Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience
Sanctification: Holiness and Obedience
Sanctification is the gracious work of God in setting the believer apart for Himself and for service in the world. Sanctification has three aspects to it. The theologians call this positional sanctification, practical, or progressive, sanctification, and perfect sanctification.
Positional Sanctification
Positional sanctification means that, in Christ, we have been set apart to belong to God and to serve Him. Positional sanctification never changes. First Corinthians 1:2 says, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their’s and our’s.”‘
You can hardly call the people in the church at Corinth godly people. Some of them were getting drunk; some of them were living in immorality; some of them were suing each other. And yet Paul addressed them as a church (called-out people), sanctified in Christ Jesus. That is positional sanctification; it never changes.
Practical, or Progressive, Sanctification
Practical, or progressive, sanctification has to do with our everyday life. Our Lord Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Since we have a holy position in Christ, we should live like it.
Perfect Sanctification
Perfect sanctification, of course, will take place when we see the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming, and we shall be like Him, “for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). These three aspects of sanctification relate to each other. Because we know we have been set apart by God and because we know that Jesus is coming and we shall be like Him, we want to keep our lives clean today. We want to seek to become more like the Lord Jesus Christ.
One theologian said, “It is one thing for sin to live in us; another for us to live in sin.” We can’t help the fact that our old nature is sinful nature. But God has given us a new nature, and this new nature enables us to live a holy life. We are talking about practical, or progressive, sanctification day by day becoming more like the Saviour, day by day overcoming sin and temptation, and day by day growing stronger in spiritual things.
I want to focus on II Corinthians 7:1: “Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” In this verse, we have a series of dual truths. If we understand these truths, it will help us in our progressive sanctification.
Two Aspects of Sin
To begin with, Paul pointed out that there are two different aspects to sin: There are sins of the flesh and there are sins of the spirit. “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (II Cor. 7:1). In other words, we have here the Prodigal Son (he was guilty of sins of the flesh) and the elder brother (he was guilty of sins of the spirit). When David committed adultery with Bathsheba, that was a sin of the flesh. When David numbered the people in pride and rebelled against God, that was a sin of the spirit. There are sins of action, and there are sins of attitude.
Sins of the Flesh
Let’s talk about these sins of the flesh. By the flesh, of course, Paul meant the old nature. When you and I were born again, God gave us a new nature, but He did not change the old nature. You and I are capable of sinning today. We don’t want to, because the desires of the new nature have lifted us higher. But now we see what sin is really like. The Word of God and the Spirit of God have revealed to us the awfulness of sin, and we want nothing to do with it. But we are capable of sinning.
Everything the Bible has to say about the flesh is negative. “It is the Spirit who gives life,” said the Lord Jesus, “the flesh profits nothing” (see John 6:63). We are to have no confidence in the flesh (see Phil. 3:3). The flesh is that which produces sin. Out of the heart of man (the old nature) comes all sorts of evil things-lying and lust and all the things that wreck our lives and ruin our testimonies. Galatians 5:19-21 has recorded the works of the flesh, and 17 different sins are mentioned there. In Romans, 1:23 different sins are mentioned. The flesh is very productive when it comes to producing sin, and the flesh cannot be changed. There are sins of the flesh, and we need to wash or cleanse ourselves, from all filthiness of the flesh. Sins of the Spirit
There are also sins of the spirit. You and I may not be guilty of drunkenness, adultery, gluttony, or laziness, but how about pride, stubbornness, or criticism? G. Campbell Morgan used to call the sins of the spirit “sins in good standing.” You have to be careful about them. You may not be a Prodigal Son, but you might be an elder brother-so critical that you won’t fellowship with your brother. There are two aspects of sin, and we have to deal with them the filthiness of the flesh and also the filthiness of the spirit.
Two Aspects of Holiness
Second Corinthians 7:1 reveals that there are also two aspects to holiness. There is a negative aspect and a positive aspect. Negatively, “let us cleanse ourselves.” Positively, “perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” Cleansing
“Let us cleanse ourselves” means once and for all let us cleanse out of our lives the defilement of sin. In fact, Paul wrote about this in II Corinthians 6:14-18. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (v. 14). This is a farm picture. You don’t yoke an ox and an ass together. They have two different temperaments, and they are not going to be able to work together. Believers should not be yoked together with unbelievers in marriage or in business.
“For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?” (v. 14). The word “fellowship” is a commercial term-it means partnership. Righteousness cannot be in partnership with unrighteousness. “What communion hath light with darkness?” (v. 14). The word “communion” means to have in common. It is a family term. We do not have anything in common with unsaved people other than our humanity, because we are light and they are darkness. We have righteousness and they have unrighteousness.
“What concord hath Christ with Belial [Satan]?” (v. 15). The word “concord” here is a musical term-it means “symphony,” it has to do with harmony. We aren’t even playing in the same orchestra with the unsaved! We aren’t following the same conductor or reading the same score. Therefore, how can we ever make music together? It is such a sad thing when believers try to manufacture harmony with unbelievers. You can’t make a beautiful home that way.
“Or what part [real estate term, meaning a part of land] hath he that believeth with an infidel [an unbeliever]? What agreement [political term, meaning voting together] hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (vv. 15,16).
So the first aspect of holiness is to cleanse ourselves. This doesn’t mean we become isolationists. We have to live in the world but not like the world. We are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world; we have to have contact but not contamination. This is what the Bible calls separation-setting ourselves apart and saying, “I am not going to vote with unbelievers. I don’t agree with them. I am not going to try to make music with unbelievers, because I just don’t have the same conductor that they have.” Separation, not isolation, not insulation, but biblical separation means cleansing ourselves.
Often we pray, “O God, cleanse me.” And God comes back and says, “Why don’t you cleanse yourself? Get those records out of your record library. Get those books and magazines out of your library. Why don’t you cleanse yourself? Put away these things and be separate.” Isaiah 1:16 says, “Wash you, make you clean.”
Living in His Presence
The positive follows: “Perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Cor. 7:1). It isn’t enough to be negative like the Pharisees and not do certain things. We have to be positive. We have here a consistent, constant process. Holiness is what God is, and as we grow in holiness, we become more like God.
In the Old Testament tabernacle, there was a laver. The laver made cleansing possible. That’s negative. But there was also a Holy of Holies. The priest was only allowed to enter there once a year. You and I can enter into God’s presence at any time. In fact, we should live in His presence. laver cleanses us, but being in fellowship with God in the Holy of Holies perfects us. Don’t be afraid of holiness. Holiness is not this “brittle piety” that some people manifest-a religiosity that is so artificial. No, holiness is wholeness. Holiness is to your soul what health is to your body. There are two aspects to sin sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit. And there are two aspects to holiness cleansing ourselves and perfecting holiness.
Two Aspects of Obedience
Finally, there are two aspects of obedience-two motivations in this verse.
Love of God
Why should we cleanse ourselves? Why should we perfect holiness? Because of God’s love. “Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved” (II Cor. 7:1). What promises? “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (6:17,18). Notice the promises here.
When you were saved, God became your Father. But He cannot be a Father to you if you are disobedient. We parents long to love our children and share the very best with them, but sometimes they won’t let us. So the promise is given that God will receive us into a deeper fellowship if we are obedient. He will be a Father to us, and we will be His sons and daughters. Not only is His love available to us, but His power is also available to us, for He is the Lord Almighty. He promises to receive us. He promises to bless us. He promises a deeper fellowship with Him through the Word of God and through the Holy Spirit.
Listen to John 14:21-23: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” That is a deeper fellowship with God because we are cleansing ourselves and perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Fear of God
The first aspect of obedience is love; the second is fear-“perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (II Cor. 7:1). We don’t have just God’s promises; we also have God’s discipline. If we do not walk in separation, God has to discipline us. He does not want us to become prisoners; He wants us to be sons and daughters who walk with Him. He says, “Come out, be separate, touch not the unclean thing, and I will be a Father to you” (see 6:17). We do this in the fear of God.
There is a sweet, deep fellowship with God that is so precious. There is also a walk with God that demands fear and reverence. We ought to reverence our Father in heaven because it is He who has commanded us to be holy. This is practical, progressive sanctification-being aware of the sins of the flesh and of the spirit, being diligent to cleanse ourselves and perfect holiness. We are being motivated by the love of God because of His promises and by the fear of God because of His discipline. “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”