Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 26-28; John 17
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” – John 17:17 (KJV)
Jesus prayed that the Father would sanctify His disciples and those that will also believe in Him through their words as witness to the living Word “Jesus Christ”. Sanctification means to set apart for special use or purpose, to make holy or sacred as a vessel, full of the Holy Spirit of God. The sanctification of a sinner saved by grace is the act of the Holy Spirit that takes place in the heart to set apart the soul of man towards serving the interest of God’s kingdom, and also an ongoing process that is undertaken by the Holy Spirit in the heart of a believer.
When we confess our sins and Jesus Christ as our Lord, sanctification takes place at the moment of salvation. At that moment, we are justified in the sight of God and covered in Christ’s righteousness. Progressive sanctification is a lifelong process for the believer, as we continue to grow in grace, mature in the faith, and become gradually conformed into the image and likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”- Ephesians 4:13
Sanctification is a continues process. Positional sanctification happened at the moment we were saved and progressive sanctification continues in the present, but our final and perfected sanctification will only be completed in the future, when we go to be with the Lord. It is not until we all reach unity in the faith, in the knowledge of the Son of God, (either through our physical death or the Rapture of the Church) that we will finally attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, and our sanctification will, at last, be complete.
Every believer of Christ that put his trusts in the Lord for salvation is already sanctified. We are sanctified, because we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart unto God. But every believer is also going through a process of practical sanctification, for it is also a maturing in the faith as, day by day, we are being progressively conformed into the lovely image of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” – Roman 12:2
It is through the Word of God that we are sanctified; “God’s Word is truth.” The Word of God is living and powerful and has sanctifying effect on all God’s children. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” – Hebrews 4:12. When we read and meditate on the truth of God’s Word, study to hold its truth in our hearts, and trust our heavenly Father to complete the good work that He has started in us, than we can encounter the powerful cleansing effect that comes through the word of God, thereby receiving the sanctification of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Father, I receive grace daily to study your word for the sanctification of my heart by the truth.
Pastor Alfred Samuel