April 25
Bible Reading: John 17:6-18
John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
I sometimes joke when I see how much a child has grown that all that is necessary for that to happen is to “just add food and water.” Things are not so simple with our spiritual growth. But it matters immensely, even as Jesus prayed for the sanctification (spiritual growth) of those that belong to Him. Elsewhere, Scripture reminds us that sanctification is, in fact, the will of God for the believer in Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:3). But what is the meaning of this term, sanctification?
The terms “saint” and “sanctification” are related. If you are a believer, then you are a “saint!” This is how the Bible describes those who have trusted in Jesus (Ephesians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:2). What’s even more startling is that the term “saint” literally means “holy one.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary explains the usage of the term: “a common NT designation for all believers is ‘saints,’ i.e. ‘sanctified’ or ‘holy ones.” Sainthood, or sanctification, is not something we attain by our own effort, but is the state into which God, by grace, calls sinful men, and in which they begin their course as Christians. Though I’m not sure I’d recommend it, you’d be theologically correct if on your next visit to church you greeted a brother named John this way, “good morning saint John.”
The name and the position which underlies it have come through God’s gracious work through Jesus. As Scripture says in 1 Corinthians 6:11, “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Every believer has experienced this sin-cleansing work of Jesus at their new birth, and henceforth possesses it. Sanctification (holiness) has to do with being set apart from the world and unto God. In that respect, it represents a cleansing from sin, both positionally and practically.
Because God is holy, we are to be holy. We are His children, and in His holiness, we inherit a beautiful attribute of our Father in which we are to grow. In his book “the Knowledge of the Holy,” A. W. Tozer noted “we tend by a secret law of the soul to move towards our mental image of God.” That’s certainly true in this case! As the Spirit of God works through the truth to unveil to us the holiness of God, we are drawn to the beauty of it and are called upon to pursue it. Likewise, we are admonished in Hebrews 12:14 to “strive for…holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”
Our very identity, as His “holy ones,” speaks to our destiny. We are going to a beautiful place–a holy heaven where we will meet with a holy God and be joined to a holy company engaged in holy worship, in a place where sin will be no more. The question is, if we had no appetite for holiness in the here and now, would we have any interest in such a place in eternity? The chief tool the Spirit uses in the process of our sanctification is the truth of God’s Word. You can only grow in Christ to the extent that you are being “washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:26). Are you daily in the Word? Jesus’ prayer was that you would be sanctified through it!
There can be no growth in holiness apart from a steady diet of the truth.
TAKE TIME TO BE HOLY
Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.
Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.
Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.
Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.
LookingtoJesus 