What a Difference Jesus Makes
Read the Text: 1 Corinthians 6
Memorize the Text:
Don't you yourselves know that you are God's temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is holy, and that is what you are.
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17, CSB)
Consider the Text: 1 Corinthians 6:11
The presence of sin separates people from a relationship with Jesus Christ. Sin acts like a knife severing the link between God and man because humanity's unholiness cannot exist in the presence of the holy God. In 1 Corinthians 6, the apostle Paul detailed how a life of a follower of Christ should differ from that of a non-Christian. Paul opened by pointing to the different approach from unbelievers that believers should use to settle differences and then proceeded to list examples of grievous sinful activities that define those separated from the Lord. The apostle provided three acts that occur at salvation that make Christians different.
Paul reminded Christians that they WERE WASHED at salvation. The presence of sin dirties one’s life. The stain of sin taints each to the point that cleaning the stain in one’s effort is impossible. The stain remains, and humanity cannot manufacture or earn a stain remover. The only true stain remover is Jesus. The work on the cross and the resurrection from the tomb were the acts that formed the avenue for the unbeliever to receive the available stain remover. This stain remover is a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior. Upon entering this relationship with Jesus, the believer does not clean themselves, but they are washed clean by the Lord. Thus, Jesus makes a difference in people's lives because he is the only stain remover for sin and the only means to be cleansed.
The apostle declared that believers WERE SANCTIFIED at salvation. The Lord is holy. As a result, humanity cannot stand in the presence of God because of the filth and dirt of sinful life. When one becomes cleansed by Christ, another activity occurs. The second activity is the moment of being sanctified by the Lord. To be sanctified means that the Lord sets one apart as His own and views the person as holy. In another letter, Paul declared that this act of sanctification is a past, present, and continual activity as one becomes more like Christ. As one’s relationship with Christ deepens, the believer becomes more like Christ and, as a result, illuminates a life of holiness more and more.
Paul asserted that believers WERE JUSTIFIED at salvation. Sin forms a debt that requires a payment of death. Jesus knew people could not fulfill the needed payment and be reconciled to the Lord. Thus, he paid the price so that the ability to become justified before the Lord could occur. When one becomes justified, they become seen as righteous before the Lord even though they are not righteous. This happens as the follower of Christ becomes robed in the righteousness of Christ. Thus, in Christ, a person becomes justified and recognized as righteous before the perfect righteous one.
As a follower of Christ, one must live under the realness of salvation. The believer must seek to live a life that illuminates the cleansing from Christ at salvation and reflects the sanctified nature. The presence of justification ought to challenge believers to live grateful and obedient before the Lord. When you think about your life, do you live and support the life that comes through being washed, sanctified, and justified in salvation? Believers cannot achieve a life like this in their ability but must live in the difference that Jesus makes.
This blog is part of the Coffee and Quiet Time with Jesus Devotional Series found at equippingfaith.com. Join the journey of reading through the New Testament this year. More information can be found at equippingfaith.com.
