What the Bible says about Cleansing through God's Word
(From Forerunner Commentary)
Notice the implications for one's mental health in this passage. Today, health experts emphasize eating organic foods grown without harsh chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Non-organically grown foods are known to be deficient in nutrients and may also contaminate the body. Modern health practitioners also emphasize cleansing the body internally through certain regimens. Peter is saying a similar thing here in a spiritual, moral, and ethical context. God's pure Word can purify the mind, freeing it from the corruption of our pre-conversion experiences. This will happen, though, only if we consistently—daily—eat it and use it as we would eat and use good foods in feeding and caring for our physical bodies.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Eating: How Good It Is! (Part Three)Related Topics: Cleansing | Cleansing through God's Word | God's Word | God's Word as Cleansing | Mental Health | Purification | Spiritual Diet | Spiritual Drink | Spiritual Food | Spiritual Hunger | Spiritual Milk | Spiritual Nourishment | Spiritual Thirst
"The light" is the truth. God's Word is truth (John 17:17). We have to walk in the light "as He is in the light." He lives in us, and we in Him. We are in union with Him.
John is telling us how we become clean: We become clean as we apply God's Word. It gets in us and begins to clarify and purify our thinking. But it does not become a real cleansing until it begins to be used. Then, it begins to clean up our bad habits and thinking processes. The thinking processes change according to our action, our behavior. If we keep doing the same things all the time, nothing changes. We are resisting. "Walking" denotes living. If we live as He lived, then we become cleansed. This is what holiness is. If we do that, then we will produce fruit—it is impossible not to!
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Eight)Related Topics: Bearing Fruit | Cleansing | Cleansing from Sin | Cleansing through God's Word | Fruit, Bearing | God's Word | God's Word as Cleansing | God's Word as Light | God's Words as Light | Holiness | Holiness as Conduct | Light | Light as a Symbol | Light as Metaphor of Truth | Truth | Walk | Walk as Codeword for Living | Walk in the Law of the Lord | Walk in the Light | Walk with God | Walking Metaphor | Walking with Christ