2 Corinthians 6:15-17
Introduction
: All if not most of us are very familiar with the term Emmanuel…God with us.
With that broader thought in mind I want to look at another verse to take it just a step further.
2 Corinthians 6:16
“
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you
1
are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”
(NKJ)
“
My old self has been crucified with Christ.
1
It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
(Gal 2:20 NLT)
The Majority Greek Interlinear puts it this way:
“
And I no longer live but in me Christ lives
.”
Question
: But how do God and Christ live in us? It is through the Holy Spirit.
“
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.”
(Rom 8:9 NKJ)
What all the scriptures on this subject reveal is that Jesus Christ’s life will be in us only as we seek to make His way of life our way of life—to walk as He walked, to live as He lived.
“He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
(1Jo 2:6 NKJ)
Holiness & Sanctification
Holiness
–
Hebrew “
qodesh
” = sacred or dedicated (ceremonially or morally), like God, or an angel or a special place or thing.
Sanctification
–
Hebrew “
qadash
” = to make or pronounce, or observe as holy or clean (ceremonially or morally), to dedicate, consecrate, keep, prepare, or purify.
The Greek for Holy is “
hagios”
= sacred, pure, blameless or a saint.
So….”
we are (pronounced and made), (set apart through and for), and (consecrated and dedicated to) being like Jesus because of and by Jesus’ work of perfection holy life.
That is what Paul calls us to in Romans 12:1-2, “
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
(NKJ)
Transition:
While none of us will ever be sinless and perfect, the believer’s pursuits in life are to be like Jesus and the teaching of scripture as possible.
That is why we encourage one another to watch out:
None of keeping of these things makes us holy, it is only through Jesus because we will not do right all the time that we are pronounced holy because of Jesus but non-the-less, because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit which Emmanuel duels in and with, we separate ourselves from unhealthy, unbiblical practices!
Question
:
Why? Because Emmanuel, God is in us!
Transition:
The second piece of this I want to talk about is Emmanuel, God among us.
2. God with Us –
“they shall be my people”
This is not a NT thing, it traces itself all the way to the beginning.
Leviticus 26:12
“I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.”
(NKJ)
Exodus 5:3, “
So they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”
(NKJ)
If God be for us, who can be against us!
Romans 8:31
“What then shall we say to these things? If God
is
for us, (if God is on our side) who
can be
against us?” (NKJ)
Elijah
–
Elisha
2 Kings 6
3. God Among Us –
“and walk among them”
2 Corinthians 6:17, “Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the LORD. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you.” (NLT)
In early Gen 3, we find God among Adam and Eve, with them, talking and being present.
It was their sin (the fall) that changed things a little.
But God has always been with his people…those who know and love him!
Conclusion:
Christmas is about Emmanuel. The God who is in, with and for us.
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