“Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.” (2 Cor. 7:1)
The above text written by the Apostle Paul, touches on a very important principle(s) concerning the Christian life.
God has given specific promises to man. We discover those promises in the preceding chapters.
- God raised Jesus from the dead and will also raise us who believe in Jesus (2 Cor. 4:14)
- Experiencing affliction and persecution pales in comparison to the eternal weight of glory that we will enter into (2 Cor. 4:17)
- We have a heavenly home. (2 Cor. 5:1-2)
- He has given us His Spirit as a deposit of guarantee to enter into His eternal presence. (2 Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14)
- We will receive rewards at the judgment of Christ. (2 Cor. 5:10)
- Those who are in Christ are new creatures. (2 Cor. 5:17)
- Christ became sin on our behalf so that we could become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)
How glorious are these promises! Promises that we have not attained through works, but as a gift due to our faith in Jesus. As a result of receiving these promises, Paul emphasizes our responsibility to be separated from the world (system). He states this in several ways:
- Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. (2 Cor. 6:14)
- What partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? (2 Cor. 6:14)
- What fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Cor. 6:14)
- What accord has Christ have with Belial (Satan)? (2 Cor. 6:15)
- What portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? (2 Cor. 6:15)
- What agreement has the temple of God with idols? (2 Cor. 6:16)
Indeed, in 2 Cor. 7:1, the Apostle uses a Greek term that is only used once in the entire New Testament, “defilement” (molusmos). The root meaning of this term is “molýnō” means “to soil, make mucky, become spiritually besmirched.” Paul in simple terms is saying to the Corinthians, and to us, do not damage your body or spirit by becoming defiled. In a broad sense, you become defiled by partnering with that of spiritual and moral darkness. Let’s look at several ways we can become defiled.
Defiled Through Bitterness
When we think of being defiled, most will not think of bitterness being something of concern. However, it is very concerning. The Hebrews writer states,
“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many” (Heb. 12:15).
The Greek term that is used is similar to that molýnō. The term used in the above text is miaínō which means to stain. It connotes the picture of everything passing through it also becomes stained.
In the previous chapter, and leading up to this verse, the Hebrews writer listed many biblical heroes as an encouragement to the Christian community, to persevere in faith due to the affliction and persecution they were undergoing. However, when we get to the above verse, he issues this statement as a warning. The writer recognizes that if a person becomes bitter due to the affliction in which they are experiencing, their bitterness can spread to others. In short, bitterness is contagious. When someone is bitter, according to this definition, they see everything through the lens of their bitterness.
This principle is not unique to the New Testament. It is also found in the Old Testament. In fact, it seems that the Hebrews writer is drawing his inspiration from the Old Testament text,
“You know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed. And you have seen their detestable things, their idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold, which were among them. Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the LORD our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit, one who, when he hears the words of this sworn covenant, blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall be safe, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart.’ This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike. The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven” (Deut. 29:16-20).
Moses, the writer of this text, is warning the Israelites to resist turning away from the Lord to pursue idolatry. The statements from Moses and the Hebrews writer are eerily similar in nature. The Hebrews writer stated,
“Bitterness grows up and defiles many.”
Moses states,
“Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit…This will lead to the sweeping away of moist and dry alike.”
Both contexts are dealing with falling away from the Lord and dragging others along with you due to your personal bitterness.
Bitterness is contagious. Bitterness is defiling. Bitterness is deadly—eternally deadly. What pains my heart, especially in light of recent events, is seeing how many have been ensnared on the issue of race. Indeed, it could be that many were already bitter due to race; yet, the root was buried deep underground. However, due to the recent events, that root of bitterness has now sprung into a tree bearing bitter fruit. That fruit has now manifested into espousing and openly teaching, anti-christ philosophies such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Marxist ideas within the confines of the church. These ideas are idolatrous and essentially destructive. However, in my view, these ideologies have found a place in the church due to the root of bitterness being lodged in the hearts of men. As a result, many are drifting from the kingdom of God.
Moreover, beyond the invasion of CRT and cultural Marxism, there are people that have been sinned against and refuse to forgive. They harbor anger and resentment. As a result, they become bitter. Their perspectives are stained with bitterness. And as the saying goes, “Misery loves company”. Bitterness is the culprit that leaves many men and women defiled.
Defiled Through Sexual Immorality
In the United States, sexual immorality is celebrated. Academia attempts to persuade young minds that sexual immorality is not harmful. Most feminists believe it is empowering for a woman to be promiscuous. Some women have stated, “It is liberating to freely have sex.” However, God has a different take. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians,
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.” (1 Cor. 6:18)
Paul commands the Corinthians to “flee from sexual immorality.” Our society changes the above phrase to “flee from sexual purity”. Indeed, even some churches are silent on the issue of sexual immorality including that of homosexuality. Nevertheless, the reason Paul is urging the Corinthians to flee from immorality is because it is a sin against the body. One can also say, it is a sin against the spirit that creates an ungodly soul tie, as he mentions,
“Do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit…”
When Paul mentions sexual immorality as a sin against the body, he is emphasizing that this sin is very unique than all other sin. In fact, fornication was such a serious offense under the Mosaic Law, the person guilty of this sin was to be put to death (Deut. 22:13-21). Indeed, fornication has the power to corrupt an entire culture (Lev. 19:29). In short, sexual immorality is defiling.
Of course, immorality is not just that of sexual intercourse, it includes viewing pornography, expressing sensuality, lewdness, fantasy lusts, etc. These actions defile our body and soul. As you will see, sexual immorality, amongst other defilements open the door to demonic affliction.
Mixing Worship with Idolatry
This is very prevalent today. What I have observed most of the time, is the people who are guilty of doing this have good intentions. However, regardless of their good intentions, they wind up defiling themselves and others.
Over the years I’ve seen Christians attempting to yoke themselves to some form of idolatry. In other words, they want to sanitize that which is clearly wicked, and “Christianize it”. The below list is not exhaustive but are some examples:
- Christian Hip Hop
- Christian Yoga
- Christian Sorcery (New Age)
- Destiny Cards (Tarot Cards)
- Angel Boards (Ouiji Boards)
To add, there are Christians (leaders and laity) that are yoked to Greek fraternities, Freemasonry, and more recently BLM (the organization). To be fair, many are unaware of the spiritual origin behind these groups and usually get involved out of tradition, for network purposes, or some other reason. However, by being yoked to these organizations, you defile your spirit. In layman’s terms, you are causing harm or damaging your spirit. This is not to condemn people who are involved with any of the above. However, I would encourage you to look at the origin of these organizations. I am persuaded if you are a believer, you will endeavor to renounce and turn from these practices or organizations.
There are several Old Testament texts that are found in the Law of God that support Paul’s statement in 1 Cor. 6:14-16.
“When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods” (Deut. 12:29-32).
“You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the LORD your God that you shall make. And you shall not set up a pillar, which the LORD your God hates” (Deut. 16:21-22).
I can remember over 17 years ago, when I was saved for two or three weeks, I attempted to listen to Freeway (a hip hop artist) while working out. When I turned the music on and began working out, I literally could not stomach it. I felt “unclean” or “dirty”. Keep in mind, before I got saved, I listened to Hip Hop all the time and felt perfectly fine. However, once I got saved, and filled with the Spirit of God, I could not listen to it. It was not because I was being “religious”. To the contrary, it was because I was experiencing my spirit being “defiled”. As a result, I got rid of my Hip Hop CDs.
About a month later, I had received a Christian Hip Hop CD in the mail (I was in Pakistan). The group was called The Cross Movement. I can remember listening to the music which had “clean lyrics” but for some reason I still felt convicted and “dirty”. It wasn’t because of the lyrics, but it was because the group was attempting to use an idol (Hip Hop) and merge it with Christianity. I remember being confused because these brothers were not talking about violence, immorality, narcotics, etc. However, my spirit was being defiled because the music was not sanctioned by God AND it had a demonic influence.
We get a clue on why idolatrous worship merged with the worship of God is not sanctioned when we read,
“ ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods” (Deut. 12:30-31).
The reason why the Lord hates when we attempt to merge idolatrous worship with our worship of Him is because of the abominations that were committed under the idol. The above scriptural example displays the sin of child sacrifice which took place under the god of Molech.
If God would not sanction the Hebrews to learn how the Canaanites worshipped under Molech, why would he sanction worship that resembles Hip Hop culture, which glamorizes profanity, murder, sexual immorality, narcotic use, or any other abominable sin?
Unclean Spirits and Defilement Linked
Paul states, What agreement has the temple of God with idols (2 Cor. 6:16)? Of course, the answer is nothing. Moreover, Paul states in a similar passage warning Christians to flee from idolatry by stating,
“You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy?”(1 Cor. 10:21-22)
One of the descriptions that the biblical writers use in describing demons is unclean spirits. The term unclean, “akáthartos” means not pure (because mixed), i.e. adulterated with “a wrong mix”. Since this descriptor speaks of “a wrong mix” it makes sense that unclean spirits are involved when we defile the pure worship of God. It is likely when we open ourselves up to any “defiling” activity, we also open ourselves up to defiling spirit(s) associated with the activity.
This should be a warning that we cannot sanitize idolatrous worship and slap Jesus Christ on top of it and expect our worship to be “clean”. It will not be.
In closing, may we be mindful of what we are watching, listening to, and to whom we are being yoked. We may be doing damage or harm to our body and spirit, which may affect you personally, and the mission of the kingdom collectively.
