“Christ Jesus, who has been made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it has been written: “The one boasting, let him boast in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:30-31
“Let him boast in the Lord.” we in ourselves have nothing to boast of, God through Christ has done everything for us, from redemption to sanctification. Redemption is Christ is the payment for our sins, Righteousness is being faultless, [Christ’s perfect walk in the law of God is credited to us], and Sanctification is to be consecrated, that is through Christ we are kept unstained from the world. James says, “Pure and undefiled religion before the God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their tribulation; to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27 [simply put to do the works of righteousness and be kept from sin.]
Paul gives a clearer indication of what sanctification mean in Thessalonians; “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: You are to abstain from sexual immorality; each of you to know how to win mastery over his own vessel in holiness and honour, not in the passion of lust, as also the Gentiles, not knowing God;” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 He shows that our sanctification is holding our vessel [body] in holiness and honour. That is keeping ourselves from sin, illustrated here through sexual immorality. And as contrasts he uses those who are in the world, and says, they do the things they do because of the they do not know God. We can then say, we through the knowledge of God’s will are meant to keep ourselves from everything that defiles. Jesus prayed for His disciples for their sanctification on these terms:
“I do not ask that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from evil [one]. They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world; and for them I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.” John 17:15-19
How did Jesus sanctify Himself? “For consider fully the One having endured such great hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you shall not grow weary, fainting in your souls. Not yet have you resisted unto blood, struggling against sin.” Hebrews 12:3-4 Jesus sanctified Himself by resisting sin, not giving to the ways of the world, to the point of shading His blood. And it also says, “For it was fitting to Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, having brought many sons to glory, to make perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. Forboth the One sanctifying and those being sanctified are all of one,” Hebrew 2:10-11 That is Jesus Christ took on our nature [of flesh and blood] that we through Him may be sanctified.
“to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those having been sanctified by faith in Me.” Acts 26:18
Jesus is our sanctification, just as we have believed Him to be the payment for our sins, and the fulfilment of the righteous requirement of the law, we must also have faith in Him to keep us from every evil way. “For in that He Himself has suffered, having been tempted, He is able to help those being tempted.” Hebrews 2:18 That is He will provide us strength, as to aid us in our weakness. Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians, “No temptation has seized you, except what is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will also providewith the temptation the escape, to be able to endure it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 That is God is with us in this life to help us to live right.
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved, entirely blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One calling you is faithful, who also will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
Both in John and Thessalonians, sanctification is associated with being kept blameless, that is God will keep us from the evil one. Now our spirit is made alive with Christ, our body given life through Him who dwells in us. However our mind needs work, it needs to be renewed, it needs to break free from the mindset of the world. In this world, the spirit of the evil one is prevalent, it deceives, and seeks to cause an offence. So, Jesus says, “Sanctify [Consecrate] them by the truth; Your word is truth.” It is through the knowledge of God, through His word, our minds are renewed, we are separated from the ways of the world. “do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, for you to prove what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2
While we were in the world [in the flesh], because of the spirit of the world that was in us we needed to be instructed not do things, “the law was given to the lawless.” However, now we have His Spirit, His righteous nature in us, we are instructed to do the works of righteousness. That is through the perfection of our thoughts, being brought inline with the nature of God that is at work in us. If our thoughts are inline with Him as to have the mind of Christ, we can walk knowing we have been perfected, to the stature of the measure of the fullness of Christ. If our thoughts are inline with God, then we are in opposition to the ways of world, its ways do not hold sway over us, we are sanctified, made holy, set apart.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all having been unveiled in face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:16-18
[Knowledge of God and the Spirit of God]: Paul writes here that we are being transformed into the image of the Lord by the Spirit of God. The point he makes is the Spirit of God is working with us to make us into the image of Christ. The mirror we hold is the word of God, “the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant” 2 Corinthians 3:14 However, we with unveiled face are able to look into the word of God and see Jesus Christ. And as we grow in the knowledge of the Son of God, the Spirit of the Lord is working to transform us to the very same image. Paul in his letter to the Philippians, gives insight to the part he plays in working with the Spirit of the Lord to obtain this very purpose. He shows how he has cast away as rubbish all things that were accounted to his credit through the law and has embraced the righteousness of God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Now he directs his purpose to the pursuit of this goal; “to be conformed to the image of the Son of God.” which he pursues through, “to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” Philippians 3:10
[Know Him and the Power of His resurrection]: Paul in most of his letters makes mention of what his prayer is for all those he ministered. To the Ephesians he prayed saying, may God give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, to know the ultimate purpose of God’s call: which is to be made into the likeness of Christ, to know your inheritance in Christ: what God has freely given to us in Him, and that you might know His resurrection power working toward those who believe. To the Philippians, he prayed they may grow in knowledge and discernment, that is they may approve the perfect will of God and be fruitful in righteousness. The same thing he exhorted the Romans for, that they be renewed in mind to prove the good and perfect will of God. To the Colossians also, he prays that they may be filled in the wisdom of His will in all spiritual understanding that they may walk pleasing the Lord, being fruitful and increasing in the knowledge of God. His power working to strengthens us with all might. The very thing he is seeking and striving for is what he wants God to bless them with [for which he sees no greater pursuit].
The essence of the growth in Christ is knowing Him, knowing His will, which translates to works of righteousness, to bearing much fruit. And what we behold, the Spirit of God makes us into according to the resurrection power that raised Christ and sat Him far above all in His glory. The resurrection power he is speaking of is the transforming power of God at work in us. Paul in his letter to the Philippians equates his pursuit, “attain to the resurrection from the dead,” to be the same thing as to being perfected. This transforming work of God is accomplished in us according to the knowledge of God we have attained, to the level of enlightenment of our inheritance in Christ. Therefore to know the power of His resurrection is, to know the transforming power of God, Paul is not speaking of being raised from the dead on that day but being formed into the very image of Christ now.
[The fellowship of Christ’s suffering, being conformed to His death]: Christ died to sin, and He suffered hostility from sinners. In Romans it says, “For that which He died, He died to sin once for all; but that which He lives, He lives to God.” Romans 6:10 and we likewise are to consider ourselves to be dead to sin. Peter says, “Therefore Christ having suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same mind, because the one having suffered in the flesh is done with sin, so as to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer to men’s desires, but to the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-3 And adds because of this, he says they will speak evil of you. And Paul also writes, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12 That is the more we are confirmed to the image of the Son of God, the less we resemble the world, and become at odds with it and the world will treat us as it has treated HIm. “‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” John 15:20
Now, Paul says, “Not that already I have obtained it or already have been perfected, but I am pursuing, if also I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12 To be perfected is to be brought to fullness of the measure of Christ [Ephesians 4:13]. This he says, I have not yet attained to, but I strive to obtain it, that His purpose for which He has laid hold of me, may be accomplished. “He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son,” Romans 8:29
Therefore, sanctification is a process, from babes to maturity through the knowledge of God by His Spirit. And Paul exhorts us to act our age, to the level of maturity of the knowledge of the Son God. “Nevertheless, to that which we have attained, we are to walk by the same.” Philippians 3:16 James also exhorts us saying, “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves,” James 1:22 that is if we do not do the things we know we ought to do, then the word of God has become of no effect in us, and we have forgotten the manner of person [the likeness of Christ] we were meant to resemble. However he says, “But the one having looked intently into the perfect law, that of freedom, and having continued in it, not having been a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work—this one will be blessed in his work.” James 1:25
[What place do we give individual effort?]: Paul in Romans 7, writes of the struggle of the one who knew God’s will and approving of it yet being held helpless, unable to do them because of the spirit of sin that is at work in his body. But being born again into the kingdom of God, the Spirit at work in us is the Spirit of God. As we renew our mind, growing in the knowledge of God, approving His will, we are given strength to walk in it. That is sin has no power over us to make us it’s slave, and we are free to give ourselves to the work of righteousness. As mentioned above, “Let him who boast, boast in the Lord.” Our strength is not in ourselves, but in God who dwells in us. When making this point he does so including wisdom, righteousness, redemption and sanctification; in all this things he says our boast is to be the Lord not of ourselves.
James says “Therefore subject yourselves to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7 We can read his statement along with Peter’s who says, “Be humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time, having cast all your anxiety upon Him, because with Him there is care about you. Be sober-minded; watch. Your adversary the devil prowls about as a roaring lion seeking whom to devour, whom you should resist, firm in the faith, knowing the same sufferings to be accomplished in your brotherhood throughout the world.” 1 Peter 5:6-9
The point they both make is for us to humble ourselves before God and to resist the devil in faith. Peter show what it means to be humble before God, is to cast your care upon Him. Paul writing of Israel’s failure in obtaining righteousness, says “[they] seeking to establish the own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God.” Romans 10:3 The point is this, in this walk of sanctification, it is knowing our own shortcoming and recognising the power of God at work in us to help us do the very thing, is what matters “sanctified by faith in Me.” We do not overcome the devil striving against him in the flesh, if we do we have already failed. “For everyone having been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory having overcome the world: our faith.” 1 John 5:4 It is faith in the power of God to assist us in our weakness we are able to overcome the world and temptations.
- “For we do not have a high priest not being able to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one having been tempted in all things by the same way, without sin. Therefore we should come with boldness to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and may find grace for help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:15-16
The Lord speaking of Zerubbabel when building the temple in Jerusalem said, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.” Zechariah 4:6 And we are the temple of the Lord, and are being built up by His Spirit, and just as they had to lay one stone upon another we also corporate with Him to that effect. Faith without works is dead!
Bread Bait. 
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