0029. Sanctification Defined
Sanctification Defined
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness"? (2Co_6:14).
Cramer, in his Greek Lexicon, says that the root of the word sanctification is "hagios," and that it means, "pure, clean, free from stain."
Young says that it means "to separate, to set apart."
Webster adds, "to set apart for holy use."
From the definitions, we learn three things, all of which are included in the Bible use of the word "sanctification."
First, Sanctification means separation. Jesus Christ said to the man with the withered hand, "Stand forth". The call of our key text is, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate" (2Co_6:17). There should be one glory in the heart of the believer concerning this world, and that is expressed in Gal_6:14 : "God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world".
It was Demas who forsook Paul, having loved this present world (2Ti_4:10).
Christ said plainly, "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (Joh_15:19).
Jesus Christ was undefiled and separate from sinners.
It behooves every believer in Him to go with Him outside the camp and to bear His reproach.
"Take the world, but give me Jesus
That true Friend who loves me so,
Gladly all I leave to follow
In this world below."
Second, The word "sanctification" means cleansing. It is not only separate from, but cleansed within. Our key verse says: "Be ye clean".
The Bible clearly teaches us that we should be clean. "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth" (Col_3:8).
"Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord" (Isa_52:11).
"If a man therefore will purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master’s use" (2Ti_2:21).
The difficulty with too many church people lies in the fact that they are good on Sunday and bad the rest of the week. Their religion is like the preacher’s Sunday coat; put on for special occasions:
Illustration: A little girl was asked by her mother as to why she fell out of bed every night. She replied: "I dess it’s ’cause I goes to sleep too near where I dets in."
That is the difficulty with the average church-member. They go to sleep too near where they join the church.
God wants us to renounce the world and to be clean in heart and in life.
Third, Sanctification means dedication. It is not only separation from the world, and cleansing within, but it is the separation and cleansed life, dedicated to God. Our key verse says: "And I will receive you"–dedication accepted.
Concerning the seventh day, we read that "God rested on the seventh day * * and sanctified it"–that is, He set it apart.
The Tabernacle was sanctified.
The Church was sanctified.
Both of them were set apart for the service of God.
The Bible says concerning Christ, "Therefore I sanctify Myself"–suggesting not that God made Himself holy, for He was always holy, but rather suggesting that the Holy One set Himself apart, dedicated Himself, in behalf of His people. Dedication suggests three things:
a. The acknowledgment of God’s ownership.
b. A presentation of the purchased possession.
c. A full committal–leaving upon the altar, what is placed there.
"Jesus, I my cross have taken,
All to leave and follow Thee;
Naked, poor, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shalt be."
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR