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WEEKLY
Volume 2 Number 39
24 February 2008
Sanctified by God’s
Word
(Message delivered by
Rev Hien Nguyen at the Sunday Worship Service, 2 pm, Feb 17, 08)
Text:
John 17:14-19
Nowadays we see so many Christian
groups and denominations. However, the most important for each one of us
before the Lord is to be born again and to be sanctified because without
being born again we “cannot see the
kingdom of God… cannot enter
into the kingdom of God”
(John 3:3, 5) and without being sanctified, “no man shall see the
Lord” (Heb 12:14). Do you and I want to see the Lord? Then, we must
be sanctified. There is no other way. We have heard sermons or read
articles on sanctification, but it is always good for us to be reminded
of God’s commandment, “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16;
cf. Lev 11:44; 19:2; 20:7). God is holy and He commands us to be holy so
that we may maintain our fellowship with Him and be blessed. Our Lord
Jesus Christ, who died for us, rose again for our justification, and is
still praying to His Father for our sanctification, “Sanctify them
through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17) Then, what does
it mean to be sanctified and how? May the Lord graciously sanctify our
whole being so that we may understand and separate ourselves unto Him
and be used by Him.
The Meaning of Sanctification
The verb “sanctify” means to make
holy, make clean, to consecrate, to set apart from a common use to God’s
use, and from self will to God’s will. It means to separate ourselves
from sins, self, worldliness, wrong doctrines and then separate
ourselves unto the Lord, to belong to the Lord, to be controlled by Him,
and to be used by Him according to His holy will. The temple was holy
and called the holy temple because it was set apart from common use to
God’s use, dedicated to the Lord, and was filled with His holy presence
(2 Chron 7:1-3).
In our position in our Lord Jesus
Christ, we “are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints”
(1 Cor 1:2), but it is a process of transforming us into the image of
the Lord Jesus until we shall be like Him when He comes. It is a process
of separating ourselves from sins, self and worldliness, a process of
cleansing us from sins and unrighteousness, and a process of filling us
with His holy nature, His holy mind, holy love, holy will and holy Word.
Dear friends, it is not enough for you and me to be separated from sins
and to be dedicated unto Him. We must be filled with His holy presence
and life. Without the holy God in our hearts and lives we cannot be
sanctified or holy. O how we need God and His holy presence to be with
us and in us all the time!
The Divine Sanctifier
God Himself is the Author and Finisher
of our sanctification, “And the very God of peace sanctify you
wholly” (1 Thess 5:23). That is the work of the Triune God through
His Word and Jesus’ blood.
Sanctified by God the Father:
“to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in
Jesus Christ, and called” (Jude 1). Our Lord Jesus Christ prays His
Father to sanctify His followers, “Sanctify them through thy truth:
thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Dear friends, knowing that our
Heavenly Father is our Sanctifier, we shall have boldness to come nigh
unto Him to be cleansed, purified and sanctified despite our sins and
weaknesses.
Sanctified by God the Son and
His Blood:
“For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of
one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Heb
2:11). Our Lord Jesus Christ prays to His Father, “And for their
sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the
truth” (John 17:19). Jesus is the holy God and He does not need to
be sanctified, but for our sake, He set apart from His will to His
Father’s will, offering Himself as an atoning sacrifice for us so that
we may be sanctified by His sacrifice and His blood, “By the which
will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all… For
by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified”
(Heb 10:10, 14) and “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the
people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Heb 13:12).
Dear friends, knowing that Jesus Christ offered Himself as an atoning
sacrifice for us, we shall have boldness to come to Him to be cleansed
from all our sins and unrighteousness and to be sanctified by His own
blood.
Sanctified by God the Holy
Spirit: “That
I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering
the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be
acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost” (Rom 15:16). Dear
friends, the Holy Spirit is the “spirit of holiness” (Rom 1:4)
and if we let Him control us, He is able to sanctify us, separate us
from sin, and produce holiness in us, “God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief
of the truth” (2 Thess 2:13; cf. 1 Peter 1:2).
Sanctified by God’s Word, the
Truth: God is
holy and His Word is holy. It is called “the Holy Scripture” (2
Tim 3:15) and “the words of his holiness” (Jer 23:9). Any mistake
or error is sin, and holiness cannot be with any mistake or error, then
how can a holy God allow mistakes or errors in His holy Word? God
forbid! “For the word of God is quick and powerful” (Heb 4:12),
God’s Word is able to regenerate us, transform our hearts and sanctify
our lives, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever”
(1 Peter 1:23) and “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is
truth” (John 17:17). Dear friends, God the Father demands you and me
to be holy as He is holy, and He gave His only begotten Son to be our
atoning sacrifice, through whom we may be justified and sanctified, all
is by grace through faith alone. And the Holy Spirit now uses God’s Word
to regenerate us and sanctify us. If we are not submissive to the
control of the Holy Spirit and to the authority of God’s Word, how can
the Holy Spirit do His work? Then we can be sure that those who do not
submit to God’s Word, but arrogantly criticise, question and doubt God’s
Word, can never enjoy the gracious work of the Holy Spirit in their
lives because “whatsoever is not of faith is sin” and “without
faith it is impossible to please him” (Rom 14:23; Heb 11:6). The
more we read God’s Word with faith and submission, the more we shall see
our sins and sinful nature, and the more we shall need Jesus’ blood for
our cleansing. The more we read God’s Word with faith and submission,
the more we shall see God’s will and His holy standards, and the more we
shall need the Holy Spirit for our sanctification. Regeneration is an
event in our lives and sanctification is a process in our lives until
our Saviour Jesus Christ comes back again. If you and I have been born
again, we shall thirst for the Lord, thirst for His Word, and stop
living in sin as a habit (Ps 42:1-2; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 John 3:9). How about
our sanctification?
A Sanctified Life
“Salvation is of the LORD”
(Jonah 2:9), so sanctification is also of the Lord alone. Without His
gracious work in our lives, you and I will be undone for ever. To be
sanctified, you and I must commit our lives to the Lord as the clay in
the Potter’s hands, totally and unreservedly submitting to Him and His
Word with our trust and humble dependence. We are “sanctified by
faith” that is in Christ (Acts 26:18). The saving faith always
manifests active trust, submission and obedience, “By faith
Abraham,…obeyed” (Heb 11:8; cf. James 2:20-24). Shall we not wisely
do that to enjoy God’s gracious work of sanctification? Then what does a
sanctified life mean?
“And the very God of peace sanctify
you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be
preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful
is he that calleth you, who also will do it”
(1 Thess 5:23-24). Our whole being, our spirit, soul and body, must be
sanctified wholly by God Himself.
A Sanctified Spirit:
Before we were saved, our spirit was “dead in trespasses and sins”
(Eph 2:1), separated from the Lord. A dead person cannot see, hear,
speak, move or do anything. A spiritually dead person does not have
spiritual eyes to see God and the wonderful things in His Word and does
not have spiritual ears to hear the Shepherd’s voice, and so on. He does
not pray to God, trust in Him, live by God’s Word, pray to Him or
worship Him. When we are born again by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word,
our spirit is revived or quickened and growing up like a babe in Christ.
Then a sanctified spirit must be separated from sins, doubt,
disobedience, self will, self glory, stranger’s voice, etc. It must be
consecrated to the Lord and belong to the Lord alone to look unto the
Lord alone (Heb 12:2), to hear the Shepherd’s voice (God’s Word) alone,
to trust in Him alone, to obey Him and His will alone, to serve Him
alone, to worship Him alone, to glorify Him alone, to love Him the most
and to know Him more and more, etc. With such dedication, the Holy
Spirit may control our spirit and reveal the Lord Jesus and God’s truth
to us more and more, and then use us to preach Christ and to contend for
His truth. Are your spirit and mine sanctified?
A Sanctified Soul:
Our spirit is the part we may know God and communicate with Him, and our
soul is the part we may communicate with human beings. Our soul must be
sanctified as well. Our love for others, our mind, our conscience, our
thinking, our understanding, our judgment, our intelligence, our memory,
our skills, etc., must be separated from sins, self, lusts, arrogance,
worldliness and anything against God’s Word. Then our soul must be
dedicated to the Lord to be used according to His will and for His
glory. And the Holy Spirit will fill us with His holy love, with Jesus’
mind, and God’s Word. Our conscience will be tuned up to God’s Word and
His holy standards, our memory will be used to store God’s Word, our
talents will be used to glorify the Lord, and so forth. For example, a
sanctified person who has talent for music may be inspired to compose
spiritual songs to praise the Lord alone or to play music instruments to
glorify Him alone. Are your soul and mine sanctified?
A Sanctified Body:
How about our bodies? Are they separated from sins, self, lusts,
worldliness, separated unto the Lord and offered to Him as a living and
holy sacrifice acceptable unto Him? Are our eyes separated unto the Lord
to see, to look at, to watch, or to read what pleases the Lord? Are our
ears separated unto the Lord to hear or listen to what pleases Him? Are
our tongues separated unto the Lord to speak, say, sing, or preach what
pleases Him alone? Are our hands and feet separated unto the Lord to do
His Work, to write what pleases Him and to go where He pleases? Sadly,
nowadays, many think that they are holy and sanctified while they are
not submissive to the Lord and His Word at all! Their conscience is not
tuned up to God’s Word. They use their mind, their thinking, their
understanding, their eyes, their ears, their tongues, their hands, etc.,
to think, to see, to watch, to read, to say, to hear, to listen to, or
do what they like regardless of the Lord and His Word. It is worse for
those who use their mind, their tongues and hands to teach, preach and
write against God’s Word, ignoring that it is God’s Word that is able to
sanctify them! It is sad that the same tongue that sings praise to the
Lord, prays to Him, preaches God’s Word, blesses the congregation at
Sunday Worship is used to tell lies, to argue against God’s Word, to
curse others, or to serve selfish motives or worldly gains! How about
you and me?
Conclusion
Dear friends, without holiness and
sanctification, “no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). It is
God’s command for you and me to be holy and sanctified. It is the Triune
God and God’s Word that are able to sanctify our spirit, soul and body
and to preserve them “blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.” Our part is to commit our lives to Him and to unreservedly
submit to Him and His Word with our trust, obedience and dependence. May
God keep you and me as a holy and living sacrifice acceptable unto Him
until our Lord Jesus Christ comes. Amen.
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