In His first epistle to the Church of God at Corinth the Apostle Paul was writing to God’s “saints” (holy ones) who were “sanctified (set aside) in Christ Jesus” (1:2).  God’s people are holy people, meaning that they believe and obey Him.  Christ Jesus is the Holy One after Whom His saints pattern their lives/”walk”–what they think, say and do.  They have been set aside to serve as His light (singular) to those around them.  All saints obey the same Gospel.  There are “no divisions (denominations/faiths, etc.) within God’s church (1 Cor. 110.  Note that saints are sanctified IN Christ Jesus.  Spiritually they are IN him, and “IN HIM there is no darkness (sin) at all” (1 Jn. 1:5).  Those who claim to be “in Him,” who claim to be putting forth His light while continuing to sin are producing false light, which Jesus calls “great darkness” (Mat. 6:23).

God set His people apart from Satan’s people just as He set Himself apart from Satan.  God, speaking through Paul in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 makes it clear that He (God) has no relationship with Satan, and that His people have no relationship with Satan’s people, many of whom, Scripture tells us, are members of God’s church.  In 6:17 He commands that His saints separate themselves from all false Christians in the church and have nothing more to do with them.  Either false Christians leave or God’s people leave.  Then (and only then) He will receive them.  Then (and only then) He will be their God.  Then (and only then) they will be His true children (vs 18).  In the next verse (7:1), the Lord makes clear the extent to which one must separate oneself spiritually from any and all who are not holy.  He states that, once separated from the unholy ones, the saint must first “cleanse himself of all filthiness of the flesh” (sin).  The saint must identify and get rid of all false teachings, customs, etc. embraced by false Christians.  He must do so “by the washing by the water by the Word” (Eph. 5:26).  See the Introduction to this website for a list of such beliefs and practices.  Following this, the cleansed believer must “perfect (personal) holiness in the fear of God.”  He must “go on (grow) unto perfection” (Heb. 6:1) through diligent study of His Word and obeying what he learns.  In his letter to the Apostle Titus (2:12) Paul wrote that we must: “LIVE SOBERLY, RIGHTEOUSLY AND GODLY IN THIS PRESENT WORLD.”  We must be in this world but must not be of this world.

God’s people cannot separate themselves from the world physically.  They have families, jobs, etc. which necessitate being in physical, sometimes close physical contact with Satan’s people.  As Paul said, in order to have no physical contact with the world one would have to leave it. However, spiritually they are to “touch not that unclean thing”–the false church.

The question is, how does one obey God while being “compassed about (surrounded) by (spiritual) infirmities (temptations, tests, etc.) as Jesus was (Heb. 5:2).  At this point we are going to delve into a passage of Scripture that has been summarily rejected by the vast majority within professing Christendom–Hebrews 5:7-9.  Here we are told that our perfect example–Jesus of Nazareth–was a human being like all other human beings, having no advantage over them (Heb. 4:15).  He to walk in holiness he had to rely on help from on high just as does any other man.  He knew that sin produced death (Rom. 6:23).  When faced with trials and temptations from Satan He approached the throne of grace with “strong crying and tears to Him Who was able to save Him from (spiritual) death” which sin produces.  He knew that if He sinned He would fail in His mission.  His prayers were answered.  Why?  “and (He) was heard BECAUSE HE FEARED (GOD),” not because He was God’s Son (Heb. 5:7).  Jesus knew that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1:7).  Man obeys the one he fears.  Fear of God produces wisdom.  Wisdom produces obedience to Him.  Obedience to Him produces eternal life.  Jesus had ultimate fear of, and faith in, God.  However, He knew that fear of and faith in God were not enough.  He knew that to complete His mission He had to obey the Commissioner.  Are we better than Jesus?  Can we sin, fail to fulfill our commission and still receive eternal life.  Sinners Saved By Grace think so.

The question now becomes: “HOW DID JESUS REACH THAT POINT OF SPIRITUALITY?”  Verse seven tells us: “He LEARNED OBEDIENCE by the things (infirmities/temptations/trials) that He suffered.  And being MADE PERFECT (by overcoming them), HE BECAME the author of eternal salvation for all who OBEY HIM” (vs 9), not for all who believe in Him, go to church, pray, study, fast, witness, preach, baptize, etc.  Notice that Jesus was MADE PERFECT by obeying God.  We are commanded to “walk as He (Jesus) walked” (1 Jn. 2:6) so that we can spend eternity with Him Who walked the walk of His heavenly Father by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Only those who “… overcome (Satan) as I (Jesus) overcame (him) will sit with me on My throne” in the Kingdom of God (Rev. 3:21).  Jesus walked in holiness by believing and obeying God’s Words.  Period.  Jesus was not religious.  He walked in obedience to the Holy Spirit which spoke God’s WORDS to Him.  We must follow His lead by doing the same.  Psalm 119 tells us how important God’s Words are to Him.  I recommend a thorough study of that incredible chapter.  When God’s call first came to me He sent me first of all to that chapter.  I learned early on how very important God’s Word is to Him.  The Holy Bible is the will of God in written form.  Jesus was His will manifested in human form.  This is why He could say: “When a man has seen Me, he has seen the Father.”  Can we do what He struggled so hard not to do (sin) and spend eternity with Him?  Read 1 John 3:4-6;16-29 for the answer.

God’s Words comprise His Testimony, His Witness, His LAW OF LIFE which must be obeyed in order to inherit eternal life.  Which brings us back to 1 Corinthians.

In 2:1,2 we find Paul writing to the true saints in the church to whom he had proclaimed “the testimony of God, for I determined to know (and teach) only Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.”  In 1:6 he had told them that “the testimony (Word) of Christ was confirmed in you.”  “Confirm” means to firmly establish.  In verses 5 and 7 Paul states that they had been enriched by him “in all UTTERANCE and in ALL KNOWLEDGE.”  In verse 8 he tells them why: SO THAT THEY WOULD BE FOUND BLAMELESS when they faced Jesus on the Day of Judgment.  Notice that they would not be found blameless for having faith in Jesus, or in believing His Word.  Though Jesus had the greatest of faith in God, He knew had to obey Him.  Notice that Paul had identified the obedient people as “saints” (holy ones) who had been “sanctified” (set aside for holiness)–1:1:2) to whom He had declared the “testimony of God”–His Gospel (1:17).  Notice that the Gospel is called both the “testimony of Christ” and the “testimony of God.”  The testimony of God was what Christ preached and lived as the example of how salvation recipients must live and which His apostles must also preach.  Paul set the perfect example for God’s apostles in their ministry by declaring that he preached “the whole counsel (testimony/witness/will/truth/Gospel) of God” (Acts 20:27).

Paul noted that He received his Gospel directly from Jesus Christ through revelation.  Saul of Tarsus had spent his adult life on the opposite side of God’s will before his encounter with Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road.  He had hated and tried to destroy all that he would later find himself loving and proclaiming–the Gospel of the Kingdom of God which his Lord Jesus proclaimed (Mk. 1:14).  In the following posting we will focus on 1 Corinthians 2:2 and its two-part proclamation, both parts of which must be believed and obeyed.  The result of doing so is righteousness and holiness.  The end result of a walk of righteousness and obedience is eternal life (Rom. 5:21; 6:22).  No amount of churchivity or religiosity can replace obedience to God’s Word.  L.J.