For our confidence is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in unworldly simplicity and pure inner motives, of God and not in earthly wisdom, rather in the grace of God we conducted ourselves in the world. Now, all the more toward you. (2 Corinthians 1:12)
The word conscience is a noun referring to the awareness that one's actions are right or wrong, as in one's "guilty conscience" or "good conscience," not to be confused with conscious which is an adjective meaning "awake" or "alert."* The conscience is the knowledge of good and evil, which is in every human. To me this is evidence that God exists and that Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As believers, Peter tells us we are to abstain from fleshly desires that war against our soul (1 Peter 2:11). Certainly, having a guilty conscience, doing the things you are now ashamed of, wars against your soul. To keep doing this would cause one to be in a wretched state. The goal of faith is the salvation of our soul (1 Peter 1:9). To say it is well with our soul, is to say we have a good conscience toward God.
Behold, John the Baptists cried out, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" and John said he baptized with water for repentance but Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11). There is a testimony of water and blood and Spirit. We received in Christ the blessing of redemption, the forgiveness of sin. And there is the blessing of adoption, in this the Spirit is one of adoption crying out Abba Father, testifying we are his children ( Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6-7) Jesus said you must enter the kingdom of God by being born anew, a new birth of the Spirit not of the flesh. With these two testimonies of spirit and blood, we have the confidence to approach the throne of grace and receive grace and mercy as needed (Hebrews 4:15-16). But what of the testimony of water? Baptism now saves us but not like the washing of dirt from the body and not the forgiveness of sin that comes through the blood of Jesus but of a good conscience toward God. What does this mean to have a good conscience?
But we have renounced shameful hidden deeds. We do not practice cunningness, nor do we tamper with the word of God, but by the open declaration of truth, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2)
How can we stand if we do not have a good conscience before God? if we do shameful things? It is the same question, "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:1-4, ESV). Do we not understand the teachings of baptism? Surely, it is the purification of sin in the body, not like the washing of dirt from the body but of a good conscience toward God.
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:14, ESV)
There is an illustration pointing to the present that the gifts and sacrifices offered can't mature the worshiper as far as the conscience (Hebrews 9:9). The sacrifices and offerings did not cleanse the conscience of sin (Hebrews 10:2). At the present, you can give all you want, serve all you want, sacrifice all you want but it will not do anything in regards to maturity and having a good conscience toward God. The blood of Christ will purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. And he continues as our advocate if we do sin, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). There is a continual work of Christ as our eternal high priest in regards to purity and having a clean conscience.
draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, the heart having been sprinkled clean away from a guilty conscience and the body washed with clean water. (Hebrews 10:22)
because in unworldly simplicity and pure inner motives of God... we conducted ourselves in the world...
Both the words unworldly simplicity (ἁπλότης (haplotēs "simple, sound, single") and pure inner motives (εἰλικρίνεια (eilikrineia) "judged in the light") have the implication of purity, of mind which is apart of your soul. Confidence before God is not based upon earthly wisdom but in the grace of God, the testimony is that of our conscience, of purity of mind, soul, body, and spirit. When we existed in the world we were by nature children of wrath but God was rich in mercy through His great love, sending His Son so we may not perish but have life (Ephesians 2:3-4; John 3:16-18; Romans 5:9). Because of his love we "escape God's wrath" and because of love, we are matured into holiness which gives us confidence before him, saving our soul. "In this is agape love matured towards us so that having confidence in the day of judgment because just as he existed also we in this world" (1 John 4:17).
for stumbling, all stumbling is great, if anyone doesn't stumble in words, this person is a mature adult, able to bridle that his whole body as well. (James 3:2)
Walking like Jesus walked is a place of maturity in which we conduct ourselves in the world like Jesus, being of purity, unstained from the world. Paul says he has not reached this perfection or complete maturity and none will until we receive the fullness of adoption, salvation, the redemption of the body, but this goal we press on toward because Christ has taken hold of us (Philippians 3:12-14). If we are called to heaven we are called to holiness. We will all stumble in some way but the goal is purity, which gives us a good conscience toward God. Now, there are three that testify; spirit, blood, water, and they are one (1 John 5:8).
this antitype of baptism which now saves you, not the removal of bodily dirt rather a good conscience to the extent of God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:20-21).
I have been forgiven and justified by his blood, and I have been adopted, a new creation in Christ. But the body is not saved, it is not redeemed, "for I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out" (Romans 7:18). The Spirit of life frees us from the law of sin but the body is dying, sin is condemned in the flesh. I am not, there is no condemnation in Christ, but Christ condemned sin in the flesh. What does this mean? But that I should judge and condemn sin in the flesh, presenting my body a living sacrifice unto holiness? How can I have a good conscience toward God if I sin? Though Jesus has forgiven my sin, if I do things that shame me, I defile my conscience, because in Christ I'm indebted to righteousness. Thank God Jesus is our eternal High priest and our advocate before the Father if we do sin in the body. To have a good conscience, we must live in purity and holiness, thus purification of the body of sin is the way to have a good conscience toward God.
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. (1 John 2:1 ESV)
Now, if we look back in chapter one we see joy is intrinsically connected to purity, having a good conscience toward God. John writes "And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete" (1 John 1:4). And "I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin." First, we must be in Christ, the word of life whose words are eternal life, "that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ" ( 1 John 1:1-4). Fellowship is in the light which is the same as abiding in the Vine. If we do not abide or walk in the light we will not have fellowship, and will not bear fruit. Why is joy a fruit of the Spirit? What does fruit imply? it implies a growing up unto maturity.
"This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:5-7).
In the parable of the sower, all but the first received the word with joy, but this initial joy did not sustain them when persecution came nor when the thorns of the cares of this world and the deceits of riches grew up to choke them out. So there is an initial joy and joy that is the fruit of maturity in Christ. The plant that bears fruit receives with joy, grows its roots deep, possesses understanding and endurance which produces maturity. Paul uses the words deeply rooted in regards to faith and love. Thus we overcome through faith working in love. Or love us the bond that leads to maturity.
Joy is much the same way with love, we experience it deeper as we mature and become obedient children of God. This is how the love of God is fulfilled in us when we keep His words (1 John 2:5). Joy is fulfilled when we have fellowship in Him, in which as John goes on to write, His words abide in us so to that we overcome sin. Joy is connected to righteousness. If we do sin we confess our sin and He cleanses us from all unrighteousness, thus we have a good conscience toward God. Again how can I have joy as a child of God, if I walk in darkness if I do the things I am now ashamed of if I sin when I am indebted to righteousness?
now, the goal of this charge is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and real faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)
Paul writes to Timothy entrusting him with a charge so that he might fight the good fight of faith, having faith and a good conscience, rejecting those shipwrecked of faith... (1 Timothy 1:18-20). When we do away with purity and having a good conscience toward God we do away with real faith and become shipwrecked. This connection between faith and a good conscience we see elsewhere when Paul writes deacons should possess the mystery of the faith in good conscience (1 Timothy 3:8-9). When Paul warns us of ministers who will have shipwrecked their faith and seared their conscience, "now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared," (1 Timothy 4:1-2). Paul served God with a good conscience (2 Timothy 1:3; Hebrews 13:18).
A pure heart and a good conscience are related. By His blood, we have been cleansed of a guilty conscience, and we have the confidence to draw near but we must continue to approach him having a good conscience and we can not do this if we have sinned or defiled our conscience. The solution to having a good conscience is simple if we do sin, we confess our sin and get in the Light, then we are cleansed from all unrighteousness. But to go back and forth, doing the things we hate, this is a wretched state. There will be no joy, peace, contentment when the conscience is being defiled. Also, we see for one to endure persecution as Peter writes a good conscience toward God is necessary, "For this is grace, if, through a conscience toward God, any endures pain while suffering unjustly" (1 Peter 2:19-25). He also writes setting apart our hearts Christ Lord means having a good conscience in which we can endure mistreatment for the glory of God (1 Peter 3:15-16). So we pray let us hold to the mystery of the faith with a good conscience toward God.