7 July2024
LIVING A SANCTIFIED LIFE
(Going Forward in Christ: GFIC 27)
In His Intercessory Prayer for His disciples, the Lord Jesus pleaded with the Father: “Sanctify them by Your Truth. Your Word is Truth” (John 17:17). After one has believed in Jesus and is “born again” (i.e. “regeneration”) of the Holy Spirit, the next important step in our spiritual life and progress is sanctification. Sanctification is the process of growing in holiness in our relationship with the Holy God. This is absolutely essential, as the Bible says, “Without holiness no one shall see the Lord” (Heb.12:14). We are to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil.2:12), so that we may walk in the fear of God.
There are two steps to grow in practical sanctification.
Firstly, we are to “mortify” or “put to death” our flesh or old sinful nature. This is to die to self or be “crucified” with Christ (Gal.2:20). In Christ we become “a new creation, and old thangs are passed away and all things become new” (2 Cor.5:17). Therefore, we must “deny” the sinful self and surrender totally to Christ as Lord of life.
Secondly, we are to live the Spirit-filled life. The Spirit of Life has given us Divine life by His power of regeneration (“born again”). We have been “raised with Christ” (Col.3:1) and His resurrection life resides in us; and therefore, we should have victory over sin and evil habits.
The verse above says that we are to be sanctified through God’s Word. God’s Word is “living and powerful” (Heb.4:12) and will keep us from and strengthen us against sinning (Psalm 119:9-11). That is because Christ said that “The Words that I speak to you are Spirit and Life” (John 6:63). The promises of God’s Word enable us to be “partakers of the Divine nature to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4).
God’s Word is Truth. Christ said that true disciples “hold on to the Truth” that He teaches and that “the Truth will set us free” (John 8:31-32). The devil is a liar and a deceiver and he controls the whole world (1 John 5:19). Being the “god of this world,” he blinds unbelievers with his lies and deception and leads them into sin and rejection of the Truth {2 Cor.4:4). God’s Word of Truth will enable us to discern his lies and protect us from error and set us free from all deception of the devil.
Because God’s Word of Truth is living a powerful, it will also set us free from all bondages of sin and fear. Hence, it is so important for the believer not only to read and meditate on God’s Word daily but also to memorise them. That is why our Lord said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt.4:4). We “eat” bread (food) into our stomach and then it is digested and transformed into nutrients to keep us alive and the body to function effectively. In the same way, we must “eat” God’s Word by meditation and keep them in our hearts and spirit man.
May we be faithful and disciplined in reading and meditating on His Word daily.
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