III. But we must hasten to our last subject: the Author of this most blessed change. This is distinctly said to be the Spirit. ‘The sanctification of the Spirit,’ as in 2 Thess. ii. 14.
Observe, in passing, how all the three persons of the Holy Trinity appear in the verse. There is the foreknowledge of God the Father, the sprinkling of the blood of the Son, and the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost.
It is from such passages as these that the answer in the Church Catechism is derived: ‘I believe in God the Holy Ghost, who sanctifieth me, and all the elect people of God.’ Every branch or department of sanctification is His work. The original call, the progressive struggle, and the final victory, are all alike by His power. It was when the Holy Ghost descended at Pentecost that ‘the Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved;’ and it is just in proportion as the same Holy Ghost puts forth His power now that souls are separated unto God. There is no real sanctification of any kind whatever unless it be the sanctification of the Spirit. If it is brought about by religious machinery, or any inferior agency, it is not the real thing, and will never lead to the real result. I am most anxious to press this upon you, for I think there is great danger of Christian people losing sight of it. Some people seem to think that everything depends on certain men or certain plans: but you cannot save souls by planning. We cannot bear this in mind too strongly with reference to those missions and mission preachers which are now exciting the deep interest of multitudes. I attach a very high value to those mission efforts: I have engaged in them myself, and I believe the Holy Ghost gave His blessing. But it is not a mission week, nor a mission preacher, that can sanctify or set apart souls unto God: it is God the Holy Ghost working in the heart, breaking down the old man, and constraining the soul to the obedience of the faith. Let no one then wait for a mission week or a revivalist preacher, in looking out for great results. The Holy Spirit is not limited, as some seem to think, to extraordinary means, or extraordinary agencies. It was when the Churches had settled down quietly in their quiet Christian life, that it was said of them that, ‘Walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, they were multiplied.’ So we may look for this sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost to accompany our quiet Christian work; and I do look for it, and more than that, I thank God for having granted it in a most remarkable manner in these latter days. We will not wait then for some future great occasion. No, indeed: we will not wait even for the morrow. We will look for the mighty power of the Holy Ghost now; this day, this hour, before we part. How many are there amongst us still unsaved! How many that have not yet surrendered to their Lord! Oh, come then, Mighty Spirit: come! Come in power: come at once! Come to subdue,—come to quicken,—come to sanctify,—come to save!
LEGAL CLEANSING.
SANCTIFICATION THROUGH BLOOD.
‘For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?’—Heb. ix. 13, 14.
It is impossible to think too much of the most precious blood of our most blessed Lord and Saviour. It throws its sacred power over every department of our Christian life. Our pardon, our peace, our communion, and our holiness, are all dependent on that most precious blood. Lose sight of the blood of Christ, and you lose sight of the very essence of your Christianity.
Our subject to-day is Sanctification through blood. There are three passages in the Epistle to the Hebrews in which we find a reference to such a sanctification: viz., x. 29,—‘Hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing;’ xiii. 12,—‘Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate;’ and ix. 13,—‘If the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?’
I think we must all admit that these passages do not convey to us the idea of either separation unto God, or of imparted holiness by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. They seem rather to refer to the legal result of blood-shedding, or sacrifice. So I believe they do; and if we would know the real meaning of sanctification in the Word of God, we must not be carried away by the recurrence of a familiar word, but pause to study carefully its real use in this Epistle.
Our first duty then will be to examine what is meant in these passages by the Sanctification through blood. And after having ascertained its meaning, we may proceed to consider its wondrous power.