Christ is doing a new thing
Set Apart
for the Glory of God
God uses what is
Holy as a means of separation
to
demonstrate to believers the
work of Christ.
God demonstrates the work of Christ and
calls witnesses according to fulfillment of purpose.
Set apart in holiness for Gods glorification is to be
used as a vessel for the purposes of God,
so that he can reveal his sovereign nature and plans,
False Prophets in Revelation
are the work of Christ
as Christ utilizes the Saints according to his word
as a vessel
to fulfill the scriptures.
Sanctification is God’s will for us (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
The word sanctification is related to the word saint; both
words have to do with holiness.
To “sanctify” something is to
set it apart for special use; to “sanctify” a person is to
make him holy.
Jesus had a lot to say about sanctification in
John 17.
In verse 16 the Lord says,
“They are not of the world, even as
I am not of it,”
and this is before His request:
“Sanctify them by the truth;
your word is truth”
(verse 17).
In Christian theology, sanctification is a
state of separation
unto God;
all believers enter into this state when they are
born of God:
“You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us
wisdom from God,
righteousness and sanctification and redemption”
(1 Corinthians 1:30, ESV).
The sanctification mentioned in this verse is a
once-for-ever separation of believers unto God.
It is a work God performs, an integral part of our salvation
and our connection with Christ
(Hebrews 10:10).
Theologians sometimes refer to this state of
holiness before God
as “positional”
sanctification; it is related to justification.
While we are positionally holy
(“set free from every sin” by the blood of Christ, Acts 13:39),
we know that we still sin (1 John 1:10).
That’s why the Bible also refers to sanctification
as a practical experience of our separation unto God.
“Progressive” or “experiential” sanctification,
as it is sometimes called, is the effect of
obedience to the
Word of God in one’s life.
It is the same as growing in the Lord
(2 Peter 3:18)
or spiritual maturity.
God started the work of
making us like Christ,
and He is continuing it
(Philippians 1:6).
This type of sanctification is to
be pursued by the believer earnestly
(1 Peter 1:15; Hebrews 12:14)
and is effected
by the application of the Word
(John 17:17).
Progressive sanctification has in view the
setting apart of believers for the
purpose for which they are sent into the world:
“As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world.
For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be
truly sanctified”
(John 17:18–19).
That Jesus set Himself
apart for God’s purpose
is both the
basis and the condition
of our
being set apart
(see John 10:36).
We are sanctified and sent because Jesus was. Our Lord’s sanctification is the pattern of and power for our own. The sending and the sanctifying are inseparable. On this account we are called “saints” (hagioi in the Greek), or “sanctified ones.”
Prior to salvation,
our behavior bore witness to our standing in the
world in separation from God, but now our behavior
should bear witness to our standing
before God in separation from the world.
Little by little, every day, “those who are being sanctified”
(Hebrews 10:14, ESV) are
becoming more like Christ.
There is a third sense in which the word sanctification
is used in Scripture—a
“complete” or “ultimate” sanctification.
This is the same as
glorification.
Paul prays in 1 Thessalonians 5:23,
“May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,
and
may your whole spirit and soul and body
be kept
blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(ESV).
Paul speaks of Christ as “
the hope of glory”
(Colossians 1:27)
and links the glorious appearing of Christ to our
personal glorification:
“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also
will appear with him in glory”
(Colossians 3:4).
This glorified state will be our ultimate separation from sin,
a total sanctification in every regard. “We know that when
Christ appears, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
To summarize, “sanctification” is a translation of the Greek word
hagiasmos, meaning “holiness” or “a separation.”
In the past, God granted us justification, a once-for-all,
positional holiness in Christ.
In the present, God guides us to maturity, a practical, progressive holiness. In the future, God will give us glorification, a permanent, ultimate holiness.
These three phases of sanctification separate the believer
from the penalty of sin (justification), the power of sin (maturity),
and the presence of sin (glorification).
In Romans 8:18–30, the apostle Paul encourages believers to hold onto hope and the promises of God in these times. Remember that God is operating ceaselessly in the lives of those who love Him,
sovereignly working
out
His redemptive plan.
The Christian life
is not a random, unintentional, haphazard existence.
As God’s children, believers are beckoned to a new life of realizing
His good purposes for them.
The word translated here
as “called”
specifies a summoning in the original Greek. It identifies someone whose involvement or presence has been officially requested,
especially a summoning to
which refusal
is not an option,
as in a subpoena. Many Bible passages speak of the believer’s calling:
“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord”
(1 Corinthians 1:9; see also 1 Corinthians 7:17; Galatians 1:15; Ephesians 4:1, 4). Paul explains to Timothy that God
“has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because
of anything we have done
but because of
his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus
before the beginning
of time” (2 Timothy 1:9).
Even before He created the world, “God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4–5, NLT). God has called us into a relationship with Jesus Christ for the purpose of being “conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). God’s purpose in calling us is twofold: for our good and His glory (2 Thessalonians 2:13–14; 1 Peter 2:9).
The noun purpose in Romans 8:28 means “intention; an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides planned actions.” In the Christian life, God’s purpose is the guiding force, the most critical reality. Sometimes God’s purpose includes suffering and frustration (Romans 8:17). Nevertheless, Paul assures that “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
We can rest assured that
God is sovereign.
He is acting in every circumstance of life. His will and purpose control everything in His eternal plan (Ephesians 1:11; 3:11). Those who love God and are called according to His purpose can know that not one thing in this life escapes Him. When we belong to Jesus, nothing can happen to us outside God’s plan for our good.
God is continuously working in the hearts and lives of people who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The Lord is causing everything to fit together for our good and His glory. Standing on this solid truth reframes our difficulties. We can face them with confidence, trusting that every challenge is part of God’s ultimate plan to transform our old nature into what He has purposed for us to be: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”
(2 Corinthians 3:18; see also Ephesians 4:22–24; Colossians 3:9–10).
And God said,
“Let there be light,”
and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. - Genesis 1:3-5
You’ve probably heard the old phrase, “a place for everything and everything in its place.” It’s a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but some believe it existed long before his time. Whatever the case, it’s a quote that parents often use when trying to get their kids to tidy their rooms and put everything back where it belongs.
Of course, the original example of putting things in order comes from God. The instant He spoke the words “Let there be light,” He saw that the light could not reside with darkness. He separated them and gave them each a name. There was no meshing of the two—no blending them together. Instead, God saw that the light was good, and He separated it from the darkness.
What a beautiful word picture for us, as Christians, to live separately from the darkness of the world. While we are required to live in the world, we are not required to mix with the ideas and beliefs that call “good evil and evil good.” There are no gray areas for believers in Christ. For in Him, there is a perfect standard of right and wrong, darkness and light.
Sadly, many well-meaning people have decided to blend their beliefs into a broad, gray area that is neither light nor dark.
Compromise has taken the place
of standing resolutely on God’s unchanging Word.
Blending in with the culture
has replaced being set apart for His glory.
I get it. Living in peace with each other is a noble thing. As a peacemaker myself, (sometimes to a fault), it’s sometimes difficult for me to take a firm stand on what is true. But as I re-read Genesis chapter one, I’m reminded of God’s perfect order and His way of separating what needs to be separated.
The thing is, living separately for God shouldn’t be done in an unloving or self-righteous way. In contrast,
being set apart for the Lord should be displayed as great
love for God and for others—without compromise.
We are lights in a dark world, and we should be drawing people to the light of Jesus by the way we live, not repelling them because of a spirit of hatefulness or judgment. This doesn’t mean we accept every belief or opinion. Instead, it means we unapologetically cling to the absolute truths of God’s Word in the most gentle and loving way possible.
Ultimately, our Creator
is the Master organizer,
who spoke everything into existence and separated the light from the darkness. He was the first example
of “a place for everything and everything in its place.”
And when we choose to live separately for Him,
we’ll find ourselves exactly where we need to be.
Set Apart
for the Glory of God
God uses what is
Holy as a means of separation
to
demonstrate to believers the
work of Christ.
God demonstrates the work of Christ and
calls witnesses according to fulfillment of purpose.
Set apart in holiness for Gods glorification is to be
used as a vessel for the purposes of God,
so that he can reveal his sovereign nature and plans,
False Prophets in Revelation
are the work of Christ
as Christ utilizes the Saints according to his word
as a vessel
to fulfill the scriptures.
Sanctification is God’s will for us (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
The word sanctification is related to the word saint; both
words have to do with holiness.
To “sanctify” something is to
set it apart for special use; to “sanctify” a person is to
make him holy.
Jesus had a lot to say about sanctification in
John 17.
In verse 16 the Lord says,
“They are not of the world, even as
I am not of it,”
and this is before His request:
“Sanctify them by the truth;
your word is truth”
(verse 17).
In Christian theology, sanctification is a
state of separation
unto God;
all believers enter into this state when they are
born of God:
“You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us
wisdom from God,
righteousness and sanctification and redemption”
(1 Corinthians 1:30, ESV).
The sanctification mentioned in this verse is a
once-for-ever separation of believers unto God.
It is a work God performs, an integral part of our salvation
and our connection with Christ
(Hebrews 10:10).
Theologians sometimes refer to this state of
holiness before God
as “positional”
sanctification; it is related to justification.
While we are positionally holy
(“set free from every sin” by the blood of Christ, Acts 13:39),
we know that we still sin (1 John 1:10).
That’s why the Bible also refers to sanctification
as a practical experience of our separation unto God.
“Progressive” or “experiential” sanctification,
as it is sometimes called, is the effect of
obedience to the
Word of God in one’s life.
It is the same as growing in the Lord
(2 Peter 3:18)
or spiritual maturity.
God started the work of
making us like Christ,
and He is continuing it
(Philippians 1:6).
This type of sanctification is to
be pursued by the believer earnestly
(1 Peter 1:15; Hebrews 12:14)
and is effected
by the application of the Word
(John 17:17).
Progressive sanctification has in view the
setting apart of believers for the
purpose for which they are sent into the world:
“As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world.
For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be
truly sanctified”
(John 17:18–19).
That Jesus set Himself
apart for God’s purpose
is both the
basis and the condition
of our
being set apart
(see John 10:36).
We are sanctified and sent because Jesus was. Our Lord’s sanctification is the pattern of and power for our own. The sending and the sanctifying are inseparable. On this account we are called “saints” (hagioi in the Greek), or “sanctified ones.”
Prior to salvation,
our behavior bore witness to our standing in the
world in separation from God, but now our behavior
should bear witness to our standing
before God in separation from the world.
Little by little, every day, “those who are being sanctified”
(Hebrews 10:14, ESV) are
becoming more like Christ.
There is a third sense in which the word sanctification
is used in Scripture—a
“complete” or “ultimate” sanctification.
This is the same as
glorification.
Paul prays in 1 Thessalonians 5:23,
“May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely,
and
may your whole spirit and soul and body
be kept
blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(ESV).
Paul speaks of Christ as “
the hope of glory”
(Colossians 1:27)
and links the glorious appearing of Christ to our
personal glorification:
“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also
will appear with him in glory”
(Colossians 3:4).
This glorified state will be our ultimate separation from sin,
a total sanctification in every regard. “We know that when
Christ appears, we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).
To summarize, “sanctification” is a translation of the Greek word
hagiasmos, meaning “holiness” or “a separation.”
In the past, God granted us justification, a once-for-all,
positional holiness in Christ.
In the present, God guides us to maturity, a practical, progressive holiness. In the future, God will give us glorification, a permanent, ultimate holiness.
These three phases of sanctification separate the believer
from the penalty of sin (justification), the power of sin (maturity),
and the presence of sin (glorification).
In Romans 8:18–30, the apostle Paul encourages believers to hold onto hope and the promises of God in these times. Remember that God is operating ceaselessly in the lives of those who love Him,
sovereignly working
out
His redemptive plan.
The Christian life
is not a random, unintentional, haphazard existence.
As God’s children, believers are beckoned to a new life of realizing
His good purposes for them.
The word translated here
as “called”
specifies a summoning in the original Greek. It identifies someone whose involvement or presence has been officially requested,
especially a summoning to
which refusal
is not an option,
as in a subpoena. Many Bible passages speak of the believer’s calling:
“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord”
(1 Corinthians 1:9; see also 1 Corinthians 7:17; Galatians 1:15; Ephesians 4:1, 4). Paul explains to Timothy that God
“has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because
of anything we have done
but because of
his own purpose and grace.
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus
before the beginning
of time” (2 Timothy 1:9).
Even before He created the world, “God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure” (Ephesians 1:4–5, NLT). God has called us into a relationship with Jesus Christ for the purpose of being “conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). God’s purpose in calling us is twofold: for our good and His glory (2 Thessalonians 2:13–14; 1 Peter 2:9).
The noun purpose in Romans 8:28 means “intention; an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides planned actions.” In the Christian life, God’s purpose is the guiding force, the most critical reality. Sometimes God’s purpose includes suffering and frustration (Romans 8:17). Nevertheless, Paul assures that “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13).
We can rest assured that
God is sovereign.
He is acting in every circumstance of life. His will and purpose control everything in His eternal plan (Ephesians 1:11; 3:11). Those who love God and are called according to His purpose can know that not one thing in this life escapes Him. When we belong to Jesus, nothing can happen to us outside God’s plan for our good.
God is continuously working in the hearts and lives of people who love Him and are called according to His purpose. The Lord is causing everything to fit together for our good and His glory. Standing on this solid truth reframes our difficulties. We can face them with confidence, trusting that every challenge is part of God’s ultimate plan to transform our old nature into what He has purposed for us to be: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”
(2 Corinthians 3:18; see also Ephesians 4:22–24; Colossians 3:9–10).
And God said,
“Let there be light,”
and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. - Genesis 1:3-5
You’ve probably heard the old phrase, “a place for everything and everything in its place.” It’s a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but some believe it existed long before his time. Whatever the case, it’s a quote that parents often use when trying to get their kids to tidy their rooms and put everything back where it belongs.
Of course, the original example of putting things in order comes from God. The instant He spoke the words “Let there be light,” He saw that the light could not reside with darkness. He separated them and gave them each a name. There was no meshing of the two—no blending them together. Instead, God saw that the light was good, and He separated it from the darkness.
What a beautiful word picture for us, as Christians, to live separately from the darkness of the world. While we are required to live in the world, we are not required to mix with the ideas and beliefs that call “good evil and evil good.” There are no gray areas for believers in Christ. For in Him, there is a perfect standard of right and wrong, darkness and light.
Sadly, many well-meaning people have decided to blend their beliefs into a broad, gray area that is neither light nor dark.
Compromise has taken the place
of standing resolutely on God’s unchanging Word.
Blending in with the culture
has replaced being set apart for His glory.
I get it. Living in peace with each other is a noble thing. As a peacemaker myself, (sometimes to a fault), it’s sometimes difficult for me to take a firm stand on what is true. But as I re-read Genesis chapter one, I’m reminded of God’s perfect order and His way of separating what needs to be separated.
The thing is, living separately for God shouldn’t be done in an unloving or self-righteous way. In contrast,
being set apart for the Lord should be displayed as great
love for God and for others—without compromise.
We are lights in a dark world, and we should be drawing people to the light of Jesus by the way we live, not repelling them because of a spirit of hatefulness or judgment. This doesn’t mean we accept every belief or opinion. Instead, it means we unapologetically cling to the absolute truths of God’s Word in the most gentle and loving way possible.
Ultimately, our Creator
is the Master organizer,
who spoke everything into existence and separated the light from the darkness. He was the first example
of “a place for everything and everything in its place.”
And when we choose to live separately for Him,
we’ll find ourselves exactly where we need to be.
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