Apart from God's sanctifying work in human beings, "no one will see the Lord" ( Heb 12:14 ). The "law of Christ" ( Gal 6:2 ) is synonymous with the moral demands God places on all humanity. The declaration, "Without sanctification no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14), does not apply to the saints, "the holy ones.". Bibliography Information Orr, James, M.A., D.D. It is personal life that is to be hallowed, thought, affections, motives, desires, will, and only a personal agent through personal fellowship can work this end. Sanctification is the process of becoming more like Christ, by purifying our hearts and minds, through repentance, prayer, and spiritual practices. Sanctification is the activity of God which liberates the Christian from the power of sin. During Israel's captivities, the people were separated from the sanctuary and, hence, alienated from the assurance of God's saving blessings. An intimate human fellowship is an analogue of this, and we know with what power it works on life and character. Westcott asserts that John refers to the Gnostics, who taught that moral evil exists only in matter, and never touches spirit, which is always holy; and, therefore, though guilty of all manner of vice, their spirits had no need of atonement, because they were untouched by sin, which existed only in their bodies, as it does in all matter. an act of sanctifying; the state of being sanctified See the full definition Hello, . Faith also includes trust living in the light of everything that characterizes the "new man, " even if it doesn't "feel" right. If death suddenly ends the life of a growing Christian before he is wholly sanctified, the Holy Spirit perfects the work. This sanctifying, or hallowing, is not mechanical or magical. The popular and special works are usually too undiscriminating and unhistorical to be of value for the Biblical study. The Spirit is ethical; there is a definite moral quality which is expressed when we say Christ. Yet, unlike justification, sanctification also continues until it will be consummated when Jesus Christ returns. In New Testament language, we present ourselves as "living sacrifices" ( Rom 12:1 ). Sanctify is to make something holy, give something legitimacy or to set something apart through religious ceremony. For usage information, please read the Baker Book House Copyright Statement. See you in person next week. There is nothing implied here as to moral character. The result of sanctification is glory the manifestation of God's presence. It also means to make holy or to purify. God was not seeking information. Why does God want us to be sanctified? This is a falling back to certain Old Testament levels. The "Holy" Spirit is so named not because he is more holy than the Father and the Son, but because his specific ministry vis--vis salvation is sanctification ( Rom 15:16 ; 1 Thess 4:3-4 ; 2 Thess 2:13 ; 1 Peter 1:2 ). There is one God. Sanctification, therefore, has an initial, progressive, and final phase. In 10:29 the writer speaks of one who has fallen away, who "hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing." (Rom. God's law is holy ( Rom 7:12 ). However, we don't want to confuse positional . How do you live a sanctified life? Article Images Copyright 2023 Getty Images unless otherwise indicated. The old covenant anticipated a fuller application of the Law. It is this formal usage without moral implication that explains such a passage as Genesis 38:21. His presence, therefore, in so far forth means holiness of life. Significant is the use of the words "creature" ("creation," see margin) and "workmanship" with Paul (2Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15; Ephesians 2:10; 4:24). These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sanctification.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of . It is a very rich and active life, this life of fellowship to which we are surrendered. The word translated "prostitute" here is from the same root qadhash, meaning literally,, as elsewhere, the sanctified or consecrated one (qedheshah; see margin and compare Deuteronomy 23:18; 1Kings 14:24; Hosea 4:14). He reminded his Jewish audience that when God elected Israel to be a redemptive agent ( Gen 12:1-3 ), he did not guarantee redemption for every Israelite. (For the former, note Isaiah 6:6; Luke 3:16; Acts 2:3; for the latter, Acts 2:38; 22:16; 1Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:22; Revelation 1:5; 7:14.) It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work ( 1Corinthians 6:11 ; 2 th. The blood of Jesus Christ sanctifies ( Heb 13:12 ) because his substitutionary atonement reversed all of the dysfunctional, as well as legal (i.e., guilt), effects of sin. We are to "walk in newness of life," "by (or in) the Spirit," "in love," and "in Christ Jesus the Lord" (Romans 6:4; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:2; Colossians 2:6). Apr 16, 2021 What is Sanctification? Human beings ultimately cannot sanctify themselves. The word "sanctification" does not occur in the Synoptic Gospels at all, but "sonship" with the Jews expressed this same relation of belonging. But there is a converse to this: only as we live it out can God give to us the life. ; Ephesians 4:13, the King James Version "Till we all come . unto a perfect man," etc. Thus what it means to belong to God (holiness, sanctification) depends upon the nature of the God to whom man belongs. The feast and holy days are to be sanctified, that is, set apart from ordinary business as belonging to Yahweh (the Sabbath, Nehemiah 13:19-22; a fast, Joel 1:14). It is a process in which we live in obedience to Christ, even as Christ Himself is said of in Hebrews 5:8 that He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. We have already noted that Paul uses indifferently "Spirit of God" and "Spirit of Christ," and that in the same passage (Romans 8:9). Learn more. It is no formal belonging, no external surrender. I am so proud of my dad. As the fruit of the Spirit are the result of the reproduction of godly character in believers ( Gal 5:22-23 ), so the gifts of the Spirit ( Rom 12:4-6 ; 1 Cor 12 , 14 ) are the means by which believers serve others. For them it meant a certain obedience on the one hand, a privilege on the other. Scriptures on Sanctification The Bible tells us that sanctification is God's will for our lives and soul (1 Thessalonians 4:3). This vital and positive conception of the sanctification of the believer must be asserted against some popular interpretations. Paul takes up the same thought, but joins it definitely to the words "saint" and "sanctify." Thus sanctification is gradual, but entire sanctification is instantaneous (Romans 6:6, "our old man was crucified," etc., a sudden death; Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live"). ASK THE EDITOR On May 4th 2020 "Ask the Editor" notes to use "has" with third person singular, and "have" for the rest. From a remnant within ethnic Israel, God built his church. That identity has passed away through faith-solidarity with Christ in his death. But we do not get the full meaning of this thought of sanctification as consecration, or belonging, until we grasp the New Testament thought of our relation to God as personal. So far as that is a new life from God it is ipso facto holy. Christ is the Sabbath rest for believers ( Heb 4:1-11 ). From the beginning of his work in 1739, till 1760, he was formulating this doctrine. Malcolm Muggeridge takes Mother Teresa as an example: I think a person like her comes into the world, not by chance, and radiates the Christian faith at its most simple, most pure, most effective level. The gradual growth toward perfect purity of love is beautifully expressed in Monod's hymn. The prevailing meaning is that which we found in the Old Testament. Yet they would not come to Christ ( John 5:39 ). In its most basic sense, to sanctify something is to set it apart for God's special use and purpose. This thesis argues that suffering as a follower of Christ is a vital aspect of the process of sanctification, as evidenced by scripture's own explanation of the Christian's suffering in relation to that of Christ's own suffering. "; "Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life? The Word reveals God's will ( John 17:17 ). But the soul is not a substance for mechanical action, however sublimated. It furnished him a multitude of consecrated workers, many of them lay preachers, who labored in nearly every hamlet, and who carried the gospel into all the British colonies, including America. The second general conclusion that we draw from the New Testament teaching as to the Christian life is this: the sanctification which is a part of all Christian living follows from the very nature of that life as fellowship with God. . Wash you, make you clean; . seek justice, relieve the oppressed" (Isaiah 1:11,16,17). Happy 4th of July! Brother and sister for Jesus are those who do God's will (Mark 3:35). Where is sanctification in the Bible? After the simultaneous events of regeneration and justification, believers begin the process of sanctification. The former is a prerequisite for the latter. Examples of Sanctification in the Bible In the Old Testament, both people and ordinary objects were sanctified for sacred purposes. "Glory" is always the manifestation of the attributes of God resulting from the presence of God. Another name for this action is "consecration." Significant is the way in which "jealous" and "holy" are almost identified (Joshua 24:19; Ezekiel 38:23). It is applied to Yahweh, and it means the assertion of Yahweh's power in Israel's triumph and the conquest of her foes (Ezekiel 20:41; 28:25; 36:23; 38:16; 39:27). Human beings are progressively sanctified now through faith in Christ and by the indwelling Spirit ( 2 Cor 3:18 ), while awaiting full sanctification at the resurrection. "It is God that worketh in you both to will and to work" (Philippians 2:13; compare Romans 8:2-4,9,14,16-26; Galatians 5:22). There is a two-fold danger here, from which these writers have not escaped. Christ's atoning work put an end to the ceremonial foreshadowing of Israel's cultic practice. The significant latter phrase is the same as in Romans 1:1, "Paul . called to be an apostle." God transforms believers from a worldly perspective and lifestyle by renewing the mind ( Rom 12:2 ). Required for the Highest Success of the Preacher. In sanctification, the believer is simply applying the implications of his or her justification. On the other hand, a person is sanctified by presenting to God offerings that he proscribes ( 1 Sam 16:5 ; Job 1:5 ). Christ did what the Father called him to do ( John 5:19 John 5:30 John 5:36 ; 6:38 ; 8:28-29 ; 12:49 ). There is nothing in Paul's teaching to suggest that sanctification is the special event of a unique experience, or that there are two kinds or qualities of sanctification. By virtue of God-given discretionary autonomy (faith), human beings may so depend upon God that his moral character (communicable attributes) are displayed. When told that this made the body of Christ sinful, they denied the reality of His body, saying that it was only a phantom. For then we will be like him ( 1 John 3:2 )perfect and complete. Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by grace through faith, preceded by entire consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness. Israel was ever conscious of the "sanctuary" (hagion [a&gion])the place where God resided and which he loved ( Mal 2:11 ). That is holy which belongs to Yahweh. Examples of sanctification in a sentence, how to use it. Wesley added to this the witness of the Spirit, for which his only proof-text is 1Corinthians 2:12. I have never since found my heart wander from God.' The religious means the ethical, those "that are sanctified" are "called to be saints" (1Corinthians 1:2). Everything to do with the tabernacle and temple was holy: garments ( Exod 28:2 ), anointing oil ( Exod 30:25 ), crown ( Exod 39:30 ), linen tunic ( Lev 16:4 ), convocation of the people ( Lev 23:2 ), water ( Num 5:17 ), vessels ( Num 31:6 ), utensils ( 1 Kings 8:4 ), ark ( 2 Chron 35:3 ), day ( Ne 8:11 ), and place ( Exod 28:29 ; 1 Kings 6:16 ). That conclusion we can reach only as we go back again to the fundamental principle of the personal character of the Christian life and the relation thus given between the ethical and the religious. It is the yielding of the life in its passions and purposes, in its deepest affections and highest powers, to be ruled by a new spirit (Ephesians 4:13,10,23,24,32; compare Romans 12:1). He sanctified himself by fulfilling his unique calling as the Messiah ( John 17:19 ), being declared the Son of God at his resurrection ( Rom 1:4 ). Helen Simons A radical transformation The Scriptures make it clear that sanctification is vital for a Christian's growth and development on life's pathway. In the same way the phrase "the sanctified" or "those that are sanctified" is used to designate the believers. What's another word for sanctification? His theory is that in the normal Christian the principle of holiness, beginning with the new birth, gradually expands and strengthens as the believer grows in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, till, by a final, all-surrendering act of faith in Christ, it reaches an instantaneous completion through the act of the Holy Spirit, the sanctifier: 2Corinthians 7:1 "perfecting holiness," etc. But the real making holy is co-extensive with the whole life of man. The new life is God's second work of creation. Get Your Bible Minute in Your Inbox Every Morning. The Judaizers followed after Paul, preaching a pregospel "gospel" of legalism. He dwells in Christ, Christ dwells in him. It is his constant and compelling moral appeal: You belong to Christ; live with Him, live unto Him (Colossians 3:1-4; 1Thessalonians 5:10). Faith in the gospel places the believer "in Christ, " where everything becomes new ( 2 Cor 5:17 ). See Systematic Theologies, Old Testament Theologies (compare especially Smend), and New Testament Theologies (compare especially Holtzmann). Obedience is not contrary to faith. The singular means of God's sanctifying grace is Jesus Christ: "We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" ( Heb 10:10 ). No human being or thing shares the holiness of God's essential nature. The prominence of ministry will vary from person to person. It is a life of sonship in trust and love, with the spirit that enables us to say "Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). The ethical is not wanting at the beginning, but the supremacy of the moral and spiritual over against the formal, the ritual, the ceremonial, the national, is the clear direction in which the movement as a whole tends. By "saint" is not meant the morally perfect, but the one who belongs to Christ, just as the sanctified priest or offering belonged to Yahweh. God created the universe and human beings perfect (i.e., sanctified). If the holy life be God's requirement and at the same time His deed, why should not this sanctification be instantaneous and entire? The Bible indicates that there are other means at the disposal of believers to promote the direct faith the Word, prayer, the church, and providence. Although every typological feature cannot be established with absolute precision, Scripture indicates that the tabernacle and temple, including its priestly service, foreshadowed Christ ( Heb 8:5 ; 9:23 ). As an artist he has undergone a kind of sanctification. Sanctification is a Christian teaching about how God transforms a person, making them fit for a holy purpose. From the ethical standpoint the same thing is constantly declared. In answer to this we must first discriminate between the ideal and the empirical with Paul. They needed to be more obedient to God to work out their salvation. What is Sanctification? Paul confronted an oft-posed question, "How can an elect [i.e., sanctified] nation be lost?" Wesley's advice to the preachers of this evangelical perfection was to draw and not to drive, and never to quote any threatenings of God's word against God's children. Neither the absolute demand or the promise of grace gives us the right to conclude how the consummation shall take place. It is God asserting His supremacy, His unique claim. For Christian faith is the moral surrender of our life to Him in whom truth and right come to us with authority to command. It is not negative, the mere separation from sin, but the progressive hallowing of a life that grows constantly in capacity, as in character, into the stature of full manhood as it is in Christ.
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