. Where no fear of God isall manner of wickedness is indulged in the heart, and all kinds of immoralityabound in the persons life. The fear of God impresses our minds with a sense ofGods presence, which is always with us, and of His omniscient eye upon us in allthat we do.III. The argument by which this exhortation is enforcedHaving therefore thesepromises. And here two things are to be inquired:1. What promises are they to which the Spirit of God here refers? All the promises ofthe gospel are left to all that hear it. And there is no promise belonging to thecovenant of grace that may not have influence to excite us to the duty here enjoined.And particularly(1) We have a promise of Gods gracious presence in the Church and in thehearts of believersI will dwell in them, and walk in them, or among them, assome read it. In the literal temple there was but one particular apartment whereGod was peculiarly said to dwell, viz., the most holy place within the veil. But Hedwells in every part of this spiritual temple, and is as really present in the heart ofevery Christian as He was upon the mercy-seat between the cherubim. Hispresence in the Church is neither inactive on His part nor unprofitable to her orto her members. He not only dwells, but walks in her, and among them. If a mansits still in any place and does nothing, His presence can be of little use. But if hewalks up and down he sees everything as he passes.(2) We have a promise that He will be our God, and we shall be His people. Thisimports that God will graciously bring us within the bond of that covenant bywhich alone He can be so related to any of mankind, bringing us into a state ofunion to Christ, and of favour with God through Him. That He will do all that forus, which any people expects their God to do for them; subduing our enemies,delivering us from spiritual bondage, guiding us through the wilderness of thisworld, and bringing us at last to possess a city that hath foundations, whosebuilder and maker is God. By the same promise we have security that Hispropriety in us, as His people, shall be acknowledged both on His part and onours; on our part by a solemn dedication of ourselves to Him, and on His part bya gracious acceptance of that dedication; for, as He will have none to be Hispeople but such as are made willing in the day of His power, so neither could ourconsent make us His peculiar property without His acceptance.(3) We have a promise that God will graciously receive us. By nature we are all 13. unclean and hateful in the sight of God. This promise is conditionally expressed,though the others run in an absolute form. It is upon our coming out from amonga wicked world, and abstaining from the practice of sin, here called touching theunclean thing, that we may hope to be graciously accepted of God. If any man,therefore, thinks that he is accepted of God, and yet indulges himself in thepractice of sin, or in keeping society with sinners, or hopes to be accepted, whilethat continues to be the case he deceives himself, and the truth is not in him.(4) We have a promise of being received into Gods family and made His sonsand daughters. To be the people of God is much, but to be the children of God ismore. Yet this honour have all His saints. Adam was the son of God, in hisoriginal estate as being created by Him, after His own image and likeness. ButChristians, after having been the children of the devil in their natural estate, arecreated anew in Christ Jesus after the image of Him that made them.2. What influence these promises, and others connected with them, should have inexciting us to comply with the exhortation in the text. Our having such promises leftus is itself a benefit calling for such a return. The promises of men, especially of greatmen, are often made without any resolution to perform them. And often where therewas such a resolution it is changed or forgotten. Hence the making of such promises,instead of being a benefit, proves a very great injury to those who trust in them. Butnone of these things can take place with God. Never did He make a promise withoutan unfeigned intention to perform it to all who trusted in it. Never did any change ofcircumstances produce a change of mind in Him. And surely our warmest gratitudeis due to Him who has given us this security. We ought to be grateful for what wehope to enjoy, as well as for what we already possess. And there is no way in whichwe can express our gratitude to God acceptably, without endeavouring to cleanseourselves and be holy; for there is nothing else in which He has so much pleasure.Besides, by the promises of God we are furnished with security that, if we aresincerely employed in what is here recommended, our endeavours shall be crownedwith success. God has graciously promised to make you both willing and able to dowhat He requires of you in every other respect. He is ready to accomplish Hispromise. In a word, every particular promise contained in the gospel of Christfurnishes a corresponding argument for the study of holiness in both its branches. Ifwe have a promise of Gods dwelling in us and walking among us, shall we notendeavour to prepare Him a habitation? Being infinitely holy Himself, He cannotdwell with pollution. The promise that He will be our God, and that we shall be Hispeople includes an engagement that we shall serve Him, and live to Him as our God,and shall walk as becomes His people. This we cannot do without being holy. We arenow to conclude with some application of the subject. The subject affords us muchuseful information. It sets before us the polluted state in which all mankind are bynature. We could have no need of cleansing if we were not defiled. From this subjectit appears that the doctrine of salvation by Divine grace through faith is so far frombeing inimical to holiness, that it sets the necessity of it in the clearest light, andaffords the most powerful motives to it. (J. Young.)Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.The difference between fearing God and being afraid of HimI was afraid and hid thy talent (Mat_25:25); Perfecting holiness in the fear of God(2Co_7:8). I was afraid. Why? Because I knew thee that thou art a hard man. Then 14. our thought of God determines the character of our emotion, and shapes and regulatesour lives. Thou art a hard man I am afraid. The emotion follows upon theconception; the terror waits upon the severity; the life takes shape from the thought.What think ye of God? The thought you make of God is the thought which makes you.That is not a matter of chance and caprice; it is a fixed law. Your thinking colours yourliving. If you think God hard, you will live a life of terror and gloom. If you think Godeffeminate, your life will be characterised by moral laxity. Mark, then, how deeply vital isthe occasion when we give ideas of God to little children. We are putting into their livesgerms of tremendous power. I have met with old men who in their later years have notbeen able to shake themselves free from the bondage of a false idea received in the daysof their youth. In the days of Isaiah social life was putrid and corrupt. Men and womenwere passionate and licentious. Drunken carousals and luxurious indolence were thedaily delight of ruler and ruled. Yet, even when life was most debased, religious worshipwas most observed. Their idea of God permitted and encouraged immorality in life. Suchis the blasting potency of a false idea. But now what is the idea of God which begets thisparalysing terror recorded in our text? The Scriptures tell us the servant had thought ofGod as a hard man. Was the idea a true one? No; it was a false idea. Why? Because itwas only partially true, and partial truth is falsehood. Is God severe? No. Is severity anelement in His character? Yes. Is a ray of light of violet colour? No. Is violet colour anelement in the composition of a ray of light? Yes. God is light. You must not pick outthe violet element, the darker element, the severity, the justice, and say, This is God.He is these in combination with others, and only of the resultant combination can yousay, This is God. And yet that is how many people profess to know their God. Theyknow an isolated feature, but not their God; and features, when torn from theirrelationship, may become repellent. Take a most beautiful face, a face in which eachfeature contributes to the loveliness of the whole. All the features combine to form acountenance most winning, Now lay the face on the surgeons table. Dissect it; separateits various features, Immediately each feature loses its beauty and becomes almostrepulsive. It is not otherwise with spiritual dissection. Yet how many men base theirreligion upon a feature, and not upon a face! One of the most religious men I have everknown is also one of the gloomiest. His mind is fixed upon Gods severity and justice,and all things are regarded from their sombre and terrible side. The Bible is to him abook of terrible judgments. When I turn away from separate features and gaze uponGods countenance as portrayed in this book, I see it wears, not a threat, but a promise;not a scowl, but a smile; not a look of hardness, but the attractive look of love. But whena man has isolated a feature of Gods countenance, and by isolation made it dark andforbidding, and then regards it as his idea of God, see what happens. It makes him afraidof God. It fills his life with terror and gloom. It paralyses his spiritual growth. All themost luscious fruits of the Spirit find no place in his life. Gods severity is an element tobe mixed with the soil, to help us in resisting the vermin of sin, but is never intended toconstitute the bed in which we are to rear our flowers. If your leading, uppermostthought of God is His hardness, you will grow no flowers; they will every one bescorched; you will bring nothing to fruition. Your talents will never blossom into floweror ripen into fruit. To be afraid of God means a flowerless garden, an empty orchard, abarren heart. Now turn away from this hard conception of God, with its accompanyingterror, to consider a life which is full of spiritual activity and growth. Here is a man, theaged Paul, at work perfecting holiness; that is to say, he is busy consecratingeverything to his Lord. He wants every little patch in his lifes soil to be used andadorned by some flower growing for his Lord. He wants no waste corners. Let us readthe whole clause: Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Then is Paul afraid of God?The man of the parable was afraid of God, and so brought nothing to perfection. Paul is 15. seeking to bring everything to perfection. Can these two attitudes be the same? Is it thesame thing to be afraid of God and to fear Him? One was afraid of God because hethought Him a hard man. What was Pauls idea of God? He uses an exquisitely tenderword in telling us his conception of God, the Father of Jesus! Listen to his jubilantsaying: He loved me, and gave Himself for me. Was he afraid of Him? The fear of theLord is to hate evil. Why, then, to fear the Lord is not to be afraid of the Lord, but to beafraid of sin. The fear of God is the God-begotten fear of sin. Beware of any conception ofGod which does not create in you a fear and hatred of sin. That is the only fear whichGod wishes our hearts to keep. Any other fear is powerless to accomplish His will. Menmay be afraid of God, and yet may love their sins; and that is not living in the fear of theLord! Now, how can we obtain this sensitiveness which will recoil with acute fear fromall sin? You remember when Peters eyes were opened to behold the foulness of sin, howhe cried, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. He had seen the King in Hisbeauty, and he felt the awfulness and the fearfulness of sin. (J. H. Jowett, M. A.)Perfecting holinessI. Our business on earth is to act with our Lord in heaven in attaining completedeliverance from sin. One great reason why many Christians come so far short of whatGod requires is, because they do not aim at, or care for, any eminent degree ofsanctification. They are satisfied with a decent mediocrity in the service of God, andaspire to nothing more than abstinence from grosser inconsistencies. How unlike is theirspirit to that of St. Paul, who, after years of earnest endeavour, is still found exclaiming,I count not myself to have apprehended, etc. If you ask an unfailing test of a truebeliever, it is that he is always aiming after higher attainments in the Divine life. Nowwhat destruction is it to all such attainments to have in our minds the conclusion that itis not necessary to aspire after any very extraordinary sanctity. If one aims not high hecannot shoot high. Your attainments in holiness are proportionate to the standard youhave adopted. The soul that pants not to be like God can be none of His.II. The means of attaining it is1. Mutual exhortation. The Word of God speaks frequently of exhorting oneanother. When I am in the country, I find that my watch is apt to get very much outof the way; but when I am in the city, where there is a dial-plate on every church, allregulated by a good standard, I am reminded of the incorrectness of my time if itvaries, and set it right by that of others. So Christians, where they are faithful in theirintercourse, regulate themselves by the common standard of Gods Word, and helpto regulate each other.2. Faithfulness in private prayer. This is the thermometer of your souls, suspendedin your closet of devotion, and as it stands so is it with you in the sight of God. Lookat it by day, and see how it is between you and your God.3. Gladness in service. We must not set about our religious duties as a sick man doesabout his worldly employments, without life, relish, or vigour. God loathes alukewarm service. Do not let your devotions be like the turning of a chariot-wheelthat needs oiling, betraying its every motion by a painful creaking and labouredprogress; but as that which revolves on the moistened and well-polished axle, silent,swift, and with scarce an effort. Love makes all labours light.4. Watchfulness against everything which is opposed to the smallest whisper ofconscience. The finer and more perfect the instrument, the more carefully must it be 16. kept for the work to be done with it. The heavy cleaver may be knocked about againstwood and stone, but the surgeons implements must be nicely locked, where nothingshall dim their polish or blunt their edge. Conscience must not be blunted if wewould have its office faithfully performed. Sensual appetites, engrossing worldliness,and especially evil tempers, indulged, will ever prevent any high attainments inholiness. All the prayer in the world would never make one eminent in holiness whohabitually gives way afterwards to evil tempers. To kindle devotion in the closet, andexpose it to the gusts of unhallowed tempers would be like lighting a candle in thehouse and carrying it out into the wind of the open air. We must shield the flamewith watchfulness which we kindle by prayer. (W. H. Lewis, D. D.)7. EBC, THIS is one of the most peculiar passages in the New Testament. Even acareless reader must feel that there is something abrupt and unexpected in it; it jolts themind as a stone on the road does a carriage-wheel. Paul has been begging theCorinthians to treat him with the same love and confidence which he has always shownto them, and he urges this claim upon them up to 2Co_6:13. Then comes this passageabout the relation of Christians to the world. Then again, at 2Co_7:2 -Open your heartsto us; we wronged no man, we corrupted no man, we took advantage of no man-hereturns to the old subject without the least mark of transition. If everything wereomitted from 2Co_6:14 to 2Co_7:1 inclusive, the continuity both of thought and feelingwould be much more striking. This consideration alone has induced many scholars tobelieve that these verses do not occupy their original place. The ingenious suggestion hasbeen made that they are a fragment of the letter to which the Apostle refers in the FirstEpistle: (2Co_5:9) the sentiment, and to some extent even the words, favor thisconjecture. But as there is no external authority for any conjecture whatever, and novariation in the text, such suggestions can never become conclusive. It is always possiblethat, on reading over his letter, the Apostle himself may have inserted a paragraphbreaking to some extent the closeness of the original connection. If there is nothing inthe contents of the section inconsistent with his mind, the breach of continuity is notenough to discredit it.Some, however, have gone further than this. They have pointed to the strange formulaeof quotation-as God said, saith the Lord, saith the Lord Almighty-as unlike Paul.Even the main idea of the passage-touch not any unclean thing-is asserted to be atvariance with his principles. A narrow Jewish Christian might, it is said, have expressedthis shrinking from what is unclean, in the sense of being associated with idolatry, butnot the great Apostle of liberty. At all events he would have taken care, in giving such anadvice under special circumstances, to safeguard the principle of freedom. And, finally,an argument is drawn from language. The only point at which it is even plausible is thatwhich touches upon the use of the terms flesh and spirit in 2Co_7:1. Schmiedel, whohas an admirable excursus on the whole question, decides that this, and this only, iscertainly un-Pauline. It is certainly unusual in Paul, but I do not think we can say more.The rigor and vigor with which Pauls use of these terms is investigated seems to melargely misplaced. They did undoubtedly tend to become technical in his mind, butwords so universally and so vaguely used could never become simply technical. If anycontemporary of Paul could have written, Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilementof flesh and spirit, then Paul himself could have written it. Language offers the samelatitudes and liberties to everybody, and one could not imagine a subject which temptedless to technicality than the one urged in these verses. Whatever the explanation of theirapparently irrelevant insertion here, I can see nothing in them alien to Paul. Puritanism 17. is certainly more akin to the Old Testament than to the New, and that may explain theinstinctiveness with which the writer seems to turn to the law and the prophets, and theabundance of his quotations; but though all things are lawful to the Christian,Puritanism has a place in the New Testament too. There is no conception of holinessinto which the idea of separation does not enter; and though the balance of elementsmay vary in the New Testament as compared with the Old, none can be wanting. Fromthis point of view we can best examine the meaning and application of the passage. If aconnection is craved, the best, I think, is that furnished by a combination of Calvin andMeyer. Quasi recuperata auctoritate, says Calvin, liberius jam eos objurgat: thissupplies a link of feeling between vv. 13 and 14 (2Co_6:13-14). A link of thought issupplied if we consider with Meyer that inattention to the rule of life here laid down wasa notable cause of receiving the grace of God in vain (2Co_7:1). Let us notice(1) the moral demand of the passage;(2) the assumption on which it rests;(3) the Divine promise which inspires its observance.(1) The moral demand is first put in the negative form: Be not unequally yoked withunbelievers. The peculiar word (unequally yoked) has a cognate formin Lev_19:19, in the law which forbids the breeding of hybrid animals. God hasestablished a good physical order in the world, and it is not to be confounded anddisfigured by the mixing of species. It is that law (or perhaps another form of it in Deu_22:10, forbidding an Israelite to plough with an ox and an ass under the same yoke) thatis applied in an ethical sense in this passage. There is a wholesome moral order in theworld also, and it is not to be confused by the association of its different kinds. Thecommon application of this text to the marriage of Christians and non-Christians islegitimate, but too narrow. The text prohibits every kind of union in which the separatecharacter and interest of the Christian lose anything of their distinctiveness andintegrity. This is brought out more strongly in the free quotation from Isa_52:2 in 2Co_6:17 : Come out from among them, and be separate, saith the Lord, and touch notanything unclean. These words were originally addressed to the priests who, on theredemption of Israel from Babylon, were to carry the sacred temple vessels back toJerusalem. But we must remember that, though they are Old Testament words, they arequoted by a New Testament writer, who inevitably puts his own meaning into them.The unclean thing which no Christian is to touch is not to be taken in a preciseLevitical sense; it covers, and I have no doubt was intended by the writer to cover, allthat it suggests to any simple Christian mind now. We are to have no compromisingconnection with anything in the world which is alien to God. Let us be as loving andconciliatory as we please, but as long as the world is what it is, the Christian life can onlymaintain itself in it in an attitude of protest. There always will be things and people towhom the Christian has to say No!But the moral demand of the passage is put in a more positive form in the last verse: Letus cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fearof God. That is the ideal of the Christian life. There is something to be overcome andput away; there is something to be wrought out and completed; there is a spiritualelement or atmosphere-the fear of God-in which alone these tasks can be accomplished.The fear of God is an Old Testament name for true religion, and even under the NewTestament it holds its place. The Seraphim still veil their faces while they cry Holy, holy,holy is the Lord of Hosts, and still we must feel that great awe descend upon our heartsif we would be partakers of His holiness. It is this which withers up sin to the root, and 18. enables us to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit. St. Paul includeshimself in his exhortation here: it is one duty, one ideal, which is set before all. Theprompt decisive side of it is represented in (let US cleanse: observe theaorist); its patient laborious side in (carrying holiness tocompletion.) Almost everybody in a Christian Church makes a beginning with this task:we cleanse ourselves from obvious and superficial defilements; but how few carry thework on into the spirit, how few carry it on ceaselessly towards perfection. As year afteryear rolls by, as the various experiences of life come to us with their lessons and theirdiscipline from God, as we see the lives of others, here sinking ever deeper and deeperinto the corruptions of the world, there rising daily nearer and nearer to the perfectholiness which is their goal, does not this demand assert its power over us? Is it not agreat thing, a worthy thing, that we should set ourselves to purge away from our wholenature, outward and inward, whatever cannot abide the holy eye of God; and that weshould regard Christian holiness, not as a subject for casual thoughts once a week, but asthe task to be taken up anew, with unwearying diligence, every day we live? Let us be inearnest with this, for surely God is in earnest.(2) Observe now the assumption on which the demand not to be unequally yoked withunbelievers is based. It is that there are two ethical or spiritual interests in the world,and that these are fundamentally inconsistent with each other. This implies that inchoosing the one, the other has to be rejected. But it implies more: it implies that atbottom there are only two kinds of people in the world-those who identify themselveswith the one of these interests, and those who identify themselves with the other.Now, as long as this is kept in the abstract form, people do not quarrel with it. They haveno objection to admit that good and evil are the only spiritual forces in the world, andthat they are mutually exclusive. But many will not admit that there are only two kinds ofpersons in the world, answering to these two forces. They would rather say there is onlyone kind of persons, in whom these forces are with infinite varieties and modificationscombined. This seems more tolerant, more humane, more capable of explaining theamazing mixtures and inconsistencies we see in human lives. But it is not more true. It isa more penetrating insight which judges that every man-despite his range of neutrality-wouldin the last resort choose his side; would, in short, in a crisis of the proper kind,prove finally that he was not good and bad, but good or bad. We cannot pretend to judgeothers, but sometimes men judge themselves, and always God can judge. And there is aninstinct in those who are perfecting holiness in the fear of God which tells them, withoutin the least making them Pharisaical, not only what things, but what persons-not onlywhat ideas and practices, but what individual characters-are not to be made friends of. Itis no pride, or scorn, or censoriousness, which speaks thus, but the voice of all Christianexperience. It is recognized at once where the young are concerned: people are careful ofthe friends their children make, and a schoolmaster will dismiss inexorably, not only abad habit, but a bad boy, from the school. It ought to be recognized just as easily inmaturity as in childhood: there are men and women, as well as boys and girls, whodistinctly represent evil, and whose society is to be declined. To protest against them, torepel them, to resent their life and conduct as morally offensive, is a Christian duty; it isthe first step towards evangelizing them.It is worth noticing in the passage before us how the Apostle, starting from abstractideas, descends, as he becomes more urgent, into personal relations. What fellowshiphave righteousness and lawlessness? None. What communion has light with darkness?None. What concord has Christ with Belial? Here the persons come in who are theheads, or representatives, of the opposing moral interests, and it is only now that we feel 19. the completeness of the antagonism. The interest of holiness is gathered up in Christ;the interest of evil in the great adversary; and they have nothing in common. And so withthe believer and the unbeliever. Of course there is ground on which they can meet: thesame sun shines on them, the same soil supports them, they breathe the same air. But inall that is indicated by those two names-believer and unbeliever-they stand quite apart;and the distinction thus indicated reaches deeper than any bond of union. It is notdenied that the unbeliever may have much that is admirable about him: and for thebeliever the one supremely important thing in the world is that which the unbelieverdenies, and therefore the more he is in earnest the less can he afford the unbelieversfriendship. We need all the help we can get to fight the good fight of faith, and to perfectholiness in the fear of God; and a friend whose silence numbs faith, or whose wordstrouble it, is a friend no earnest Christian dare keep. Words like these would not seem sohard if the common faith of Christians were felt to be a real bond of union among them,and if the recoil from the unbelieving world were seen to be the action of the wholeChristian society, the instinct of self-preservation in the new Christian life. But, atwhatever risk of seeming harsh, it must be repeated that there has never been a state ofaffairs in the world in which the commandment had no meaning. Come out fromamong them, and be ye separate; nor an obedience to this commandment which did notinvolve separation from persons as well as from principles.(3) But what bulks most largely in the passage is the series of divine promises which areto inspire and sustain obedience. The separations which an earnest Christian liferequires are not without their compensation; to leave the world is to be welcomed byGod. It is probable that the pernicious association which the writer had immediately inview was association with the heathen in their worship, or at least in their sacrificialfeasts. At all events it is the inconsistency of this with the worship of the true God thatforms the climax of his expostulation-What agreement hath a temple of God with idols?and it is to this, again, that the encouraging promises are attached. We, says theApostle, are a temple of the living God. This carries with it all that he has claimed: for atemple means a house in which God dwells, and God can only dwell in a holy place.Pagans and Jews alike recognized the sanctity of their temples: nothing was guardedmore jealously; nothing, if violated, was more promptly and terribly avenged. Paul hadseen the day when he gave his vote to shed the blood of a man who had spokendisrespectfully of the Temple at Jerusalem, and the day was coming when he himself wasto run the risk of his life on the mere suspicion that he had taken a pagan into the holyplace. He expects Christians to be as much in earnest as Jews who keep the sanctity ofGods house inviolate; and now, he says, that house are we: it is ourselves we have tokeep unspotted from the world.We are Gods temple in accordance with the central promise of the old covenant: as Godsaid, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be Mypeople. The original of this is Lev_26:2; Lev_26:12. The Apostle, as has been observedalready, takes the Old Testament words in a New Testament sense: as they stand here inSecond Corinthians they mean something much more intimate and profound than intheir old place in Leviticus. But even there, he tells us, they are a promise to us. WhatGod speaks, He speaks to His people, and speaks once for all. And if the divine presencein the camp of Israel-a presence represented by the Ark and its tent-was to consecratethat nation to Jehovah, and inspire them with zeal to keep the camp clean, that nothingmight offend the eyes of His glory, how much more ought those whom God has visited inHis Son, those in whom He dwells through His Spirit, to cleanse themselves from everydefilement, and make their souls fit for His habitation? After repeating the charge tocome out and be separate, the writer heaps up new promises, in which the letter and the 20. spirit of various Old Testament passages are freely combined. The principal one seems tobe 2Sa_7:1-29, which contains the promises originally made to Solomon. At 2Sa_7:14 ofthat chapter we have the idea of the paternal and filial relation, and at 2Sa_7:8 thespeaker is described in the LXX, as here, as the Lord Almighty. But passages like Jer_31:1; Jer_31:9, also doubtless floated through the writers mind, and it is the substance,not the form, which is the main thing. The very freedom with which they are reproducedshows us how thoroughly the writer is at home, and how confident he is that he ismaking the right and natural application of these ancient promises.Separate yourselves, for you are Gods temple: separate yourselves and you will be sonsand daughters of the Lord Almighty, and He will be your Father. Haec una ratio instarmille esse debet. The friendship of the world, as James reminds us, is enmity with God;it is the consoling side of the same truth that separation from the world meansfriendship with God. It does not mean solitude, but a more blessed society; notrenunciation of love, but admission to the only love which satisfies the soul, because thatfor which the soul was made. The Puritanism of the New Testament is no harsh,repellent thing, which eradicates the affections, and makes life bleak and barren; it is thecondition under which the heart is opened to the love of God, and filled with all comfortand joy in obedience. With Him on our side-with the promise of His indwelling Spirit tosanctify us, of His fatherly kindness to enrich and protect us-shall we not obey theexhortation to come out and be separate, to cleanse ourselves from all that defiles, toperfect holiness in His fear?Pauls Joy Over the Churchs Repentance2 Make room for us in your hearts. We havewronged no one, we have corrupted no one, wehave exploited no one.1. BARES, Receive us - Tyndale renders this: understand us. The word usedhere ( chrsate) means properly, give space, place, or room; and it means hereevidently, make place or room for us in your affections; that is, admit or receive us asyour friends. It is an earnest entreaty that they would do what he had exhorted them todo in 2Co_6:13; see the note on that verse. From that he had digressed in the close of thelast chapter. He here returns to the subject and asks an interest in their affections andtheir love.We have wronged no man - We have done injustice to no man. This is given as areason why they should admit him to their full confidence and affection. It is notimprobable that he had been charged with injuring the incestuous person by the severediscipline which he had found it necessary to inflict on him; note, 1Co_5:5. This chargewould not improbably be brought against him by the false teachers in Corinth. But Paulhere says, that whatever was the severity of the discipline, he was conscious of havingdone injury to no member of that church. It is possible, however, that he does not here 21. refer to any such charge, but that he says in general that he had done no injury, and thatthere was no reason why they should not receive him to their entire confidence. It arguesgreat consciousness of integrity when a man who has spent a considerable time, as Paulhad, with others, is able to say that he had wronged no man in any way. Paul could nothave made this solemn declaration unless he was certain he had lived a very blamelesslife; compare Act_20:33.We have corrupted no man - This means that he had corrupted no man in hismorals, either by his precept or his example. The word ( phtheir) means ingeneral to bring into a worse state or condition, and is very often applied to morals. Theidea is, here, that Paul had not by his precept or example made any man the worse. Hehad not corrupted his principles or his habits, or led him into sin.We have defrauded no man - We have taken no mans property by cunning, bytrick, or by deception. The word pleonekte means literally to have morethan another, and then to take advantage, to seek unlawful gain, to circumvent, defraud,deceive. The idea is, that Paul had taken advantage of no circumstances to extort moneyfrom them, to overreach them, or to cheat them. It is the conviction of a man who wasconscious that he had lived honestly, and who could appeal to them all as full proof thathis life among them had been blameless.2, CLARKE, Receive us - :. This address is variously understood.Receive us into your affections - love us as we love you. Receive us as your apostles andteachers; we have given you full proof that God hath both sent and owned us. Receive,comprehend, what we now say to you, and carefully mark it.We have wronged no man - We have never acted contrary to the strictest justice.We have corrupted no man - With any false doctrine or pernicious opinion.We have defrauded no man - Of any part of his property. But what have your falseteachers done? They have beguiled you from the simplicity of the truth, and thuscorrupted your minds. 2Co_11:3. They have brought you into bondage; they have takenof you; devoured you; exalted themselves against you, and ye have patiently suffered allthis. 2Co_11:20. It is plain that he refers here to the false apostle or teacher which theyhad among them.3. GILL, Receive us,.... Into your affections, let us have a place in your hearts, as youhave in ours: Gospel ministers ought to be received with love and respect, both into thehearts and houses of the saints; for he that receiveth you, says Christ, receiveth me,Mat_10:40. Their doctrines are to be received in the love of them, and with faith andmeekness; and this may be another part of the apostle's meaning here; receive the wordand ministry of reconciliation, which we as the ambassadors of Christ bring, and theseveral exhortations we give in his name, particularly the last mentioned: next followreasons, or arguments, engaging, them to comply with this request,we have wronged no man; we have done no man any injury in his person, estate, orname. There is one among you that has done wrong, and another among you that hassuffered wrong, 2Co_7:12 and we have given very faithful advice to the church how tobehave in this affair; but, in so doing, we have neither wronged him nor you; and as not 22. in this, so neither in any other case: if I or my fellow apostles have wronged you inanything, it is in not being burdensome to you for our maintenance, forgive me thiswrong, 2Co_12:13 for in no other respect have we done you any: some understand thisof any lordly power, or tyrannical domination they had exercised over them, denied bythe apostle; we have not behaved in an insolent manner towards you, we have not lordedit over God's heritage, or claimed any dominion over your faith, or required anyunreasonable obedience and submission from you:we have corrupted no man; neither by our doctrines and principles, which areperfectly agreeable to the word of God, make for the good of souls, and tend to the gloryof Christ; nor by our example, but have been careful to lead such lives and conversationsas are becoming the Gospel of Christ, adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, and arepatterns to them that believe; nor have we corrupted by flatteries, or with bribes, any ofthe leading men among you, in order to gain their good will, and thereby respect andcredit among others:we have defrauded no man, or coveted no man; no man's silver, gold, or apparel;we have not sought yours, but you; not to amass wealth to ourselves, but that we mightbe useful to your souls, for your spiritual good, and serviceable to the glory of Christ; wehave not through covetousness made merchandise of you, with feigned words, as thefalse apostles have done, therefore receive us.4. HERY, To show a due regard to the ministers of the gospel: Receive us, 2Co_7:2.Those who labour in the word and doctrine should be had in reputation, and be highlyesteemed for their work's sake: and this would be a help to making progress in holiness.If the ministers of the gospel are thought contemptible because of their office, there isdanger lest the gospel itself be contemned also. The apostle did not think it anydisparagement to court the favour of the Corinthians; and, though we must flatter none,yet we must be gentle towards all. He tells them, 1. He had done nothing to forfeit theiresteem and good-will, but was cautious not to do any thing to deserve their ill-will (2Co_7:2): We have wronged no man: we have done you no harm, but always designed yourgood. I have coveted no man's silver, nor gold, nor apparel, said he to the elders ofEphesus, Act_20:33. We have corrupted no man, by false doctrines or flatteringspeeches. We have defrauded no man; we have not sought ourselves, nor to promoteour own secular interests by crafty and greedy measures, to the damage of any persons.This is an appeal like that of Samuel, 1 Sa. 12. Note, Then may ministers the moreconfidently expect esteem and favour from the people when they can safely appeal tothem that they are guilty of nothing that deserves disesteem or displeasure.5. JAMISO, Receive us with enlarged hearts (2Co_6:13).we have wronged ... corrupter ... defrauded no man (compare 2Co_7:9).This is the ground on which he asks their reception of (making room for) him in theirhearts. We wronged none by an undue exercise of apostolic authority; 2Co_7:13 gives aninstance in point. We have corrupted none, namely, by beguilements and flatteries, whilepreaching another Gospel, as the false teachers did (2Co_11:3, 2Co_11:4). We havedefrauded none by making a gain of you (2Co_12:17). Modestly he leaves them tosupply the positive good which he had done; suffering all things himself that they mightbe benefited (2Co_7:9, 2Co_7:12; 2Co_12:13).5B. CALVIN, Make room for us. Again he returns from a statement of doctrine to 23. treat of what more especially concerns himself, but simply with this intention that hemay not lose his pains in admonishing the Corinthians. Nay more, he closes thepreceding admonition with the same statement, which he had made use of by way ofpreface. For what is meant by the expressions Receive us, or Make room for us? It isequivalent to, Be ye enlarged, (2 Corinthians 6:13;) that is, Do not allow corruptaffections, or unfavorable apprehensions, to prevent this doctrine from making its wayinto your minds, and obtaining a place within you. For as I lay myself out for yoursalvation with a fatherly zeal, it were unseemly that you should turn a deaf ear 630 uponme. 631We have done injury to no man. He declares that there is no reason why they shouldhave their minds alienated, 632 inasmuch as he had not given them occasion of offensein any thing. Now he mentions three kinds of offenses, as to which he declares himself tobe guiltless. The first is, manifest hurt or injury. The second is, the corruption thatsprings from false doctrine. The third is, defrauding or cheating in worldly goods. Theseare three things by which, for the most part, pastors 633 are wont to alienate the mindsof the people from them when they conduct themselves in an overbearing manner,and, making their authority their pretext, break forth into tyrannical cruelty orunreasonableness, or when they draw aside from the right path those to whom theyought to have been guides, and infect them with the corruption of false doctrine, orwhen they manifest an insatiable covetousness, by eagerly desiring what belongs toanother. Should any one wish to have it in shorter compass-the first is, fierceness and anabuse of power by excessive insolence 634 the second, unfaithfulness in teaching. thethird, avarice.6. EBC, REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE.IN this fine passage St. Paul completes, as far as it lay upon his side to do so, hisreconciliation with the Corinthians. It concludes the first great division of his SecondEpistle, and henceforth we hear no more of the sinner censured so severely in the First.(2Co_5:1-21) But see on 2Co_2:5-11, or of the troubles which arose in the Church overthe disciplinary treatment of his sin. The end of a quarrel between friends is like thepassing away of a storm; the elements are meant to be at peace with each other, andnature never looks so lovely as in the clear shining after rain. The effusion of feeling inthis passage, so affectionate and unreserved; the sense that the storm-clouds have nomore than left the sky, yet that fair weather has begun, make it conspicuously beautifuleven in the writings of St. Paul.He begins by resuming the appeal interrupted at 2Co_6:13. He has charged theCorinthians with being straitened in their own affections: distrust and calumny havenarrowed their souls, nay, shut them against him altogether. Receive us, he exclaimshere-i.e., open your hearts to us. You have no cause to be reserved: we wronged no man,ruined no man, took advantage of no man. Such charges had doubtless been madeagainst him. The point of the last is clear from 2Co_12:16-18 : he had been accused ofmaking money out of his apostolic work among them. The other words are less precise,especially the one rendered corrupted, which should perhaps be rather explained, as in1Co_3:17, destroyed. Paul has not wronged or ruined any one in Corinth. Of course, hisGospel made serious demands upon people: it insisted on readiness to make sacrifices,and on actual sacrifice besides; it proceeded with extreme severity against sinners likethe incestuous man; it entailed obligations, as we shall presently hear, to help the pooreven of distant lands; and then, as still, such claims might easily be resented as ruinousor unjust. St. Paul simply denies the charge. He does not retort it; it is not his object to 24. condemn those whom he loves so utterly. He has told them already that they are in hisheart to die together and to live together (2Co_6:2); and when this is so, there is noplace for recrimination or bandying of reproaches. He is full of confidence in them; hecan freely make his boast of them. He has had affliction enough, but over it all he hasbeen filled with consolation; even as he writes, his joy overflows (observe the present:).That word-ye are in our hearts to die together and to live together-is the key to all thatfollows. It has suffered much at the hands of grammarians, for whom it has undeniableperplexities; but vehement emotion may be permitted to be in some degree inarticulate,and we can always feel, even if we cannot demonstrate, what it means. Your image inmy heart accompanies me in death and life, is as nearly as possible what the Apostlesays; and if the order of the words is unusual-for life would naturally stand first-thatmay be due to the fact, so largely represented in 2Co_4:1-18., that his life was a series ofdeadly perils, and of ever-renewed deliverances from them, a daily dying and a dailyresurrection, through all the vicissitudes of which the Corinthians never lost their placein his heart. More artificial interpretations only obscure the intensity of that love whichunited the Apostle to his converts. It is leveled here, unconsciously, no doubt, but all themore impressively, with the love which God in Christ Jesus our Lord bears to Hisredeemed. I am persuaded, St. Paul writes to the Romans, that neither death nor lifecan separate us from that. You may be assured, he writes here to the Corinthians,that neither death nor life can separate you from my love. The reference of death andlife is of course different, but the strength of conviction and of emotion is the same inboth cases. St. Pauls heart is pledged irrevocably and irreversibly to the Church. In thedeep feeling that he is theirs, he has an assurance that they also are his. The love withwhich he loves them is bound to prevail; nay, it has prevailed, and he can hardly findwords to express his joy. En qualiter affectos esse omnes Pastores conveniat (Calvin).The next three verses carry us back to 2Co_2:12 ft., and resume the story which wasinterrupted there at 2Co_2:14. The sudden thanksgiving of that passage-so eager andimpetuous that it left the writer no time to tell what he was thankful for-is explainedhere. Titus, whom he had expected to see in Troas, arrived at length, probably fromPhilippi, and brought with him the most cheering news. Paul was sadly in need of it. Hisflesh had no rest: the use of the perfect () almost conveys the feeling that hebegan to write whenever he got the news, so that up to this moment the strain hadcontinued. The fights without were probably assaults upon himself, or the Churches, ofthe nature of persecution; the fears within, his anxieties about the state of morals, or ofGospel truth, in the Christian communities. Outworn and depressed, burdened both inbody and mind, (cf. the expressions in 2Co_2:13 and 2Co_7:5) he was suddenly lifted onhigh by the arrival and the news of Titus. Here again, as in 2Co_2:14, he ascribes all toGod. It was He whose very nature it is to comfort the lowly who so graciously comfortedhim. Titus apparently had gone himself with a sad and apprehensive heart to Corinth; hehad been away longer than he had anticipated, and in the interval St. Pauls anxiety hadrisen to anguish; but in Corinth his reception had been unexpectedly favorable, andwhen he returned he was able to console his master with a consolation which hadalready gladdened his own heart. Paul was not only comforted, his sorrow was turnedinto joy, as he listened to Titus telling of the longing, of the Corinthians to see him, oftheir mourning over the pain they had given him by their tolerance for suchirregularities as that of the incestuous man or the unknown insulter of the Apostle, andof their eagerness to satisfy him and maintain his authority. The word your () in 25. 2Co_7:7 has a certain emphasis which suggests a contrast. Before Titus went to Corinth,it was Paul who had been anxious to see them, who had mourned over their immorallaxity, who had been passionately interested in vindicating the character of the Churchhe had founded; now it is they who are full of longing to see him, of grief, and of moralearnestness; and it is this which explains his joy. The conflict between the powers ofgood in one great and passionate soul, and the powers of evil in a lax and ficklecommunity, has ended in favor of the good; Pauls vehemence has prevailed againstCorinthian indifference, and made it vehement also in all good affections, and he rejoicesnow in the joy of his Lord.Then comes the most delicate part of this reconciliation (2Co_7:8-12). It is a good rule inmaking up disputes to let bygones be bygones, as far as possible; there may be a littlespark hidden here and there under what seem dead ashes, and there is no gain in rakingup the ashes, and giving the spark a chance to blaze again. But this is a good rule onlybecause we are bad men, and because reconciliation is seldom allowed to have its perfectwork. We feel, and say, after we have quarreled with a person and been reconciled, that itcan never be the same again. But this ought not to be so; and if we were perfect in love,or ardent in love at all, it would not be so. If we were in one anothers hearts, to dietogether and to live together, we should retrace the past together in the very act of beingreconciled; and all its misunderstandings and bitterness and badness, instead of lyinghidden in us as matter of recrimination for some other day when we are tempted, wouldadd to the sincerity, the tenderness, and the spirituality of our love.The Apostle sets us an example here, of the rarest and most difficult virtue, when he goesback upon the story of his relations with the Corinthians, and makes the bitter stockyield sweet and wholesome fruit.The whole result is in his mind when he writes, Although I made you sorry with theletter, I do not regret it. The letter is, on the simplest hypothesis, the First Epistle; andthough no one would willingly speak to his friends as Paul in some parts of that Epistlespeaks to the Corinthians, he cannot pretend that he wishes it unwritten. Although I didregret it, he goes on, now I rejoice. He regretted it, we must understand, before Tituscame back from Corinth. In that melancholy interval, all he saw was that the letter madethem sorry; it was bound to do so, even if it should only be temporarily: but his heartsmote him for making them sorry at all. It vexed him to vex them. No doubt this is theplain truth he is telling them, and it is hard to see why it should have been regarded asinconsistent with his apostolic inspiration. He did not cease to have a living soul becausehe was inspired; and if in his despondency it crossed his mind to say, That letter willonly grieve them, he must have said in the same instant, I wish I had never written it.But both impulses were momentary only; he has heard now the whole effect of his letter,and rejoices that he wrote it. Not, of course, that they wer