Sanctify—1. To cleanse,
purify, or make holy. 2. To cleanse from corruption; to
purify from sin.
Sanctification.—The act of making holy.—Webster.
Holy.—Whole, entire, or perfect, in a moral sense.
Hence, pure in heart, temper, and disposition; free from
sin, and sinful affections.
Holiness.—The state of being holy.—Webster.
In the above
definitions, the following facts are clearly set forth:
(1) That sanctification, holiness, and perfection are
synonymous terms referring to the same experience. (2)
That all who have attained to this grace or experience are
fully delivered from inbred depravity. This is in perfect
harmony with God's word. Holiness and sanctification
are both derived from the word hagiasmos, in
the Greek; hence, signify the same state.
Perfection,
as applied to redeemed souls, denotes the complete moral
restoration of man from the effects of the fall. It is the
state of being freed from sin. This state is entered by
the work of sanctification. "For by one offering he
hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof
the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us."—Heb.
10:14, 15. Christ "sanctifies the people with his own
blood."—Heb. 13:12. And the "blood of Christ
cleanseth us from all sin."—1 John 1:7. In harmony
with the above, we will use these terms interchangeably.
Sanctification Taught
"But sanctify the
Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an
answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope
that is in you, with meekness and fear." 1 Pet. 3:15.
"They
are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. ...
Neither pray I for these [the disciples] alone, but for
them also which shall believe on me through their
word." John 17:1-20.
"For
this is the will of God, even your sanctification."
—1 Thess. 4:3.
"God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the
truth." — 2 Thess. 2:13.
"Worship
the Lord in the beauty of holiness." —Psalms 29:2.
"Be ye
holy; for I am holy."—1 Peter 1:16.
"Follow
peace with all men, and holiness without which no man
shall see the Lord."—Heb. 12:14.
"For God
hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto
holiness."—1 Thess. 4:7.
"Walk
before me, and be thou perfect."—Gen. 17:1.
"Thou
shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God."—Deut.
18:13.
"Be ye
therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven
is perfect."—Matt. 5:48.
"Finally, brethren, . . . be perfect."—1 Cor.
13 :11. "Having therefore these promises, dearly
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of
the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of
God."—2 Cor. 7:1.
"Go
on unto perfection."—Heb. 6 :1.
In these
texts the following truths are clearly taught:
1. That it is
the will of God for all believers to be sanctified.
2. That God
calls all believers to sanctification.
3. That Jesus
prayed the Father to sanctify all believers.
4. That all
believers are positively commanded to attain to this
experience.
5. That
without this experience, no man shall see the Lord.
Provisions for.
God is just and
reasonable. He would not demand of us what we could not
attain to. By examining the Word we find that perfect
provisions have been made for the sanctification of God's
people.
1. God
himself. "And the very God of peace sanctify you
wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body
be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do
it."—1 Thess. 5 :23, 24. "Now the God of
peace, . . . make you perfect."—Heb. 13:21.
"It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh
my way perfect."—Psa. 18:32. "The Lord will
perfect that which concerneth me."—Psa. 138 :8.
2. The
Word. "Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word
is truth." "That they also might be sanctified
through the truth."—John 17:17, 19. "All
scripture is given . . . that the man of God may be
perfect," etc.— 2 Tim . 3 :16, 17.
3. The
Ministry. "And he gave some, apostles; and some,
prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; for the perfecting of the saints."—Eph.
4:11, 12.
4. Faith.
"To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness
to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they
may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."
—Acts 26:18. "Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith."—Heb. 12:2.
5. The
Holy Ghost. "That I should be the minister of
Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of
God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be
acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy
Ghost."—Rom. 15:16.
6. The
Blood of Christ. "For by one offering he hath
perfected forever them that are sanctified."—Heb.
10:14. "Now the God of peace, that brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you
perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you
that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus
Christ."—Heb. 13 :20, 21. "Wherefore Jesus
also, that he might sanctify the people with his own
blood, suffered without the gate."—Heb. 13:12.
Surely man is
without excuse, since such provision is made for his
entire sanctification. Believer, is your soul hungering
and thirsting for a deeper experience; for more fullness
of joy ? If so, look at the foregoing provisions made to
give you an experience that will satisfy every longing
desire of your heart. Think of it! God the Father, the
inspired Word, the living ministry, the Holy Spirit, Jesus
Christ, his perfect sacrifice, and precious blood, all
vouchsafe to you this wonderful experience. We further
call the reader's attention to the fact that all the above
scriptures teach directly opposite to sanctification being
received by a gradual growth.
Effects of..
The terms
"sanctification" and "perfection" very
often stagger people because they take too broad a view of
them. Sanctification does not make us perfect Gods; but
perfect people here on earth. Yet it does not make us so
perfect that we cannot err in judgment, or make a mistake.
It does not place us where we are never tried or tempted,
or can never backslide. No. Let no one get that idea. But
we do affirm that it makes us perfectly free from sin
—pure, "even as he is pure" (1 John 3:3);
"righteous, even as he is." Read Matt. 6:33; 2
Cor. 5:21; 1 John 3.7. And, thank God, this experience can
be retained and lived "all the days of our
life," on condition that we obey God.
"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the
people with his own blood, suffered without the
gate."— Heb. 13:12. "For if the blood of
bulls, and of goats, . . . sanctifieth to the purifying of
the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ . . .
purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God!"—Heb. 9:13, 14. "The blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John
1:7.
"Knowing
this, that our old man carnal nature] is crucified with
him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that
henceforth we should not serve sin."—Rom. 6 :6.
"For he that is dead ["dead with Christ,"
ver. 8] is freed from sin."—Ver. 7. "For in
that he died, he died unto sin once; but in that he liveth,
he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to
be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord."—Ver. 10, 11. "Being then
made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness."—Ver. 18. "How shall we, that
are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"—Ver. 2.
Could any
language more emphatically teach absolute freedom from
sin? This experience restores the soul in the perfect
image of God. All who attain to this "precious
faith" partake of the "divine nature" (2
Peter 1:1, 3, 4); namely, are "partakers of his
holiness."—Heb. 12 :10. "And be renewed in the
spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness."—Eph. 4 :23, 24. "Ye have put off
the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man,
which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that
created him."—Col. 3 :9, 10.
Here we see
that the image of God is "righteousness and true
holiness." This image is restored in full salvation.
We are "made the righteousness of God in him [Christ
Jesus]."—2 Cor. 5:21. "For we all, with open
face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as
by the Spirit of the Lord."—2 Cor. 3:18. First, we
are raised from guilt and shame, into the glory of
justification; and from that degree of glory we are
changed into the fullness of his glory, into the very
image of the glory of the Lord. From "glory to
glory." This is not received by a transition from
earth to heaven, but "by the Spirit of the
Lord." He is the sanctifier. Rom. 15:16.
Sanctification also effects a perfect unity among the
people of God. "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy
word is truth.... That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be
one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them;
that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and
thou in me, that they may be made perfect in
one."—John 17:17, 21-23. "For both he that
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one:
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
brethren."—Heb. 2 :11.
Carnality is
the root of all sectism and division. 1 Cor. 3 :1-3.
Sanctification takes out this "root" (Read Heb.
12:15; Matt. 13:15), and thus removes the cause. The
result is, God's people flow together in a perfect unity.
The fruits of this unity are: "one heart and one
soul" (Acts 4:31-33); "one mind" (2 Cor.
13:11; 1 Pet. 3:8); "all speak the same thing"
(1 Cor. 1:10); all have "one faith" (Eph. 4:5,
6), "one spirit" (1 Cor. 6:17); all "strive
together" (Phil 1:27), "rejoice together"
(1 Cor. 12:26), "assemble together" (Heb.
10:25), and "see eye to eye" (Isa. 52:8). All
belong to but "one" organized body, or
church—the "church of God." Read John 10 :16;
Rom. 12:4, 5; Eph. 4:4; Col. 1:24.
Weighed by
the above scriptures, sectarian holiness professors are
found wanting, and will be wanting in the day of judgment.
But in order to cover their "nakedness" these
professors say, "We are one in spirit; one
internally, but not one externally." Shame on such
crookedness. They profess to be one in spirit, but confess
that they outwardly bear the fruits of division. "By
their fruits ye shall know them." Jesus prayed for a
unity among his people that would be outwardly manifested,
so "that the world might believe."
The secret of
this unity is, "God above all, and through all, and
in you all;" and "God is love." Eph. 4:6; 1
John 4:8. "That their hearts might be comforted,
being knit together in love."—Col. 2:2. "By
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye
have love one to another." —John 13:35. "Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ?" Rom.
8:35.
Time of Receiving
There are different
ideas extant in the world concerning the time of receiving
this experience. Some say, at death; others, in death; and
there are those who place it at the resurrection. This
being an important point, we will carefully examine the
Word upon it. Sanctification is a state of grace included
in God's uttermost salvation, and the Word plainly tells
us that the time to receive it is "now." 2 Cor.
6:2. When Jesus prayed for the sanctification of all
believers, he said, "I pray not that thou shouldest
take them out of the world" [That was not the
object.] "but that thou shouldest keep them from the
evil." —John 17:15. "And the very God of peace
sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and
soul, and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ."—1 Thess. 5:23.
The coming of
our Lord will be the hour of the general resurrection of
all the dead. 1 Thess. 4:16, 17; John 5:28, 29. This being
true, the above scripture positively refutes the theory
that sanctification is received in the resurrection, or is
only attainable at death. It clearly teaches that God
bestows his sanctifying grace upon man here, and that it
preserves him, body, soul, and spirit from all evil, even
"unto" the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of
course, the retaining of this experience is conditional.
On the part of man perfect obedience is required. Again,
we have already clearly proved that in sanctification man
is perfectly delivered from all inbred depravity or sin,
and is restored into the perfect image of God.
The question
under consideration is, When is this attainable ? Let the
Word answer. "But now [not at death, in death, or at
the resurrection] being made free from sin, and become
servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the
end everlasting life."—Rom. 6:22. "Being then
made free from sin, ye became the servants of
righteousness."—Ver. 18. "Knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of
sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not
serve sin. For he that is dead ["dead with
Christ," verses 8 and 10] is freed from sin."—Ver.
6, 7. "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any
longer therein?"—Ver. 2.
"Little
children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth
righteousness, is righteous, even as he [God] is
righteous." —1 John 3:7. Where? Ans.—"For
the grace of God, that bringeth salvation, hath appeared
to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness, and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and
godly in this present world." —Tit. 2:11, 12.
"And every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth
himself, even as he [God] is pure."—1 John 3:3.
Where? Ans.—"Herein is our love made perfect, that
we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as
he is, so are we in this world."—1 John 4:17.
"The oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That
he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of
the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear in
holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of
our life."—Luke 1:73-75.
We could
multiply texts of scripture, but we deem these sufficient.
We will now notice that men in the past have attained to
this experience, and lived it in this world. Paul writing
to the Corinthian brethren addressed them thus: "Unto
the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are
sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints."—1
Cor. 1:2. "But ye are sanctified . . . by the
Spirit of our God." —1 Cor. 6:11. While many of the
Corinthian brethren were "yet carnal," some of
them had gone on to the "second grace" and were
sanctified.
Jude
addressed his epistle to sanctified saints. "Jude the
servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them
that are sanctified by God the Father, and
preserved in Jesus Christ and called."—Jude 1.
"Howbeit, we speak wisdom among them that are
perfect."—1 Cor. 2:6. "But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation."—1
Pet. 2:9. "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling."— Heb. 3:1. "I charge you by
the Lord, that this epistle be read unto all the holy
brethren."—1 Thess. 5 :27.
Paul's
testimony. "Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect,
be thus minded."—Phil. 3:15. "How shall we,
that are dead to sin, live any longer
therein?"—Rom. 6:2. "Ye are witnesses, and God
also, how holily, and justly, and unblamably, we behaved
ourselves among you that believe." —1 Thess. 2:10.
"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now
live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and gave himself for me."—Gal. 2 :20.
God is no
respecter of persons. His salvation is for "all
people." It is placed on record that men in the past
were sanctified, and lived holy and unblamable lives in
this present world; and, thank God, this experience is
attainable, and can be lived, and enjoyed today: "For
the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all
that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call." —Acts 2:39.
Sanctification Fits Us For
Heaven
"Follow peace
with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see
the Lord."—Heb. 12:14. "Peace be pursuing,
and sanctification, without which no one shall see the
Lord."—Revised, Rotherham's, and Interlinear
Translations. "Blessed are the pure in heart; for
they shall see God."—Matt. 5:8. "Mark the
perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that
man is peace."—Psa. 37:37. "Herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of
judgment; because as he is, so are we in this
world."—1 John 4:17 "So an entrance shall be
ministered unto you abundantly, into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."—2
Peter 1:11.
Before
closing this chapter, I believe it will be to the glory of
God to answer a few questions, which very often arise in
the minds of those seeking light.
No. 1
Question—Since infants have hereditary sin in their
hearts (and no sin can enter heaven), how can such be
saved who die in infancy?
No. 2
Question—People who were justified, and lived to all the
light they had, yet died without having light on
sanctification—are they lost?
þ No. 3
Question—Can a person retain an experience of
justification, and refuse or neglect to seek the
experience of entire sanctification, when they have
received proper light upon it?
Answer to No.
1—They are in a state of innocency, and are not
accountable. Though possessed with an unrighteous nature,
for this they are not responsible. It is hereditary. It
came through the fall. The blood of Christ atones for this
sin, and the child sweeps through to Glory. "Behold
the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world." —John 1:29. All children who die in infancy
are saved. Jesus said, "Of such is the kingdom of
heaven."
Answer to No.
2.—No. God only holds man responsible according to the
light received. "For unto whomsoever much is given,
of him shall be much required." No man with a clear
experience of justification, is lost, should he die
without having light and opportunity to be wholly
sanctified. Such have free admission through the atoning
blood of Christ, which removes the sin, and the soul
enters into the eternal joys of the Lord.
Answer to No.
3—No. "Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness
come upon you." "That servant which knew his
Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did
according to his will, shall be beaten with many
stripes." "This is the will of God, even your
sanctification." In the following chapters we shall
prove by positive scripture that sanctification is a work
of grace wrought in the heart subsequent to justification.
