Jesus is Our Sanctifier

10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:10-12 NLT

Introduction: Today, Jesus is arguably the most known person in the world, yet some still do not know Him at all. For thousands of years, the prophets spoke of the Messiah coming and taking up his kingdom. They made all kinds of predictions, and when Jesus showed up on the scene, only a few recognized who He really was. If God were to show up in your life today, would you recognize Him?

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is our Sanctifier!

What is Sanctification?

The process or result of God’s continuing work in Christian believers through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Protestant theology, this occurs after justification and is growth in grace and holiness of life marked by good works. (Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms, Donald K. Mckim, page 247)

Sanctification is the ongoing supernatural work of God to rescue justified sinners from the disease of sin and to conform them to the image of his Son: holy, Christlike, and empowered to do good works. (Susanne Calhoun, “Sanctification,” in Lexham Survey of Theology, ed. Mark Ward et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018).

The Church of God Declaration of Faith states:

We believe in Sanctification subsequent to the new birth, through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ; through the Word, and by the Holy Ghost.

We believe Holiness to be God’s standard of living for His people.

The Old Testament Use of the Word

While several words are used in the Old Testament, I will give you one. It has several variants, but the word qōdesh gives us the idea of being made holy or set apart. There is more than one school of thought regarding the origins of this word. One is that it means to cut like to be cut off from something, such as a piece of fabric being cut from a larger piece. This word is used to designate places and people to be set aside.

Aaron and his sons may eat the rest of the flour, but it must be baked without yeast and eaten in a sacred place within the courtyard of the Tabernacle. Remember, it must never be prepared with yeast. I have given it to the priests as their share of the special gifts presented to me. Like the sin offering and guilt offering, it must be holy. (Leviticus 6:16-17 NLT)

Priests may not marry a woman defiled by prostitution, and they may not marry a woman who is divorced from her husband, for priests are set apart as holy to their God. (Leviticus 21:7 NLT)

We see here that God is the one who sets things apart, and He sets them apart for Himself.

The New Testament Use of the Word

The Greek word hagiazo is used, which means to sanctify or make holy. It also expresses the idea of being purified. It is being or becoming dedicated to God.

And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. (John 17:19 NLT)

For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband brings holiness to his marriage. (1 Corinthians 7:14 NLT)

For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. (Hebrews 10:10 NLT)

What Is It? (further explained)

It might be best to explain first what it is not.

It is not regeneration.

Regeneration is the new birth or the initial salvation process. One can not be cleaned until one is first born again.

It is not a morality.

The thinking man, all through history, has tried to create a system of what is right and what is wrong. You may call it morals or ethics. Every culture has some system of what is right or wrong.

It is not something that you obtain.

You don’t create a checklist of do’s and don’ts and set about to accomplish them. You cannot build it or attain it. You surrender to it!

There are also many preconceived ideas of what holiness is.

Many well-meaning church leaders have established rules for governing the people. At one time in history, the people were not even allowed to own and read their own bibles. At one time, it was considered unholy to wear a wedding ring or own a television or for women to wear pants or cut their hair. At one time, wearing certain types of clothing was considered unholy.

Holiness should best be described as being Wholly His.

Why Do We Need Sanctification?

Simply put, yours and my goodness are not enough.

We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6 NLT)

Isaiah could say this because he had a sanctifying encounter with the Holy God!

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!” 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” (Isaiah 6:1-7 NLT)

Here is Isaiah, who was a priest, knew the Scriptures and knew about God, but now he has an encounter that would forever change his life!

Isaiah may have thought he was just fine and dandy. He was okay. But when he met God, who is HOLY, he found that he was a man of unclean lips. (Hebrew writing uses a word twice to denote importance. There’s only one word that is used 3 times: Holy!) He needed to be cleansed! We tend to think the same thing - we are just fine; we are okay, especially when we compare ourselves to others. We think, at least, I don’t do this or do that. Oh, how tragic this thought process is!

Look what Isaiah said when he found himself face-to-face with the holiness of God. He said, “It’s all over.” I like what other translations say, “I am undone” or “I’m ruined!”

Isaiah needed sanctifying because he was not as clean as he thought he was. And that is the case with us. We need to be cleansed! And praise God! He did it for Isaiah, and he does it for us.

God did not kill Isaiah like the prophet thought was going to happen. He sent an angel to grab a coal from the altar and touch his lips with it. God did this for a reason.

He wanted to use Isaiah! He wanted him to speak to the people of Israel and Judah! And that is precisely what he did. And that is what He wants to do in us.

God sanctifies His people to draw them closer to Himself and to use them to do His work here in the earth.

How can God use us if we are just like those he wants us to go and minister to?

How can an alcoholic tell another alcoholic that there is freedom unless he himself has experienced that freedom? Only a sanctified, set apart, and cleansed child of God can point to the Holy God.

How Does It Work?

Through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ; through the Word, and by the Holy Ghost.

Through the blood of Jesus Christ is the surrendering in salvation part

Through the Word is the continuing by staying full of the Bible -

JAR ILLUSTRATION

The process of sanctification is both an immediate and a long-term process. It begins when one surrenders to Jesus as the Lord of one's life. That is the faith in the blood of Jesus part. He died on a cross and paid the price that you and I should have paid and could not pay. He, in turn, gave us freedom from the penalty of sin.

The process of sanctification continues as long as we live and seek the Word of God, the Bible. It is through the Word that we are sanctified!

And finally, it is a process that the Holy Spirit leads. He is the one who makes this all happen. But listen carefully; though He is in control, we must make ourselves to be willing participants in the process. God will not force it on anyone.

He does all this, so we may be like little candlesticks in a dark room. We, a sanctified people, can shine the light of Christ to a world that is terribly sick!

CLOSE IN PRAYER

PREPARE YOUR HEARTS FOR HOLY COMMUNION