Unconquered Territory (8)

Cast cords of love around my heart, then hold me and never let me go.

May the Saviour’s wounds sway me more than the sceptre of princes.

Let me love thee in a love that covers and swallows up all,

That I may not violate my chaste union with the beloved;

There is much unconquered territory in my nature,

Scourge out the buyers and sellers of my soul’s temple,

And give me in return, pure desires,

And longing after perfect holiness.  

The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett, Banner of Truth, page 345.

And longing after perfect holiness.  

Why “perfect” holiness? To see the face of God, to behold His glory, and to radiate His glory to others; to join in the symphony of the heavens in praising Him and expressing His many-faceted beauty and glory.

Jesus desires that we be with Him so that we may see His glory (John 17:24). Where is Jesus? Surely He is in perfect holiness.

In 2 Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1 Paul teaches that we are neither to have a partnership nor fellowship (koinonia) with lawlessness and darkness. He reminds us that we are the temple of God and that idols do not belong in God’s temple - for God lives in His Temple. He reminds us that God says, “Don’t touch the unclean thing.” He then writes, “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”

The promises include “I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people...and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me.”

Paul writes to the Thessalonians, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thes. 4:3); the author of Hebrews counsels, “Pursue peace with all men, and sanctification (holiness) without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).

Since the City of our pilgrimage is pure and holy (Revelation chapters 21 - 22), ought not we to desire the purity of our City in our hearts today? The light of the City and its purity are the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb; do they not live in our hearts, in our temples, in our collective Temple - which is most especially His Temple?

As for “longing after perfect holiness”, doesn’t Jesus say, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied”(Matt. 5:6)? Cannot we trust Jesus to fulfill our longings for His holiness? Or do we think Jesus will give us a stone or a snake (Matt. 7:7 - 11)? Jesus says that our Father will give us what is good...certainly His holiness is good, can we not ask in faith and assurance that He will sanctify us in His image?

It would be cruel for God to exhort us to holiness, to command us to be holy, if such were an impossibility. This would be akin to dangling food and water in front of a man on the verge of starvation and then throwing the life-giving sustenance into a pit, making it inaccessible. Surely our God is not like that, surely He is not cruel, surely He does not command what He cannot accomplish, what He is not willing to accomplish in us and through us in Jesus Christ.

One of the glorious distinctions between Law and Grace, between the New and Old Covenants, is that while the Law brings condemnation and is unable to empower us to meet its requirements, Grace not only showers us with the mercy and forgiveness of God in Christ, but it empowers us in Christ to live overcoming lives, to live lives in His image, to live as saints and not as sinners. Jesus is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2), He will perfect that which He began in us (Philippians 1:6).

God is glorified when we bear fruit (John 15:8) and demonstrate that we are indeed disciples of Jesus Christ. Christ desires that His joy may be in us, living and abiding and resident in us, and that our joy may be full (John 15:9 - 11; 17:13) - there is joy in holiness, there is no joy in sin and impurity and disobedience.

We are not called to look at our insufficiency, but at Christ’s all-sufficiency. When we look at ourselves we will always fall short of God’s glory, but when we behold Jesus Christ we will be transformed from glory to glory into the image of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, our elder Brother...as He brings many sons and daughters to glory...the glory of holiness, the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 3:17 - 18; Hebrews 2:9 - 13; 12:1 - 2.