Purify Yourself

Purify Yourself

“And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” This is a very strong exhortation which only a very few think is possible to obey, or are occupied with. “Purifies himself just as He [God] is pure.” In order to do this we have to have the hope of being like Him and seeing Him as He is. This is an exhortation to those who are born again. It is not an exhortation to those who are slaves of conscious sin. They get the following exhortation: “But now you must also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth,” etc. Col. 3:8-10. These are works of the flesh that are evident. Gal. 5:19. These are conscious actions—transgressions of the law—because sin is a transgression of the law. “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins [transgressions of the law], and in Him there is no sin.” 1 John 3:5.

What does it mean to purify yourself as He is pure? It means to walk in the light, just “as He is in the light.” I have to be in the light in order to walk in the light. The person who commits sin is not in the light. When I am saved from transgressing the law, I am in the light. It is the same as living in the Spirit, and then we are exhorted to walk in the Spirit. Gal. 5:25. The Spirit shall lead us into all truth. The truth is the light, and Jesus is the truth. John 3:21, 14:6. The Spirit of truth will take of what is His and declare it to us. John 16:13-14.

Every man is a liar. Rom. 3:4. If we are to become pure as Jesus is pure, we have to be led by the Spirit to the light that is in Him. The lie is man’s self-life, his egotism. It is evident in everything that a person does. That is what it means to be human, even though the person does all the good he understands to do. “The natives showed us an unusual amount of human kindness.” Acts 28:2. “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in know-ledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be pure and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Phil. 1:9-11, 2:3. Here we see what kind of exhortations this glorious church received, and they were not superfluous. They had to walk in the light and acknowledge the truth in order to partake of this purification “as He is pure.” This means that we have exercised senses to discern between good and evil. Heb. 5:14. It will result in spiritual growth that produces fellowship in the Spirit. We become wise in what is good, and pure concerning evil. Rom. 16:19. This was Paul’s desire for those whose obedience had become known to all. We have to be purified further from our human egotism—the lie—in order to lay hold of more of the truth that is in Jesus, which is God’s wisdom.

“Purify your souls in obedience to the truth unto sincere love of the brethren, and love one another fervently with a pure heart.” 1 Pet. 1:22. God’s Word pierces and judges the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb. 4:12. The thoughts and intents of the heart arise in the soul—our senses. They are human and have to be tested or judged by God’s Word.

We can only enter into rest by acknowledging the truth and purifying ourselves. All human reasoning, however well-intentioned, is egotistical and creates unrest. Then we are inclined to purify the others instead of purifying ourselves. You will never have fellowship in that way. Fellowship in the Spirit and divine rest result from walking in the light and purifying ourselves as He is pure.