In verse 9 Paul asks a question related to the kingdom of God: “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?” To inherit the kingdom in the next age is a reward to the saints who seek righteousness (Matt. 5:10, 20; 6:33).
When Paul speaks of the unrighteous, to whom does he refer—to the one who wrongs others or to the one who is wronged? It seems to me that he is referring to the one who wrongs others. If we wrong a brother, we are unrighteous. Believers who are not righteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. According to the Lord’s word in Matthew, we must be absolutely righteous if we are to inherit the coming kingdom as a reward. The Lord even says that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees. Because God’s kingdom is established upon righteousness, we must be righteous in order to inherit it. Therefore, we should not wrong or defraud our brother. To do this is to be unrighteous, and if we are unrighteous, we shall lose the inheritance of the kingdom.
In verses 9 and 10 Paul says, “Do not be led astray: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the avaricious, not drunkards, not revilers, not the rapacious will inherit the kingdom of God.” No sinful person or unrighteous person can have any part in the coming kingdom of God.
It is significant that in verse 9 Paul speaks of inheriting the kingdom. The word inherit implies enjoyment. To inherit a certain thing is to enjoy that thing. Thus, to inherit the coming kingdom means to enjoy the kingdom. The coming kingdom will be a joyful inheritance to the overcomers. According to Matthew, the manifestation of the kingdom will be a reward to the overcoming saints as their enjoyment with the Lord. To inherit the kingdom is not just to enter the kingdom; it is to receive the kingdom as a reward for our enjoyment. This should be an incentive for us to live an overcoming life, a life that is sinless and righteous. If we would live this kind of life, we need to have the feast of unleavened bread. Then we shall have a life without leaven, a life without sin. By living a righteous life we shall be qualified to inherit the coming kingdom.
In verse 11 Paul continues, “And these things were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Here washing, sanctifying, and justifying are not by the blood in an objective way, as in 1 John 1:7, Hebrews 10:29, and Romans 3:24-25. These are the subjective washing of regeneration as in Titus 3:5, the subjective sanctifying by the Spirit as in 1 Peter 1:2, and the subjective justifying in the Spirit as in this verse. All these items of God’s salvation were accomplished in us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, in the Person of the Lord, in organic union with the Lord through faith, and in the Spirit of God, that is, in the power and realization of the Holy Spirit. First, we are washed from sinful things; second, we are sanctified, separated unto God; and third, we are justified, accepted, by God.
It is not easy to understand how we can be washed in the Lord’s name. If Paul had said that we were washed, sanctified, and justified in the precious blood of Christ, this would be much easier to understand. But what does it mean to be washed in the Lord’s name and also in the Spirit? Furthermore, Paul uses the past tense and says that the Corinthians were washed, sanctified, and justified. We may find it hard to believe that certain of the Corinthians had actually been washed, sanctified, and justified.
At the time a person believes in the Lord Jesus and receives Him, he is washed in the blood and also sanctified and justified by the blood. However, this washing, sanctifying, and justifying are all objective; they are not subjective. We also need to experience a subjective washing, sanctifying, and justifying. We did experience these things immediately after we were saved, but only for a short period of time. For at least a few days, we lived a clean, pure, sanctified, and justified life. The objective washing, sanctifying, and justifying are all in the blood of Christ. But when we live a life that is clean, sanctified, and justified, we experience something subjective regarding these things. This subjective experience is not in the blood; it is in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Spirit.
I have the assurance that every genuinely saved one has had some subjective experience of being washed, sanctified, and justified. After you were saved, did you not have a living, at least for a period of time, which was clean and pure? Were you not holy, sanctified, separated unto the Lord? Did you not live in a way which was justified and which could not be touched by anything unrighteous? However, in most cases believers do not live this way very long. It usually lasts only a few days. If you recall your experience after you were saved, you will realize that you did have a subjective washing, sanctifying, and justifying in the name of the Lord and in the Spirit.
In the New Testament “in the name of the Lord” actually means in the Lord Himself, for the name denotes the Person. If a person with a certain name does not exist, then the name is vain. But when we call a living person by name, that person responds. In like manner, when we say, “Lord Jesus,” we experience the Person of the Lord. The Lord is a living Person, not merely a name. Therefore, whenever we call on the name of the Lord Jesus, we call on the Person of the Lord. He is real, living, present, and available. Whenever we call on Him, He responds. We can testify that the Lord Jesus is real, living, and present. Whenever we call on Him, He comes to us.
At the time we were saved, we probably called on the Lord’s name spontaneously and unconsciously, without being taught to do this. In this name, which is the reality of the living Person of Christ, we were washed, sanctified, and justified. However, when we no longer called on the Lord, the subjective experience of the washing, sanctifying, and justifying was no longer ours.
According to verse 11, we are washed, sanctified, and justified not only in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, but also in the Spirit of our God. The name is the Person, and the Person is the Spirit. We cannot separate the name of the Lord from His Spirit, for the Spirit is His Person. According to chapters fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen of the Gospel of John, the name cannot be separated from the Spirit. The reason for this is that the name is the Person, and the Person is the Spirit. When we call, “O Lord Jesus,” the Lord comes. But when He comes to us, He is the Spirit. Paul certainly experienced this. He knew that when he called on the Lord’s name, the Lord came to him as the Spirit. In the name and in the Spirit he experienced the subjective washing, sanctifying, and justifying. This also is our experience when we call on the Lord’s name and contact the Spirit, who is the Person denoted by this name.
It requires much experience to understand Paul’s word in verse 11. Many years ago I did not know how to apply this word, because I was not enlightened regarding the significance of calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. I did not see the connection between the name of the Lord, the Person of the Lord, and the Spirit. I did not realize that when we call on the name of the Lord, the Person comes and that this Person is the Spirit. But by experience we know that when we call on the name of the Lord, we get the Person of the Lord and that the Person of the Lord is the Spirit. Furthermore, if we continue to call on the name of the Lord, enjoying His name and His Spirit, we are daily washed, sanctified, and justified. Then, we become qualified and prepared to inherit the coming kingdom.
Thus far we have seen that in these chapters the soul is dealt with, that the lusts of the flesh are dealt with, and that the claiming of rights is also dealt with. Now we should be saints who are subjectively washed, sanctified, and justified and are prepared to inherit the coming kingdom.