Perfecting Holiness in the Fear of God

2 Corinthians 7:1, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

What promises is this verse referring to? It refers to the promises in the last verses of the previous chapter. Remember, that the chapter and verse markings are not inspired by God, so just because it is a new chapter, verse, etc. does not necessarily mean that it is a new thought. I wrote about the last verses of chapter six in yesterday’s post, so be sure the read that. The promise that if we live a separated life that God will receive us unto Him. We will gain fellowship with the Father if we live a separated life.

In chapter seven, it starts off by saying that since we have that promise, we ought to do some things. We ought to cleanse from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, and we ought to perfect holiness in the fear of God. We cannot just get rid of the filthiness without replacing it with something else. If you get rid of something sinful, you must replace it with something spiritual. Otherwise, there will be an empty place in our life, and more than likely, you will resort back to what you gave up. It’s the putting on putting off principal. In the morning when you get dressed, you take off the old clothes, and you put on the new clothes. When we give up the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, we must put on holiness. I Peter 5:15-16 says, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” Let us strive each and every day to live a holy life before God and before others.