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WEEKLY
Volume 3 Number 12
17 August 2008
Wholly
Sanctified
(Message delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the Calvary
BPC in Toronto, at 10 am, Aug 3, 08)
Text:
1 Thess 5:23-24
The topic
of the message today is “Wholly Sanctified” based on 1 Thessalonians
5:23-24, “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.” We shall talk about the necessity of
sanctification, the meaning of sanctification, the Author of
sanctification, the means of sanctification and a wholly sanctified
Christian life. May the Lord sanctify you and me wholly day by day until
our Lord Jesus comes back again soon.
The
Necessity of Sanctification
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
and necessary for us to be reminded of this topic again. Why? It is
God’s holiness that He commands us to be sanctified, or else He will
neither be with us nor have fellowship with us (1 Peter 1:16; cf. Lev
11:44; 19:2; 20:7). God commands us to be holy so that we may maintain
our fellowship with Him and be blessed. “Therefore the children of
Israel could not stand before their
enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were
accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the
accursed from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say,
Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God
of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel:
thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the
accursed thing from among you” (Joshua
7:12-13). Dear friends, you and I must be sanctified if we want the Lord
to be with us and bless us. Then, what does it mean to be sanctified and
how?
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. The
temple was holy and called the holy temple because it was set apart from
common use to God’s use, was dedicated to the Lord, and was filled with
His holy presence (2 Chron 7:1-3). First, we must separate ourselves
from sins, self, worldliness, wrong doctrines and disobedient brethren.
Then, we must dedicate ourselves to the Lord and belong to Him alone.
Finally, we must submit ourselves to the Lord and His Word in order to
be controlled by Him and to be used by Him according to His holy will,
His holy way and His timing. Without God’s holy presence in our lives,
we can never be holy or sanctified! Are you and I really sanctified?
Sadly, nowadays, many churches ignore the doctrines of separation or
full submission to the Lord and His Word!
It should
be noted that we have our position of sanctification in our Lord Jesus
Christ, we “are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints”
(1 Cor 1:2), but sanctification is still a process of transforming us
into the image of the Lord Jesus until we shall be like Him when He
comes.
The
Author of Sanctification
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 gracious
work of the Triune God:
Sanctified by God the Father (Jude 1).
Our Lord Jesus Christ still prays to His Father for our sanctification,
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John
17:17). Dear friends, shall we not thank our Father for His work of
sanctification through His Word?
Sanctified by God the Son (Heb 2:11). “But of him are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30). Knowing that Jesus
Christ offered Himself as an atoning sacrifice for our salvation and
sanctification, 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 (Rom 15:16). 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).
The
Means of Sanctification
Human
beings, with their totally depraved
and sinful
nature, can never save nor sanctify themselves. We are saved by grace
through faith alone (Eph 2:8), and we are sanctified by grace through
faith alone as well (Acts 26:18; Heb 10:29; 1 Peter 5:10).
Sanctified by Jesus’ Sacrifice and Blood:
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). We are sanctified by our Lord Jesus’ sacrifice and blood
and not by our own good works or merits! Praise the Lord!
Sanctified by God’s Word, God’s Truth:
God is holy and His Word is holy. It is called “the Holy Scriptures”
(Rom 1:2; 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 commands
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
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.
Wholly
Sanctified
“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 trust and obey God to enjoy His gracious work of sanctification?
Then what does a wholly 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 as well
as be preserved blameless by Him until the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
A Sanctified Spirit:
Before we were saved, our spirit was “dead in trespasses and sins”
(Eph 2:1), separated from the Lord. Our spirit is the
part we may know
God and communicate with Him. A dead person cannot see, hear, speak,
move or do anything. A spiritually dead person cannot see God and the
wonderful things in His Word, nor hear the Shepherd’s voice, nor
communicate with God in prayers and worship. He cannot glorify God, nor
keep God’s commandments, nor overcome Satan, his sinful nature or
worldliness. 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
(John 10:4-5), to trust in Him alone (Ps 118:8-9), to obey Him and His
will alone (Acts 5:29), to serve Him and worship Him alone (Matt 4:10),
to glorify Him alone (1 Cor 10:31), to fear Him alone (Matt 10:28), to
love Him the most (Matt 22:37) and to know Him more and rejoice in Him
(Phil 3:8; 4:4), etc. It must be filled with or controlled by the Holy
Spirit (Eph 5:18) and God’s Word (Col 3:16) so that it may grow in grace
and God’s knowledge (2 Peter 3:18) and be used to serve God, to preach
Christ and to contend for His truth. Are your spirit and mine
sanctified?
A Sanctified Soul: Our soul is the part we may communicate
with human beings and the things around us. Our soul must be sanctified
as well. Our human 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. Our soul must be dedicated
to the Lord to be used according to His will and for His glory. Our soul
must be controlled by the Holy Spirit and God’s Word so that our human
love may be controlled by God’s holy love and our mind by Jesus’ mind.
Our conscience must be tuned up to God’s Word and His holy standards,
our memory must be used to store God’s Word, our talents must be used to
glorify the Lord, and so forth. Sadly, many so-called “saints” or
“God’s servants” are
using their mind, thinking, understanding, judgment, talents and skills
to argue against God’s perfectly preserved Word instead of magnifying
God and His Word! However, the Holy Spirit may use a sanctified
Christian and fill him with His truth and wisdom to contend for God’s
Truth, and He may sanctify his skills and talents to serve the Lord and
glorify Him alone. Are your soul and mine sanctified?
A
Sanctified Body: How about our bodies? Are they separated from
sins, self, lusts, worldliness, fornication or adultery? Are they
separated unto the Lord and are offered to Him as a living and holy
sacrifice acceptable unto Him?
Our eyes
must be separated unto the Lord to see, to look at, to watch, or to read
what pleases the Lord. Sadly, many are using their eyes to watch worldly
movies or pornography, to read unbiblical articles or novels!
Our ears
must be separated unto the Lord to hear or listen to what pleases Him,
but many still listen to unbiblical arguments, worldly music, ungodly
songs, or dirty jokes!
Our tongues
must be separated unto the Lord to speak, say, sing, or preach what
pleases Him alone, but 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!
Our hands
must be separated unto the Lord to do His will and His work or to write
what pleases Him, but many are using their hands to write or do the
things against God’s Word!
Our feet
must be separated unto the Lord to go where the Lord leads us for His
glory, but many just like to go wherever they like to entertain
themselves regardless of God’s Word or God’s glory.
Conclusion
Without
holiness, “no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). God commands
you and me to be holy and sanctified. It is the Triune God and God’s
Word and Jesus’ blood 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 fully commit our lives to God and to
submit ourselves to Him and His Word with our trust, obedience and
dependence. May God help us. Amen.
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