Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:17-18 In the verses before these, Paul emphasizes the need for separation of the clean from the unclean, the godly from the ungodly, and the just from the unjust. Many believers respond to this in a legalistic way and take great pleasure for themselves in being separated from the world. They make this their criteria of spiritual maturity for themselves and others, when in actuality, they are only taking pride in THEIR accomplishment. This attitude comes across as being spiritually superior to others. Paul has something different in mind in these verses. When we are saved and converted, God begins to draw us to Himself, to an intimate relationship, so that we begin the process of BECOMING conformed to the likeness of His Son” (Romans 8:29). Rather than our being focused on being separated from the world, God wants us to be SEPARATED UNTO HIM! Set apart FOR Him! Being humbly responsive to His working and leading. This growing process is HIS doing, not ours! HE is the potter, we are only the clay. He is the creator who now wants to mold and shape our life for His glory. We are all works in progress…vessels being cleansed, shaped, and created to magnify His Name. We have absolutely no reason to boast or be proud of anything in our spiritual life…HE DOES IT ALL…“We are HIS WORKMANSHIP created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10). Separation from the world, with all of its superficial ideals, is only a by-product when our lives are totally yielded and set apart to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Being sanctified means to be “set apart to the Lord, where HE is our sole authority! We surrender to Him the rights of control of our life to His lordship. Paul says, “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). The creative developing of our spiritual life is the work of the Holy Spirit and if we take credit for it or take pride in it then it is not His work but ours! The Lord reveals an understanding of the Scriptures, LEADS us in the paths of righteousness, and EMPOWERS us so we can “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). God has given to us “exceeding great and precious promises, that by these we may be partakers of the DIVINE nature.” We must be willing to be set apart unto God for these promises to be a reality in our daily walk, and produce holiness in us. In direct proportion to how we surrender ourselves to His Lordship will be the sanctifying effect produced in us. In this process, we begin to mature in our faith and grow in grace…being molded the image of His Son. Separation from the world is so very often the effort and work of the flesh that manifests itself in pride in its accomplishments. With that pride then comes criticism and belittling others because they havent achieved your level of so called holiness. True sanctification is the opposite of this. It is an humbling of self whereby we surrender our heart and life without reservation to the potters hands so that God will make us what HE wants us to be! Sanctification is GOD WORKING IN US! Allow God to do His sanctifying work in you. You will be brought into an intimate, relationship with the Lord…walking in communion with Him…and a growth in grace that will bring you to spiritual maturity. SANCTIFIED IN CHRIST. May the whole of your personality be filled with the Holy Spirit and with the fulness of Christ!
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 12:53:08 +0000
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