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PASTORAL PHILOSOPHY > THE FIVE-FOLD GOSPEL
A dictionary defines “sanctification” as “the state of holiness and purity.” In our lives in Christ, “sanctification” is a state in which man, who had been corrupt because of his sins, is without any sins after receiving the grace of salvation through Jesus Christ and having been transformed by faith and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In such a state where only goodness and no evil are found, there is “righteousness” (what God deems “righteous”); this refers to keeping God’s commandments, which are God’s will itself. More specifically, through sanctification the corrupted mankind enters the state without any sin by the grace of the redemption of Jesus Christ. In other words, it is salient strength by which an individual becomes cleansed and made pure from the original sin and self-committed sins and from all filth both in flesh and spirit. Therefore, sanctification is the restoration of God’s image in which mankind was formed and became living beings (Genesis 1:27; 2:7) and partaking of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).
For the prudent research of the Bible serves to best demonstrate the doctrines and experience of sanctification, it will be cited in this segment to address a number of important topics.
In order to be wholly filled with the Holy Spirit, it is indispensable for God’s children to become sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
John the Baptist said, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:12). Clearly evident in this Verse is the inner and spiritual sanctification brought forth by the baptism by the Holy Spirit; John’s baptism was for the forgiveness of sins and the baptism by the Holy Spirit is to rid oneself of the core of sin.
God demands that His people be holy and commanded so as a precept and by example. God’s sanctification is also proactive and realistic, never restricted by consciousness (Genesis 17:1; Matthew 5:48). This indicates the perfection of love, the kind of love that is gained after one’s spirit has fought off all that is adverse to him (Mark 12:30; Romans 5:5).
This refers to the necessity for a believer to remove his propensity toward the world and its ways as well as conforming to the world from his inclination to sin as his heart is renewed. It also clearly reminds all believers to correctly distinguish and experience all that is good, all that is acceptable to God, and His perfect will (2 Corinthians 7:1)
When we give birth to spirit by the Holy Spirit after accepting Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38), our names are recorded in the book of life in the heavenly kingdom and we become God’s children. From that point on, God declares that we are “justified” or “righteous” by our faith (Romans 3:24). However, we will have been “declared righteous,” not yet “made righteous.” Therefore, when we shun and cast out sins by diligently hearing His Word and distinguishing sin from righteousness (John 16:8), God will also deem our works “righteous.”
However, shunning and casting out sins is a duty for all children of God; it does not warrant them to be commended. In other words, even if we have cleaned a golden vessel on the outside, our work is not yet complete. We must remove all the impurities that have contaminated the golden vessel and other materials that have been mixed and become parts of the vessel from the failure to thoroughly refine the gold.
Toward This End
When, through Jesus Christ, an individual receives forgiveness of his sins and gives birth to spirit by the Holy Spirit after receiving the authority to which he is entitled as a child of God, he will come to learn that there is an eternal world and lead a diligent life in Christ in an earnest hope for heaven. For he will have come to know that flesh is useless and spirit is worthy and everlasting, the individual will not only strive to shun and cast out his sins, do righteous works, become a spiritual person, but will also earnestly desire to have his spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 5:23).
We had once been of the flesh but after receiving the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ, we now dwell amidst the blessings as God’s children. With His Word and the Holy Spirit by our side, we have come to know about the eternal world, that flesh is useless, and that only spirit is truly valuable. By keep reminding ourselves the ways by which we can become wholly spiritual, we must continue to transform ourselves by whole spirit.
God cultivates mankind on the earth in order to gain true children, devout and godly. Here, “true children” refer to God’s children who will have completely recovered the image of God their Father.
Sanctification can be summed as a process to drive out sinful attributes from our spirit and is an important component that washes away spiritual filth so that the spirits of born-again believers can become holy. In other words, sanctification in born-again believers is an essential element of their heart. While they desire to live according to righteousness and walk in light, they are unable to do so because of sinful attributes within. The reason the believers ? who would otherwise have always had to live as products of sin ? can escape the shackles of sin is because by the grace of sanctification, the root of their sins can be uprooted.
God thus desires man to be saved not only from his self-committed sins but also from the original sin which has been passed down from one generation to the next from the forefather of all mankind, Adam. On this, Romans 6:6 reminds us that we are aware of how “our old self was crucified with [Him,] that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” Here, “old self” and “our body of sin” refer to the original sin, the sinful attributes that have been passed down from Adam, and do not indicate the flesh (body) of man. The expression, “our body of sin might be done away with,” signifies the redemptive work of the cross of Jesus Christ for the original sin that has been passed down from Adam to all of his descendants.
Sanctification, therefore, is required in fulfilling perfect salvation through the cleansing of the original sin and self-committed sins found in man’s depths/core of people’s being.
This experience refers not to living off something else (i.e. as a parasite) but to living within an object or another living being ? it is a life of its own, a scope of activity, and spiritual contact. “Abiding” does not require renewed devotion on a regular basis but is constantly walking with God in every moment of one’s life in His newly given light.
True obedience is not a reckless rush after having a blind impulse but an intelligent “Amen” attitude within God’s will. Upon realizing that a certain task is of God’s will, immediate obedience must follow. Obeying that which can be obeyed is a given; obeying that which cannot obeyed must also be methodically done unconditionally. God’s Word can be divided into four large categories. The first are “Do” commandments including “Pray,” “Rejoice,” Be thankful,” and the like. The second are “Do not” commandments, including “Do not be envious or jealous,” “Do not harbor evil thoughts,” and the like. The third are “Throw away” commandments including, “Avoid every kind of evil,” and the like. The last are “Keep” commandments including “Keep the Sabbath holy,” “Keep thy heart with all diligence” (Proverbs 4:23, KJV), and the like. These four categories of commandments must be obeyed continually.
Each believer must have a strict set of self-consciousness by asking himself the following questions: