Sanctification

by David W Hall | Download PDF | Purchase Hardcopy
Sanctification - By David W Hall

What is Sanctification?

The word 'sanctification' describes the process by which God sets someone apart from one thing to be devoted to another. Sanctification is the culture and lifestyle of the person who, being set apart to his call in the body of Christ, lives fully in the fellowship of his brethren, obeying the will of God. The word 'holiness' has very similar in meaning and application.

In the past, the word sanctification has been most commonly applied to being separated from sin. However, the principle of sanctification has two sides to it – 'from' and 'to'. We are not set apart from sin to live in a vacuum, but rather we are to be separated to being disciples of Christ and sons of God the Father. It may be helpful to approach this example from the opposite direction. We could say that because we are to be set apart to be servants, disciples and sons we must be separated not only from sin but everything else that hinders God's purpose for us – things like distracting commitments, unhelpful relationships, self-centred goals, etc.

Paul's call to the Corinthian church makes these two aspects of sanctification, separation from sin and sonship to God, abundantly clear. He said, 'Come out from among them and be separate (sanctified), says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty'.¹

Examples of sanctification

The first biblical record of something being sanctified was the seventh day. God set it apart as a special day of rest.²
The priests in the Old Testament were set apart to perform the work of the tabernacle and temple. To free them to this, they were given the tithes of the Levites.³
The tabernacle and the temple were sanctified to be places to worship and meet with God. When Israel slid back into sin they desecrated the temple so that it was no longer sanctified.⁴
The altar, its tools and the animals offered upon it were all sanctified.⁵
The prophets were separated from their normal lifestyle so they could be set apart to being God's messengers.⁶

Sanctification within the Godhead

The principle of sanctification begins in the Godhead - a relationship of three distinct Persons in the fellowship of one life. Their unity as the Trinity is total, yet each one is different from the others and has His own individual identity. In other words, They are each sanctified from each other as individuals so They can be sanctified to Their relationship as one Trinity. Each is utterly given to the relationship, but none is submerged within that relationship. That is why, when Isaiah saw the Lord on His throne, the seraphim cried out, 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts'.⁷ The one Lord is thrice 'holy' because each is sanctified to be Himself. Each has a unique role and expression within Their corporate relationship. The Father is always Father and is the source of all fatherhood life. Likewise the Son is the expression of all divine sonship capacity. For His part, the Holy Spirit is the principle sanctifier, and His role is to guard the lines of distinction between identities, or to watch over the boundaries of each 'holy ground'. (More on this later.)

Sanctified by the Word and the Holy Spirit

Before time began God the Father decided who each person would be. Each identity was planned down to the minutest detail, as was their place, function, purpose in time and place. In other words, He 'named' each one, giving each one a 'predestination' and an 'election'.⁸

Sadly, the parents of the human race, Adam and Eve, went their own way and became separated from this naming and predestination. They became unsanctified. Instead, they chose to name themselves and to set their own destiny and direction, all the while seeking a goodness of their own, apart from God. But the false confidence with which they reached for the forbidden fruit soon evaporated into fear and shame and they ran to hide themselves from God amongst the trees of the garden. Self-naming and self-determination was a failure, for they had to presume on resources they did not have. The 'knowledge' gained from the tree did not provide life or goodness so that they were powerless against sin and their own law. Ever since, we have all been bound to self-centredness, so that sin and death now dominate.

The symptoms of this condition are visible every time we feel self-conscious, embarrassed, ashamed, and anxious about how we are perceived by others. They are also present when we are swayed by fashion and peer pressure. They become further entrenched when we then seek to establish self-image and recognition through effort, position and good performance. We will pay almost any price for a sense of goodness and worth. Nevertheless, we must be sanctified from all these demands so that we can begin to recover our original naming and predestination, and be sanctified to it.

The process begins when God's sanctifier, the Holy Spirit, brings conviction to our hearts. The Holy Spirit was sent to 'convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment'.⁹ So He convicts us firstly of our sinful condition so we can repent of it and seek cleansing. He enables us to cease striving to be someone that we are not – someone named by ourselves. As well, the Holy Spirit convicts us of 'righteousness'. In other words, He illuminates the seed-word brought to us by God's messengers, so that we begin to see who we were created to be, and how far we have fallen from it. Then, as we stand up to be obedient to the word of who we are, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us by empowering us to fulfill our true naming and predestination.¹⁰

This is what the apostle Peter meant when he said we are, 'elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit'.¹¹ The Holy Spirit is God's paraclete or 'helper', and as such He sanctifies us to what the Father has ordained for us before time. Paul said, 'God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth'.¹² Notice, once again, we are sanctified by both the word and the Spirit.

Then, having been sanctified from sin, and sanctified to our sonship, we stand to be sanctified as priests to God. Paul declared that he was 'set apart' to be 'the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit'.¹³

The offering of the Son

Sanctification is always associated with the principle of offering. Only those who are sanctified can bring an offering to God, and anything offered must also be sanctified – that is, fully devoted to God.

In the Old Testament era there was a process by which the altar was sanctified. It became most holy, and whatever touched it had to be holy.¹⁴ The altar and its fire then sanctified what was offered upon it.¹⁵

Before time began, a wonderful offering and sanctifying process took place. Though the Son 'existed in the form of God, (He) did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant'.¹⁶ He set Himself apart from all it was to be God the Son, and He submitted Himself to the Father as His Son so that the Father's will could be accomplished. The Son was sanctifying Himself, so the Father could proclaim, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten You'. The Father was also sanctifying the Son Whom He then sent into the world.¹⁷

At this point outside of time, the offering of the Son was utter and complete, spanning all of time and eternity.¹⁸ The writer of Hebrews states that 'we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all'.¹⁹ In other words, when the Son offered Himself and was sanctified by the Father we were sanctified in Him, and set apart to be sons of God even though we were not yet born. So Paul could say, 'we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them'.²⁰

Let us put this another way. In His 'once for all' offering beyond time, the life of God was poured out in the Son like the sacrificial blood of a lamb. This was the blood of the Everlasting Covenant which sanctifies us to our place as sons of God.²¹

Sanctified to be priests

We have been called to be priests with Christ. As priests, we are to be sanctified from the world and sin, and sanctified to God. Then all that we are, and all we do, is to be an offering to the Lord. This is to be our life as disciples of Christ as we join Christ in His 'once for all' offering, to be living sacrifices with Him.

To bring a defiled offering is to attract the judgement of God because, in so doing, we are 'trampling the courts of the Lord'.²²How could our offering be defiled? It would be corrupt if it were not brought in simple faith, and not motivated by pure love. It would also be defiled if service was a trade off in some way for self-esteem, self-direction, validation or acceptance. Our offering must be a simple, obedient response to the will of God, and consistent with our calling, accountability and identity. That is why there is a process in the Body of Christ by which we can be sanctified from all such defilement, and set apart to bring pure offerings.

God's Holy Ground

God 'dwells in unapproachable light, Whom no man has seen or can see'.²³ When Moses met God at the burning bush he was told to take off his shoes because the place where he stood was 'holy ground'. Before him was a flame that burned yet did not consume the bush. This was a representation of the holy ground of the Godhead – the eternal flame of pure love and total offering of Each of the Trinity toward the others. None can intrude on the sanctity of this relationship. This was the 'holy ground' that Moses was called to acknowledge and respect.

We were all created for relationship with God, and it is vital that we understand the ground of this relationship and be sanctified to it. We were made to be 'sons of God', sharing in the 'new creation life' of the Son of God, sitting with Christ in His throne. But we were not ever destined to be God. Our corporate 'holy ground' is within the 'body of Christ', as members of Him and joint-heirs with Him. The sin of Adam's fall was his presumption to claim his own ground, equal with God, but apart from God. We must stand upon, and be sanctified to, the ground God has provided for us, and be sanctified from our own false grounds. Neither must we bring onto holy ground what is unsanctified.

Our Holy Ground

Every relationship that is ordained by God is 'holy' and has its unique participants, boundaries, prerogatives and responsibilities. Together, these elements form the 'ground' of the relationship. Those participating in that relationship must guard the sanctity of its ground by being sanctified to it, and being sanctified from everything that does not belong on it, so that the ground remains holy.

For instance, a marriage has its own holy ground which both husband and wife must guard at all times. In the marriage vows the bride and groom declare their sanctification from all other people and covenants so they can be sanctified to each other for life. Others around must respect the sanctification of the marriage. Parents, adult children, in-laws, church leaders, etc, should never intrude upon the ground of a married couple.

Each individual also has a unique ground related to the prerogatives and accountabilities that pertain to them as a person. Everything about us that is real and true was named by God long before we were born. God gave to each of us a physical body, talents, resources, time, and so much more. These are ours to devote to God in sanctification as we are separated from sin, self-direction and self-centredness.

The Sanctifying Sword

When Joshua was about to lead Israel into the promised land he was confronted by a man with a drawn sword in his hand who called Himself the 'Commander of the army of the LORD'. He said to Joshua, 'Take your sandals off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy'.²⁴ Before Joshua could enter the land he had to face the Lord's sanctifying sword. Israel had to commit to a sanctifying process whereby all sin, idolatry and corruption would be purged from the land. Then they could be sanctified to God in the land of their inheritance.

Holy ground is only for those who are holy. It is where the fiery sword of the Holy Spirit cuts and separates so that we can see who God has made, and called, each person to be. Holy ground is where the Holy Spirit is protecting each son of God by judging all that is false within. When we live in the light of God's glory on holy ground we have true liberty because the Lord, the Spirit, is protecting that ground. When we turn to the Lord the Son, and submit to His headship, the veil which makes us blind is taken away.²⁵ We can then see our uniqueness as a child of God and are being completely changed and raised into the glory of God's family.

The face of God at the gate of the garden of Eden was like a flame in the shape of a sword.²⁶ This was the face of God's glory which examines everyone who dares to approach holy ground. The writer of Hebrews said, 'the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart'.²⁷

The sword of the Lord must cut into the way we think, and the excuses we make. It must cut into our heart, into our thinking, into what we want, and the way we feel, so God can separate us to Himself. God must cut away the self-centred reasons we have for doing things, our plans, and the ways in which we try to make ourselves look good. He has to drive His sword into our fleshly ways and habits, and our family traditions. This sword must free us to be people who live in Godly fear and who function in the mind of the Spirit.

Sanctification is a Process

Heb 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

Sanctification is a process. To be sanctified means that we have been set apart to join in the process that will change us into what God has planned for us to be. The Father has named each one of His sons and, through chastisement and correction, He sanctifies 'each son He receives'.²⁸

Jesus prayed, 'sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth'.²⁹ The living word which is found in the fellowship of the Body of Christ also sanctifies us. We hear the 'living word' in the mouths of those whom God has sent to us, as we walk together in the light. It is vital that we receive God's messengers, not just the word in their mouths, because it is in our relationship together in Christ that the word becomes the 'living word'. In fellowship with God's messengers the light shines, and our hearts can burn with illumination.³⁰

Corporately, as the Church, we are also sanctified. Paul said, 'Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church'.³¹ Once again, the action of the word is the agent for our sanctification. In this process we are joined to Christ so that 'both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, … (and) He is not ashamed to call them brethren'.³² This process then takes us all the way to perfection as the spotless bride of Christ.

Sanctified to the Body of Christ

1 Cor 12:18 But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.

Rom 12:1,2. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

God has prepared a unique place for each member of His Body, and no one can occupy the place of another. He has set places for each of us to walk amongst our brethren, just as He did for Joshua the high priest in Ezra's time.³³

In order to be sanctified to this place, we must first be sanctified from all that hinders. We must put off such things as personal ambitions, image-projections, pecking order thinking, as well as the need to be needed or accepted. We must also put off fears and unbelief, fear of being passed over, pride, laziness, selfishness, worldliness, etc.

Then, as a well-considered action, we present ourselves as living sacrifices into the fellowship of the Body of Christ (with its elders and deacons). At this point we stand at the altar in God's temple where our offering can become sanctified. In practical terms this happens when, as true disciples, we give ourselves to be trained and to serve in the elders' programme. By this process of offering we are able to 'prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God', able to be sanctified to a particular work.

The apostles provide us with a good example of sanctification to the work of ministry. In the church at Antioch, as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them'.³⁴ Notice that the arch-sanctifier, the Holy Spirit, is the One initiating this sanctifying process. Notice also that He calls those present to participate with Him in the process. Later Paul was to say he was 'a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God'.³⁵

Sanctification and Family life

In family life, as in every other area of relationship, sanctification works in two ways – sanctification 'from' and 'to'. It is vital that a couple preparing for marriage understand both these elements so that they can enter into a godly marriage covenant. Firstly, they must both identify and put off vain familiar cultures, immaturities, romantic demands, self-centred agendas and expectations, etc. Then the husband must give himself to understand, and be sanctified to, true headship under Christ his Head, and secure 'brotherhood' to his wife. Likewise his wife must be sanctified as a daughter of Sarah who offered herself as both helper and 'sister' to Abraham.

As family life progresses and children come along, there will be issues of sanctification related to how parenting happens, and the place of extended family. The overall culture of the home will be of prime importance as the principles of sanctification and offering are applied to fellowship, attitudes, communication, priorities, TV, internet access, study, music, etc.

Domination versus sanctification

Where a person is dominated or conquered by another for their supposed good, their holy ground is being trampled, and their sanctification is hindered. Part of the problem is that domination leaves no room for offering and accountability, which are vital to the process of sanctification. For example, overbearing parents may seem to produce good behavior in their child, but the reality is the child is simply being regulated, not sanctified. The child becomes religiously compliant and, very often, when he is old enough will choose his own unsanctified way. On the other hand, proper parenting brings the child to relational responses in which he becomes sanctified to behavior that is consistent with who he truly is. He participates in his own sanctification and learns to make true offering. The same applies in congregations where pastoral leaders exercise patriarchal control over the people.

In summary

Before time and eternity when God the Son sanctified Himself to be the Father's Son, we were set apart in Him to share His new life and named to be sons of God, and kings and priests with Christ.

In the fall of Adam, we lost this sanctified place and descended into corruption.

Now, through the offering of Christ, by the living word and by the Holy Spirit, we can be sanctified again to our predestined place as sons of God, disciples of Christ and priests in His temple.

Because we have been sanctified in the Son, let us pursue the path of continual sanctification so the light of His life shines more and more until the perfect day.

Righteousness and the peace offering

2 Cor 9:10. ‘Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.’³⁷

James 3:18. ‘Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.’

The peace offering was the offering that was associated with the harvest. In it, each farmer in Israel could bring the firstfruits of his crop or the firstlings of his herd as an offering to express faith for the immediate harvest and the fact that it all belonged to God. Then after the harvest, he could offer a wave offering to express his thanks to the Lord for His bounty. Finally, he could offer a heave offering to make vows concerning his stewardship of the next year’s crop. In short, his peace offering was related directly to his faith for his physical work in his field.

In the body of Christ, there is a fellowship in offering that corresponds to the Old Testament peace offering. The work that God commits to a person, whether it be business or employment, is that person’s ‘righteousness’. The ‘fruit of righteousness’, then, is the outcome of that work as it is blessed by God. When we present this fruit to God we are participating in the peace offering.

(For more on the topic of the peace offering, see ‘A Life of Offering’ by V. Hall, D. Falk & D. Baker.)

Fruit of righteousness

Paul’s constant desire was that the ones he ministered to would bring forth the fruit of righteousness.³⁹ ‘We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.’⁴⁰ The fruit of these works, and these alone, is the ‘fruit of righteousness’, and it is only found in those who are walking worthily in the paths already prepared.

The fruit of our righteousness is the result of a season’s labour. There are times of fruitfulness, but there are also times of preparation and pruning. Jesus described us as branches in the vine, who, after they have borne fruit, are pruned back so as to produce more fruit in the following season. Similarly, the writer of Hebrews spoke of the chastening that God brings to His sons which produces ‘the peaceable fruit of righteousness’.⁴¹ It is vital that we understand the seasons of God and that we devote ourselves fully to each one so that we can bring the ‘peaceable fruits of righteousness’ as a peace offering to God.

1. 2 Cor 6:17-18

2. Gen 2:3

3. Exo 28:41. Num 8:17-18

4. Exo 29:43. 2Ch 7:16. 2Ch 29

5. Exo 29:36

6. 1Sa 1:28. Isa 6. Jer 1:5

7. Isa 6:3

8. Ecc 6:10. Rom 8:29-30. Psa 139:13-18

9. Joh 16:8

10. Rom 8:16

11. 1Pe 1:2

12. 2Th 2:13

13. Rom 15:16

14. Exo 29:36-37

15. Mat 23:19

16. Phil 2:6-7 (NASB)

17. Joh 17:19. Joh 10:36. Psa 2:7

18. His offering at Calvary was simply the extension into time of His eternal offering.

19. Heb 10:9-10

20. Eph 2:10. In now becomes clear how we are 'of Him in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God; and righteousness and sanctification and redemption'. 1Co 1:30

21. 1Pe 1:19. Heb 10:29. Heb 13:12

22. Isa 1:12

23. 1Ti 6:16

24. Jos 5:14

25. 2Co 3:18-19

26. Gen 3:24

27. Heb 4:12

28. Heb 12:6

29. Joh 17:17

30. Heb 4:12. 1Jn 1:5-7. Luk 24:32

31. Eph 5:25-27

32. Heb 2:11

33. Zec 3:7

34. Acts 13:2

35. Rom 1:1

Author: David W Hall | Chapel on the Boulevard | Citywide Christian Assembly
Published by Vision One at Toowoomba Christian Fellowship | TCF
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