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September
21, 2004
THE
PURE ONE
"And
everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as
He is pure" (1 John 3:3, NKJV).
All John's
portraits of Jesus depict Him as the great paragon of all
virtues. He urges believers to walk as Jesus walked (see 1
John 2:6) and to become like Him (see 1 John 3:2). In today's
text, John urges believers to be pure just as Jesus is pure
(1 John 3:3). The Greek word by which John describes Christ's
purity is hagnos. It comes from the same root as hagios,
meaning holy. The word, hagnos, describes freedom from
defilement.
Everything
about Jesus was impeccably pure. His words, teachings, actions,
and relationships all carried the hallmark of purity. Jesus
was morally, spiritually, and doctrinally pure. His purity
originated in the mind. His mind was like a clear, unpolluted,
life-giving fountain. He once reminded His audience that pure
and impure water cannot proceed from the same source.
Through
unbroken contact with His heavenly Father, Jesus kept the
avenues to the soul constantly guarded. He never acted from
expediency, but always acted from principle. Duplicity and
sham were always repugnant to Him. Why He did what
He did was always more important than what He did.
He always acted right because He thought right.
Because
of His inner purity, everything about Jesus was refreshingly
transparent. In one of His masterful statements, He said,
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God"
(Matthew 5:8, NKJV). To be pure in heart is the equivalent
to being clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness.
Here's how we too can be pure just as He is pure: "Let
the lesson be of an elevated, ennobling character, that the
mind may be filled with pure and noble thoughts... As God
is pure in his sphere, so man is to be pure in his. And he
will be pure if Christ is formed within, the hope of glory;
for he will imitate Christ's life and reflect his character."--General
Conference Daily Bulletin, February 6, 1893.
My
Prayer Today: Lord, clothe me in the righteousness
of the "Pure One," that I may be like Him. Amen.
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