Through the various aspects of the Spirit’s work which we have covered thus far, the believers are washed, sanctified, and justified. First Corinthians 6:11 says, “These things were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” This washing, sanctifying, and justifying are inward and in life. Inwardly the Spirit works to wash, sanctify, and justify the believers in life. First, we are washed from sinful things; second, we are sanctified, separated, unto God; and third, we are justified, accepted, by God.
In 1 Corinthians 6:11 the washing, sanctifying, and justifying are not by the blood in an objective way, as in 1 John 1:7; Hebrews 10:29; and Romans 3:24-25. Here we have the subjective washing, sanctifying, and justifying in the name of the Lord Jesus and in the Spirit. All these aspects of God’s salvation are accomplished in us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, in the person of the Lord, in organic union with the Lord through faith, and in the Spirit of God, that is, in the power and realization of the Holy Spirit. The name of the Lord Jesus is the person, and the person is the Spirit. We cannot separate the name of the Lord from the Spirit, for the Spirit is His person. According to chapters fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen of the Gospel of John, the name cannot be separated from the Spirit. The reason for this is that the name is the person, and the person is the Spirit. When we call, “O Lord Jesus,” the Lord comes. But when He comes to us, He is the Spirit. Paul experienced this. He knew that when he called on the Lord’s name, the Lord came to him as the Spirit. In the name and in the Spirit he experienced the subjective washing, sanctifying, and justifying. This also is our experience. When we call on the name of the Lord, the person comes, and this person is the Spirit. If we continue to call on the name of the Lord, enjoying His name and His Spirit, we shall be continually washed, sanctified, and justified by the Spirit.
The work of the Spirit in washing, sanctifying, and justifying us is actually the dispensing of the Spirit into us. The Spirit dispenses His element into us, and this dispensing of the Spirit is the washing, sanctifying, and justifying work of the Spirit. Therefore, this work of the Spirit is simply to dispense His element and essence into our being in a very subjective way.
The Spirit works in the believers to sanctify them, to separate them entirely for God’s eternal purpose. Romans 15:16 speaks of the Gentile believers being “sanctified in the Holy Spirit.” This is not objective, positional sanctification; it is subjective, dispositional sanctification. God has given His Holy Spirit to us to sanctify us, to separate us unto God for His purpose. Thus, the Holy Spirit is moving, working, and acting within us constantly to sanctify us.
Second Thessalonians 2:13 says, “God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit.” God has chosen us unto salvation in sanctification, and this sanctification is of the Spirit. God’s salvation is in sanctification. This means that God’s salvation involves a continuing process through which we are being made holy. As this process is taking place, we enjoy God’s saving power.
For us to be in sanctification means that we are in the process of being made holy. Day by day we are being sanctified. The One who sanctifies us is the Spirit. This is the reason the Bible speaks of the sanctification of the Spirit. All day long the Spirit is sanctifying us, applying to us what the Father has planned and what the Son has accomplished. We have such a practical, living, and subjective Sanctifier.
As far as sanctification is concerned 2 Thessalonians 2:13 is all-inclusive. Paul says here that God’s salvation is in the sanctification of the Spirit. This means that the part played in salvation by the Father and the Son are in the sanctification of the Spirit. Therefore, without the sanctification of the Spirit, there would be no way to apply what the Father and the Son have done for us. What the Father and the Son have done for us is applied to us by the Spirit. Paul refers to this application as sanctification of the Spirit. The salvation of the Triune God, therefore, is carried out in the sanctification of the Spirit.
Sanctification separates us unto God by putting a mark on us. This mark is actually the Triune God Himself. Whenever we are sanctified, we are marked with the Triune God. As a result, others can see the Triune God in us. Furthermore, this mark is increasing and becoming more intensified. Year after year, this mark is being wrought into us. This is the work of the Spirit in sanctification. By the sanctifying work of the Spirit we are being saved. Furthermore, in this way we live a holy life for the church life.
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