Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters,” says the Lord Almighty.” (2 Corinthians 6:17-18)

Come Out From The World

God the Father is very strict concerning His relationship with His children. Jesus Christ came to offer salvation to the world through His blood and establish the covenant between the saved and His Father. When the heart obeys the gospel, and a covenant of grace is established between God and man, there are conditions of that grace required by the Father that must be kept. Obeying the gospel and never leaving the trappings of the world cannot be done. To be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of the Lord. The two are never compatible. God has always been clear of what He expects from His people, as He demanded the Israelites not to mingle with the inhabitants of the land. What brought the nation of Israel to destruction is trying to serve God and man.

The Lord prohibited the Jews from marrying the people of the land. They refused the word of the Lord. God warned the people about having friendships with the nations around them. They refused to remain separate from the nations. The destruction of Israel came because the Hebrews could not keep themselves apart from the influences of the world around them. Paul warned the Corinthian church of the influences surrounding them and the impact of that influence upon their lives. Corinth was an ungodly and immoral city. To act in the “Corinthian way” was to behave in the most vile and immoral manner known to a corrupt world. The church in Corinth needed to hear the lessons about influence to help protect the body of Christ.

Paul’s admonition is twofold. First, the Christians needed to come out from among the people of Corinth. There was nothing good that was going to come from friendships in the pagan world. The apostle was not suggesting a monastic life but rather for the Christians to remove the influences of their immoral friends and families. Coming out of the world was an action of devotion to the cause of Christ. They may have to make difficult decisions about who would be included in their lives and how much influence others would have on their families. The cause of Christ must always be the priority. There can be nothing that changes the moral compass of the Christian relationship with the Father. Jesus said He came to bring fathers against sons, mothers against daughters, children against parents, and foes will be from one’s own household. The Lord is showing the cost of coming out of the world.

Secondly, when people remove themselves from ungodly influences, they must remain in that place. Coming out or removing oneself from the influences of the world can be difficult, but it will have no value if separation is not maintained. God wants His children to be separate. This is a severance or division from the influences of the world. Standing for Christ could mean friends and families are removed from the sphere of influence. The cost of losing friends and family can be high, but losing eternal life is much higher. Being separate requires being different from the crowd. When a Christian lives in such a manner that he blends in with the world, he has become the world. God demands separation.

Unclean hearts cannot approach the throne of God. The child of God that wallows in the mire of the world is not clean before the Father. God will only receive those who have come out of the world to be separate and have cleansed themselves from the world’s influences. The sons and daughters of God are separated souls longing to be in the presence of the Father. They know the need to be found clean in the eyes of the Lord. Purity comes by separation from the world. The world is a place of filth because it does not love God. Satan rules over a defiled and perverse world. Christians live in the world, but they do not become like the world. Living separate from the world will unite the Christian in eternal life to the presence of the Father. Come out from among the world and be separate.