Sanctified- set apart as or declare holy; consecrate.
Consecrate-make or declare (something, typically a church) sacred; dedicate formally to a religious or divine purpose.
Sanctification-
the action of making or declaring something holy. the action or process of being freed from sin or purified.
After reading those definitions do you believe you are living a Sanctified Life? I will admit before doing this study I had no idea what the word sanctified meant. I had heard it in church and read it in my own reading of the Bible, but I did not know what the word meant nor had I given it much thought. God recently spoke to me so clearly these two words; Purification and Sanctification. And now I am here to share with you a little about what I found out concerning these two words.
1 Corinthians 1:2 NKJV
2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
This scripture began a letter from Paul to the Corinthians. Their holiness came from their position in Christ, not from their own goodness (being sanctified in Christ Jesus). They were called to be saints for Jesus and in doing Jesus’ work they were holy in God’s eyes. Sanctification involves action or process of being freed from sin or purified. Even though the Corinthians were far from perfect, God had sanctified them in the past and they were still being sanctified daily through the works they performed through the Holy Spirit.
I have been studying the Bible recently and yes there is a difference in reading the Bible and studying the Bible but that is another lesson for another time. But it is very important because the Spirit without the Word is mute; lifeless.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 NKJV
13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,
The Thessalonians’ salvation was accomplished by the Spirit when they placed their faith in Christ. Yet note the balance of the Spirit and truth (The Word). The Spirit without the Word is mute; lifeless. The process of sanctification takes deliberate action on our part. We must have faith in Christ to be freed from sin or purified. After being saved by His grace, we must abstain that sanctification by action; dying to the flesh to remain pure and holy. We must also read the Bible to gain knowledge and wisdom and use that to witness to others about Jesus and sanctification in Him.
I found in my reading this caption; BUSY WAITING. Some believers find hope in the promise of Christ’s return and will do the work God has asked of them. However, too often others become lazy. They reason, just as some of the Thessalonians did that if Christ is already on His way, why should I participate in the details and responsibilities? Why sow if we will not be here to reap? Just like the Thessalonians, we may not see the results of our own sowing… so why sow if we will not be here to reap?
Why? Because God said so.
Paul warned the Thessalonians and us in the following scripture:
2 Thessalonians 3:10 NKJV
10 For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.
SO, I ASK YOU TODAY? ARE YOU WORKING OR ARE YOU MERELY A BUSYBODY?
I will be transparent here and say that I have been a busybody or a pew sitter for most of my Christian life. At times when I was away from God, I was just living the worldly life not giving much thought to my Salvation. Then when I started going back to church, I felt that as long as I was in church, God would see that I was doing my part. Now I know that is not true. I am saved by grace but God has a purpose and plan for us all and we should all want to do our part in God’s Kingdom. I always knew that Jesus was my savior but I have not always lived as if I was sanctified; doing the Lord’s work and remaining HOLY and PURE! After we are saved and sanctified by Jesus Christ, it is our job to remain HOLY and PURE. Also, we are to be disciples; go out unto the nations and spread the Word of Jesus Christ. But that is up to us as God gives us freewill. We can be saved, but not living as if we are sanctified. As the definition explains; sanctification means action.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 NKJV
4 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God; 2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. 8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.
If you are saved, you are saved by grace through your faith in Jesus Christ. However, the Christian’s daily walk continues as a daily walk of faith. Christians are to walk worthy of their calling from God. The above example of the Thessalonians being urged to abound more and more on how they ought to walk and to please God, should URGE AND EXHORT us to do the same. Vs 3: For this is the will of God- OUR SANCTIFICATION-to abstain from sin and this was just one example of how they were living in sin as we also do today. Vs 4: that each of us should know how to possess our own vessel in sanctification and honor. In other words, we should know how to control our flesh when it comes to purity and holiness. It says those very words in vs 7- for God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness.
If we are not controlling our flesh and restraining from sin, we are rejecting God himself. He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, to give us a helper for guidance on how to live like we are sanctified; holy!!! My two favorite words as of late are SET APART! Through sanctification, we are set apart; holy. Why then would we give into the flesh and allow the flesh to control our choices when the Holy Spirit is telling us to remain holy and clean.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NKJV
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
Jesus saved us and now we must live a sanctified life. We should long to be sanctified, Holy, Set Apart and Pure. If you are not living a sanctified life right now, know that God still loves you. He sent the Holy Spirit to help you and guide you through these things. All you have to do is ask for cleansing of your spirit, soul and body. Ask that Holy Spirit reveal to you anything unclean in your spirit. He will reveal them and loose them from your spirit. You have to again; have faith in the revealing and the healing. I am proof that He can reveal and loose the spirits we don’t even know are unclean and I assure you there will be things you may not have even thought were unclean but are. We should be sanctified in all aspects of our lives so that our lives would bear evidence that we are set apart as holy to God. Be reminded by the scriptures that blameless does not mean sinless but free from causes for reproach and regret. We all fall short because we live in a sinful world but through the blood of Jesus, we can be made pure and holy. Seek to be in God’s image.
PURIFIED AND SANCTIFIED BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS!!!!
AMEN!
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!
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