THE SANCTIFIED.
‘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.’—1 Cor. i. 2.
I hope it has been made clear that the original meaning of the word ‘to sanctify,’ was ‘to set apart as a holy thing unto God,’ and that the Levitical meaning of sanctification through blood was the cleansing from all legal impurity. It is obvious that both these divine acts clearly involve personal holiness.
That which is set apart by the call of God, and cleansed from all guilt, should clearly be kept holy and undefiled from the pollution both of the heart and of the world. Such persons should be like the vessels of the sanctuary: ‘sanctified and meet for the Master’s use.’
This leads us to that which is the ordinary meaning of the term in religious books: viz. personal holiness. By personal holiness is meant the sacred work of God the Holy Ghost within the soul; the reflection of the character of our Blessed Lord; the law put into the inward part, and written on the heart by the Spirit of God. This is the meaning of such texts as 1 Thess. v. 23: ‘The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ The separation is a past act, for if we are in Christ Jesus, we have been already separated unto God; but this is an abiding condition, for real holiness is a present matter of daily life. Now both these parts of sanctification are brought out in the words which I have read as our text, for it is addressed ‘to them that are,’ or have been, ‘sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.’ The first clause refers to the past act, and represents those believers as having been set apart unto God, or separated as a peculiar people unto Himself; the second describes their present condition as inseparable from their high calling; for, having been set apart, they are now called to be the saints of God. I need not stop to point out that the word ‘saints,’ is not limited in Sacred Scripture to those who are in heaven. Still less has it to do with the canonization of Rome, or the seclusion of a monastery. It describes the personal holiness of the Christian in common life, the habitual character of the man walking with God; as in those words of the Apostle Peter (1 Pet. i. 15): ‘Be ye holy;’ or be ye saints, ‘in all manner of conversation.’ So that our text means the same as if it had been written, ‘To them that have been set apart unto God in Christ Jesus their Saviour, and who, as the result of that sacred call, are now leading holy lives in His presence.’
My object this morning will be simply to trace the connexion between these two steps of God’s sacred work: the past separation unto Him, and the present personal holiness of character. And all I can say is, may the Lord help us in our own experience to understand both of them, and then we shall have no difficulty in perceiving how they are bound together in the work of Salvation!
We shall find them connected by a principle and a power.
I. A Principle. It is perfectly clear, as a matter of principle, that there ought to be holiness in all that is consecrated to God. He consecrated, or set apart unto Himself, the Sabbath day, and so He says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’ The Temple, like our own churches, was consecrated to God, and therefore we read, ‘Holiness becometh Thine house for ever.’ The vessels of the Temple were dedicated, or sanctified to His service, and therefore they should not be touched by unhallowed hands, and the words of sacred Scripture are, ‘Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.’ On these principles we none like to see a neglected church, a dishonoured Bible, or a careless attitude, in the house of God. On the same principles, we should all be profoundly humbled when unhallowed thoughts,—thoughts of the world, thoughts of vanity, of jealousy, or of self,—in any shape intrude into holy things, and corrupt those sacred hours which are set apart exclusively to God. But if this applies to consecration generally, how pre-eminently does it apply to such a consecration as that described in the text, in which we are said to be ‘sanctified in Christ Jesus.’ That sanctification is the introduction of the ruined sinner into a covenant union with the Son of God. If you have been thus sanctified in Christ Jesus, you no longer stand alone, to bear your own burden, or plead your own cause. You have been separated from the ruined world, and identified with the Lord Jesus; so that He represented you in bearing your curse when He suffered, and He now represents you at the right hand of the throne of God, while He pleads on your behalf. Thus you are cleansed from all legal guilt. You are sanctified by blood, and charged with no defilement. By the eternal covenant of God He is become your Head, so that in His death you died; in His life you live; in His acceptance you are justified; and in His glory you are glorified.
But, if you are thus separated unto such a union with Him, is there any room left for one moment’s doubt as to what ought to be your character? If you are set apart by Him into this covenant union with Himself, you are set apart into a oneness of mind, of will, and of interest. He represents you in heaven, and you represent Him on earth; as God sees you in Him, so the world sees Him in you. You bear His name; you are sealed with the seal of the covenant; you are made a peculiar people unto the Son of God: and I am sure we must all see the justice of those words of the Apostle Peter, ‘As He who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation.’
II. Power. But here lies the difficulty. You really wish to be holy, but you are not; you have endeavoured to overcome your temper, but it is still there; you have striven against wandering thoughts in prayer, but they still interfere most mournfully with your most sacred acts of worship; you wish, and you mean to be, unselfish, but you find selfishness continually cropping up, to your sorrow and vexation of spirit. Now, the question is,—How is this to be overcome? Your resolves will not do it, for you have made hundreds, and failed in them all; and no man on earth can do it for you, for the evil lies far too deep for the reach of man. What then is to be done? We may turn back to our text, and there learn the secret, for in those words, ‘In Christ Jesus,’ we are taught the power.