Getting Job-ed
“Now I am coming to You, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy completed in them. I have given them your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. I sanctify myself for them, so that they also may be sanctified by the truth.” John 17:13-19 (CSB)
In this passage, Jesus is praying to God the Father on behalf of His disciples. In his prayer, Jesus asks for three things: “that they may have my joy completed in them”, “that You protect them from the evil one”, and “Sanctify them by the truth.” What is interesting here is that the third request (Sanctify them by the truth) seems to be the way by which the first two requests are to come about. I read this as Christ saying that as we are sanctified we have Christ’s joy completed in us and as we are sanctified we are protected from the evil one.
Sanctification
So, what is sanctification? Sanctification is defined as “the action of making something holy”. While textbook definitions are great, I typically prefer to find a simpler definition. As we are sanctified, we are becoming more like Christ. Thus, it’s easier for me to get a grasp on sanctification when I think about it as becoming more like Christ, who is perfectly holy (Luke 1:35).
How are we to become more Christ-like? First, we must know who Christ is. (See the previous ‘Knowing God’ articles). Sanctification cannot begin until we are reborn of the Spirit in Christ (John 3:1-21). Paul says in Romans 6:20-23 (CSB):
“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness. So what fruit was produced then from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God, you have your fruit, which results in sanctification – and the outcome is eternal life! For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Right here Scripture makes it clear that we cannot be sanctified (becoming more like Christ) until we are set free from being slaves of sin. We are not set free from sin until we know and love who Christ truly is. Jesus is the Son of God, who gave Himself up as a sacrifice to atone for our sins, and who rose from the dead to ascend into Heaven to be with the Father (Romans 3:21-25).
In order to be reborn of the Spirit, we must also be known by God as we saw in the prior article (see the article ‘Knowing God is being Known by God‘). How can we be sure that we are known by Christ? We hear his voice and follow His call. What I find amazing and am so thankful for is that God left us an entire book full of His voice and His word. We do not have to guess or live a life based on our own faulty intuition. As we will see here shortly, we have truth we can follow in His word.
How are we Sanctified?
So, after we are reborn of the Spirit, how are we further sanctified? (As Christians we know sanctification is a process that will not end until we die and are with God in heaven) Jesus gives us the answer in John 17:17 (CSB), “Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.” God’s Word transforms us to become more like Christ. Through reading and studying Scripture, we are able to know God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit more intimately. Through loving God with our mind (see ‘Knowing God Part 1‘) by studying his Word and desperately wanting to know Him more, we are transformed so that we can live our lives as God intended. Scripture shows us this in Romans 12:1-2 (CSB) which says, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
We Christians are also sanctified by the Holy Spirit. John 16:13 (CSB) says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears…” We see here, the Holy Spirit speaks the Word of God, which is truth. As we have already established in John 17:17, we are sanctified by the Word of God. Thus, we know the Holy Spirit puts us through the process of making us more like Christ. For even more evidence, Galatians 5:22-25 (CSB) says:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”
The fruit of the Spirit certainly sounds Christ-like to me.
Conclusion
Through this series, we’ve seen that we must know who Christ is and we must also be known by Him. After this mutual, deep relationship begins with Christ we have eternal life. We start to become more Christ-like. We begin to love God with our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:36-40). As we love God more, we will have a greater desire to know God more deeply. And we will have a greater desire to study His Word so that we may hear His voice and follow the good Shepherd.
-Nash Ballinger
