Purify yourselves

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.  1 John 3:2-3 

We look to God with all awe, holiness, wonderment, and purity, knowing that He is the creator of it all.”  We can say, that the Holy Spirit works in every man who has true hope, and that man will labor to become purified and uses all possible means to overcome sin and walk in righteousness.

Below, I give you some points on “How to,” but first, what does it mean to purify oneself in the Greek? The word, “Purifieth” in the Strong’s Greek G53 is hagnízō and it’s pronounced as “hag-nid’-zo.” This word means in the original Greek writings: to make clean, sanctify morally – purify (self). To make pure, cleanse morally.   Also, to remove contaminants from; Synonyms: purge, clear, free, unburden, deliver, relieve…  Corrupt, defile = pervert, deprave, defile, debauch (destroy or debase the moral purity of) desecrate (violent disrespect; violate)

So, to purify yourself, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to help and purge all the pain, the bad and ugly stuff from our hearts. As we walk with God, Father YHWH we need to ask during our prayer time, as we meditate or talk with our heavenly Father to help us heal in order to purify our hearts from all the pains and ugly things stuck in it since our childhood. To begin with… purification is a process and daily we are to work on it – to release it forever in the lake of forgetfulness. Remember, it’s a process, and our hope is that one day we will be taken as the Bride of Christ … pure and spotless.

Purification: In Acts 21:24 it is written, ” Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.” (Note: We must still follow our local governmental laws plus let’s not forget spiritual laws as well.) Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

Morally:    James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double-minded. In 1 Peter 1:22, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently (very heartily or passionately).”

First… reflect and exam yourself.

Put away all the grosser sins. Get rid of the obvious. Foul language, improper dressing, bad attitudes/behavior.

Perhaps before salvation, we had been unchaste. We had been lustful in our language and in our actions, or we had been dishonest, or we had talked with a foul mouth.   Experiencing a true conversion does away with all that.   The sins of the flesh which, though we are purged from them, will attempt to return if we allow it.  The person who has a hope of heaven will purify themselves every day from them. They will hate the very thought of those sins and any expressions or actions that might tend towards them. He hates them.  So he “purifies himself” from daily contamination. He purifies himself from all evil company.

If our friends and family choose to follow and accept Jesus, then we will be glad that they joined our heavenly family. But if they neither repent of sin nor accept Jesus, then you must separate yourselves.  The misconception about this is that many cut themselves completely. This is not what the bible teaches. We continue to love our family and friends, we just don’t hang around them to the point where their bad influence changes us instead. We are to be the light and salt of the earth and we are to lead them into salvation and into a relationship with Father. We must “purify” ourselves from the bad company if you are weaker than them. In other words, if they are stronger (aggressive) than you, then stay away due to the fact that the peer pressure will affect you. You’ll do things that you don’t want. The question here is… who is affecting who?    

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Purification starts from that day of salvation until we die; daily seeking and purifying ourselves. Ref. Matthew 23:26 and it’s written in 2 Corinthians 7:1, “Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

How do we purify ourselves?

• Pray faithfully to God and seek understanding, strength, and to give us a tender conscience. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into all truth.

• Keep an eye on God, and not on men. Stay focused on Christ and YHWH. Read your bible – study it, not just read it.

• We need to connect to the leadership in the Body of Christ and make friends with those that can offer spiritual directions and guidance.

• Connect with a true teaching church – ministry.   If the ministry never cuts you (in the heart), it is no use to you.  If it does not make you feel ashamed of yourself or you get angry with the preacher – it isn’t much. However, if it seems to open up old wounds and make the sores aggravated and the soul bleeds before the living God, then hope it is a ministry that God is using for the sake of your soul and spiritual growth.

“Every Christian that has this purpose or hope of Christ’s return as written in 1 John 3:3, purifies themselves.”  Do we have true hope in Christ?   If we do, we purify ourselves.  We labor to purify ourselves even as Christ is pure! Therefore, fear God who can destroy both our bodies and our spirit.

 There are some Christians, who do the opposite of this, they keep defiling themselves.  They were baptized and spoke the profession of their faith, but they were never cleansed from their old sins.  They never worked with the issues in their hearts.  They keep living life as the unsaved, in sin. This scripture, Matthew 23:26 is serious. It states, “Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.” Know this, looking nice and neat on the outside does not matter as much as cleaning and purifying yourself in the inside where it counts. Eventually, the purification of the inside will radiate to the outside. We have to do as it is written in Ephesians 4:22-24, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.“

Let us focus on renewing our minds and be Christ-minded. Let us clean our cups from the inside first and it will overflow to the outside. Let us pray and prepare daily. Let us shine, and then one day, we can say, “I have allowed the Holy Spirit to do its work in me, and He has.” We can look back and smile because our HOPE is that Christ is returning for His Bride and we will be ready. Matthew 25:31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.

2 Corinthians 11:2  For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Blessed be the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.