Overcoming Impurity
Introduction
Impurity did not begin with man. Before sin entered the heart of humanity, impurity had already entered the heart of Lucifer. Isaiah 14:12–15 shows how Lucifer, who was created as a perfect angel, allowed pride, arrogance, and rebellion to enter his heart. He desired to exalt himself and be like the Most High. Ezekiel 28:15–17 likewise speaks of him as having been perfect from the day he was created until iniquity was found in him. What began in his heart eventually led to his rebellion against God.
Revelation 12:7–9 describes the warfare that took place in heaven, where Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. They did not prevail, and there was no longer a place for them in heaven. Jesus also said in Luke 10:18, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven,” while 2 Peter 2:4 tells us that God did not spare the angels who sinned but cast them down to the place of darkness, reserved for judgment. This impurity did not remain there. When Satan and the fallen angels were cast down, the world became chaotic, formless, empty, and covered in darkness, as Genesis 1:2 describes. The earth was now in a condition that would later be used to reveal the spiritual condition of man and God’s work of redemption.
When man was created, he was made in the image of God, but Satan eventually brought the same impurity into the heart of man through deception and disobedience. Genesis 3:6 shows how the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable, and she took its fruit. Man listened to Satan’s lies and abandoned God’s Word, and impurity entered into the heart of man. As a result, every person is born into a condition of confusion, emptiness, and darkness. Yet God did not leave us there. From the beginning, He had already revealed His way of bringing man back into His presence, ultimately through the Gospel of Water and Spirit—Jesus’ baptism, death, and resurrection.
The question, then, is: how do we overcome the impurity that continues to come against us? Once we have been saved, the spiritual warfare does not simply stop. Satan continues to tempt and draw us away from the Gospel, which is why we must remain established in Christ. As we look at the Gospel of water and the Spirit, we will see three ways to overcome impurity: be centred in the Gospel of Water and Spirit, be rested in the Gospel of Water and Spirit, and be enlightened in the Gospel of Water and Spirit.
Be Centred In The Gospel Of Water & Spirit
As we understand the origin and effects of impurity, we then see the importance of being centred in the Gospel of Water and Spirit. After we are saved, the spiritual warfare does not stop. Satan continues to tempt us with the things of this world and tries to draw us away from the truth. This is why we need to continually reinforce, establish, ground, and strengthen ourselves in the Gospel of water and the Spirit. Our salvation is not a reason to become careless, but a reason to remain firmly rooted in Christ throughout our lives.
Romans 6:3–4 teaches us that when we were baptized into Christ, we were baptized into His death and buried with Him, and just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too should walk in the newness of life. This is the Gospel that we must keep returning to. Jesus’ baptism is important because it is through His baptism that He received the sin of the world, and through His death and resurrection, we have a new life in Him. We are therefore not trusting in our own efforts, knowledge, or righteousness, but continually reminding ourselves of what Jesus has already accomplished through His baptism, death, and resurrection.
Galatians 2:14 also reminds us of the importance of walking according to the truth of the Gospel. When we move away from the Gospel and begin to place our confidence in our own theological thinking, philosophy, rhetoric, self-righteousness, or understanding, impurity begins to set in. This is why we must keep the Gospel at the centre of our thought life and continually meditate upon it. Whether we are awake or asleep, we should remember the baptism of Jesus, how we became one with Him, how we died with Him, were buried with Him, and were raised together with Him.
When Christ remains at the centre, our lives also become established and ordered. When we move away from Him, we become confused, aimless, and directionless, just as the earth was described as formless and chaotic in Genesis 1:2. When we remain centred in the Gospel of water and the Spirit, we have clarity and direction because Christ is at the centre of our lives. We are able to live out our responsibilities, serve God’s kingdom, and remain grounded in the truth. This is how we stand against the continual onslaught of impurity and remain in the Gospel of water and the Spirit that has saved and sanctified us.
Be Rested In The Gospel Of Water & Spirit
As we remain centred in the Gospel of Water and Spirit, we also need to learn to be rested in the Gospel of Water and Spirit. Genesis 1:2 describes the earth as being formless, empty, and covered in darkness, and the second problem we see in the life of man is this emptiness or void. The question is how this emptiness can be overcome. The answer is to be rested in Christ, because Christ is the only One who can bring true rest into our hearts.
Genesis 2:3 tells us that God rested from all His work after completing creation. This points us to the finished work of redemption. God has completed His work, and Christ is our rest. We do not need to keep looking to the things of this world to fill the emptiness within us. Satan will always try to fill our hearts with the things of this world, but Christ is enough. Whatever we are looking for, whether it is love, security, provision, or something else, we can look to God as our source. He has not left us alone, and He will supply what we need.
Hebrews 4:3a says, “For we who have believed do enter that rest,” while Hebrews 4:11a says, “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest.” This rest is entered by faith. Life can bring bodily, emotional, mental, and material difficulties, and these things can easily make us restless, worried, and afraid. Yet we are called to believe God regardless of how we feel and to find our rest in Christ. Through faith in the Gospel of water and the Spirit, we can have the stability and strength we need because Jesus has already accomplished what is necessary for our salvation.
Being rested in the Gospel of water and the Spirit means continually trusting in what Jesus has done through His baptism, death, and resurrection. When we become restless, we begin to lose our faith and stability, but when we remain in Christ, we can rejoice, pray, and give thanks even in difficult circumstances. The Gospel reminds us that we have been saved perfectly and completely, giving us every reason to rejoice. So we must not allow the emptiness of this world to pull us in different directions. Stay in the Gospel, remain in Christ, and be rested in Him, knowing that He is our source, our strength, and our rest.
Be Enlightened In The Gospel Of Water & Spirit
As we remain centred in the Gospel of Water and Spirit and learn to be rested in Christ, we also need to be enlightened in the Gospel of Water and Spirit. The third condition of the heart that we see in Genesis 1:2 is darkness, and this darkness refers to unbelief. Every person is born into this world with unbelief and cannot find the way back to God on their own. God had to initiate the way, work it out, fulfil it, and send His Son so that we could believe His Word and return to His presence.
This is why the Gospel gives light to our hearts. Colossians 1:12–14 speaks of the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light and who has delivered us from the power of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His Son. We were once without Christ, without hope, and without the promises of God, but through the Gospel of water and the Spirit, God has qualified us and given us all that we need in Christ Jesus. As we continue walking in this Gospel, we are continually reminded of the work of Jesus’ baptism, death, and resurrection, through which we have been saved and given new life.
1 John 1:7 and 9 also show us the importance of walking in the light. When we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This reminds us that walking in the light is not simply knowing about the Gospel once. We continue to believe, cleave to, trust, and rely upon the truth of the Gospel in our daily lives.
When the Gospel of water and the Spirit enlightens our hearts, our spiritual eyes are opened, and we begin to have clarity about who God is and what He has prepared for us. We know the hope to which He has called us, the riches of His glory, and the resurrection power available to us in Christ. This is how we overcome the impurity that continually tries to flood and corrupt our hearts. When we walk in the flesh, we walk in darkness, but when we walk in the light, we remain in the truth. So let us continue to be centred, rested, and enlightened in the Gospel of water and the Spirit, keeping our hearts in the light of Christ and standing firm against impurity.
Living It Out
We have seen how impurity entered this world and how it continues to work against us, but God has given us the way to overcome it through the Gospel of water and the Spirit. Let us therefore keep ourselves centred, rested, and enlightened in this Gospel every day. When we are centred in Christ, we are grounded and established instead of becoming confused and directionless. When we are rested in Christ, we do not allow the emptiness of this world to control us, but trust Him as our source and strength. And when we are enlightened in the Gospel, our spiritual eyes are opened, and we can have clarity of heart, knowing the hope and promises that God has given us in Christ.
Let us keep walking in the Gospel of water and the Spirit, which constitutes Jesus’ baptism, death, and resurrection, and continually remind ourselves of what He has done for us. Through His baptism, we are united with Him; through His death, we died with Him; and through His resurrection, we are raised with Him and given new life. This is the Gospel that secures us and keeps us from being pulled away by the impurity that seeks to distract, divert, and corrupt us. As we remain in this Gospel each day, God can work in and through us, and we can continue to stand firm in purity until we go home to be with Him.
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