SANCTIFICATION

Anita Clark – Pastor, Carbondale, KS

“Then, said He, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God.  He taketh away the first that he might establish the second.  By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”  Hebrews 10:9-10.

There are two phases to sanctification which need to be known by the believer in Christ.  First, in John 1:29, John the Baptist spoke out and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.” The first part of sanctification, which means “separation, consecration and setting apart,” which were brought about by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ.

II Thessalonians 2:13 Apostle Paul says, “”We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to Salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” Here the “you” he is speaking of is the whole New Creation (every believer in Christ Jesus) who through the death and resurrection of Christ, were sanctified setting them apart to many benefits. These benefits listed are: our believing (faith), eternal salvation, made a New Creation in Christ, washed in the blood of Jesus and given a new birth and status as a child of God, and set apart for God and whatever He wants to work in us, or through us.  We are set or positioned in the body of Christ, into whatever places He destined us to be in, fulfilling His divine will for us as an individual in the body of Christ.  

I Corinthians 6:9-12, Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthian believers, says, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived.” It is plain that Apostle Paul is speaking of inheritance of the child or believer in Christ.  He lists ten things that are called “works of the flesh” in Galatians 5:19.  Note the word used in our text “inherit.”  Believers who walk after their fleshly desires will suffer loss of the greatest inheritance that the Lord will give to the overcomer once they are in heaven. Notice what Paul says in V. 11, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”  After we are born again we are righteous in God’s sight. Also, we “are sanctified.” which means we are washed in the blood of Christ and made righteous in God’s sight, we are counted a New Creation in Christ. This is our standing before God.  However, as we yield our bodies as living sacrifices unto God and seek to do His divine will for our lives, we live a sanctified (separated) life in the will of God.

Hebrews 10:10-12 tells us “By the which will (God’s divine will) we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all.” His offering set us apart from the penalty of sin.  We are declared “righteous” in Christ, in fact His beautiful righteousness is given to us.  We are redeemed and set free from sin. This power to be separated to God was brought about in our lives because Jesus bore all our sins past, present and future in His own body, with all the suffering He went through on the cross. Hebrews 13:12 says, “Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood suffered without the gate.  Let us go therefore unto Him without the camp bearing His reproach.”  

The Second Phase of “Sanctification” - we call “The Practical side.” This is the side which shows the actual gaining of deliverance from the power of sin.  It is not a one time event, but goes on continually until we stand before Jesus in heaven. In the book of Colossians 3:5-10, we read Paul’s admonition to this group of believers, which applies to all of us. “Mortify (give over to death) therefore you members (bodies) which are upon the earth.” In verses 5-9 He lists how the flesh of mankind operates.  Then, in verse 8 he says, “Put off all these - anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.  Lie not to one another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. And have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” Jesus said in John 17:17 in His prayer to His Father, “Sanctify them through Thy truth, Thy word is truth.”

Victory over the flesh (practical sanctification) and all it does is gained only by trusting in Christ for deliverance. Romans 6:9, 11-13, “Likewise reckon (Greek: “to take an inventory, estimate, think on,”) ye also to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin reign in our mortal body, that you should obey it in the lusts thereof.  Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead. And your members (bodies) as instruments of righteousness unto God.”