Sanctification ... How are the people of God sanctified? As I have already stated, our sanctification, like our redemption and justification, is the work of God almighty in the trinity of his sacred Persons. We are sanctified by God the Father in election, by God the Son in redemption, and by God the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Sanctification is not something we do for ourselves. It is something God does for us and in us. The words “sanctify,” “sanctified,” “sanctifieth,” and “sanctification” are used more than thirty times in the New Testament. We are said to be sanctified by the purpose of God, by the blood of Christ, by the Spirit of God, by faith in Christ, and by the Word of God. But never, not even once, are we said to sanctify ourselves. Sanctification is the work of God alone! A. All believers were sanctified by God the Father in eternal election, being set apart by God’s decree for him and separated unto him (Jude 1:1). — “Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.” This is the character of God’s distinguishing grace — It sets some people apart from others and sanctifies them unto the Lord. — We were secretly set apart for God in his secret, eternal decree of election before the world began. — We were legally set apart from Adam’s fallen race by the purchase of Christ at Calvary, when he ransomed us from the curse of the law. — And we were manifestly set apart and separated unto God by the effectual call of God the Holy Spirit in regeneration. The doctrine should be clear to all. Every believer has been, in this sense, eternally sanctified, completely set apart by God and for God. The practical importance of this glorious doctrine is this — That which has been set apart for God ought never be used for common purposes again. — “Ye are not your own. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). — And that which is set apart to God is under his constant protection and care (Hos. 2:18; Rom. 8:28). Beloved, we belong to the Lord our God. Let us therefore consecrate ourselves to him and serve him in all things (Rom 12:1-2). — “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”. - DF donfortner/sermon_notes/65_jude-series/jude%20003%20v01%20Sanctified%20by%20God%20the%20Father.htm
Posted on: Sun, 22 Jun 2014 02:15:54 +0000