PAUL’S APPEAL TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO BE SEPARATE AND UNDEFILED
A sermon on 2 Corinthians 6:16-18
by Rev. H. A. Bergsma
Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 6
Scripture text: 2 Corinthians 6:16-18
Psalters:
222:1-5
84
26
312
255
315
Congregation of the Lord,
The world does not seem to have much respect for the Christian Church anymore.
Strange as this may sound, but this not because the Christian Church has been such a threat to the world, but rather, because the Christian Church has conformed too much to the world.
The Christian Church has lost her respect with the world, by-and-large, because the world does not see the Christian Church to be so different from the world.
The world has lost its respect for the Christian Church, because the Christian Church has failed to remain separate and undefiled from the world.
It is therefore quite proper that an appeal be made to the Christian Church that she be separate and undefiled.
We have such an appeal in our text, 2 Corinthians 6:16-18, where the Apostle Paul says, …
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.
Let us consider these words by the following theme and division …
PAUL’S APPEAL TO THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH TO BE SEPARATE AND UNDEFILED
1. The Reason For This Appeal
2. The Necessity Of This Appeal
3. The Promise With This Appeal
Congregation,
What reason does Paul give to the Christian Church for separating herself from the world?
Why should a Christian Church, such as the one in Corinth, be appealed to, to come out from those of the world?
Simply because, so he says “You are the temple of the living God.”
Just turn back for a moment to how the Apostle Paul started his letters to the Corinthian congregation, 1 Corinthians 1:2 …
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.
To this congregation the Apostle Paul says, “You are the temple of the living God.”
Now, this does not mean that this Church in Corinth was a perfect Church, and I’ll say a bit more about this in a few minutes.
Nevertheless, the Apostle still calls this Church a “temple of the living God.”
Well, what does it mean to be a temple of the living God?
Let me explain.
In the course of history, some beautiful temples have been built.
Some have long ago already crumbled to dust; some still decorate the landscape, particularly in the Middle East.
But here we may speak of a temple that by far outshines them all, and which will never crumble to dust … here we may speak of the temple of the living God.
What does it mean then for a congregation like the one in Corinth, to be called a temple of the living God?
We need the Old Testament to show us the significance of a temple.
There are several significant aspects to an Old Testament Temple.
- A temple is a place set apart for serving a holy Presence.
- A temple is a place where God offers His special protection.
- A temple is a place where God’s saving work is proclaimed.
We know from the Old Testament that the temple was a place set apart for serving a holy Presence.
The Israelites, in their wilderness journeys from Egypt to the Promised Land, had, what is known as a “tabernacle” with them.
And we know that a “tabernacle” was nothing more than a portable temple.
Those of Israel who wanted to speak to the Lord had to go to this portable temple.
There they would see the cloudy pillar, and they would know that the Lord was there, occupying the place … there was a Holy Presence about this tabernacle.
In the days of Solomon, when the actual temple was built, both Solomon and the people could rejoice because they had in their midst, a “House for the Name of the Lord God of Israel.”
There you could find the holy vessels and instruments used for holy service; there God was pleased to dwell; there He met with His people; there He communed with them and they with Him.
Then, the temple was also the place where God offered His special protection.
God had said to Israel, as recorded in Leviticus 26:11, “I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you.”
The presence of the tabernacle among the people meant that the people were protected from the anger of God.
Later, when an Israelite was thought to be guilty of a crime, he could find protection in the temple.
A fugitive, clinging to the horns of the altar had a hold of the greatest plea for mercy and protection.
And then, and most importantly so, the temple was the place where God’s saving work was advertised and proclaimed.
You could find the Ark of the Covenant in the temple.
This meant that the people had a binding relationship with the Lord, as God Himself had indicated, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
On the Ark of the Covenant was a lid called the mercy seat, with two cherubim, two figures of angels, prominently displayed on that mercy seat.
This mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God’s promise when He said, “I will be merciful to my people, and will forgive their sins.”
In this same temple could be found the altar of sacrifice and incense.
From it, the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled on the people, and from it, the prayers went up to God along with the fragrance of the incense.
Much more could be said about the beautiful ceremonies of the temple-worship as it proclaimed God’s saving work.
But this must be emphasized … it all pointed to the sacrificial saving work of Jesus Christ.
All the ceremonies pointed to Him who would come as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world, and to sacrifice His own life on the cross.
The blood that He would pour-out, is the price He would pay for the redemption of His people.
This same blood would serve for sprinkling the hearts of His people by the Holy Spirit.
This blood would be poured-out and sprinkled for the renewing and cleansing of His people.
And all of this saving work of God was regularly, and faithfully proclaimed in the temple.
Congregation! How do you and I measure up to this image of temple?
Are we, as temple of the living God, conscious of His Holy Presence, and set apart for serving Him?
Is the special protection of the Lord evidently practiced and believed in amongst us?
Is the great saving work of Jesus Christ indeed central and predominant in our proclamations?
As Church, we are to be set apart for holy service, serving a Holy Presence.
But how holy have our services been?
How much un-holiness has perhaps crept into our services over the years?
As Church, we are to be a place of protection and shelter, but can we still offer such protection and shelter from the attacks of the evil one who comes in various ways to tempt and assault?
As Church, we are to be the place where the message of salvation is to be clearly heard; but is it so with us?
Is it clearly heard, from our pulpit, from our classrooms, from our societies, but also from each one of us individually?
You see, not only must we, as Church, be a temple, but personally, as individuals we must be temples as well.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians in an earlier letter, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God; your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you.” (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)
This makes it personal; not only must we as Church collectively, be a temple, but also as individuals; we are to be temples of Christ.
Our text makes an appeal to us, and gives us the reason for it.
Let us take this appeal of our text very seriously, both as Church collectively, and as persons, individually.
But now, in the second place, there is also a necessity for such an appeal.
Paul could call the congregation of Corinth a temple of the living God, and believers individually temples of the Holy Spirit.
But even then, it was still necessary to appeal urgently that the people would be separate and remain undefiled.
Why so?
Because the world still had much influence on the congregation.
I am sure that it has not escaped your attention that, although Paul does call the congregation of Corinth a temple of the living God, there was still much of the world in that congregation.
This is not surprising, because this Church was located in one of the most notoriously wicked cities of the world.
The city of Corinth was prosperous; it served as a double seaport for the expanding new world.
But it was also an international melting pot of cultures and traditions with their attending corruptions.
Corinth’s harbour fronts were lined with public houses and drinking places.
Corinth’s theatres and stadiums were always filled with thrill-seekers.
Corinth’s idol temples literally steamed with immorality as priests and priestesses doubled as playboys and prostitutes.
If in those days people wanted to describe a very wicked person, they would simply say “He lives like a Corinthian!”
Well then, in this same city of Corinth could be found a temple of the Living God, the Church of Jesus Christ, at Corinth.
We have the saying that goes something like … “Where Christ builds His Church, Satan will put up his chapel next to it.”
But here it seems that Satan has his dominion, and still, in the midst of it, God has His temple, and would keep His temple there.
This should be an encouragement for us, dear people, as we see the world embolden itself in wickedness and increase in proud strength around us … God will still have His temple … the Church of Jesus Christ, in this location.
Although we are small and insignificant in the eyes of the world, if we remain faithful to God, He will preserve us, because He has designated us to be His temple, the temple of the Living God.
In Corinth however, this Church was in danger of becoming defiled.
The wickedness of the city had begun to enter and infect the Church.
For instance, Paul had to rebuke the people of the Church because of some blatant cases of immorality.
Moreover, members of the congregation were in the habit of suing one another in the courts of law.
Some of the people of the Church were found to be eating and drinking in some of the city’s idol temples.
There were also problems in the congregation in understanding the Bible; some rejected the resurrection from the dead; others despised marriage; and there was another group among them that boasted of being able to speak in tongues.
There was gossip among the people and division; the one group went for this preacher and the other for that preacher.
Paul, so it was maliciously spread around, was unreliable and unforgiving … in short, evil communications had begun to corrupt good manners.
It is in the light of all this that Paul felt it necessary to make an urgent appeal to the people of the congregation to separate themselves from such worldly activities and not to defile themselves that way.
He says in effect to them …
“If you want to remain a temple of the Living God, a temple where God is pleased to dwell, and where His Holy Spirit can work with profit, then separate yourselves from the world of sin, and do not touch the things that are unclean.”
Congregation! We cannot ignore this message from God, especially as it comes in the spirit that Paul has shown us, in the spirit of great tenderness and overflowing affection.
Our situation is perhaps not much different from that of the Corinthian congregation.
The world around us has become one great Corinth, filled with un-imaginable wickedness.
Immorality has become high entertainment in our society.
Our courts have legalized the alternative lifestyle, and we are not only forced to tolerate it, but also warned not to speak against it because it could constitute a spreading of hatred.
Besides all this there is a growing unquenchable thirst for ungodly entertainment and dark diversions for thrills and pleasure.
And we must find our way in this modern Corinth of today.
In this modern Corinth, we must raise our children and guide our young people.
In this modern Corinth, our young men and women must find their life’s vocation, and their future wife or future husband.
The Apostle Paul sees it all around him and he says with great pastoral concern, “Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers …”
Young people! Be careful in your choice of friends; be careful in who you befriend as a potential boyfriend or girlfriend, or as a potential husband or wife.
These are not easy matters to deal with, I realize, but let God and His Word be your guide in this.
Ask Him to give you Christian friends, and that when you do get married, you can get married to one who is a Christian.
I would not dare speak of it so easily, if the Bible did not raise the issue so strongly in our text-passage.
The Apostle Paul speaks here as if to his own children, fearing that they might be distracted and drawn away by the world and as a result, forget about God.
Therefore he compassionately makes his appeal to them, “Come out from among them, be separate; touch not that which is unclean, because your involvement in any of these things could jeopardize your chances of salvation!”
I ask you, my young friend, let you conscience speak, and be honest with yourself … would you put your salvation at risk for some passing pleasures and cheap thrills the world can offer you?
Would you put your chances of salvation in jeopardy, for the fast highs that immorality provides?
Jesus once asked a very probing question that you will have to give an answer to … as it is found in Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Congregation! We are called to be a temple of the Living God, and to separate ourselves, and to keep ourselves undefiled.
This is not an easy task.
But how can we accomplish this?
Only in the strength of the Holy Spirit who has inspired the very words of our text.
Pray that He will give you what it takes to be separate and to remain undefiled.
And at the same time keep your eyes of faith fastened on Christ.
He is far richer, far more attractive than anything that the world can offer.
Let us therefore show ourselves to be a temple of the Living God.
Let us be united in the Spirit of Christian love, and let us separate ourselves from the things that are so typically of the world.
Let us do away with such unholy activities as gossip or slander.
Let us distance ourselves from a party spirit that favours the one but not the other in the congregation or denomination.
Separating ourselves from the world; keeping ourselves undefiled is necessary, if we want to remain true to the image of the Temple of the living God.
And when we do so, we do not need to fear that we will stand alone and unprotected.
Because, as I must speak of yet in the last place, the appeal to be separate and undefiled comes with a promise.
Dear people! God promises that if we, as temple of the Living God, obey His call to come out from among the world and indeed be separate, then He will receive us.
He will own us as His temple.
He will dwell in us and among us, and His favour and tender mercies will not depart from us.
His protecting arms will cover us and His strong hands will hold us up.
Because He is the Lord Almighty, and the world will tremble before His awesome presence, sooner or later.
My dear friend … you who do not yet know Jesus Christ in a saving way! Hear me out for a moment.
Listen to how God speaks to His people.
He promises to be a Father to them, and that they be His sons and daughters.
Look at the tender relationship God has with believers.
Would you not want to be included in such a promise?
Would you not want to have God as your Father and be a son or a daughter to Him?