2 Corinthians 6:14-18
~28 min read
TRANSCRIPT
I thank God for this privilege to share to you this morning the Word of God. I pray that the Lord will speak to us. The Spirit of God will convict us of His truth.
And we are going to look into a very familiar passage this morning. And I believe many of you would say you have heard so many times the preaching of this passage and probably you will not be so much interested to listen anymore. But I pray the Lord will help us to have the desire to know more deeply on this passage. A very important passage for all of us. Let me read to you 2 Corinthians 6:14–18.
A very familiar passage of separation, the doctrine of separation. And let us desire to look at it at a different angle, not to devise our own ways of interpretation. But may the Lord help us to see also the other side of this as we are known as separatist. Yes, we are. But we also must see what the Word of God wants us to do in this passage.
Let me read to you 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.
The Word of God says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
Amen. The Lord add His blessings from the reading of His most precious, inspired, and preserved Word.
I. Introduction
The title for our sermon this morning is ye are the temple of the living God. We are very familiar of what is a temple.
It is a place where God told Solomon even had the burden for David to construct during their times. And it was a place where they come to offer sacrifices even to worship the Lord.
A temple was patterned after what they have before when they were told by God to have a tent, a tabernacle, a place where they should remember that God is with them as they walk march from Egypt to the promised land. And that tabernacle was a place for them to know the will of God - whether they have to move or stop - and they have to be there to pray and ask the Lord for His help and blessing. It was a place that signifies the Lord’s presence. It was a place that shows God was with them.
And when they arrived in the promised land, they were told to build a temple that was a replica of the tabernacle. Of course, larger than what has been done as a tent, but it was a place where there was a courtyard in the preparation of the offerings.
And inside a temple, there were a holy place where there was this table for the shewbread. You can see there the candlestick. You can see there some of those materials in preparation for the offering of sacrifices.
And behind this holy place there was a place divided by a curtain. And beyond this curtain was a place called holy of holies. And in that place only the high priest will go in once a year to offer blood sacrifices.
Now here the apostle Paul when he says ‘ye are the temple of the living God’, he was talking not of the whole temple but he was talking of the specific place in that temple - the holy of holies. A place where you can find in those days when they had the ark of the covenant, the very presence of God where no one can enter into that place except the high priest.
And this is the word that apostle Paul used to describe the believers in Corinth.
Now who are the Corinthian believers? Corinth was a place a city in Greece which was quite prominent because it was a center of trade.
In those days it was known that this place, this city had three harbors. And that’s why it attracts both the western and eastern merchants. So it gathers around this place called Corinth.
Although it was second to Athens in Greece. It was known that it surpassed Athens around the 2nd century after the death of our Lord and Saviour. So meaning it was increasing in economic status when Paul went there.
With that state we can somehow imagine a center of trade and business where many people gathered and meet; it was a melting pot for many of the races and many of those businesses and centers were there. Imagine also the presence of entertainment places to provide pleasure to these rich and wealthy people.
And so it was rampant in that place. So much so that wicked and evil people who are bent on alcoholism and prostitution were known in those times as a person who is a Corinth.
If you are known or made known as a Corinth or a Corinthian - that did not represent a wealthy person, a businessman or whatever. It represents a person who is engaged with these pleasures and entertainments of the world. And that was Corinth.
And if you have read also the first and second Corinthians, you can understand that. Although Paul stayed in that place quite long because God wanted him to stay there. And he wanted to evangelize and reach out for many Jews - you know Jews they are always converging and gathering in places where there are trades and businesses, just like New York of today.
So there were many Jews at that place and so Paul wanted to reach out to them. But the Jews rejected him and so he went to the Gentiles and the church in Corinth was mostly non-Jews. They were Gentiles.
And being Gentiles, even though they came to the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and were born again, they were regenerated, there were still parts of their lives influenced by the things around them.
And so we see in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians how they were so influenced by politics around. They still have to have one man to follow. I am of Apollos. I am of Cephas. And they were looking at people on their qualities, their eloquence.
Paul, this is just good in writing. When he comes to us in preaching, he is nothing. We don’t want to hear him. Oh, this Paul is not an apostle, is accusing him.
You know of how a believer, a part of the church was involved with the wife of his father. We know of how they abused the gifts of the Spirit of God, speaking in tongues and others. We know of how they were so quarreling.
They were so quarrelome that they cannot solve it within the church that they have to go outside and seek for the counsel and judgment of the secular world, the unbelieving judges to settle their own problems in the church. That is Corinth.
But in spite of that, we know Paul addressed them as saints, brethren, beloved. And so he wants them now to understand the very purpose why God saved them, why God separated them, why God regenerated them.
And in this passage I pray that the Lord will speak to us also. We may not be people of Corinth but somehow we can associate also with this kind of people, being influenced by the world and we come into the church still with the mindset of the world and that’s why there are still some factions and divisions and quarrels. All because our world view is still of that in the outside world, not of the biblical view.
And in order for us to be cleansed, to be purified, to be sanctified, we need to separate ourselves from these views. We need to focus ourselves on God’s Word. We need to adhere to what the Word of God says and to distance ourselves from the principles and ideologies of the world.
And that’s what Paul wanted us to understand. It is not to make ourselves an isolated island. Oh, we are Christians. I don’t want to engage with some activities with the world. I don’t want to be near anyone who is not a Christian. I don’t want to be with some friends. They are unbelievers.
This is not what Paul is saying here. We have to reach out to the world. We have to go to them. We have to befriend them to tell them of the gospel. But he wants us also to keep ourselves unstained by their ideas, by their philosophies. So he wants us to be separate.
And the reason why we have to separate is because we are a temple of the living God. We are a temple of the living God. And you have to understand that when he says here ‘ye are the temple of the living God’, He says ‘ye’ plural all of you you’re part of this temple.
It’s not that yes, we are individually a temple of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God indwells in our hearts, indwell in our lives. And we are a temple of the Holy Spirit. But he also says ‘you’ plural all the believers in this church is a temple of the living God.
And it speaks of having relationship with one another, communion with one another, that we are not just living alone. Our sin will affect others. Our problems will cause or will harm others.
We are part of the body of Christ. And that body must be kept pure and clean. It’s not that you take a bath in the morning and just because it’s so cold you just wash your hair or you wash your face and it’s enough anyway, that is what is seen by man. It is the whole body that must be cleansed and that is the call - it is not an individual sanctification that I want to be sanctified and that’s enough. I want to be a part of the sanctification of everyone.
We are so much so-called a separatist that we separate even from our brethren. We are so much so separatist that we even separate from those who are with us in the church. And I pray that we will hear God’s Word with this in view.
And he says here that being a temple of the living God, there are rules to do. There are rules, regulations.
That’s like when you go to the temple into the holy of holies. You cannot go just go there and play. Nobody can just enter there. There are rules. God sets rules.
And so also Paul here described that rules. Not only rules, we have reasons for that rules. He says we do this not just because God wanted us to do this. It is not because He commanded us and we will follow without any reason. God give us reasons to understand why and that will move us and cause us to fulfill and to do what He wants us to do.
And here we have not only the rules and the reasons but we have also here God’s reward, even for us, His promise that He will be among those who fulfill what He has commanded us.
And so let us look on these three things and I pray the Lord will help us to see these rules and reasons, even the reward and the relationship we have with God to be established when we truly live as God’s temple, the living the temple of the living God.
II. The Rules
Now there are rules. First, there are prohibitions — rules of prohibition.
He says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Cor 6:14).
And this we easily understand. Many commentators and many of us would say, well, this is with relationships. You don’t have to marry an unbeliever. You don’t have to have a relationship with an unbeliever. You should marry a Christian, one who is truly a child of God.
For how can your in-laws be agreeing with one another? Your father-in-law will be the devil if you marry an unbeliever.
But this is more than that. It is not just marrying an unbeliever. It refers to a mismatched fellowship — a fellowship with someone who is of a different view.
You want to go that side; he wants to go the other side. You want to paddle in that direction; he wants to paddle in the opposite direction. You will not progress. You will not move.
Therefore, you should not be unequally yoked together with those who are in opposition to your faith, to your belief, to what you have as truth.
Another prohibition that he gives here is in verse 17. He says, “Touch not the unclean thing.”
You don’t have to be involved with the things of the wicked. You don’t have to engage with the things of the world. You don’t have to be involved in evil and worldly things. You have to keep yourself separate.
And that’s where there are positive commands here — rules where he says, “come out from among them” (2 Cor 6:147.
You have to uproot yourself from this kind of people, from this kind of organization, from this kind of fellowship. You don’t have to engage yourself in this. You have to come out — not just to distance yourself, not just to look from another side, but to uproot yourself from it.
‘Come out. Go out. Do not return. Do not give yourself to participate in any of the things that they are doing.’
Corruption and other things — you have to give yourself to what is according to the Word of God.
And “be ye separate” (2 Cor 6:17). You uproot yourself from them and distance yourself. You don’t have to go back. You don’t have to have any kind of fellowship or communication with them. You don’t have to sit with them. You don’t have to stand with them. You don’t have to hold hands with them. You don’t have to cooperate with them.
That will lead us to the reasons why we should not cooperate and associate with them. So let’s understand that Paul here gives us this idea of rules — prohibitions. And this prohibition that he gives, by the way, is a prohibition that tells them to stop doing this, because there were believers — Christians — who were already engaged in unequal yoking with unbelievers.
They were not about to enter into unequal yoking. They were not planning to enter into some kind of relationship or to touch or be involved with evil ways. They were already in it.
And so Paul says, ‘You have to stop it.’ And when you stop, you root yourself out. You come out from among them and be ye separate, because you are the temple of the living God.
The temple of the living God is described as the Holy of Holies, and you cannot just allow anything to enter into that place. And you cannot also let others to just come and desecrate that place.
You should be separate. You should come out. You should not touch. You should not be involved. And you should not be unequally yoked with them.
III. The Reasons
With that rule, we have reasons. And we have five reasons here given by Paul. These are reasons that will surely convince us, I pray, that indeed these rules must be followed.
Here we have the first one: “For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” (2 Cor 6:14)
The word fellowship here carries the idea of partnership or sharing. And he says, how can you have a shared purpose of one who is doing what is righteous and the other who is unrighteous? How can you share the same direction, the same activity if you truly believe that you want to be kept holy; then do what is righteous.
One preacher gave an illustration of a policeman who must be doing what is required of him — to obey and keep the law. He cannot be holding hands and working together with robbers and those people who are doing illegal things. Well, in our country, the Philippines, that is not possible to be used.
But here we have righteousness and unrighteousness sharing the same purpose of activity. How can that be?
The righteous person will obey God’s Word. The unrighteous will not. Because t he word unrighteousness describes lawlessness — one who does not want to obey the law.
One wants to obey the law; the other does not. How can they share the same idea, the same direction, the same motive when they have different views of how to do it?
And so Paul was saying you cannot do that. You have to separate yourself. There is no sharing of views or sharing of activity of purpose for those who want to obey the law, keep the bible, and those who want to disobey the Word of God.
Either the lawless person submits to the righteous one, or the righteous will submit to the lawless one.
The second reason Paul gives is still in verse 14. And he says, “And what communion hath light with darkness?”
The word communion here is a word for koinonia, which we commonly understand as fellowship. So it means, how can darkness and light fellowship?
It is impossible. If you have light, it dispels darkness. If you have darkness, there is no light. Right?
There is not an idea that you have both light and darkness together. You cannot bind them as one. You cannot put them as one. You cannot have one room open and both light and darkness be there together. It’s either one will be dispelled or the other is absent.
That is what Paul says here. There is no participation. There is no willing contribution for light to give to darkness so that it will be more dark, or darkness to give to light so that it will be brighter. There is no possibility for this. It is a non-negotiable thing for light and darkness to exist together.
Another reason Paul describes is in verse 15. And this is interesting because he says, “And what concord hath Christ with Belial?”
Now, Belial here is an epithet of Satan. This is a name representing the arch-enemy of God. And he says here, Christ and Satan — how can they agree with one another? The word concord here has the idea of symphony, harmony.
Now later we will have a practice of our cantata. We praise and thank God that there are many voices, many instruments used, but they are in harmony.
Each instrument adds to the beauty of the sound, the beauty of the music. Each voice will add to the harmony, the symphony. And that is for those who have concord.
And he says, how can Christ and Belial have a duet? Can you expect that? Of course Christ will use the hymnal, and the other one will seek for worldly music. That is impossible.
There is no joint decision. There is no agreement between Christ and Belial. There is no connection and harmony between Christ and the enemy, Satan. There is no point in time that they will hold hands together and sing one hymn. There’s no point by which they will have a duet.
He says you have to separate. If you are a believer, you don’t have to join hands and sing or have an agreement with those who are against Christ.
They are hating Christ. Christ also hates the devil. And therefore there is no point by which they can even be sitting together, agreeing with one another, having harmony, and having a joint decision.
The fourth one is still in verse 15. The fourth reason is that “What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?”
Part here refers to being a body where there are several organs or a system where, as a whole, they contribute one with another.
The heart will pump blood. The others are for oxygenation — you have to go to the lungs. All this is to be pumped also to all parts of the body that need the oxygen. All things work together for the whole body.
And he says here, how can one who is faithful be doing something for the faithless? And how can the faithless, or unbelieving one — one who is an infidel — do something for the good of the believer?
The infidels would want to destroy the believers. The unbelievers would try to negate what the believers say. The unbelievers will try to prove that the believers are wrong in their claims.
The believers also will say, ‘You have to come to Christ.’ The believers will say it is through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ that you can be saved.
There is always a disagreement. One cannot contribute to another as a part to make progress, to make one develop or progress in his way. No one can do that.
We have to be separate. The unbelieving, the faithless will not do any good to the faithful, and the faithful will not receive anything from the faithless.
The fifth reason that Paul gives here is in verse 16: “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols?”
Of course, agreement means you have to have a group decision. You have to have a mutual agreement. You have to have a decision together. And he says here there is no agreement with the temple of God and with idols.
You cannot come together. You have idols there and you are a priest, a holy or a high priest of the temple, and you can be doing this together. Surely the Lord will be angered with this. The wrath of God will be upon you.
And this happened in the time of the people of Judah when God destroyed the very temple that He commanded to be built.
He was the one who caused the Babylonians to come to Judah to destroy the very temple that showed that He was there. All because they brought idols into the very presence of God — idols that they worshiped, idols that they bowed down to, idols that they longed for, idols that they talked to, idols that they believed as gods.
Please understand this. These are idols. They did not bring these images, these statues inside the temple just to honour. They were not honouring them. They were there for them to bow down and worship.
And even in today’s context, many would think, ‘Well, you should not think of any man to be honoured on the Lord’s Day because that’s worshipping man.’
Because that’s Roman Catholicism. That’s ignorance of what Roman Catholicism is. I hope you will take that class if you will. It’s too late — the illustration is finished.
But when we talk about this, when we bring in idols or men to be worshiped in the Roman Catholic Church, please understand — as a Roman Catholic myself before — we did not bring these in just to say honour.
The expectation is that the merits of these people who have done so much good, so much righteous works — so much that they have more than enough of what is required for them to enter into heaven — therefore they are there so the people can somehow get a bit speck of what they have done good, hoping that by this they can add to their own merits, hoping that they can enter into heaven.
This is not honouring. They are begging. They are praying. They are asking. They are seeking. They are looking for the favours of these so-called saints.
So when here he says, “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols?” (2 Cor 6:16), Paul was saying that you are bringing idols into your hearts, worshipping them — taking the desire that from these things, from money, from business, from whatever vices you have, you can have pleasure.
And that is inside the hearts of men. And he says you cannot do that. And you cannot do that in our congregation — to bring in whatever people will look to have favour and seek after what merit they can get.
That is not acceptable. There is no agreement between the temple of God and idols. They are nonexistent.
They have eyes but they cannot see; they have mouths but they cannot speak; they have ears but they cannot hear. These are the idols.
And these are the five reasons that Paul says you should not have this. These are the reasons why you should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. These are the reasons why you cannot touch the unclean thing. These are the reasons why you have to come out from among them. These are the reasons why you have to be separate.
And these are valid reasons. These are reasons that must be taken and believed so that Christians will have a life that will be rewarded by God. And the reward is great.
There are five things that the Lord mentioned, Paul mentioned here of how the Lord will reward with his relationship.
IV. The Reward
And he says here first in verse 16, ‘I will dwell in them. I will inhabit with them. I will be among My people. I will sit among your pews.’
Because there are many empty pews. So I may be somewhere here sitting. ‘I will be there with them.’
And he says, ‘I will dwell in them and not just sit down, but I will walk with them. I will walk in them.’ The idea of walking is something that describes the activity. He is working with us. He is labouring with us. He’s serving with us. He’s strengthening us. He’s doing something in our service for the Lord.
He is actively involved and engaged in our lives. He is with us, sitting in, dwelling in us. He is also walking with us. He will walk with us. And He says, ‘Not only that I will dwell in them and I will walk in them. I will be their God and they shall be My people.’
What a great privilege. And there’s something that we should understand. And many people underestimate and undermine the thought of having God as their Saviour, as their Creator. It’s as if God is just a man-made thing. It’s just an imagination. Can I believe in God? Because they said there is God, but there is no real belief and faith in heart.
Christians must be the people who truly believe that there is God. God exists. And therefore when we consider ourselves as the people of God, we rejoice because we are supposed to be damned, to be condemned, to be doomed for our sins.
And yet God has picked us up, changed our personalities, changed our identities, changed our direction, and we are now His people. A people who will be with Him, a people who will rejoice in Him, a people who will live forever with Him.
And I pray you will understand this because this is now a matter of just a light thing for many young people today, especially young people. I would just direct this to you, that God seems to just be like a crutch. God seems to be like a vending machine. God is just someone that you can ask when nobody wants, nobody can help you. God will be there when you be in the hospital. That’s the God that you have.
But in every daily activity in your life, in your mindset, in your thinking, in your studies, in your desire, in the workplace, in wherever, whatever your dreams, there is no God. “I will be their God and they shall be My people. (2 Cor 6:16)”
And He says here in verse 17, ‘I will receive you. I will receive you.’ Can you imagine this? Heart of God, mercy of God, grace of God. You know, God cannot look even any simple so-called venial sin as many would term.
He cannot look at iniquity. He’s so holy, but now looking at us, so full of mud, so full of wickedness, so full of evil doings, and yet He clothed us with the righteousness of His Son. And now He’s looking at this robe of righteousness. He will receive us. That’s the grace of God.
‘I will receive you.’ And not only that, He will receive us. He says, ‘I will be a Father unto you.’
“I will be a Father unto you and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Cor 6:18).” What a wonderful promise. And the one who promises, ‘I will be a Father unto you,’ is the Lord Almighty.
This word almighty is just used once in Paul’s epistle. It is many times used in the book of Revelation to show the greatness of the power of God.
He can do everything. He can do anything. That’s our God. All powerful, omnipotent, Almighty God. That’s the God you have. That is the God I have, for those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Almighty.
And how wonderful and amazing it is to have a Father who has this all power, not only to control our own lives but even to control the lives of our enemies, even to control the things on this earth, even the planets and even the galaxies and even the whole universe is His, and He’s the one who controls this. And this is the Father that we have.
V. Conclusion
So we need to come out, to separate, to not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers and to touch not the unclean things and so we call ourselves separatists. We don’t want to be stained and tainted with the things of the world and the sin and wickedness around us.
But please permit me to look at the other side also of this, as what we know in the Ten Commandments.
If we are commanded, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ we are exhorted to preserve lives, to give, to share, to provide. If we are exhorted or commanded not to commit adultery, we have to love our wives. We have to respect them. We have to help them. We have to care for them. If we are not to steal, we have to help one another, to be our brother’s keeper. If we are not to lie, not to bear false witness, we are exhorted to tell the truth, to be honest, to exhort one another.
And so, please permit me to also — I hope this is not something that you may think an addition. I’m not adding, but this is to see the other side of this. If we are commanded to be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, how much more we should be working together as saints.
And that is what is lacking in most Christians, most churches today. We are so separatist that we separate even from one another in small bickerings, in small things, in small words that will hurt me and I will never be back in that fellowship. That’s why our fellowship meetings are empty.
Few people are coming. Why? ‘I don’t want to be with him. I don’t want to see that brother.’ You dare to call him brother and you don’t want to see him. ‘I don’t want to see that sister. I don’t want to.’ Why do you still call her sister if you don’t want to see her?
Why should we not come together as saints if truly we are children of God? Can we not agree with one another? Can we not fellowship with one another? Can we not help one another? Can we not have harmony and unity with one another? Can we not have communion with one another? Symphony one with another. One talent, different talent, different service, different gifts, different skills. We have to give ourselves to one another and this is called to be the temple of the living God.
We are called to love one another. We just emphasise to be separate, but we don’t want to help one another and love one another. We don’t care for one another.
If the Bible says, “What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness,” then there is a blessed fellowship to be with other righteous people. Right? I hope you will agree with me.
You don’t hate fellowship meetings because you will see the righteous people. Yes, they have some problems. Yes, they have some weaknesses. Yes, they have some shortcomings. That’s all we are.
It is said that if you are looking for a perfect church and you have seen one that you think is really a perfect church, the best advice is for you not to go in that church. And you know why? ‘You will make the church imperfect.’
That’s why we have to care for one another. There’s a problem because we are just pointing everybody’s dirt. ‘Oh, he has this one is this problem. He has this weakness.’ And we don’t look at each other as forgiven people of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why can we not fellowship with one another? Why can we not have an agreement with one another? Why can we not have concord with one another? Why can we not have communion with one another? We are saints. We are blood-bought children. We are children of God. Why can we not help one another?
Why are we blaming one another? Why are we accusing one another? One church accuses another, one church accuses another. Is this what we truly think is Christianity?
We are called to separate, but we are also called to love one another as brethren in Christ - that we have concord, that we have communion, that we have fellowship, that we have agreement with one another.
There might be some little bit of ideas here and there that we cannot somehow meet. But we have to understand that God promised that if we do fellowship with one another, we have concord with one another, agreement with one another, have this part, contributing to one another with the gifts and skills that God has given us, then He says:
‘I will dwell in them. I will walk with them. I will be their God and they shall be My people. I will receive you. I will be a Father unto you.’
Fathers here, you can understand what trouble and headache you will have if your children are always fighting right in the family.
Thank God I have three. So when there are two views, there will always be the other one is plural. There’s one is singular. The other two will always win. The problem is when you have two. The worst is when you have one.
I don’t know. But what headache for the father when he comes home. ‘Oh, you’re fighting and disagreeing.’ Father would say, ‘I don’t want to come home. We are just always disagreeing, fighting, debating, arguing.’
God says, ‘Please, you are the temple of the living God. I will be pleased to come home and dwell with you and call you as Mine and I will be your Father. Please stop these bickerings, all these accusations, all these fightings. You are all My children. You are all forgiven.’
How cannot you forgive one another when you even were forgiven of all your sins? Do you think that your sin is lighter than the sins of those who committed against you? That you cannot forgive and God must forgive me because I have done something that is not really great. That’s just venial sin. But what he commits to me is a mortal sin and therefore that must be dead, will remain.
And I pray we have to understand this. Yes, we are called to separate, but within the church, within and among the saints, we are called also to be one. We are called to understand one another. We are called to love one another, to care for one another, to bear one another’s burden, to be our brother’s, our sister’s keeper.
For that is what is expected. Fathers and mothers, you understand this. You don’t teach your children to quarrel. You don’t teach your children to fight against one another.
And God also, even as He wants us to separate from wickedness, He wants us also to be one in Him.
What’s the problem with Christianity today is that instead of loving one another, we have now the love for even other churches which do not even believe in God, believe in the gospel, believe in salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
The ecumenical movement is even growing. But a communion of saints within the church is crumbling.
I pray that we in True Life would have a life that is in truth. Yes, we have differences. We have differences of opinions. We have differences in views.
But we have one God. One Father in Heaven. We have one body in Christ. And I pray we will help one another, pray for one another, and care for one another.
We are the temple of the living God. I pray the Lord will remind us what it means to be a temple. A temple is one where God purposely built for His presence. He is there, and the holy of holies, the place by which He is to be worshipped. It is kept. It is pure. It is separated from anything, but it is for God to dwell in.
And we who claim that we have the Spirit of God in us, we who claim that we are indwelt by the Spirit of God and we have God with us.
The natural result would be we have relationship, closer relationship. Of course, the signs of times are here with us and the fulfilment of the prophecy must be done, must be established.
There’ll be hatred between one another. There will be betrayal between one another and the love of many shall wax cold.
That’s why we are exhorted not just to separate but to have communion among the saints and simply that is to have fellowship, to have concord, to have agreement, to be part with one another as the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, we praise and thank You for how Thou has saved us through Thy Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And now that You have made us new creatures in Thee, we are a people whose heart belongs to Thee, whose lives belongs to Thee. And we pray, Father, that You will help us to have the mind of Christ, even to love one another, care for one another, and to be patient with one another, to bear the burdens of others.
Help us, O Lord, as one body in Thee, so that we can grow in Thee, and Thou will be with us, and You shall be our Father, and we are Thy sons and daughters.
We pray, Father, that You will help us as a church, as a body of saints, as a body of believers, that You will make us as one in Thee.
Separate from the world, separate from Satan, separate from self, but one in Thee and one with one another, to glorify and worship Thee in our lives.
We pray and we ask all this in Jesus name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF 2 CORINTHIANSGod of All ComfortGod of All Comfort2 Corinthians 1:1-7
The Recipients of ComfortThe Recipients of Comfort2 Corinthians 1:8-11
The Soul’s Warning AlarmThe Soul’s Warning Alarm2 Corinthians 1:12-14
Defending Against False AccusationDefending Against False Accusation2 Corinthians 1:15-24
Why Do We Do What We Do?Why Do We Do What We Do?2 Corinthians 2:1-4
The Need to Confront SinThe Need to Confront Sin2 Corinthians 2:5-11
Our Victory in ChristOur Victory in Christ2 Corinthians 2:12-17
Our Sufficiency is of GodOur Sufficiency is of God2 Corinthians 3:1-6
The Glory That Fadeth Not AwayThe Glory That Fadeth Not AwayExodus 34:28-35; 2 Corinthians 3:7-17
The Exceeding GloryThe Exceeding Glory2 Corinthians 3:7-17
Transformed Into His ImageTransformed Into His Image2 Corinthians 3:18
How To Preach The WordHow To Preach The Word2 Corinthians 4:1-6
Treasure in Clay JarsTreasure in Clay Jars2 Corinthians 4:7-12
Be Strong and CourageousBe Strong and Courageous2 Corinthians 4:13-18
The Believer’s ConfidenceThe Believer’s Confidence2 Corinthians 5:1-8
Our New Year’s ResolutionOur New Year’s Resolution2 Corinthians 5:9-10
The Believer’s AmbitionThe Believer’s Ambition2 Corinthians 5:9-10
What Kind of Church Do We Have?What Kind of Church Do We Have?2 Corinthians 5:11-15
What Kind of a Christian Are We?What Kind of a Christian Are We?2 Corinthians 5:16-17
Ambassadors for ChristAmbassadors for Christ2 Corinthians 5:18-21
Living As Examples of the BelieversLiving As Examples of the Believers2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Do We Have True Christian Love?Do We Have True Christian Love?2 Corinthians 6:11-13, 7:2-4
Why Do We Need To Separate?Why Do We Need To Separate?2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1
Ye Are The Temple Of The Living GodYe Are The Temple Of The Living God2 Corinthians 6:14-18
How Do We Mend A Broken Relationship?How Do We Mend A Broken Relationship?2 Corinthians 7:5-16
How Do We Abound In Our Giving?How Do We Abound In Our Giving?2 Corinthians 8:1-8
The Principles of GivingThe Principles of Giving2 Corinthians 8:9-15
Biblical GivingBiblical Giving2 Corinthians 9:1-5
God Loveth a Cheerful GiverGod Loveth a Cheerful Giver2 Corinthians 9:6-11
The Blessedness of GivingThe Blessedness of Giving2 Corinthians 9:12-15
Lessons on Faithful StewardshipLessons on Faithful Stewardship2 Corinthians 9:16-24
Christian WarfareChristian Warfare2 Corinthians 10:1-6
Understanding Spiritual AuthorityUnderstanding Spiritual Authority2 Corinthians 10:7-11
How To Evaluate Our MinistryHow To Evaluate Our Ministry2 Corinthians 10:12-18
The Importance of Christian LoyaltyThe Importance of Christian Loyalty2 Corinthians 11:1-6
Is the Church Gullible?Is the Church Gullible?2 Corinthians 11:7-15
Do Not BoastDo Not Boast2 Corinthians 11:16-21
When Boasting is NecessaryWhen Boasting is Necessary2 Corinthians 11:22-33
The Purpose of TrialsThe Purpose of Trials2 Corinthians 12:1-10
The True ServantThe True Servant2 Corinthians 12:11-19
The Need for Repentance and DisciplineThe Need for Repentance and Discipline2 Corinthians 12:20-13:4
Examine Whether You Be In the FaithExamine Whether You Be In the Faith2 Corinthians 13:5-6
Message 2: Examine Yourselves Whether Ye Be In the FaithMessage 2: Examine Yourselves Whether Ye Be In the Faith2 Corinthians 13:5
For Your Sake, I am WillingFor Your Sake, I am Willing2 Corinthians 13:7-10
For the TruthFor the Truth2 Corinthians 13:8
A Spiritually Healthy ChurchA Spiritually Healthy Church2 Corinthians 13:11-14
Morning Devotion 2Morning Devotion 22 Corinthians 15:58
