May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24)
Book titles can be like sermon titles. Sometimes they describe the message of the book or sermon and sometimes they do not. Sometimes titles are catchy phrases designed to catch people’s attention. Sermon titles can be like that as well. Today’s title is like that — Wholly Holy. It’s a catch little phrase, but sums up what the sermon is about. Many argue that sermon titles ought not to give the sermon away. But they should be honest, however, and not lead one to believe the sermon will be about something other than its real message.
It probably should be said that both books and sermons ought to have a clear message. They ought to say something. There should be some good points made. But how many points should a sermon have? Some argue for three points. Others argue for two points. The Puritans would have as many as fifteen points or more. I suppose good Calvinists would have five points. But it does seem reasonable that a sermon ought to at least have a point! I once heard of a little boy returning from church and being asked by his mother who did not attend, "Son, what was the pastor’s sermon about?" The boy replied after a thoughtful pause, "I don’t know. He didn’t say." Well, one thing for sure, we ought to say, because if we preach the Bible, we have something to say.
The Christian life ought to have a point as well. Actually, like a sermon, it consists of many points. There is a point to living the Christian life — a reason why we live for Jesus. And there are different kinds of points — points of development as we grow in grace. The beginning point is the point of new birth. But it is not the ending point. In fact, there are many points in between. So, there are points and a point. You might be asking by now, "What’s the point?"
The point is that we are here for a greater purpose than simply to be born again. Being born again and baptized is only the beginning. We must be careful not to see it as an end.
Years ago, I remember attending an evening worship service during which the pastor asked for "testimonies." I was a new Christian, and I was interested to hear what these "testimonies" would be. As one person after another stood to share, I discovered that these testimonies were about being born again. One brother would say something like, "I just want to thank God that 23 years ago He saved me." Then another would stand and say something along those same lines. It was all about what God did in their lives years ago. Now, I rejoice that God touched my life years ago. I rejoice that He touched yours. But isn’t the Christian life more than simply being born again?
Earlier I mentioned book titles. Two come to mind. Francis Schaeffer titled one of his books How Should We Then Live?. Ralph Neighbour titled one of his books Where Do We Go From Here?. Indeed both of these book titles are good questions for us to ask ourselves concerning our lives after the new birth. You see, there is more. We have just begun. God has something in mind for us. There is life after birth.
What God has in store for us can be summed up in a word that has a rich history for being misunderstood. That word is sanctification. Perhaps because it has been so misunderstood, we have been guilty of under-emphasizing it. Yet, God definitely desires to sanctify us. And sanctification is the process whereby we come to be more like Jesus. This is why Paul could say in 1 Thessalonians 5:23, "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Although sanctification has been misunderstood, it does have a fairly simple and direct meaning. Our English word comes from the latin: sanctus and facio. Sanctus means holy or consecrated. Facio means to accomplish or to cause something to happen. So sanctification simply means that we are caused to be holy. And when you look at the biblical word, that is precisely the idea you receive. Both the Hebrew qadosh and the Greek hagios refer to holiness as a separateness. The idea is one of being set apart for God’s purposes. Sanctification simply means that we have been set apart by God for His use. Indeed, when we are called "saints" in the New Testament, it is a form of hagios that is used. Saints are "holy ones" who have been set apart by God. The point is that God has set us apart in the new birth so that He can continue this process in our lives.
Throughout the Old Testament, you find God setting things apart for His use — thus making them holy. The priests were set apart. The Tabernacle and all its utensils were set apart. When the Tabernacle was set apart the shekinah glory of God appeared between the cherubim inside the Holy of Holies and the cloud appeared outside. God was in it. The reality of His presence on of the inside appeared on the outside. So God also wants that to happen in our lives as well.
You see, sanctification is a door into communion with God. God desires for our lives to be progressively more set apart to Him. This process means that He makes more of a difference in my life today than yesterday. I should be more yielded to Him. I should experience a greater awareness of His presence. My behavior should be impacted. Jesus should make more of a difference in how I live my life. And if those things are true, then I will experience a greater communion with God, a greater sense of His presence and power.
To use an Old Testament illustration, the High Priest was the most sanctified or set apart person in the holy nation. He alone was allowed entrance into the Most Holy Place. This was the place of God’s special presence. What was the difference between the Outer Court of the tabernacle or temple and the most holy place? Anyone could enter the Outer Court. Only the most sanctified could enter the Most Holy Place. If we will not submit to God’s dealing in our lives to sanctify us, then we will never experience the most intimate fellowship and communion with God.
It is not only God’s desire to sanctify you, it is His desire to sanctify you through and through. The Greek word means quite complete, entirely, perfectly or wholly. Our text indicates that the extent of sanctification is spirit, soul and body. In other words, every aspect of our being should be set apart to Him. To say it another way, we should be wholly holy.
Now this does not happen overnight. It should be said that sanctification is a part of the salvation process. Often, we evangelicals talk about people being "saved" in the past tense. Actually, salvation is a process. It begins with the new birth and continues until we are with Jesus in glory. Theologically speaking, salvation includes three aspects: regeneration, sanctification, and glorification. In regeneration we experience the new birth. We are justified by faith. We are placed into the family of God. In sanctification we are progressively set apart for God’s use. We experience God’s dealings in our lives as He conforms us to the image of Christ. We grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We mature. In glorification we receive our spiritual body. We are translated into the presence of the living God where we will spend eternity with Him. Technically speaking, we are not totally "saved" until we are glorified. Now this need not be a cause for worry. We can say with the apostle Paul, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6). God is at work in your life and He will never leave that work undone. The words of the bumper sticker are true: "Please be patient with me, God isn’t finished with me yet."
And God wants every aspect of my life and yours to reflect the stamp of His presence. This is why in the preceding verse we are told to avoid "every form of evil." We are to avoid sins of the spirit such as pride and rebellion. We are to avoid sins of the soul such as bitterness and unforgiveness. And we are to avoid sins of the body such as lust and hurtful habits. Every area of our lives, spirit and soul and body, are to be turned over to the Lord Jesus Christ. In our actions, speech, and temperament. We are to reflect the lordship of Christ. Even in our thoughts, we are to be progressively His. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
All this seems like a very formidable task. How can it be done? Does God expect us to do all of this? Well, in this regard there is good news and there is bad news. Let me give you the good news first.
The good news is that sanctification, as a part of salvation, is a work of God. As such, God has committed Himself to accomplish this work. Just as we cannot save ourselves, so we cannot sanctify ourselves. Sanctification is not simply trying to be good. Sanctification is God working in our lives.
This is why Paul says in verse 24, "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." If God called you to Himself then He will accomplish His work in your life. He will do it. Indeed, everything we need is found in the person of Christ Jesus. Listen to the Word of God in 1 Corinthians 1:30: "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption." Christ has become holiness to us. God is at work in us to do what only He can do. Only He can make us holy.
Now the bad news. God will limit His work in our lives if we are unwilling to cooperate with Him in that work. The Bible teaches that we can grieve the Spirit and quench the Spirit. In other words, we can hinder the process and stunt our own growth.
If we refuse to submit to the spiritual disciplines of prayer, reading the Word, faithful attendance in the teaching and worship services of the church, confession of sin and repentance, and obedient submission to the will of God, then we will quickly find ourselves in the Outer Courts of God’s presence rather than the Most Holy Place of communion. We will suffer from malnutrition and our spiritual life will grow cold.
Far too many are like that today. This is a real problem in American Christianity and one of the reasons for our ineffectiveness in changing the world. Chuck Colson, in his book Loving God said, "Christianity is not just a high-sounding ritual which we perform on Sundays. Christianity is abiding by Biblical standards of personal holiness and in turn seeking to bring holiness into the society in which we live." How true. I also think of what John Wesley said: "Give me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; they alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the Kingdom of Heaven on earth." When we truly give ourselves to God, our lives will count.
Some of you may be sitting here today with stunted growth. You began well. After being born again you were excited. But then something happened along the way. Perhaps other things began to choke out the Word. Your heart used to be on fire for God. Now you no longer sense that burning desire.
Don’t miss the point! Jesus didn’t bring you to birth to leave you alone. He doesn’t want the fire to go out. He wants to keep fanning the flames. If you will return to Him, the fire will return to you. If you will do the deeds you did at first, He will accelerate the process of growth in your life. You can rekindle that first love. You can recapture that joy. You can get back on track. Allow Him to do His perfect work in your life and He will bring you to a place of sanctification — being totally His.
Copyright © 1997 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.
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