Cleanse Ourselves: 2 Corinthians 7:1-10, especially vs. 1:
"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
In this quote, note that the Apostle is referring to the series of Divine promises he has just cited (2 Cor. 6:16-18), promises in which God says in effect: "Be a pure people separated to Me, and I will dwell among you as your God." On the basis of these promises, the Apostle admonishes us to "cleanse ourselves" so that God may dwell among us. Still, the Prophet Job taught: "For who shall be pure from uncleanness? not even one" (Job 14:4 LXX). Since we are unclean, is the Apostle's admonition a counsel of futility?
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Were it not that the Lord bore our sins (Is. 52:4-6 LXX) and cleansed us in the washing of Holy Baptism (Eph. 5:26), these promises could only lead to despair. However, in urging us to "cleanse ourselves," the Apostle reveals the great hope we have in Christ Jesus. The Lord achieved the essential cleansing, a foundation for purity beyond our capacity. Now, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, we have hope of attaining true purity. So, in this passage, St. Paul teaches the sort of purity we need, what constitutes cleansing, and the steps that must be taken to attain cleansing.
The purity that God seeks in us is moral. As the Apostle says, we are to "cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit" (vs. 1). "Flesh" is the way he speaks of human desires, thoughts, feelings and actions when they are alienated from God. Human life apart from God, when men have no fear of God, leads only to bitterness and filthiness of flesh and spirit. Therefore, the focus of Apostolic living first of all is directed toward heightened consciousness of one's desires, thoughts, feelings and actions.
If we would be cleansed, first we must find and identify the workings of the flesh within ourselves. Then with the aid of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to expel "all filthiness of flesh and spirit." We may cleanse ourselves. On our part, the ascesis of prayer, fasting and worship is required so that the Holy Spirit may illumine our hearts and move us into cleansing action. However, as St. Gregory Palamas has observed: even when evil thoughts cease, the whole soul is not yet pure. Our entire inner life, including our spirit or heart, must be purified. "All the other powers of our soul" must be cleansed, which requires our self-control, love, vigil, and vigilance.
St. Paul declares that we must work for moral cleansing by "perfecting holiness." The word "perfecting" derives from "telos," the word the Lord used when He said: "You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt. 5:48). "Telos" refers to "an end attained." Hence, cleansing is a process lived in the "fear of God," its end being holiness. The purity to be attained is set by God, not standards proposed or qualified by men. God's standards become the measure of all that must be expelled, or retained and developed within us.
Finally, the Apostle describes the steps, which must be taken to reach the "telos," the ultimate God-defined purity. We may cleanse ourselves when our hearts are open to the teachings of the Apostles (vs. 2), when we are filled with an "earnest desire" to be cleansed (vs. 7), when we mourn and grieve because of our uncleanness and sin (vs. 7), and when we zealously pursue cleansing (vs. 7).
Followed diligently as a program of cleansing, these steps naturally lead to repentance, to that "sacrifice" which is pleasing to God, to "a broken spirit, a heart that is broken and humbled" (Ps. 50:17 LXX). Such a heart God does not despise. Rather, He works with us and within us to create such a clean heart and to renew that right spirit within, which He desires (Ps. 50:10LXX).
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy and blot out my transgressions.