Soteriology : Conversion : 9. Sanctification.
Joh 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your own wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,
Eph 5:26 in order that He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless.
1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from fornication,
1Th 4:4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,
1Th 4:5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God,
1Th 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Heb 12:14 but may rather be restored. Persistently strive for peace with all men, and for that growth in holiness apart from which no one will see the Lord.
1. The Definition of Sanctification
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| Growth in Holiness |
a. Note what Sanctification is NOT:
(1) It is not the Eradication of the Sinful nature.
In fact, those who boast of the eradication of the sinful nature actually claim that which Paul, James, and John admit they had not attained.
The Apostle Paul Php 3:12 I do not say that I have already won the race or have already reached perfection. But I am pressing on, striving to lay hold of the prize for which also Christ has laid hold of me.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I do not imagine that I have yet laid hold of it. But this one thing I do--forgetting everything which is past and stretching forward to what lies in front of me,
Php 3:14 with my eyes fixed on the goal I push on to secure the prize of God's heavenward call in Christ Jesus.
Php 3:15 Therefore let all of us who are mature believers cherish these thoughts; and if in any respect you think differently, that also God will make clear to you.
Either were already perfect - Barnes:This is a distinct assertion of the apostle Paul that he did not regard himself as a perfect man. He had not reached that state where he was free from sin. It is not indeed a declaration that no one was perfect, or that no one could be in this life but it is a declaration that he did not regard himself as having attained to it. Yet who can urge better claims to having attained perfection than Paul could have done? Who has surpassed him in love, and zeal, and self-denial, and true devotedness to the service of the Redeemer? Who has more elevated views of God, and of the plan of salvation? Who prays more, or lives nearer to God than he did? That must be extraordinary piety which surpasses that of the apostle Paul; and he who lays claim to a degree of holiness which even Paul did not pretend to, gives little evidence that he has any true knowledge of himself, or has ever been imbued with the true humility which the gospel produces.
(Note: Opposite to Eradication-ism is Antinomian-ism, which means “against the law”. This is the false teaching that we have no moral obligation whatsoever to observe the law or commandments. Eradicationism is an attempt to eliminate sin; while Antinomianism is simply to enjoy it.
Both Sinless Perfection and Lawlessness are unscriptural teachings. Although we cannot be sinless, we can be, through sanctification able to sin less.
(2) Sanctification is not the “second blessing”.
2Co 1:15 And in this confidence I intended to come to you before, so that you might have a second benefit,(blessing)
Some have used this verse to teach the Doctrine of the “second Blessing”. However, Paul describes the Corinthian Believers as already sanctified.
1Co 1:2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
(3) It is not the Baptism by the Holy Spirit.
1Co 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
The Baptism by the Spirit into the Body of Christ. That is, by the agency or operation of the same Spirit, the Holy Spirit, we have been united into one body. The idea here is the same as that presented above 1Co_12:7, 1Co_12:11, by which all the endowments of Christians are traced to the same Spirit. Paul here says, that that Spirit had so endowed them as to fit them to constitute one body, or to be united in one,
They were still Carnal (controlled by the flesh or the sinful nature) Unsanctified.
1Co 3:1 But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.
1Co 3:2 I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready,
1Co 3:3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
1Co 3:4 For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not being merely human?
b. What is Sanctification?
The basic Biblical Meaning : “to set apart or to separate”.
“To separate from things profane (UNGODLY, IRREVERENT, IMPIOUS, UNBELIEVING AND SACRILEGIOUS) and dedicate to God, to consecrate.” Thiessen p.377 See Matthew 23:17, 19
2Ti 2:21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonourable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
Joh 17:19 And for their sake I consecrate, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Eph 5:26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
1. The Separation to God.
This really means a separation from all defilement. Note the separation of inanimate things for the Temple of Yahweh by removing all the filth from the temple in the time of Hezekiah
2Ch 29:5 and said to them, "Hear me, Levites! Now consecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the LORD, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth from the Holy Place.
2Ch 29:6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD and turned their backs.
The temple and all the furnishings were sanctified to God. Ex 40:10 Numbers 7:1; 2 Chron 7:16
Israel’s firstborn were sanctified, to God. Ex 13:2 Numbers 3:13; Neh 8:17
Christians are sanctified at the time of their Conversion.
1Co 1:1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
1Co 1:2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
1Pe 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
1Pe 1:2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Heb 10:14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Usually there is the Positive idea of Separation unto God.
In this sense the father sanctified (separated) the Son Jn 10:36, and the Son Sanctified Himself.
Joh 10:36 do you say of Him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, You blaspheme, because I said, I am the Son of God?
Joh 17:19 And I sanctify Myself for their sakes, so that they also might be sanctified in truth.
Jeremiah was sanctified before he was born. Jer 1:5 Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I consecrated you, and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.
In this sense all true Christians are sanctified unto god at the time of their Conversion.
1Co 1:1 Paul, a called apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
1Co 1:2 to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called out with all those in every place who call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.
2. The Imputation of Christ as our Holiness.
1Co 1:28 and God has chosen the base things of the world, and things which are despised, and things which are not, in order to bring to nothing things that are;
1Co 1:29 so that no flesh should glory in His presence.
1Co 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made to us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption;
1Co 1:31 so that, according as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord."
But of him are ye in Christ Jesus - Even the good which you possess is granted by God, for it is by and through him that Christ Jesus comes, and all the blessings of the Gospel dispensation.
And righteousness - Δικαιοσυνη, Justification, as procuring for us that remission of sins which the law could not give, Gal_2:21; Gal_3:21.
And sanctification - As procuring for and working in us, not only an external and relative holiness, as was that of the Jews, but ὁσιοτητα της αληθειας, true and eternal holiness, Eph_4:24, wrought in us by the Holy Spirit.
Eph 4:22 For you ought to put off the old man (according to your way of living before) who is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,
Eph 4:23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Eph 4:24 And you should put on the new man, who according to God was created in righteousness and true holiness.
Eph 4:25 Therefore putting away lying, let each man speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
put on the new man — Opposed to “the old man,” which is to be “put off” (Eph_4:22). The Greek here (kainon) is different from that for “re-new-ed” (Eph_4:23). Put on not merely a renovated nature, but a new, that is, altogether different nature, a changed nature (compare Note, see on Col_3:10).
after God, etc. — Translate, “Which hath been created (once for all: so the Greek aorist means: in Christ, Eph_2:10; so that in each believer it has not to be created again, but to be put on) after (the image of) God” (Gen_1:27; Col_3:10; 1Pe_1:15), etc. God’s image in which the first Adam was originally created, is restored, to us far more gloriously in the second Adam, the image of the invisible God (2Co_4:4; Col_1:15; Heb_1:3).
in righteousness — “IN” it as the element of the renewed man.
true holiness — rather, as the Greek, “holiness of the truth”; holiness flowing from sincere following of “the truth of God” (Rom_1:25; Rom_3:7; Rom_15:8): opposed to “the lusts of deceit” (Greek, Eph_4:22); compare also Eph_4:21, “truth is in Jesus.” “Righteousness” is in relation to our fellow men, the second table of the law; “Holiness,” in relation to God, the first table; the religious observance of offices of piety (compare Luk_1:75). In the parallel (Col_3:10) it is, “renewed in knowledge after the image,” etc. As at Colosse the danger was from false pretenders to knowledge, the true “knowledge” which flows from renewal of the heart is dwelt on; so at Ephesus, the danger being from the corrupt morals prevalent around, the renewal in “holiness,” contrasted with the Gentile “uncleanness” (Eph_4:19), and “righteousness,” in contrast to “greediness,” is made prominent.
The Believer in Christ is reckoned holy as well as righteous, because he is “clothed with the Holiness of Christ.” In this true sense, all believers are called “saints”, irrespective of their spiritual attainments. Thiessen p.378
Rom 1:7 to all those who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
saint G40 ἅγιος hagios Thayer Definition: 1) most holy thing, a saint
1Co 1:2 to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all those who in every place are calling on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
The saints in Corinth were even though they were unsaintly in character. 1 Cor 3:1-4;5:1,2; 6:1; 11:17-22
3. Purification from Moral Evil.
Purification from Moral evil is a form of separation. The Priests were asked to sanctify themselves before they drew near to God.
Exo 19:22 And let the priests also, that come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them.
The Believer today is asked to separate himself from the ungodly in general.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
PNT says Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, etc. Quoted from Isa_52:11. A call to Israel to cleanse itself from pagan pollutions.
And I will be a Father unto you. Quoted from Jer_31:1, Jer_31:9; Isa_43:6, and other passages. It is a free combination of the spirit of several passages. The two passages teach that it is the Divine will that his worshipers should be separate from the world; that if they are thus separate he will receive them, and will accept them as his own children. Compare Rom_12:2, and Jam_1:27.The People’s New Testament (1891) by B.W. Johnston
Separation from the Control of the Sinful Nature.
Rom 6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection;
Rom 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin;
Rom 6:7 for he that hath died is justified from sin.
Rom 6:8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him;
Rom 6:9 knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death no more hath dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For the death that he died, he died unto sin once: but the life that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Even so reckon (Count) ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.
Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof:
Rom 6:13 neither present your members unto sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under law, but under grace.
Rom 6:15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? God forbid.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye present yourselves as servants unto obedience, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
4. Conformity to the Image of Christ.
As Purification is the negative aspect of sanctification, so Conformity to the Image of Christ is the Positive aspect and separation and imputation of Christ’s Holiness are the Positional aspect. Thiessen p. 379.
Rom 8:29 For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren:
Rom 8:30 and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Php 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ:
2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit.
1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as he is.
Php 3:10 that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death;
made conformable unto his death — “conformed to the likeness of His death,” namely, by continued sufferings for His sake, and mortifying of the carnal self (Rom_8:29; 1Co_15:31; 2Co_4:10-12; Gal_2:20).JFB.
This is a Process extending thoughout one’s life which comes to full fruition only when we see the Lord. Thiessen p.379
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