I Corinthians

Chapter 1

Almost every verse proclaims Jesus’ divinity

Paul is “called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus”, this means that Jesus is the one who sends. But the Old Testament prophets are alwasy sent forth by God himself. We call upon the Name of Jesus, your Lord and ours, in whom we are sanctified, and for whose day, (v.2) the one on which he is to be revealed (v.7), we are are to be made blameless (hence sanctified) (v.8) also who is himself our sanctification (v.30). This is reiterated in chapter 5 “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified n the name of Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God (apelousasthe,, apolouo, 2occ. Act22:16 be baptised and wash away your sins), hegiasthete, ediksaiothete)” (1Cor5:11)

Bear in mind that it would be extremely unusual for a Jew to refer to someone as “Lord” in the same sentence as one is talking about God, yet in the 31 verses of this chapter, Paul calls Jesus Lord 8 times and “God” appears 23 times. The last of those in v.31 clearly refers to Jesus, thus giving us a reference for understanding all the profuse use of the term in relation to Jesus throghout his letters: it is always a divine reference. We see v.31 uses “Lord” (kyrios) directly for God, from an Old Testament prophetic reference, and in a passage that is clearly being predicated of Jesus. You can see this again in 2 Cor.5:6-11 multiple times, including the phrase “fear of the Lord” directly in relation to the “judgement seat of Christ”. Surely are many more that I haven’t listed here.

Grace and peace (3), every possible spiritual gift is received in him:

“(3)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (4) I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, (5)for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind— ‑(6a) just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift…”

He will be “revealed” (ἀποκάλυψιν apokalupsin– 18 occurences, this is only used in relation to God’s revelations and Jesus): (6b) ^“…you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Divine Sonship: (9) ^“God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship (koinonia, 19occ.) of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Here St. Paul hearkens back to the Exodus story where Yahweh himself stands before the rock that is struck by Moses and he states that Christ himself was this “spiritual rock which followed them”, by which he can only mean Yahweh himself, since he was himself the Pillar of Fire and Pillar of Cloud which followed the Israelites in their desert wanderings, further elaborating that the Israelites “ate spiritual food” and “drank spiritual drink”, “from” Christ himself, which again, can only mean that Christ himself fed them miraculous manna and water from the rock:

“and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ” (1Cor.10:3,4)

The Wisdom of God, foolishness of Men, Romans 1 theme

(from the Incarnation article):

In the very first Chapter of his letter to the Corinthians (1:17-2:2), Paul continues the theme set out on in Romans 1, on the intellectual arrogance and pride of man. Paul gives the key to how we must approach the great mystery and paradox of the Incarnation of God. In doing so, he lays the very framework of what the call to holiness might be like. To those who make the personal choice for lives of sin and harm for personal gain and glory, the paths of God seem strange and unnecessary. To them only sin seems necessary and wise.

It is only natural that the manner in which God acts in this world is unlikely to be in concord with the manner in which sinners would like to act, and therefore seem to them as “foolish”. However it is also likely that the very Power of the Almighty God passes them by in that most innocuous and fragile act of love, just like the gentle breeze. In fact sinners do not primarily reject God’s ways, rather they reject God’s very existence, based upon the foolishness they perceive in the teachings of those claiming to represent him (v.21). Yet Paul stress that this is literally all he has come to teach (vv.1:17, 2:2). It is not just the whole Christian story but specifically the “message of the cross” (vv.18,25,23; 2:14) that is this perceived “foolishness to those who are perishing, and yet at the same time it is the “power of God to those who are being saved”.

The only moral framework necessary for us is this- If we are being completely honest with ourselves, then that which is the deepest inclination and desire of our hearts is likely to be in concord with the will of the One who made us. God is unlikely, in creating us, to have placed a lie at the deepest part of our being. This is the conflict at the heart of any “divine command” theory, where the will of God might be at conflict with the deepest longing of the human soul. The decision every person struggling with such conflict must arrive at is whether the morality of that which is being taught them by a particular religion is from God, or whether that which is within his soul is. We would state that in Christianity, those two are completely aligned as they should be, and Christ came to show us just this.

And yet this “wisdom” of ages is hidden from the “wise” of the world for that very reason (v.2:6,8) for that same reason, rather it is “in secret” (vv.2:1,7- en mysterio) and “hidden” (apokekrumenen). Thus St. Paul can say that these things are not taught in “human wisdom” but “by (God-v.11) the Spirit” to “those who are spiritual” (v.13), as also they are spiritually discerned and understood (v.14).

Ultimately this philosophy is not one that is directed primarily as a polemic against any particular religion, rather it is directed against the very heart of sin, which is precisely what makes it a universal and eternal, perennial philosophy, and a sure hope.

IN SUMMARY, to say that God’s ways are foolish and that God does not exist is the same thing. If love appeared “wise” to those who reject God, there would be no problem of sin. Because love is the way of God, there is not the problem of sin in Heaven. Sinners make the simple error of supposing that power is no more than physical force and might. In doing so they reject true Power which is Love, God’s very Essence, which He displays and teaches in his loving Sacrifice on the Cross.

“Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the Name of our God” (Psalm 20:7)

the themes continues to come up in other secitions of the letter like 1Cor4:10 “we are fools for the sake of Christ”.

Chapter 2. Romans 8 themed

For Paul to say “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (v.2 ou gar ekrina ti eidenai en hymin ei me Iesoun Christon, kai touton estauromenon) is of tremendous Christological import and in corollary, this sufficiency of Christ is a proclamation of his omnipotence and the his epistemic sufficiency that of this own omniscience. This is immediately following on from the verse in ch.1 “…but we preach Christ crucified (hemeis de keryssomen Christon estauromenon v.1:23”

He goes on to call Christ the “Lord of glory (kyrion tes doxes)”, a clear reference to Psalm 24:7 (v.8), a highly elevated divine title, perhaps unassailable linguistically. There is a seeming contradiction too: the “secret hidden wisdom of God (theou sophian en myeterio ten apokekryptommenen)” was decreed before the ages for our glory (ten proorisen ho theos prop ton aionon eis doxan hemon)” (v.7) How can it be both hidden and decreed? Obviously it was in the form of prophecy that was often times obscure, but made clear with the coming of Christ, which is Paul’s point.

The conversation about the Spirit resumes from Romans 8 both on the theme of Life in the Spirit, of desring the spiritual as well as the other direction, that of the direct action of the Spirit in our lives vv.10-16). The Spirit’s personhood is asserted in that he “searches”, and along with it his divine personhood in that he knows “even the deep things of God”, used analogously to the manner in which a man’s spirit alone knows his own deepest things. In the next chapter we see the spirit also “teaches” (1Cor2:13). Yet the personality is simultaneously asserted in that our own spirits do not “search” inside us or intercede for us, while the Spirit of God “searches everything”, even the depths of God’s mysteries, and to him nothing is hidden (1Cor2:10). Notably Romans 8 states it is God the Father himself who “searches the heart” (v.27). The Spirit in fact has the ultimate knowledge, which is of “even the deep things of God” (1Cor2:11) and “no one (but it), comprehends what is truly God’s” (1Cor2:12).

Again the theme of our own life in the Spirit is picked up here from Romans 8, but here it is related to undertanding and comprehension of the spiritual life. This is the best way to summarize the complexity of yet one more beautiful Pauline passage:

Paul “communicates spiritually, spiritual things taught by the Spirit, (my tr., ha laloumen…en didaktois pneumatos, pneumatikois pneumatica synkrninontes, v.13, a rare consrtuction with “spirit” used in three grammatical forms in one sentence)” to the spiritual (ho penumatikos, v.15), who “received the Spirit that is from God (to pnuema to ek to theou) so we may know the gifts betowed on us by God (hina eidomen ta hypo tou theou charisthenta hymin, v.12), which are spiritually discerned (hoti pneumatikos anakrinetai, v.14. Anakrino, 16occ. [Lk.-1, Acts-5, 1Cor.-10]). We discern all things (anakrinei ta panta) and are themselves under no one’s scrutiny (autos de hyp’ oudenos anakrinetai, v.15). To the unspiritual (natural man- psychikos anthropos) on the other hand, the gifts of God and foolishness (moria gar auto estin), hence not received (ou dechetai), not comprehended (ou synatai gnonai) (v.14).

Chapter 3

The believers are called “Temples of the Holy Spirit”. Clearly, God and the Spirit are equated here, since only the presence of God could make a place fit to be called his Temple. Thus in 1Cor.6 Paul can now say: “therefore glorify God in your bodies” “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (1Cor.3:16) your body is a temple of the HS (1Cor 6:19)
“The (believer’s) body is meant (…) for the Lord (Jesus) and the Lord for the body (v.13)…your bodies are members of Christ (v.15)…(as) one spirit (united) with him (v.17)…a Temple of the Holy Spirit within you (v.19)…therefore glorify God in your body (doxasate ton Theon en to(i) somati hymon-v.20)” (1Cor 6:13-20)

The passage from 2:10-15 myself, in line with most Catholics would interpret as referring to Purgatory, and you can see that here Purgatory:

1 Cor 3:10-16 For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw –each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”

This speaks of “the Day” which is hard to see as anything other than the day that the person comes before the Judgement Seat of God, given the context that his life is being weighed in the balance and “revealed”. This sort of event does not occur during earthly life. There is a clear condition given of a person who “is saved”, meaning that he goes to Heaven, yet he “will suffer loss” and “be saved as through fire”. It is evident that both these occur post-death and so it is hard to see it as anything other than Purgatory.

Compare this with the OT verse from Isaiah. People are “recorded for life in Jerusalem” only after the Lord has washed away their filth by a “spirit of judgement and a spirit of burning”:

““On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. Whoever is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, once the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its places of assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Indeed over all the glory there will be a canopy…” (Isaiah 4:1-5a)

In these three chapters Paul has said we are “in Christ” (1:2,30), in communion with him (1:9) “we have the mind of Christ” (2:16), and that we are “infants in Christ” (3:1).

Chapters 4,5,6

2 Corinthians

Chapter3.

St Paul makes a powerful contrast between the “old covenant” and the “new covenant” here. The ministry of glory that we are called to is permanent rather than set aside, justification rather than condemnation, of the Spirit which gives life rather than of the letter which kills. He makes the startling visualization that the minsitry that mere laypeople like ourselves are called to is even greater than the glory of the ministry of Moses whose very face so shone with the glory of God that the people of Israel could not bear even to gaze upon it.

7Εἰ δὲ ἡ διακονία τοῦ θανάτου ἐν γράμμασιν ἐντετυπωμένη λίθοις ἐγενήθη ἐν δόξῃ, ὥστε μὴ δύνασθαι ἀτενίσαι τοὺς υἱοὺς Ἰσραὴλ εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον Μωϋσέως διὰ τὴν δόξαν τοῦ προσώπου αὐτοῦ τὴν καταργουμένην, 8πῶς οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἡ διακονία τοῦ πνεύματος ἔσται ἐν δόξῃ; 9εἰ γὰρ ἡ διακονία τῆς κατακρίσεως δόξα, πολλῷ μᾶλλον περισσεύει ἡ διακονία τῆς δικαιοσύνης δόξῃ. 10καὶ γὰρ οὐ δεδόξασται τὸ δεδοξασμένον ἐν τούτῳ τῷ μέρει εἵνεκεν τῆς ὑπερβαλλούσης δόξης. 11εἰ γὰρ τὸ καταργούμενον διὰ δόξης, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὸ μένον ἐν δόξῃ.

Chapter 4

Let’s diagram the verse from 2Cor.4:4-6, 2Cor.3:18, 4:16,17: 

In Ch.4 we have: “God… (who) has shone in our hearts (hos elampsen en tais kardiais hemon)” (a); to give us “the gospel” (e); of “the glory of Christ (euangelious tes doxes tou theou)” (b); which is “the knowledge” (f); of “the glory of God (tes gnoseos tes doxes tou theou)” (c); in “the face of Christ (en prosopo Iesou Christou)” (d); who is “the image of God (hos estin eikon tou theou)” (d).

In Ch.3 we also get: “the glory of the Lord” c; “as reflected in a mirror” is d, which is the “image of God”; and that we are being transformed g; into “the same image” d, from one degree of c to another.

In Ch.2, 4:7-16 we have: Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. (g); For our slight, momentary affliction is producing for us an “eternal weight of glory beyond all measure” (c).

I’ve left out the term “the light of” in b&c just to simplify the phrases. But we can add that the entire passage is indended through this use of “shining” and “light” to convey revelation and glory, or Revelation of Glory in Christ. But if we combine the elements, this is what we get: Since c is in d, therefore b is c- “the glory of God” is “the glory of Christ”. In any case, c is d, “the glory of God in the Face of Christ” and in this knowledge f, which is the gospel e, God shines in our hearts a, c&d, transforming us g in and by this.

All these have the same elements from slightly varying perspectives: 3:18 is from the perspective of the transformative power of gazing upon, or contemplating the Lord, analogous to Moses seeing the Lord face to face; 4:4-8 links this to the contemplation of Christ in the gospels, and 4:16 to our new creation in Him.

Thus God shining gloriously is none other than the Glory of the Face of Christ, since it is the Image of him, and in the Gospel, this Glory is given in our minds and hearts. Both the terms “glory of God” and the phraseology “Face of Christ” is used of no one but God in the OT. When we accept the Gospel in faith, His Presence in us is a light to our soul and intellect, which is the personal encounter with the Face of Christ. The experience and comprehension that we are given of the Person of Christ is the experience and comprehension of the Nature of God himself:

(2Cor.4:4,6) ³ “…the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing clearly the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’s sake. ⁶ For it is the God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

ἐν οἷς ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσεν τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων εἰς τὸ μὴ αὐγάσαι τὸν φωτισμὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ Θεοῦ. 5 οὐ γὰρ ἑαυτοὺς κηρύσσομεν ἀλλὰ Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν Κύριον, ἑαυτοὺς δὲ δούλους ὑμῶν διὰ Ἰησοῦν. 6ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς ὁ εἰπών Ἐκ σκότους φῶς λάμψει, ὃς ἔλαμψεν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν πρὸς φωτισμὸν τῆς γνώσεως τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ Χριστοῦ.

So let us be conscious of this as we read the Gospels. This is how St Paul describes our Bible study.

Paul’s verses on Suffering

The opening of 2 Corinthians is a good place to reflect on all of Paul’s writings on the topic of suffering. They should be familiar to most Christians, and I think it will be powerful to see them here in one place.

Why is the suffering of God comforting for humans? The answer is that it engenders belief in the love of God. Every other religion lacks this and so every other religion will struggle to know with any certainty the true character of God, his intention in creating, and his attitude toward us, rather this needs to be guessed at.

As a result, there is no true comfort in suffering, because there is no true meaning of suffering- why does one suffer for a being whose feelings towards us remain ambivalent? It is not without reason that you will constantly, sometimes to the point of annoyance hear Christians say that Christianity is first and foremost a “relationship”. In other words, every religion that lacks this teaching lacks a relationship with God, because what relationship is there to be had with someone that you do not know personally, or know the personality of?

Thus in Christianity, this relationship is the religion itself. The lack of this relationship in religion is what leads to conflict in the heart of the believer between the drive for giving and receiving, love and hate, control and freedom, and so on. The expression “if you love somebody set them free” was perhaps popularised by Sting, but is most probably based on the Biblical “the truth will set you free” and other verses stressing the importance of both love and freedom (eg. “where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom [hou de to pneuma kyriou, eleutheria] 2Cor.3:17).

The knowledge of a loving God brings the ability to live freely,because it enables us to love freely. And the freedom of love is what Heaven is. Without this, it is not even possible to define Heaven, leave alone know God, even if those were separate things. Indeed this is also why Heaven is no more than the Divine Presence, which again avoids all the problems of Heaven inherited from pagan beliefs of places with various physical descriptions that we can find in the Zoarastrian religion but even in the descriptions of the abodes of the gods in ancient Hinduism and Greek mythology.

Modern religions without the concept of a loving relationship with God will simply inherit and modify these concepts into their own eschatologies, notably in recent times Islam and Jehovah’s so-called Witnesses. We can see this in Islam where God is pushing people away from him. He denies humans can be considered his children (Verses 5:18, 19:92), displays some sort of negativity toward the female sex (13:149), and pulverises an entire mountain just to make the point to Moses that he cannot be approached (7:143). Thus the God of the Bible suffers for humans precisely because of this very difference- he truly considers them family.

This does not mean that other religions are negated through this argument alone, because the followers of those could assert that we are not actually called into a relationship with God anyway, rather in Heaven there is merely better relationships between us humans. This argument merely seeks to demonstrate how the notion of a loving God gives true comfort in suffering, the best relationships between humans on Earth, a truly spiritual Heaven that does not look like anything ad hoc from the pagan past, and inspires the most beautiful spiritual writings like those we see in Paul here.

“ ⁹ For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, as though sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to humans. ¹⁰ We are fools for the sake of Christ, but you are sensible people in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored. ¹¹ To the present hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are naked and beaten and homeless, ¹² and we grow weary from the work of our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; ¹³ when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day.”

(1 Corinthians 4:9-13)

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies (oiktirmos- compassion, pity [mercy] 5occ.) and the God of all consolation (paraklesis. 29occ.encouragement, comfort), who consoles us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to console those who are in any affliction with the consolation with which we ourselves are consoled by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are abundant for us, so also our consolation is abundant through Christ. If we are being afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; if we are being consoled, it is for your consolation, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we are also suffering. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our consolation.” 

(2Cor.1:3-7)

“ ⁴ but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: in great endurance, afflictions, hardships, calamities, ⁵ beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; ⁶ in purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, ⁷ truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; ⁸ in honor and dishonor, in ill repute and good repute. We are treated as impostors and yet are true, ⁹ as unknown and yet are well known, as dying and look—we are alive, as punished and yet not killed, ¹⁰ as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing everything.”

(2 Corinthians 6:4-10)

The “jars of clay” here is actually a powerful connotation that we are subject to breaking, ie suffering:

“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. ⁸ We are afflicted in every way but not crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair, ⁹ persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, ¹⁰ always carrying around in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. ¹¹ For we who are living are always being handed over to death for Jesus’s sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our mortal flesh. ¹² So death is at work in us but life in you.

¹³ But just as we have the same spirit of faith that is in accordance with scripture—“I believed, and so I spoke”—we also believe, and therefore we also speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and will present us with you in his presence. ¹⁵ Indeed, everything is for your sake, so that grace, when it has extended to more and more people, may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

“¹⁶ So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our slight, momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, ¹⁸ because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen, for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. “

(2Cor4:7-16)

“…I am overjoyed in all our affliction” (2Cor.7:4, cf. Phil.4:4. Act.5:41; Lk.6:23)

“But whatever anyone dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. ²² Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. ²³ Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. ²⁴ Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; ²⁶ on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters; ²⁷ in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. ²⁸ And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. ²⁹ Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant?”

(2Cor.11:21-29)

“ Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. ⁸ Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, ⁹ but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰ Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”

(2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Chapter 6

Holiness/ Sanctity in the Bible

Christians will hopefully recognise that holiness/ purity/ sanctity/ just/ righteousness are simply different manners of expressing the perfection of God himself, and therefore when applied to us, are meant to represent the state that God wants for us, from slightly different perspectives and manner of usage. Each of these can be changed from representing a state to a passive process with the addition of “-ification”.

The NT uses the same root dikaiosyne (n., dikaioo, v.) for both righteousness and justification, while for holiness/sanctity it is hagios (n.), hagioo (v.). Purification is the word for cleansing- katharsis (eg.2Cor.7:1); while “perfection” is the word for “end”- teleiotes– see section on the purification of the conscience). In the OT word, on the other hand, all we have is kadosh. Examples are from Is.6:3 holy God, Deut 18:19, holy people kadosh am, holy place). Kadosh in the noun form is 118occ., plus verb 175 occ. kadash– to consecrate, set apart etc.

It’s useful to reflect on this semantic inter-relation, in order to avoid confusion caused by the multiple usage. God is one and his perfection is one. The only thing not one about God is persons. We don’t don’t view God as having more than this aspect, while neither is God going to view us like some patchwork quilt made of 5 different things. In the end all the virtues are love and God is love. Other religions can struggle with this, because “purity” can be related to ceremonial duties that externally prepare oneself for prayer, or as obedience to prescribed laws. But in contrast in Christianity, a reflection upon the narrative of holiness leads us to the startling exhortation to man to aspire to the holiness/ perfection of God himself.

It’s worth quoting these verses in full. The central verses which speak of God calling out to us in holiness are two from the NT, and three Levitical verses:

Matthew 5:48 “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”; Luke 6:36 “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” and in the OT: Leviticus 19:2 ““Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy”; Leviticus 11:44 “For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground.” Leviticus 20:26 “You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine”; and two others: Genesis 17:1 “When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless” Deuteronomy 18:13 “You shall be blameless before the Lord your God…”

We also have the command to distance ourselves from the unholy:

“Isaiah 52:11 “Depart, depart, go out from there; touch no unclean thing; go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves, you who bear the vessels of the Lord” (cf.Num.16:26)

Which is reflected in Pauls”s writings:

2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 “Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be your Father and you shall be my sons and daughters. Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God”

Then we have this reflected in:

1 Peter 1:15-16 “but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”” James 1:4 “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”; Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us…” 1 John 3:3 “And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” 2 Corinthians 7:1 “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” Philippians 3:12-15 “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own…”

Thus we have Lord’s intention to present us as holy to himself:

“I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.” (2 Cor.11:2); “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, so that she may be holy and without blemish. ” (2Eph.5:25-27); (Col. 1:22) “he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him”; (1Pet.1:19)”but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.“; (Jude 1:21,24) “keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life (…)Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy“; (2Pet.3:14) “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”; “you have come to…the heavently Jerusalem…the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Heb.12:22-24); (1Thess.5:23) “Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

DAY OF THE LORD JESUS in the New Testament

The theme of the Day of the Lord is prominent in the two letters to the Corinthians, so it will be expedient to discuss them here.

1 Corinthians 4.5: Therefore do not pronounce judgement before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.

The Day of the Lord:

Matthew 7.22: On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?

1 Corinthians 5.5: you are to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord

2 Corinthians 1.14: as you have already understood us in part—that on the day of the Lord Jesus we are your boast even as you are our boast.

1 Thessalonians 5.2: For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

2 Thessalonians 2.2: not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here

2 Peter 3.10: But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed

on that day:

2 Thessalonians 1.10: when he comes to be glorified by his saints and to be marvelled at on that day among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

1 Thessalonians 5.2: For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

2 Timothy 1.18: —may the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! And you know very well how much service he rendered in Ephesus.

2 Timothy 4.8: From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.