Refined By God

In comparison to purity of Christ, we are but dirt and mud on what used to be a clean sheet. However, when we accept Christ, the messenger of the New Covenant, we get an almost surreal awakening of our spirit so that we no longer have to consider ourselves dirty and unclean. We can be purified just as Christ is pure. The whole point of the New Covenant was to build bridge between God who is holy and man who is normally not. Christ died so that man could become pure again and by so doing will be able to commune and speak with God. 1 John 3:3 even tells us that if we continually focus on Christ we will continue to purify ourselves until the day He comes again. The initial revival of our souls is only the beginning though.

He Will Purify Us – (3:2b-4)

“For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.”

When we accept Christ and are baptized our sins are removed (Acts 2:38). Our souls are brought back to life again but that isn’t the end of the journey as some suppose. Once we have been revived we must be purified because as you all know mankind has a tendency to fall short and fail. This is where God’s grace kicks in and also his relentless task of purifying us. He is like a refiner’s fire and a fuller’s soap. Silver smiths took ores and refined them to get the purest silver they possibly could. God himself wants to refine His children so that they become pure. The biggest and most important part of the refining process was the heating of the metal. There is a story that has circulated about a women’s bible study group.

“That week the woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest in silver beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that, in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest so as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. For if the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that’s the easy part -- when I see my image reflected in it."”