The Church of Divine Guidance Sunday morning Adult Bible Study is doing a biblical study of sanctification, the process of being set apart for God's work and being conformed to the image of Christ.
We have had studies on:
2:8-9 (NKJV)8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Faith - complete trust or confidence in someone or something; strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.
Hebrews 11:1-2 (NKJV)1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.
Justification - to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit.
Romans 3:21-30 (NKJV)21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
UNDERSTANDING SANCTIFICATION
“We are saved and sanctified for God, not to be specimens in his showroom, but for God to do with us ever as he did with Jesus—make us broken bread and poured out wine as he chooses.”
OSWALD CHAMBERS (1874–1917)
OSWALD CHAMBERS (1874–1917)
“When in his mercy God leads a soul in the higher path of sanctification, he begins by stripping it of all self-confidence, and to this end he allows our own schemes to fail, our judgment to mislead us. We grope and totter and make countless mistakes until we learn wholly to mistrust ourselves and to put all our confidence in him.” JEAN NICOLAS GROU (1731–1803)
Definitions
sanc·ti·fy - verb - set apart as or declare holy; consecrate; set apart for sacred use: to make free from sin: purify
"Sanctity" is an ancient concept widespread among religions. ... To sanctify is to literally "set apart for particular use in a special purpose or work and to make holy or sacred."
Sanctification - the act or process of acquiring sanctity, of being made or becoming holy.
Sanctification can be generally defined as being separate or set apart. In the case of the Christian, we are set apart for God and we are separate from the world.
Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God's work and being conformed to the image of Christ. Remember God’s purpose for us;
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
This conformance to Christ’s image also includes us and the things we do. God is working those things because He justified, or declared us right with Him through the blood of Jesus, us when He saved us.
Romans 10:8-10 (NKJV)8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 8:29-30 (NKJV)29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Philippians 2:13 (NKJV)13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Salvation is the work of God alone. We don’t have anything to do with it and we can’t earn it. Sanctification is a process. Where salvation comes from outside of us, from God, sanctification comes from God within us by the work of the Holy Spirit. In other words, we contribute to sanctification through our efforts. The saved person is actively involved in submitting to God's will, resisting sin, seeking holiness, and working to be more godly or developing growing in the fruit of the Spirit. Sanctification is the divine process by which Christians become more and more like Christ. It is a divine process because the changes in the life of the Christian are produced by the Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
The “fruit” of the Spirit, on the other hand, is the expression of our renewed nature as it is seen by others. Iin order to live your life in a way that is pleasing to God, you must bear fruit.
1 Peter 1:1-2 (NKJV)1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
Those changes are not the result of self-improvement efforts or reimaging. They are the result of the power of God renewing the heart and mind of the Christian. In the Christian’s sanctification, God’s resurrection power is at work on a renewal project.
Three aspects to sanctification
1. Positional sanctification received at salvation
1. Positional sanctification received at salvation
Acts 20:32 (NKJV) So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
1 Corinthians 1:2 (NKJV)2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
2. Progressive sanctification, the daily growth, becoming more and more set apart for God's use
John 17:16-19 (NKJV)16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.18 As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.19 And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
3. Ultimate sanctification, attained only when we are fully and completely set apart to God as we become just like Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NKJV) Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 John 3:1-3 (NKJV)1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
Sanctification Explored
The goal: the likeness of Christ which God demonstrated his purpose in creating us in His image
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Genesis 1:26-27 (NKJV)26 Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
When God created man he had no sin. When he sinned he separated himself from God. The sanctification process is working to get us back to that image which is exemplified in Christ.
The aim: to “grow up into him who is the Head, Christ”
Ephesians 4:11-15 (NKJV)11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--
The model: the life of Christ
The means: the Holy Spirit
The method: a daily walk with God through prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, and worship
Sanctification and Consecration
Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
We are to offer our own bodies to God as living, holy, and acceptable sacrifices. This type of sacrifice is a spiritual service involving all of their rational powers. Because of the dedication involved, believers are to cease being conformed to this age and let themselves be transformed by the renewing of their minds. Such transformation and renewal is to prove by testing (approve or discover) God's will as to what is good and well-pleasing and perfect. - The Wycliffe Bible Commentary.
Sanctification: God’s will for us
God wants us to “be sanctified,” which means putting away all forms of immorality and impurity and living a “holy life.”
1 Thessalonians 4:3-7 (NKJV)3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
Sanctification: a process: Sanctification begins the moment of conversion and continues until the end of one's life. Regeneration is instantaneous, but sanctification is a process. It is never complete in this life.
Romans 8:22-23 (NKJV)22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
Sanctification and Spiritual Warfare: Sanctification is a struggle between two forces at work in the life of the Christian: the old nature and the new nature. The Christian’s new nature desires to do God’s will, but the old nature refuses to go along. There is warfare within the Christian’s heart
Romans 7:15-24 (NKJV)15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Galatians 5:17 (NKJV) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
but with God’s help, the new nature eventually overcomes the old.
Romans 7:25 (NKJV) I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
Galatians 5:22-25 (NKJV)22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
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