The legal system that was established after the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt was necessary to keep them from being separated from God. In order for God to dwell among his people, everything and every person that came in contact with him had to be consecrated. The process of consecration was intended to set apart or make holy the things and people that were dedicated to sacred use. The Hebrew word qadash (kaw-dash’), “in the simple stem, declares the act of setting apart, being holy (i.e. withdrawing someone or something from profane or ordinary use). The Lord set aside Aaron and his sons, consecrated them, and made them holy for the priesthood (Exodus 29:21). The altar was made holy, and anything coming in contact with it became holy (Exodus 29:37). The tabernacle, the ark, the table of showbread, the altar of burnt offering, and all the smaller accessories and utensils used in the cult of Israel were anointed with a special anointing oil so they became holy. Whatever came in contact with them became holy (Exodus 30:26-29)” (H6942). The problem with the process of consecration was that it wasn’t permanent. Things and people could become defiled and needed to be cleansed so that they could be restored to sacred use. When something or someone became unclean, purification was necessary to make it clean again. The steps involved in purifying lepers is outlined in chapter 14 of the book of Leviticus. Leviticus 14:1-20 states:

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look. Then, if the case of leprous disease is healed in the leprous person, the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop. And the priest shall command them to kill one of the birds in an earthenware vessel over fresh water. He shall take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water. And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed of the leprous disease. Then he shall pronounce him clean and shall let the living bird go into the open field. And he who is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes and shave off all his hair and bathe himself in water, and he shall be clean. And after that he may come into the camp, but live outside his tent seven days. And on the seventh day he shall shave off all his hair from his head, his beard, and his eyebrows. He shall shave off all his hair, and then he shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and he shall be clean. And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb a year old without blemish, and a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, and one log of oil. And the priest who cleanses him shall set the man who is to be cleansed and these things before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall take one of the male lambs and offer it for a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the Lord. And he shall kill the lamb in the place where they kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the place of the sanctuary. For the guilt offering, like the sin offering, belongs to the priest; it is most holy. The priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Then the priest shall take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his own left hand and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. And some of the oil that remains in his hand the priest shall put on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on top of the blood of the guilt offering. And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put on the head of him who is to be cleansed. Then the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord. The priest shall offer the sin offering, to make atonement for him who is to be cleansed from his uncleanness. And afterward he shall kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.”

An interesting thing to note about the miracle that Jesus performed to heal a man of his leprosy was that Jesus told the man afterward that he needed to go through the rites of purification in order to prove that he had been cleansed of his disease. Matthew’s gospel tells us that at the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), “great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.’ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them'” (Matthew 8:1-4).

The Greek word maturion (mar-too’-ree-on), which is translated proof in Matthew 8:4, is derived from the Greek word martus (mar’-toos) which means “a witness” and by analogy “a martyr” (G3144). Another word that is derived from martus is marturia (mar-too-ree’-ah) which means “generally, testimony to the truth of anything…Elsewhere only in reference to Jesus and his doctrines, i.e. to the truth of his mission and gospel (John 5:34)” (G3141). When Jesus told the man that was cleansed of his leprosy that he needed to offer the gift that Moses commanded as a proof to them, he wasn’t asking him to prove to the priest that he had been healed, but that Jesus had miraculously cleansed him of his disease. Paul used the word maturion in his second letter to the Corinthians in his explanation of why he had changed his plans about coming to see them. Paul said, “For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we have behaved in the world with simplicity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely toward you” (2 Corinthians 1:12, emphasis mine). The phrase Paul used, “the testimony of our conscience” had to do with the consistency between Paul’s actions and the will of God which was expressed by Jesus in the words that he spoke during his ministry on earth. The conscience is described as “co-perception, i.e. moral consciousness” and is “that faculty of the soul which distinguishes between right and wrong and prompts one to choose the former and avoid the latter” (G4893). Therefore, the testimony of our conscience could be thought of as a moral compass that always points us toward God’s will.

In his final warning to the Corinthians, Paul talked about the need to examine ourselves to see whether or not there is evidence of God’s word being alive and active in our souls (2 Corinthians 13:5). Paul said, “This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (2 Corinthians 13:1). The Greek word that is translated charge, rhema (hray’-ma) refers to “a word as uttered by a living voice; a saying, speech, or discourse” and also to a “command” or “teaching, precept, doctrine” (G4487). When Jesus was tempted by the devil to command the stones to become bread (Matthew 4:3), He responded by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4, emphasis mine). The full text of this passage states:

The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. (Deuteronomy 8:1-3).

The connection between the words that Jesus spoke during his earthly ministry and the Ten Commandments that were given to the Israelites on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20:1-17) was that each of them was uttered by a living voice, the voice of God. Deuteronomy 8:3 indicates that man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Another way of saying this would be that God’s word preserves life (H2421). God’s word keeps us alive, it saves us from death.

Paul was upset with the Corinthians because they wanted proof that Christ was speaking in him (2 Corinthians 13:3). The Corinthians didn’t seem to understand that the voice they were hearing was Paul’s, but the words were coming directly from the Lord. Paul explained that Christ, “is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God” (2 Corinthians 13:3-4). Paul’s statement, “we will live with him by the power of God” was a reference to the spiritual union that takes place when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. The Greek words that are translated live with, zao (dzah’-o) sun (soon) have to do with co-existence and indicate that we are connected to Christ in both a physical and spiritual sense. Zao means to live “in the sense of to exist, in an absolute sense and without end, now and hereafter: to live forever” (G2198). Paul said that we live with Christ by the power of God. The Greek word that is translated power, dunamis (doo’-nam-is) is “spoken of God: the great power of God, meaning His almighty energy” (G1411). God’s power is manifested in us when we are born again and remains with us throughout eternity. Therefore, when Paul said that he was dealing with the Corinthians by the power of God that was manifested in him through his constant connection with Christ, Paul was basically saying that he was just allowing God to do what He wanted through him.

Paul didn’t claim to have special power or certain privileges that other believers did not. Paul admonished the Corinthians, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). The Greek word that is translated in, en (en) means “remaining in place…within some definite space or limits” (G1722), indicating that Jesus Christ exists inside the boundaries of our mind, heart, and soul. Jesus explained this arrangement shortly before his death. John 14:8-14 states:

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Jesus told Philip that his Father dwelt in him, meaning that they were one in heart, mind, and will (G3306). Jesus went on to explain that the Holy Spirit would dwell in believers and make it possible for them to understand and do God’s will in the same way that Jesus did. He said:

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:18-21)

Jesus clarified this further using the illustration of a vine and branches. Jesus said:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:1-7)

The Greek word that is translated abide and also abides in this passage, meno (men’-o) is also translated dwells in John 14:10 where Jesus said that his Father dwelt in him. Since Jesus commanded his followers to abide in him, it can be assumed that there is something that we need to do in order to abide in Christ. Jesus indicated, “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you” (John 15:3) and then he added, “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4) suggesting a second step was necessary for the process of salvation to be complete. Jesus said, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10). Then, he specifically stated what his commandment was. Jesus said, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:12-14).

It could be that God’s instruction to the Israelites before they entered the Promised Land provides an important insight into the two-step process of salvation. God told Moses, “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness lest they die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst” (Leviticus 15:31). When we accept Jesus as our Savior, it is like he has set up his tabernacle inside our hearts. At that point, Christ is in us. So that we don’t defile that tabernacle, we have to maintain our cleanness by abiding in Christ. Moses was told to “keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness.” The Hebrew word that is translated separate, nazar (naw-zar’) is “a verb meaning to dedicate, to consecrate” (H5144). Essentially, what that means for us is that in order to be separate from our uncleanness we have to disconnect ourselves from things that contradict God’s word. Paul told the Corinthians, “For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for” (2 Corinthians 13:8-9). Paul wanted the Corinthians to experience the power of God, but the only way they could do that was for Christ to be in them AND for them to abide in Christ. If that was not their current state, then Paul indicated they needed to be restored by reconnecting themselves to Christ through God’s word (2 Corinthians 13:10).