Reference: Sanctification
Easton
involves more than a mere moral reformation of character, brought about by the power of the truth: it is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing the whole nature more and more under the influences of the new gracious principles implanted in the soul in regeneration. In other words, sanctification is the carrying on to perfection the work begun in regeneration, and it extends to the whole man (Ro 6:13; 2Co 4:6; Col 3:10; 1Jo 4:7; 1Co 6:19). It is the special office of the Holy Spirit in the plan of redemption to carry on this work (1Co 6:11; 2Th 2:13). Faith is instrumental in securing sanctification, inasmuch as it (1) secures union to Christ (Ga 2:20), and (2) brings the believer into living contact with the truth, whereby he is led to yield obedience "to the commands, trembling at the threatenings, and embracing the promises of God for this life and that which is to come."
Perfect sanctification is not attainable in this life (1Ki 8:46; Pr 20:9; Ec 7:20; Jas 3:2; 1Jo 1:8). See Paul's account of himself in Ro 7:14-25; Php 3:12-14; 1Ti 1:15; also the confessions of David (Ps 19:12-13; 51), of Moses (Ps 90:8), of Job (Job 42:5-6), and of Daniel (Da 9:3-20). "The more holy a man is, the more humble, self-renouncing, self-abhorring, and the more sensitive to every sin he becomes, and the more closely he clings to Christ. The moral imperfections which cling to him he feels to be sins, which he laments and strives to overcome. Believers find that their life is a constant warfare, and they need to take the kingdom of heaven by storm, and watch while they pray. They are always subject to the constant chastisement of their Father's loving hand, which can only be designed to correct their imperfections and to confirm their graces. And it has been notoriously the fact that the best Christians have been those who have been the least prone to claim the attainment of perfection for themselves.", Hodge's Outlines.
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Let this book of the law be ever on your lips and in your thoughts day and night, so that you may keep with care everything in it; then a blessing will be on all your way, and you will do well.
Then you will say to them, Because the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the Lord's agreement; when it went over Jordan the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones will be a sign for the children of Israel, keeping it in their memory for ever.
If they do wrong against you, (for no man is without sin,) and you are angry with them and give them up into the power of those who are fighting against them, so that they take them away as prisoners into a strange land, far off or near;
Word of you had come to my ears, but now my eye has seen you. For this cause I give witness that what I said is false, and in sorrow I take my seat in the dust.
Who has full knowledge of his errors? make me clean from secret evil. Keep your servant back from sins of pride; let them not have rule over me: then will I be upright and free from great sin.
Who is able to say, I have made my heart clean, I am free from my sin?
There is no man on earth of such righteousness that he does good and is free from sin all his days.
And turning my face to the Lord God, I gave myself up to prayer, requesting his grace, going without food, in haircloth and dust. And I made prayer to the Lord my God, putting our sins before him, and said, O Lord, the great God, greatly to be feared. keeping your agreement and mercy with those who have love for you and do your orders; read more. We are sinners, acting wrongly and doing evil; we have gone against you, turning away from your orders and from your laws: We have not given ear to your servants the prophets, who said words in your name to our kings and our rulers and our fathers and all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness is yours, but shame is on us, even to this day; and on the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, and on all Israel, those who are near and those who are far off, in all the countries where you have sent them because of the sin which they have done against you. O Lord, shame is on us, on our kings and our rulers and our fathers, because of our sin against you. With the Lord our God are mercies and forgiveness, for we have gone against him; And have not given ear to the voice of the Lord our God to go in the way of his laws which he put before us by the mouth of his servants the prophets. And all Israel have been sinners against your law, turning away so as not to give ear to your voice: and the curse has been let loose on us, and the oath recorded in the law of Moses, the servant of God, for we have done evil against him. And he has given effect to his words which he said against us and against those who were our judges, by sending a great evil on us: for under all heaven there has not been done what has been done to Jerusalem. As it was recorded in the law of Moses, all this evil has come on us: but we have made no prayer for grace from the Lord our God that we might be turned from our evil doings and come to true wisdom. So the Lord has been watching over this evil and has made it come on us: for the Lord our God is upright in all his acts which he has done, and we have not given ear to his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who took your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and made a great name for yourself even to this day; we are sinners, we have done evil. O Lord, because of your righteousness, let your wrath and your passion be turned away from your town Jerusalem, your holy mountain: because, through our sins and the evil-doing of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a cause of shame to all who are round about us. And now, give ear, O our God, to the prayer of your servant and to his request for grace, and let your face be shining on your holy place which is made waste, because of your servants, O Lord. O my God, let your ear be turned and give hearing; let your eyes be open and see how we have been made waste and the town which is named by your name: for we are not offering our prayers before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercies. O Lord, give ear; O Lord, have forgiveness; O Lord, take note and do; let there be no more waiting; for the honour of your name, O my God, because your town and your people are named by your name. And while I was still saying these words in prayer, and putting my sins and the sins of my people Israel before the Lord, and requesting grace from the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;
And do not give your bodies to sin as the instruments of wrongdoing, but give yourselves to God, as those who are living from the dead, and your bodies as instruments of righteousness to God.
For we are conscious that the law is of the spirit; but I am of the flesh, given into the power of sin. And I have no clear knowledge of what I am doing, for that which I have a mind to do, I do not, but what I have hate for, that I do. read more. But, if I do that which I have no mind to do, I am in agreement with the law that the law is good. So it is no longer I who do it, but the sin living in me. For I am conscious that in me, that is, in my flesh, there is nothing good: I have the mind but not the power to do what is right. For the good which I have a mind to do, I do not: but the evil which I have no mind to do, that I do. But if I do what I have no mind to do, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin living in me. So I see a law that, though I have a mind to do good, evil is present in me. In my heart I take pleasure in the law of God, But I see another law in my body, working against the law of my mind, and making me the servant of the law of sin which is in my flesh. How unhappy am I! who will make me free from the body of this death? I give praise to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So with my mind I am a servant to the law of God, but with my flesh to the law of sin.
And such were some of you; but you have been washed, you have been made holy, you have been given righteousness in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
I have been put to death on the cross with Christ; still I am living; no longer I, but Christ is living in me; and that life which I now am living in the flesh I am living by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who in love for me, gave himself up for me.
Not as if I had even now got the reward or been made complete: but I go on in the hope that I may come to the knowledge of that for which I was made the servant of Christ Jesus. Brothers, it is clear to me that I have not come to that knowledge; but one thing I do, letting go those things which are past, and stretching out to the things which are before, read more. I go forward to the mark, even the reward of the high purpose of God in Christ Jesus.
And have put on the new man, which has become new in knowledge after the image of his maker;
Let your talk be with grace, mixed with salt, so that you may be able to give an answer to everyone.
To the clean in heart all things are clean: but to those who are unclean and without faith nothing is clean; they become unclean in mind and in thought.
Morish
This term is from qadesh, ??????, 'to set apart to sacred purposes, consecrate.' It has various applications in the O.T.
As to days: God sanctified the seventh day on which He rested; it was afterwards to be kept holy by the Israelites. Ge 2:3; Ex 20:8.
As to persons: The whole of the Israelites were sanctified to God. Ex 19:10,14. The firstborn were further sanctified to God, to be redeemed by the Levites. Ex 13:2. The priests and Levites were sanctified to the service of God.
As to the place and vessels of divine service: The tabernacle and temple, and all the vessels used therein, were devoted to sacred use in the worship of God. Ex 30:29. We have thus what was suitable in view of God: there was also what was obligatory on the part of those that approached.
The priests, Levites, and people were often called upon to sanctify themselves, to be ceremonially fit to approach God and His sanctuary. Le 20:7; Nu 11:18; etc. God declared, "I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me," Le 10:3; God must be approached with reverence and in separation from what is unsuited to Him.
In the N.T. sanctification has many applications.
1. The thought is twice expressed by the Lord Jesus as to Himself. He spoke of Himself as one "whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world." Joh 10:36. He was set apart by the Father for the accomplishment of the purposes of His will. In His prayer for His disciples in John 17 the Lord also says, "For their sakes I sanctify myself." He set Himself apart in heaven from rights that belonged to Him as man, that His own might be sanctified by the truth. He was sanctified on earth for the Father, He has sanctified Himself in heaven for the saints.
2. Believers are said to be "sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Ro 15:16; 1Co 1:2; Heb 10:10. They are thus 'saints,' 'sanctified ones' before God, apart from the life of flesh, a class of persons set apart to God for priestly service. Ac 20:32; 26:18; Ro 1:7; etc. In this there is no progress: in effect it implies the most intimate identification with Christ. Such are His brethren. "He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one," Heb 2:11; the sanctified are "perfected for ever" by one offering. Heb 10:14.
3. But believers are viewed also on the side of obligation and are exhorted to yield their members "servants to righteousness unto holiness" (????????). Ro 6:19. God chastens them that they may be partakers of His holiness. Heb 12:10. Without sanctification no one will see the Lord. In this there is progress: a growing up into Christ in all things. Eph 4:15. The apostle Paul prayed that the God of peace would sanctify the Thessalonians wholly. 1Th 5:23.
4. Sanctification appears to refer to change of association, for the possibility is contemplated of some who had been sanctified treading under foot the Son of God, and treating the blood of the covenant as an unholy or common thing, thus becoming apostates from Christ, and departing from the association in which they had been sanctified. Heb 10:29.
5. In the existing mixed and corrupt state of Christendom (viewed as a great house, in which are vessels, some to honour and some to dishonour), the obligation to sanctification from evil within the sphere of profession has become obligatory in order that a man may be "a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." 2Ti 2:21.
6. An unbelieving husband or wife is said to be sanctified in the believing partner, and their children are holy (?????). They can thus dwell together in peace, instead of having to separate from an unbelieving partner, as in Old Testament times. 1Co 7:14: cf. Ezra 9, Ezra 10.
7. Food is "sanctified by the word of God and prayer." Hence "every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving." 1Ti 4:4-5. This is altogether opposed to restrictions prescribed by the law, or which man may impose on the use of what God in His goodness has created for man's use.
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And God gave his blessing to the seventh day and made it holy: because on that day he took his rest from all the work which he had made and done.
Let the first male child of every mother among the children of Israel be kept holy for me, even the first male birth among man or beast; for it is mine.
And the Lord said to Moses, Go to the people and make them holy today and tomorrow, and let their clothing be washed.
Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and made the people holy; and their clothing was washed.
Keep in memory the Sabbath and let it be a holy day.
Then Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord said, I will be holy in the eyes of all those who come near to me, and I will be honoured before all the people. And Aaron said nothing.
So make and keep yourselves holy, for I am the Lord your God.
And say to the people, Make yourselves clean before tomorrow and you will have flesh for your food: for in the ears of the Lord you have been weeping and saying, Who will give us flesh for food? for we were well off in Egypt: and so the Lord will give you flesh, and it will be your food;
Do you say of him whom the Father made holy and sent into the world, Your words are evil; because I said, I am God's Son?
And now, I give you into the care of God and the word of his grace, which is able to make you strong and to give you your heritage among all the saints.
To make their eyes open, turning them from the dark to the light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may have forgiveness of sins and a heritage among those who are made holy by faith in me.
To all those who are in Rome, loved by God, marked out as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am using words in the way of men, because your flesh is feeble: as you gave your bodies as servants to what is unclean, and to evil to do evil, so now give them as servants to righteousness to do what is holy.
To be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, doing the work of a priest in the good news of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles might be pleasing to God, being made holy by the Holy Spirit.
For the husband who has not faith is made holy through his Christian wife, and the wife who is not a Christian is made holy through the brother: if not, your children would be unholy, but now are they holy.
But saying true words in love, may come to full growth in him, who is the head, even Christ;
To the saints and true brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
And may the God of peace himself make you holy in every way; and may your spirit and soul and body be free from all sin at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Because everything which God has made is good, and nothing is evil, if it is taken with praise: For it is made holy by the word of God and by prayer.
If a man makes himself clean from these, he will be a vessel for honour, made holy, ready for the master's use, ready for every good work.
For he who makes holy and those who are made holy are all of one family; and for this reason it is no shame for him to give them the name of brothers,
By that pleasure we have been made holy, by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for ever.
Because by one offering he has made complete for ever those who are made holy.
But will not the man by whom the Son of God has been crushed under foot, and the blood of the agreement with which he was washed clean has been taken as an unholy thing, and who has had no respect for the Spirit of grace, be judged bad enough for a very much worse punishment?
For they truly gave us punishment for a short time, as it seemed good to them; but he does it for our profit, so that we may become holy as he is.
Watsons
SANCTIFICATION, that work of God's grace by which we are renewed after the image of God, set apart for his service, and enabled to die unto sin and live unto righteousness. Sanctification is either of nature, whereby we are renewed after the image of God, in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, Eph 4:24; Col 3:19, or of practice, whereby we die unto sin, have its power destroyed in us, cease from the love and practice of it, hate it as abominable, and live unto righteousness, loving and studying good works, Tit 2:11-12. Sanctification comprehends all the graces of knowledge, faith, repentance, love, humility, zeal, patience, &c, and the exercise of them in our conduct toward God or man: Ga 5:22-24; 1Pe 1:15-16; Mt 6:7. Sanctification in this world must be complete; the whole nature must be sanctified, all sin must be utterly abolished, or the soul can never be admitted into the glorious presence of God, Heb 12:14; 1Pe 1:15; Re 21:27; yet the saints, while here, are in a state of spiritual warfare with Satan and his temptations, with the world and its influence, 2Co 2:11; Ga 5:17,24; Ro 7:23; 1Jo 2:15-16.
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Then she let them down from the window by a cord, for the house where she was living was on the town wall. And she said to them, Get away into the hill-country, or the men who have gone after you will overtake you; keep yourselves safe there for three days, till the searchers have come back, and then go on your way.
And in your prayer do not make use of the same words again and again, as the Gentiles do: for they have the idea that God will give attention to them because of the number of their words.
But I see another law in my body, working against the law of my mind, and making me the servant of the law of sin which is in my flesh.
So that Satan may not get the better of us: for we are not without knowledge of his designs.
For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; because these are opposite the one to the other; so that you may not do the things which you have a mind to do.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, a quiet mind, kind acts, well-doing, faith, Gentle behaviour, control over desires: against such there is no law. read more. And those who are Christ's have put to death on the cross the flesh with its passions and its evil desires.
And those who are Christ's have put to death on the cross the flesh with its passions and its evil desires.
And put on the new man, to which God has given life, in righteousness and a true and holy way of living.
Husbands, have love for your wives, and be not bitter against them.
For the grace of God has come, giving salvation to all men, Training us so that, turning away from evil and the desires of this world, we may be living wisely and uprightly in the knowledge of God in this present life;
Let your desire be for peace with all men, and to be made holy, without which no man may see the Lord;
And nothing unclean may come into it, or anyone whose works are cursed or false; but only those whose names are in the Lamb's book of life.