SANCTIFY, SANCTIFICATION
(a) Make holy, purify, set aside for God, consecrate people, objects, days, etc., ritually and above all morally and spiritually. The priests were sanctified for their service with an anointing of holy oil, being clothed with consecrated habits, and by sacrifices and the blood of atonement (Ex. 29:1, 5-7 and 20; 30:30; 1 Chron. 23 :13).
The Tabernacle, its utensils, and the altar were sanctified in an analogous manner (Ex. 29:36-37; 30:26-29). The Lord participated in this sanctification by manifesting his glory and coming to dwell in the sanctuary (Ex. 29:42-45). The Lord Himself sanctified the Sabbath, commanding His people to set it apart and sanctify it (Gen. 2:3; Ex. 20:8; see SABBATH).
It is stated on several occasions that the Sabbath is a sign that God wants to sanctify his people (Ex. 31:13; Ez. 20:12; cf. Ez. 37:28). As for us Christians, we are exhorted to sanctify ourselves by morally separating ourselves from the world and its polluters (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1). Ritually, contact with holy things or people can sanctify (Ex. 29:37; 30:29; 1 Cor. 7:14; but cf. Hag. 2:12).
(b) Honor and glorify God, his name, or Christ (Lev. 10:3; Isa. 8:13; 29:23; 58:13). “Hallowed be your name” (Mt. 6:9). In Marah, Moses and Aaron did not believe, to sanctify Jehovah in the eyes of the people; then Jehovah sanctified himself in them, punishing them (Num. 20:12-13). Jehovah will be “exalted in judgment, and the Holy God will be sanctified in righteousness” (Isa. 5:16).
One day, Israel’s gathering and repentance will sanctify Jehovah in the eyes of the nations (Ez. 20:41-43). The Father has sanctified his Son, and we are to sanctify Christ in our hearts (John 10:36; 1 Pet. 3:15).
(c) To sanctify oneself means to purify oneself, to separate oneself from all contamination, from all evil. In particular, this meaning is given to the noun “sanctification.” It is a command: “You will be holy, because I am holy” (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7). “For the will of God is your sanctification… God has called us… to sanctification” (1 Thes. 4: 3, 7; cf. Rom. 1: 7).
“He chose us… to be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4). “Be ye also holy in all your conduct” (1 Pet. 1:15, 16). It is necessary to sanctify oneself, to purify oneself, before presenting oneself to God for certain religious acts (Ex. 19:22; Jos. 3:5; 7:13; 1 Sam. 16:5; 2 Chron. 29:5; etc.).
Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, to purify us, separate us from evil and make us conform to the image of Christ and acceptable to God. Just as we cannot merit our salvation, we cannot sanctify ourselves through our own efforts.
It is God who purifies our hearts by faith (Acts 15:9), in response to our faith. It is He who sanctifies us (Ex. 31:13; Lev. 20:7-8). “And the God of peace himself sanctify you completely… who also will do so” (1 Thes. 5:23-24). The Gentiles are to be “a pleasing offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:16). “You have been sanctified… by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:11; 1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Thes. 2:13).
To sanctify us, the Holy Spirit uses above all the Word of truth, which He inspired, and prayer, which He also inspires in us (John 17:17; 15:3; Eph. 5:26; 1 Tim. 4:5; cf. 1 Pet. 1:2). The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ, who has become sanctification for us (1 Cor. 1:30). We have been sanctified in Him, and He has sanctified Himself for us (1 Cor. 1:2; John 17:19).
Above all, the Spirit reveals to us the capital truth that “we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10). It is his blood that purifies from all sin, after having obtained forgiveness for us (1 Jn. 1: 7, 9).
Ro. 6:3-4 shows us that after having died, in Christ, to sin, we can rise with Him and walk in newness of life, having “holiness as fruit” (Rom. 6:22). The entire chapter Romans 8, without using the term “sanctification,” reveals its secret: “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:2) must act in us and transform our lives.
Then we will no longer live under the dominion of the flesh, but under the discipline of the Spirit, who will put to death in us the actions of the body (Rom. 8:13). Paul speaks of the great mystery of the Lord’s dwelling in us, who thus wants to make us “perfect in Christ” (Col. 1:26-28).
Many conflicting theories have been formulated about sanctification. Following Wesley, certain interpreters see in it a “second blessing” that must follow conversion and that we must receive instantly by faith. They affirm that God then immediately purifies our hearts from his original sin, “from everything that drove us to evil.”
This doctrine comes dangerously close to perfectionism. At the opposite extreme are those Christians who teach that we will never get rid of the old man here below, and that we will always find ourselves in the pitiful state of Ro. 7. These authors have not understood the glorious solution presented in chapter. 8, as already briefly described in the previous paragraphs.
The saved person is liberated by entering into consciousness and enjoying the provision of the Spirit in him. This presence is the privilege of every child of God, who must then live according to the Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19).
Thus, although the eradication of the “old man” will truly only take place for the Christian either through death or through transformation in the rapture (cf. 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thes. 4:1417), the The believer has the privilege of walking in the power of new life in resurrection in Christ, and therefore of considering himself in practice as he already is positionally: dead to sin (cf. Rom. 6: Col. 3).
In this way, the believer can live a victorious life; However, it must be kept in mind in all cases that the Christian’s walk is continually sustained by the intercessory office of Christ in Heaven (see INTERCESSION). There is also provision “if anyone sins,” in Christ as Advocate (1 Jn. 1 :9-2:2).
Kept by the power of God unto salvation (1 Pet. 1:5), and with the Holy Spirit, who is able to sanctify us completely, and keep our spirit, soul, and body blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Christian can thus live a life pleasing to God.
And he has a powerful reason for this, because the Lord Jesus Christ will come “to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all who believe” (2 Thes. 1:10).