|
We like to fit God into our own little box, picking and choosing
the scriptures we want to focus on, and often we make our own
interpretation of our chosen verses, without even knowing it.
But according to 2Pe
1:20, no scripture is open to private interpretation!
And a thorough
examination of a doctrine in the scriptures often reveals
something against our human viewpoint, against what we always
thought, or against what religion has taught us over the years.
Isa 55:8-9
8 "For My thoughts
are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.
9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
OUR thoughts are that
we must follow God’s commands if we want to go to heaven.
OUR thoughts are that
we must remain righteous, or God’s fury will take away our
salvation and send us to hell for eternity.
OUR thoughts are that
we must do the works of the Lord, and if we do not, then maybe
we really aren’t saved. Maybe we really aren’t a believer in
the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are secure BEYOND
what WE thought was possible.
We are safe and secure
because of HIS thoughts, the thinking of a God who went through
the agony of sacrificing His own Son on an altar called the
Cross, so that whoever believes in Him shall never
perish, but have eternal life. Joh 3:16-18
The Doctrine of Sanctification
Beginning the doctrine
of sanctification, let’s first remember the benefits of adoption
which free us from slavery to the bondages of life. Rom 8:14-23
Rom 8:14-23, For all who
are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For
you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again,
but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we
cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself bears witness with
our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs
also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to
us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for
the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected
to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who
subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set
free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the
glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole
creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together
until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the
first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the
redemption of our body.
When
we advance to spiritual maturity in time, we will receive what
we have been adopted to receive which is the imputation of
divine blessings which glorifies God.
However, to advance to
spiritual maturity one must be led by the Spirit of God, and to
be led by the Spirit of God, one must know the word of God in
order to execute the will of God.
When
we were born again, we were also adopted Roman style by God the
Father, and we became sons of God!
Adoption Roman style is
important, because we must go back to the meaning of a passage
when it was written.
The apostle Paul uses
the analogy of adoption because in Rome a ruler would adopt a
son from outside his family and let him inherit his entire
estate!
If he didn’t think his own
son could handle the responsibilities well, he would go select
another, and this adopted son would have all the privileges and
powers of a real son!
And
so we have been adopted by God the Father, sanctified and set
apart by God forever, to enjoy the privileges and powers of a
real son.
This involves the notion of
similarity or likeness.
A son and a father have
similarities, certain things in common.
This is one of the amazing
aspects of our relationship to God as His adopted sons.
We are to look at things
from God's standpoint, with the mind of Christ.
Mat 5:44-45, “But I
say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute
you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in
heaven;”
This is how a son of God
thinks!
Mat 5:16, “Let your
light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good
works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
But as we will see in this
study on sanctification, we are still sons of God if we do not
follow God’s desires for us.
Once adopted,
always a son. Rom 8:38-39, 1Pe 1:5
This son-ship also carries
other implications.
In 1Pe 2:9, we are said to
be A chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
for God's own possession.
We are God's own
possession, and God does not love the world as He loves His
sons.
Joh 3:16 says, “For
God so loved [agape love] the world.”
But in Joh 16:27,
“for the Father Himself loves [phileo love] you.”
We are told to treat those
who are members of the Royal Family in a special way,
Gal 6:10, So then,
while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and
especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
As our Father, God takes
a special interest in us, Mat 10:30, “But the very hairs of
your head are all numbered.”
A father tries to develop a
plan with the child's interest and future in mind, and that is
what our Father has done!
God is always ready to
receive us, listen to us, and to grant us His blessing.
In fact, He is more ready
to give than we are to receive.
Our Lord said in Mat
6:8, “For your Father knows what you need, before you ask
Him.”
Rom 8:14, For all who
are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
The Greek word for
sons is huios which means a child of the King, or
mature sons.
As a child of the King we
never have to be in the dark about life.
We can understand what
God's purpose for our life is and what the objectives are.
Rom 8:15 has to do with
developing confidence, For you have not received a spirit of
slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of
adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
Having complete confidence
in your relationship with the Lord is an important part of
having happiness in life.
Happiness is not a set of pleasant circumstances, but the
ability to be confident and secure in every situation; this is
done through Bible doctrine.
If you are discouraged or
encouraged, happy or sad, based upon your circumstances, then
you are a slave to your circumstances and you cannot have true
happiness.
Bible Doctrine provides the
basis to be free from being a slave to your circumstances.
We were not born again
and adopted by God the Father so that we could become disturbed
about life.
Again as we saw in the
doctrine of Propitiation, the Lord now wants us to approach
His throne of grace boldly, as we are already His sons. Heb
4:16
You see, our
thoughts are that we have to please God to remain a son.
Our thoughts are
that we must obey God or else, and that we have to keep in good
standing with God to remain a son.
If that’s how you think
then you do not understand the grace of God!
And you do not understand
your adoption as a son of the King.
Another benefit of our
adoption is the ability to face, understand, and recognize
reality in life.
Rom 8:16, The Spirit
Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of
God,
God
the Holy Spirit actually teaches us by transferring doctrine
from our human spirit to our human soul which orients us to time
and temporal things, and orients us to eternal life related to
our relationship with God.
Rom 8:17-18, and if
children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,
if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be
glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
that is to be revealed to us.
We are children of God and
therefore potential heirs; this is based upon doctrine and the
execution of the Pre-designed Plan of God. (PPOG)
If
we follow Him and are faithful, not only will we be in heaven,
but we will inherit fabulous rewards that go beyond our
imagination, which most believers in heaven will not receive.
1Co 3:10-15, 2Ti 2:12, Rev 2 & 3.
2Ti 2:12 says, If we
endure [undeserved suffering], we shall also reign with
Him.
The sufferings
are not only designed for the blessing of mature believers, but
also to magnify Bible doctrine and meet those situations with
the doctrines that glorify God.
If you desire to glorify
your Father as an adopted Son you must learn how to handle
undeserved suffering.
God
has allotted to each one of us a segment of time devoted to
undeserved suffering, and this is part of our military training
as heirs and adopted sons. 2Tim 2:1-4
2 Tim 2:1-4
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ
Jesus. 2 The things which you have heard from me in the presence
of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be
able to teach others also. 3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good
soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier in active service
entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he
may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.
NASU
It
is imperative that we have the ability to meet the suffering in
the same manner we meet anything else in life, through thought.
1Co 2:16
Through thinking Bible
doctrine, which is the mind of Christ, 1Co 2:16.
Paul is emphasizing that
glorification is the ultimate end and goal of adoption.
Glorification means full and entire deliverance from sin and
evil in every respect, and the final result is that we shall
become like TLJC, perfect and in glorified bodies.
He is already glorified,
and we shall be glorified because of our union with Him.
Glorification therefore means that man is not only delivered
from all the effects of the Fall, but granted a far superior
position and blessing than he would have had if he had remained
without sin.
Why? Adam had only the
righteousness of man. We now have the perfect righteousness of
Jesus Christ and God the Father!
We
have a double righteousness that was given to us as a gift at
the moment of salvation! We have double blessings because we
are related to the first born, the privileged One, Jesus
Christ. 2Co 5:21
And in the family, the
first born always receives double blessings!!
So we now possess the very
righteousness of God, right now at this moment, and we don’t
have to rely on our human righteousness to become holy.
We
ARE holy in God’s eyes. But when human righteousness enters the
picture, God rejects that immediately as disgusting to Him, Isa
64:6.
So, why are we to look
forward to our Lord’s return and the redemption of our bodies as
adopted sons?
The
body we live in now is the body of humility, but someday our
body will be like His, as in 1Jo 3:1-2.
1Jo 3:1-2, See how great
a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called
children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does
not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are
children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall
be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because
we shall see Him just as He is.
Believers become sanctified at the moment of faith in Christ;
this is known as positional sanctification. Eph 2:6
This simply means we have a
position reserved for us permanently, we will be seated with
Christ on His throne!
This cannot change, and the
Bible actually says we are ALREADY SEATED WITH CHRIST in
heavenly places.
Eph 2:4-6
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with
which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our
transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace
you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us
with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
NASU
Believers become sanctified after salvation when Bible doctrine
is resident in their soul and they are filled with the Spirit;
this is known as experiential sanctification.
This means “in your
experience” in life you can become more like Christ NOW while on
earth.
This doesn’t change your
position you already have, but it gives you the opportunity to
glorify God while you are on this earth, in the midst of the
invisible war called the Angelic Conflict.
Believers will once and for all become sanctified when the
resurrection of their bodies takes place; this is known as
ultimate sanctification (Phil 3:21).
So, when applied to the
Church, sanctification means that God has created a brand new
species of spiritual royalty set apart for the maximum
glorification of TLJC.
The
doctrine of sanctification teaches that God's purpose is to make
each Church-age believer like the humanity of Christ.
Rom 8:29, For whom He
foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image
of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren;
This conforming us to
the image of His Son takes place in those three stages of
sanctification.
Sanctification means to be under a grace contract with God
forever; we call this the New Covenant which sets apart every
individual at the point of salvation and places them in union
with Christ!
And remember, grace means
to freely give, without any conditions whatsoever. This is the
policy of God towards mankind.
So,
sanctification means to be set apart as sacred, to be
consecrated, to be devoted to worship, and to belong to God in a
special way.
Let’s note the etymology of
the Greek words of the N.T. concerning sanctification.
Etymology refers to the history of the word and its Biblical
usage.
The most popular word
used in the Bible concerning sanctification is the Greek word
hagios meaning holy or saint.
This word describes each
member of the Royal Family as one set apart for God.
Because of positional
sanctification, all believers are holy and are saints!
This word means that you
have been set apart by God for a special purpose which can only
be discovered when you have a maximum amount of Bible doctrine
in your soul.
The Church-age is the only
dispensation (time period of human history) where this takes
place.
You are set apart by God
as Royal Family through the baptism of the Spirit and therefore
you are called saints!
1Cor 12:13, Eph 4:5, Eph
1:13, 4:30
Eph 1:13-14
13 In Him, you also, after listening to
the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also
believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of
promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a
view to the redemption ofGod's own possession, to the praise of
His glory.
NASU
Eph 4:30
30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed
for the day of redemption.
NASU
A saint is someone who
has been consecrated for God forever and all Church-age
believers are called saints.
So, hagios is
translated holy and saint and is merely the Bible title for
royalty.
This word actually relates
the believer to the perfect integrity and holiness of God!
Sanctification says that
you are in a plan and you are royalty; it gives the believer the
right to advance to the greatest heights in this life.
So, the adjective
hagios is one of the titles for the Royal Family
of God.
So sanctification in all
its implications goes back to our Lord Jesus Christ, the supreme
aristocracy in the human race.
Therefore, hagios is
also used because your aristocracy is related to Christ.
Although human aristocracies eventually disappear, yours is the
most secure that could ever exist, and is the only aristocracy
which will last forever.
We are secure beyond our
thoughts!
And this is the message
that needs to be communicated to believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Paul said in 1Co 1:2,
to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been
sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in
every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their
Lord and ours:
The Corinthians would shock
most Christians in our day and age.
Yet, even though they were
raising all kinds of hell, and one of the worst congregations,
the Apostle Paul said they were sanctified ones.
They were fighting over
which one of them was better than the others (1Co 1:12).
They
were carnal, filled with jealousy and strife (1Co 3:3).
They were very
judgmental and critical of the apostle Paul as their
pastor-teacher (1Co 4:5).
Paul said that there
were those who were filled with arrogance (1Co 4:18).
Then there was the
situation of the young man having sex with his step-mother (1Co
5:1).
They were also taking
each other to court on spiritual or church matters and suing
each other in (1Co 6:1).
And
by the way, never once did the apostle Paul say that they lost
their salvation for the sinful lifestyles!
There were some that
were going to the prostitution temples and having sex with the
prostitutes (1Co 6:16)
Then there were the
legalists in the congregation who were married but considered
sex to be a dirty thing (1Co 7:5).
There were those who were born again, but their mate was not,
who said that it's time to get a divorce and marry someone in
the local assembly (1Co 7:11-20).
There were also those
who accused the apostle Paul of being in the ministry for money
(1Co 9:1-9).
There were those who
came to the communion service intoxicated 1Co 11:21, for in
your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is
hungry and another is drunk.
Many members of their
congregation were sick mentally, emotionally, physically and
some had even died the sin unto death, 1Co 11:30, For this
reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number are dead.
They
knew nothing about virtue love (1Co 13), but they were carried
away with the gift of tongues and thought that speaking in
tongues made you superior to others (1Co 14).
Notice what the apostle
Paul said in talking to this wild bunch, 1Co 1:2, to the
church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been
sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in
every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their
Lord and ours:
In 1Co 1:30, it is by
His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from
God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,
When you believed on Christ
you were made royalty and in spite of how bad you are or how
much you have failed, you are royalty forever.
A second word,
hagiotes, translated holiness, describes the principle by
which all believers are related to the integrity of God and the
aristocracy of God.
It simply means the result
of being royalty forever. It is used in 2Co 1:12 for the
believer conducting himself as a saint in the world in which he
lives.
2Co 1:12, For our proud
confidence is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in
holiness and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom but in the
grace of God, we have conducted ourselves in the world, and
especially toward you.
The third word,
hagiosune, is used only by the apostle Paul, who apparently
coined it; it means holiness, or set apart, or sanctification.
Since this concept applies
to Church-age believers only, it is found only in the Greek.
It has no Hebrew
equivalents, since everything related to the Church, as part of
the mystery doctrine, was not revealed to O. T. writers.
We must focus sharply on
the letters written to the Church, from Romans-Jude, to learn
the mystery doctrine which was not even revealed by
Christ to the apostles! Eph 3:3-10, Rom 16:25, 1Co 2:7-8, Col
1:26-27.
Rom 16:25
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my
gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long
ages past
NASU
1 Cor 2:7-8
7 but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom
which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the
wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood;
So this word
hagiosune denotes a manifestation of the quality of life
that God has placed within us as members of the Royal Family and
is used in 2Co 7:1.
2 Cor 7:1
Therefore, having these promises, beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness [hagiosune] in the fear of God.
It is also used for the
heart being filled with doctrine and promoting holiness in
1Th 3:13, so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in
holiness [hagiosune] before our God and Father.
The fourth word which
describes another aspect of sanctification is hagiasmos
translated sanctification or sanctifying.
It
is also translated holiness or consecration and refers to the
state of being made an aristocrat forever.
It especially emphasizes
our relationship to the integrity of God.
It is used for the
believer presenting his body unto the Lord as a member of the
Royal Family in Rom 6:19-22,
I am speaking in human
terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you
presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness,
resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as
slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. For when
you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to
righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving
from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of
those things is death. But now having been freed from sin and
enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in
sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.
The fifth word is the
verb hagiazo which means to be holy, sanctified, or set
apart.
And that's exactly what God
does with the Royal Family; He sets us apart in order to show
that we are royalty.
Hagiazo
tells us that we are set apart in a special way
in history.
We have unique privileges
and unique opportunities which start at the point of salvation,
at the moment of our initial faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and
Savior.
This word is used in Joh
17:17 to describe how we are set apart for God; “Sanctify
them in the truth; Thy word is truth.”
It is through the
understanding of doctrine that we realize we are Royal Family
and set apart for God.
It is used for TLJC
setting the church apart in Eph 5:25-26, Christ also
loved the church and gave Himself up for her that He might
sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water
with the word,
In addition to these
there is a phrase which refers to the Head of the Royal Family
of God or the Prince Ruler: Ho hagios tou Theou meaning
the Holy One from God or the Saint from God.
This is a title for TLJC in
Joh 6:69.
Even the demons
recognized our Lord in Mar 1:24, We know who you are, you are
the holy One from God [Ho hagios tou Theou].
Because we are aware of the
fact that we have been cut off from the slavery of the sin
nature and the self-life, through having died on the cross with
Christ (Rom 6), now that we know that we are alive from the
dead, we can present the members of our physical body unto God.
But, what does that mean,
to present the members of your physical body unto God as
instruments of righteousness?
It means we can present
our eyes unto God and in 2Co 5:7 Walk by faith, not by sight.
We can present our ears
unto God and take care how we listen; and take care what we
listen to.
We can present our hands
unto God as in Ecc 9:10, Whatever your hand finds to do,
verily, do it with all your might;
We can present our feet
unto God and in Eph 6:15, and having shod your feet with the
preparation of the gospel of peace;
We can present our
fingers unto God and in Psa 144:1, He trains my fingers for
battle;
We can present our mouth
unto God as in Eph 4:29, Let no corrupt communication proceed
from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to
those who hear.
We can present our knees
unto God in prayer, Eph 3:14, For this reason, I bow my knees
before the Father,
In other words, our entire
body can be presented unto God.
It's so easy to be
judgmental and critical and criticize the way things are being
done, but the interesting thing is that those who criticize have
no fruit themselves!
There's usually an ulterior
motive that is hidden that the stupid do not see until it's too
late.
Rom 16:17-18, Now I urge
you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and
hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn
away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ
but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering
speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.
Our Lord said in Mar
9:40 For he who is not against us is for us.
So
be careful that you do not touch God's ministry, or God's man,
or God's servants.
Present yourselves to
God, and if you're smart, mind your own business and let God
take care of His family! Rom 14.
Everything we have, whether
it is our sight, our hearing, and the members of our body, all
is because of the grace of God!
However, the point is that we do not present ourselves to God to
become free, but it is because we are already free in Christ,
and because we have been given an understanding of adoption and
sanctification that we can present ourselves to God.
Having died unto the old,
we are alive and free in the new, and now our life has meaning,
purpose, and definition.
Again in the Roman culture, adoption meant
privileges and advantages.
We have noted the different words that
refer to sanctification as members of the Royal Family of God.
Believers are set apart in three
ways from salvation to the eternal state.
Phase one is
positional sanctification, which refers to salvation where the
baptism of the Spirit enters every believer into union with the
person of Jesus Christ.
Positional sanctification means you
have eternal security; there is no way you can ever get out of
your relationship with God.
Heb 10:10-14, By this will [the will
of TLJC to fulfill the Father's plan] we have been
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily
ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one
sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the
right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His
enemies be made a footstool for His feet. For by one offering
He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
Positional
sanctification is a reference to the Church-age believer's union
with Christ, which is accomplished at the moment of salvation
through the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
The phrase in Christ found
throughout the N. T. Epistles (letters) is a technical term for
the Church-age believer's fantastic union with Christ.
Church-age believers
are positionally superior to all angels (including Satan and
both elect and fallen angels). Heb 1 & 2.
This is brought out in such passages as Heb
1:3-6, And He [TLJC] is the radiance of His [God
the Father’s] glory, and the exact representation of His
nature [TLJC is exactly like God the Father in His deity],
and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had
made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high; having become [as a member of the human
race] as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a
more excellent name [title - King of kings, Lord of lords]
than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say, “Thou
art My Son, Today I have begotten Thee”? And again, “I will be a
Father to Him and He shall be a Son to Me”? And when He again
brings the first-born into the world, He says, “And let all the
angels of God worship Him.”
Heb 1:13-14, But to which of the angels
has He ever said, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Thine
enemies A footstool for Thy feet”? Are they not all ministering
spirits [the angels], sent out to render service for the
sake of those who will inherit salvation?
Heb 2:9-11 says, But we do see Him who
has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely,
Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and
honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for
everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things,
and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory,
to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For
both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified
are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to
call them brethren.
This part of the
mystery doctrine points to the elevation of the Church over both
elect and fallen angels and announced the total defeat of Satan.
This is why Christ's unexpected
announcement of the Church, just prior to the cross, had such a
powerful impact on angels.
This is all a part of the privileges of
positional sanctification.
So, Positional sanctification occurs at
salvation through faith in Christ, and qualifies the believer to
live with God forever.
There are two
reasons for this:
First, the believer
possesses the righteousness of God the Father (through
imputation), and we share the perfect righteousness of Christ
through our positional sanctification. 2Co 5:21
If we are going to live with God forever,
we have to be as good as He is, and we are, by having his
perfect righteousness.
1Jo 3:9 No one who is born of God
sins, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because
he is born of God.
This means that once we are born again we
have received a nature that cannot sin.
Therefore, when we sin, we agree with
the apostle Paul in Rom 7:17, So now, no longer am I the one
doing it, but sin which indwells me.
It is our old nature that still resides in
our human body that tempts us to sin, but our new nature cannot
sin. It is the very nature of God Himself inside our soul!
So, We receive the very righteousness of
God at the moment of salvation. 2Cor 5:21, Rom 3:21-22
Rom 3:21-22, But now apart from the Law
the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by
the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through
faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no
distinction;
The second reason we
are qualified to live with God forever is that the believer
possesses eternal life (1Jo 5:11-12).
If we are going to live with God forever,
we must also have His life, which is eternal life, and we do.
1 John 5:11-12
11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal
life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has the
life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the
life.
NASU
This comes from the Father, through
imputation, and from the Son through positional
sanctification which belongs to all believers.
1Co 1:2,30, says
that even the worst of believers (those in the Corinthian
church) are sanctified in Christ Jesus.
The characteristics of positional
sanctification are as follows:
Positional Sanctification:
1) It
is not an experience; it is neither emotional nor ecstatic. You
were positionally set apart for God at the moment of salvation.
Eph 2:6, Joh 3:16, 5:24
2) It
is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or in
eternity. You will never be holier to God than at the day of
your salvation.
3) It
is not related to human merit. We are not in Christ
because of what we do or did, but rather because we believed in
Him and God the Holy Spirit did the work of entering us into
union with Him. Eph 1:13, 4:30.
4) It
is obtained en toto at the moment of salvation through
the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 1Cor 12:13.
5) It
is understood only through cognition of the pertinent Bible
doctrine.
6) It
is eternal in nature; it cannot be changed by God, angels, or
mankind. Rom 8:38-39
So, Positional sanctification is divided
into two parts theologically: retroactive positional truth and
current positional truth.
This whole concept is presented in Romans
as analogous to the believer being divorced from the Old Sin
Nature (OSN) and now married to the Lord Jesus Christ.
In retroactive
positional truth, the believer is identified with Christ in His
spiritual and physical deaths and burial. Rom 6:3
Retroactive means to go back.
When we go back to the Cross, we see that
God established a certain truth for us there, namely that our
Old Sin Nature was crucified with Christ on the Cross.
Rom 6:3 Or do you not know that all of
us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized
into His death?
Baptism means
Identification, not water. It means to fully be identified with
something or Someone.
Identification with Christ in His
spiritual death is rejection of good and evil, tantamount to
separation from the first husband, the Old Sin Nature. (OSN)
Rom 6:4, Therefore we have been buried
with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was
raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too
might walk in newness of life.
Identification with Christ in His
physical death is separation from good and evil, tantamount
to separation from our first husband, the OSN.
Identification with Christ in his Burial
is tantamount to actual divorce, where there is death
between the two involved.
In current
positional truth, the believer is identified with Christ in HIS
current position!
The believer is identified with Christ
where He is currently; in His resurrection, ascension, and
session at the right hand of God the Father!
This is our current
position! Eph 2:6, we are seated with Christ in heavenly places,
right now!!!
This is tantamount to our second marriage,
which demands walking in newness of life.
Rom 6:5, For if we have become united
with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be
also in the likeness of His resurrection, we are new
creatures; the old things have passed away.
Old things refers to our past marriage to
the OSN.
So, who are the sanctified ones?
The sanctified ones
are the backsliders, carnal believers, new believers, and the
mature believers; they are all Royal Family; they are all
sanctified in Christ Jesus. 1Cor 1:2, 30
Positional
sanctification is the status of the new spiritual species.
Eph 2:1-10
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you
formerly walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now
working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all
formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of
wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because
of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (
by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with
Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the
surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result
of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
NASU
We are already
created a new creature IN CHRIST JESUS, and now we have the
opportunity to walk in our purpose, to produce divine good works
to glorify our Lord in this life, divine good works being
motivated from obeying Bible doctrine and being filled with the
Spirit.
But notice we are
first placed IN CHRIST, we are already IN CHRIST, and from this
eternal position of strength, we now have the power to operate
in His plan for our lives.
Our confidence is in our God who is able to
keep us forever.
And operating in His plan for our lives is
what we call phase 2 of sanctification….
Experiential
sanctification takes place only when the believer lives and
functions in the Pre-designed Plan of God (PPOG) for their life;
it is the function of the spiritual life after salvation.
The function of the spiritual life depends
on the three spiritual skills:
The 3 spiritual skills:
1)
The filling of the Holy Spirit.
2)
The metabolization (spiritual
eating) of Bible doctrine.
3)
The utilization of the ten
problem-solving devices.
This produces experiential or spiritual
righteousness.
Experiential means
“in our experience”.
Living in the divine plan that God has
designed for your life is the only way that experiential
sanctification is accomplished.
This is important; 1Th 4:3 says, For
this is the will of God, your sanctification;
Therefore, God the
Holy Spirit energizes the believer so He can fulfill the
Christian way of life.
This is how true experiential
sanctification takes place.
Joh 17:17 "Sanctify them in the
truth; Thy word is truth."
It is through the
communication of Bible doctrine that experiential sanctification
takes place.
Experiential sanctification has to do with
the believer in time.
This is also called
godliness (eusebeia = the spiritual life).
This is the objective of each member of the
Royal Family of God in this dispensation.
After salvation the believer's objective is
to receive doctrine.
The believer is to
have personal love for God the Father and occupation with
Christ, which results in proper momentum in the Christian life.
After salvation and doctrinal intake, the
believer's objective is to reach spiritual maturity.
This is accomplished
by doctrinal intake resulting in spiritual growth or godliness;
it is doctrine resident in the soul that produces experiential
sanctification.
Your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit (1Co 3:16; 1Co 6:19-20).
You are indwelt by God the Holy Spirit,
but remember that it is your body that is indwelt, not your
soul.
The Holy Spirit seeks to control the soul,
but that depends upon the believer's understanding of certain
doctrines, like the doctrine of the filling of the Spirit or the
doctrine of rebound.
The filling of the Spirit simply means that
God the Holy Spirit controls your soul.
Grieving and quenching the Spirit means God
the Holy Spirit does not control the soul.
But, whether you are
grieving the Spirit, quenching the Spirit, or are filled with
the Spirit, God the Holy Spirit still indwells you.
All believers
are indwelled by the Spirit forever, Eph 1:13, 4:30, but all
believers are not filled or controlled by the Spirit in their
daily lives. (see the book “Filling of the Spirit” by Pastor
Robert McLaughlin)
Unless a believer is filled with the Spirit
and learning Bible doctrine, experiential sanctification is
impossible.
To be set apart for God in your experience,
you must take in Bible doctrine daily and be filled with the
Spirit as often as possible.
Once the believer
has the filling of the Spirit (through Rebound, confession of
sins, 1Jo 1:9, Eph 5:18) and maximum doctrine resident in the
soul, he will have Experiential Sanctification, godliness, and
spiritual maturity.
Experiential Sanctification is taught in
such passages as 1Th 4:1-8,
1Tim 4:1-8 Finally then, brethren, we
request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you received
from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God
(just as you actually do walk), that you may excel still more.
For you know what commands we gave you by the authority of the
Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification;
that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of
you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and
honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know
God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the
matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just
as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has
not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in
sanctification. Consequently, he who rejects this is not
rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.
Between salvation and eternity, the
believer spends a certain amount of time on earth determined by
the sovereignty of God (Psa 31:15).
The purpose of this
time spent on earth is to reach spiritual maturity or
experiential sanctification and glorify God (Rev 4:11).
This results in blessings in time,
materially and spiritually, as well as blessings in dying and
eternal life.
When God can bless
the believer in the devil's world because of Bible doctrine at
home in the believer’s soul, God is glorified.
God can give wealth, success, prosperity,
and happiness to any believer He chooses; His only prerequisite
is capacity!
Capacity means we
must be mature enough to handle the blessing! To be blessed by
our Father, we must think like our Father. To think like our
Father, we must know our Father’s Words.
Then and only then can the Father trust us
with such great blessings that go beyond our imagination.
This can only come from knowing His mind,
Bible doctrine, the mind of Christ. 1Co 2:16
Therefore the reason for
keeping the Royal Family on earth is to bless them in every
category.
Believers are left
on this earth to be blessed; God is glorified as the Provider;
we are blessed as the beneficiaries.
God's objective therefore for us in time
can only be accomplished through doctrine resident in the soul
of the believer; this is experiential sanctification.
The issue in this life for you as a
believer is the influence factor.
Either Bible
doctrine is going to influence you or the evil of the cosmic
system and religion will influence you.
Doctrine is the manifestation of the genius
of God and His grace.
Evil is the
manifestation of Satan's genius and Satan's policy, while grace
is God's policy.
We cannot change doctrine but doctrine can
change us, just as we cannot change evil but evil can change us.
The issue for each of us then is which one
influences us, doctrine or evil?
After salvation, we never remain the same;
either we become worse or better, doctrinal or filled with
evil.
Doctrinal intake;
inhale and exhale of Bible doctrine in our soul is the
determining factor.
The whole battle therefore takes place in
the believer's soul.
Doctrine and evil engage in the
battleground of the soul; Psa 23:3 says “He restores my
soul.”
This battle is also defined for us in
Gal 5:17, For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit,
and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to
one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Every believer is in the plan of God, and
the plan of God will either bless us or crush us.
It all depends upon what influences your
life.
To be influenced by doctrine means
blessing; to be influenced by evil means cursing, discipline,
and eventually the sin unto death. (dying before God’s appointed
time)
Experiential
sanctification therefore depends on your consistent attitude
toward Bible doctrine.
Not your attitude toward reading the Bible,
but your attitude toward Bible doctrine and studying the Word of
God in a systematic and categorical way, comparing
scripture with scripture before coming to a conclusion about a
certain doctrine, examining the original languages along the
way, and studying scripture in its context along with the
historical background.
Without the
systematic theology to uncover the deeper truths of Bible
doctrine, we will not be able to know or fulfill the Plan of
God, and we will not experience sanctification in our lives.
Without experiential sanctification, the
believer will eventually be under cursing or divine discipline.
1Co 16:22, If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be
accursed, Maranatha.
Only mature believers with Spiritual
Self Esteem (S.S.E.) and maximum doctrine in their souls are
able to take residence in experiential sanctification called the
state of godliness, which does not come from living moral,
human good, self-righteousness or cleaning up your life.
A state of godliness only comes from
experiential sanctification.
This means that one of the most important
points in the doctrine of separation is to separate from human
viewpoint.
And human viewpoint is often found in
religion and denominations.
Rather than clinging
to Bible doctrine, many people cling to their religion or their
denomination to tell them God’s Plan.
And never forget Satan is the master
deceiver because he knows very well how to mix truth with lies.
And he can make something sound good and right very easily!
This is why if we do not cling to Bible
doctrine on a daily basis, we are doomed to being deceived in
areas of our lives.
And religion is a
major way that Satan deceives Christians, getting them on a
works program and wrapping them up in rituals instead of
diligently searching the Word of God.
This is the objective of experiential
sanctification found in passages like 1Ti 6:3-12, where
separation from false doctrines and legalistic religions is
commanded
1Ti 6: 3-12 If anyone advocates a
different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to
godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a
morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about
words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil
suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind
and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means
of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when
accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the
world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we
have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But
those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and
many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and
destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of
evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the
faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. But flee from
these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness,
godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the
good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you
were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of
many witnesses.
2Th 2:13 says, Brethren, we should
always give thanks to God for you, loved by the Lord; for from
the beginning God has elected you with reference to salvation
through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the
Truth.
It is doctrine resident in the soul that
causes an individual to become useful to the Master.
2Tim 2:19-21
2Ti 2:19-21 says, Nevertheless, the firm
foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows
those who are His," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the
Lord abstain from wickedness." Now in a large house there are
not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and
of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.
Therefore, if a man cleanses himself from these things, he will
be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master,
prepared for every good work.
Because we are in
union with Christ we are able to be sustained, nourished, and
empowered by the ministry of the Spirit.
This is how we become partakers of the
divine nature in experience just as we are in position.
2Pe 1:4, For by these He has granted
to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by
them you might become partakers of the divine nature.
This is how the believer, who is united
with Christ and granted the same power in which the humanity of
Christ constantly lived in, is equipped to be an imitator of God
and to walk just as He walked!
Eph 5:1, Therefore be imitators of God,
as beloved children;
This is a reference
to the believer imitating the way that TLJC totally relied on
the Holy Spirit to fulfill the Father's plan for His life.
Eph 5:2, and walk in love, just as
Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering
and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
The Greek word for love here is agape
referring to the natural life of the believer who lives in God's
pre-designed plan.
This is also taught in principle in Gal
5:16 which says, But I say walk by the Spirit and you will
not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Or 1Jo 2:6, the one who says he
abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He
walked.
We walk in the same
manner as the perfect humanity of TLJC by using the same power
that TLJC operated under; it has been made available to every
Church-age believer.
He functioned under the ministry of God the
Holy Spirit, and we are to function under the ministry of God
the Holy Spirit.
This is why He said in Joh 14:11,
“Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me;
otherwise believe on account of the works themselves. Truly,
truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do
shall he do also; and greater {works} than these shall he do;
because I go to the Father.”
The phrase “greater works than these,”
doesn't mean greater in quality, but greater in quantity.
The quantity is greater because the same
power is now available to every Church-age believer!
Every day that we learn to apply doctrine,
2Co 4:16 becomes more of a reality,
2Co 4:16 Therefore we do not lose
heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man
is being renewed day by day.
This becomes a reality in your life when
your thinking begins to change.
This is when your thinking is renovated
according to the pattern of divine thinking in Bible doctrine.
This is the principle of Eph 4:23,
and that you be renewed in the breathing of your mind.
This is when Rom 12:2 becomes a reality,
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of
God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Experiential sanctification is a
potential for the believer; it is commanded but not
guaranteed.
God will provide the resources,
opportunities, instructions, encouragement, and even divine
discipline, but the believer must choose to execute God's divine
plan for himself.
Believers will
become sanctified forever when the resurrection of their bodies
takes place, and this is known as ultimate sanctification (Phil
3:21).
Ultimate
Sanctification.
A. Ultimate
sanctification occurs at the Rapture of the Church when the
believer receives their resurrection body.
B. The
resurrection of the Church is the completion of the Royal
Family of God.
C. The Church Age
believer receives a resurrection body like Christ (Phil. 3:20).
D. The Body of
Christ is transformed into the Bride of Christ (Rev. 19:6-9).
E. Ultimate
sanctification means that we will no longer have an old sin
nature.
F. It means that
there will be no more suffering and no more tears.
G. It means we
will never be sad again.
H. Ultimate
sanctification means that we will never again grow weary or
become discouraged as we did on earth.
I. Ultimate
sanctification also means that we will never sin anymore.
J. Ultimate
sanctification will be the experience of all believers whether
they were winners or losers on earth.
K. Ultimate
sanctification is the completion of the work God the
Father originating in eternity past and which was first
manifested in time at the moment of salvation through
Regeneration and the Baptism of the Spirit.
L.
Documentation: 1 Cor.15:53-54 Gal. 6:8 1 Pet. 5:10 John
6:40.
|
