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"Sanctified in Christ Jesus" (posted March 1, 2013)
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Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.
- Hebrews 13:12 It should be plain to any thoughtful person that the great apostle of the Church never divides believers into two classes, some of whom are "only justified" and the others possessing a "second blessing" of being sanctified. On the contrary, he addresses all Christians as "sanctified in Christ Jesus." Nor does this mean that they are morally perfect or sinless. Surely no one could so speak of the Corinthian assembly. All kinds of evils had to be corrected among them. They are called carnal* in chapter 3, yet he addresses them as sanctified in the second verse of chapter 1; and in verse 30 he writes, "You are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—-and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." They were in Christ, so they were sanctified, though their ways were far from being all that God would have them. There need be no difficulty here if it be known and held in mind that sanctification means separation to God. All believers have been set apart to God in Christ and are no longer of the world, even as He is not of the world. In harmony with other New Testament writers, Paul presents sanctification as three-fold. The sanctification by the Holy Spirit is the beginning of the work of God in one's soul: separating him from the world and follies he once loved, turning his heart to God, exercising him about his sinfulness, and leading him to personal faith in Christ. The work of Christ now trusted, henceforth the Spirit dwells personally in the believer, and it is His blessed work to lead the soul on in the ways that be in Christ. Sanctification by the blood, or the one offering of the Son of God, is positional. That is, it has to do with the new position into which the saved one is brought. His sins are purged; his conscience is free; he stands before God in all the value of the work of His Son. The work of Christ has come in between his soul and the judgment his sins deserved. If his professed belief is unreal (as contemplated in Hebrews 10:29), there is, of course, no abiding sanctification; but where faith is genuine he is sanctified eternally (note Hebrews 10:14). Sanctification by the word of God is the practical outcome of the work of Christ and the Spirit's work within. Daily the Word is applied to the heart and conscience by the Lord Himself. He keeps the feet of His saints, cleansing them from defilement contracted while passing through this polluted scene, with the washing of water by the Word (John 13:8-10 with Ephesians 5:25-26). In this sense no saint is wholly sanctified till he no longer needs the word of God for cleansing and instruction. That will be at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we get it in 1 Thessalonians 5:23. You have been called unto holiness** (1 Thessalonians 4:7), and holiness is simply Christ-likeness. If He be ever before you, and you daily seek to walk as He walked in the Spirit's power, guided by the unerring word of God, you shall know the blessedness of being sanctified by the truth. And if the great adversary of your souls taunts you with failure and weakness, look not in or around you, but up into the face of Christ Jesus, exalted in glory, and cry in faith, "He is my sanctification. I am in Him, and that forever!"
*This term is sometimes translated "fleshly," or driven by natural desires.
Henry A. Ironside |