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CHAPTER 15
SANCTIFICATION
Introduction
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of
God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your
spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then
you will be able to test and approve what God's
will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
(Romans 12:1-2, NIV).
Keep in mind that Paul is writing to born-again believ-
ers in the above passage. Paul is saying, "God has trans-
formed your spirits. Now, you must sanctify your bodies and
minds."
The English words, "sanctify," "holy," "holiness,"
"saints," and "sanctification," come from a single root
word in New Testament Greek. The adjective form HAGIOS is
translated "saint" 60 times and occurs over 200 times in the
New Testament. (Earle, WORD MEANINGS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT,
p. 18).
The primary meaning is "to be set apart to God." The
secondary meaning is "to be set apart from sin." God's
nature is basically HOLY:
1. HOLINESS. God is absolutely separate and
exalted above all his creatures, and he is equally
separate from all moral evil and sin. In the first
sense, his holiness is not really an attribute
that is coordinate with the other attributes,
but is rather coextensive with them all. It
denotes the perfection of God in all that he is.
In the second sense, it is viewed as the eternal
conformity of his being and his will. . . . .
Holiness occupies the foremost rank among the
attributes of God. (Henry C. Thiessen, LECTURES
IN SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY, Edited by Vernon D.
Doerksen (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 1979), p. 84).
Because God is holy, we are commanded to be holy:
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy
in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, be-
cause I am holy." (1 Peter 1:15-16, NIV).
Man's Part: Active Faith and Obedience
God will not force the believer to sanctify his body--
this is the responsibility of the believer. The believer
must care for his body and not abuse it. He must eat
properly. He must rest and work in proper balance. He must
not abuse drugs or harm his body in any way.
The believer must also use his body in fulfilling God's
plan for his life. He must not use his body to tear down
the work of God. Old habits of immorality and sinful
practices must be replaced with obedience to the leading of
the Holy Spirit and to the principles of the Bible.
Also, the believer is to renew his mind. This includes
a deliberate choice to receive God's will continuously--as a
matter of practice. This set of the will leads one to
"reprogram" his mind with the Word of God. This process
will move one from humanistic, worldly thinking into "think-
ing God's thoughts after him."
God's Part: The Supernatural
The believer cannot do God's part in the sanctification
process and yet God's part may be hindered by the believer
not doing his part. Once the believer has a clear under-
standing of both the human and divine roles, he can do his
part. One does not need to worry about God's part--God
never fails.
God's responsibility concerning the human body is
scripturally defined. First, he designed and created the
body. The human body is a marvelous machine now--what must
it have been before the fall? Science is pushing back
shrouds of ignorance concerning the body and revealing more
and more about God's crowning creation.
God made the body to heal and maintain itself. However,
the LORD does transcend his laws--the ones we know--at times
to feed the body, heal the body and transport the body. The
Israelites, Elijah and the followers of Jesus were all fed
supernaturally. (Exodus 16:4-21; 1 Kings 19:6-8; Mark 8:1-
9, respectively). Daniel and Jesus were both physically
strengthened by supernatural means. (Daniel 10:18; Matthew
4:11; respectively).
Elijah outran the king's chariot and Philip was trans-
ported in the Spirit. (1 Kings 18:46; Acts 8:39; respec-
tively). Healing will be covered in a later chapter.
The Holy Spirit both quickens and heals the mind. Jesus
told his disciples that they would be given words to speak
when before authorities. The discourses of Peter, Stephen
and Paul are examples of this quickening. (Matthew 10:16-20;
Acts 2:14-36; Acts 6:8-7:60; Acts 22:30-23:10;respectively).
Jesus also healed brain/mind diseases. (Matthew 4:23-24).
How does sanctification of the body and mind affect
one's self-image and self-esteem? In our American culture,
physical beauty is the leading factor in self-esteem, fol-
lowed by intelligence. (Dobson, HIDE OR SEEK, p. 34). These
values change when one is reprogrammed with the Word of God,
causing a resultant rise in self-esteem. Living in obedi-
ence to the internalized Word of God will cause one's con-
science (1) to function right and (2) to "tell" one that he
is a better person, thereby raising self esteem.
Responsible living will also effect a positive change
in the personality, bringing a corresponding rise in self-
esteem.
ASSIGNMENT: DETERMINE, WITH THE HELP OF THE LORD, TO
LIVE A MORE HOLY LIFE.
END