Following this there are three things that we have to ask for: “Your name be sanctified,” “Your kingdom come,” “Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.” First we ask, “Your name be sanctified.” In the Bible, the words sanctification, holiness, and separation are the same word in Greek. It means to set apart a person or a thing unto God. Whether we set ourselves apart or are set apart by someone, being set apart means to be sanctified.
There are two aspects to our sanctification. The first is positional and objective. For example, men can be sanctified:
(1) Aaron and his sons. Exodus 28:41 says, “And shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” Here we have the sanctification of Aaron and his sons.
(2) The firstborn. Exodus 13:2 says, “Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.” Here we have the sanctification of the firstborn of Israel.
(3) The saints. Acts 9:13 says, “Lord, I have heard from many concerning this man, how many evil things he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem.” The term “saints” shows that the disciples are sanctified.
(4) The wife, the husband, and the children. First Corinthians 7:14 says, “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the brother; otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.” Here the husband and the wife are sanctified.
The Bible also mentions things being sanctified.
(1) Food. Leviticus 21:8 says, “You shall sanctify him, for he offers the food of your God.”
(2) Every creature of God. First Timothy 4:5 says, “For it [every creature of God] is sanctified through the word of God and intercession.” The above verses show us that both food and every creature of God can be sanctified.
Furthermore, the Bible also mentions places being sanctified.
(1) Jerusalem. Matthew 4:5 uses the phrase holy city, showing that Jerusalem is sanctified.
(2) The temple. Matthew 23:17 refers to the temple being sanctified.
(3) The altar. Matthew 23:17 and 19 say, “The temple which sanctifies the gold...the altar which sanctifies the gift.” This speaks first of the temple and altar being sanctified, and then of the gold and gift being sanctified through the sanctification of the temple and the altar.
The second aspect of sanctification is experiential and subjective. It is sanctifying God’s name through one’s life.
(1) The Lord Jesus. Matthew 4:10 says, “Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” God’s name is sanctified before Satan through the Lord Jesus.
(2) Enosh. Genesis 4:26 says, “And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” God’s name was sanctified before men through Enosh.
(3) Abraham. Genesis 14:22 says, “And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth.” God’s name was sanctified before the king of Sodom through Abraham. He called God the most high God.
Genesis 21:32-33, “Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba: then Abimelech rose up, and Phichol the chief captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines. And Abraham planted a grove in Beer-sheba, and called there on the name of the Lord, the everlasting God.” In verse 33 God’s name was again sanctified through Abraham. He called God the everlasting God.
(4) Isaac. Genesis 26:28 says, “And they [Abimelech, his friend Ahuzzath, and Phichol the chief captain of his army] said, We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee: and we said, Let there be now an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee.” God’s name was sanctified before Abimelech through Isaac.
(5) Jacob. Genesis 30:27 says, “And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favor in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake.” God’s name was sanctified before Laban through Jacob.
(6) Joseph. Genesis 39:9 says, “There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he [Potiphar] kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” God’s name was sanctified before Potiphar through Joseph.
(7) David. First Samuel 17:46 says, “This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcasses of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.” God’s name was sanctified before Goliath through David.
(8) Samson. Judges 16:28 says, “And Samson called on Jehovah and said, O Lord Jehovah, remember me, I pray; and strengthen me, I pray, this one time only, O God, that I may be avenged of the Philistines at once for my two eyes.” God’s name was sanctified before the Philistines through Samson.
(9) Elijah. In 1 Kings 18:37 Elijah said, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.” God’s name was sanctified before the priests of Baal through Elijah.
(10) Paul. In Acts 27:22-23 Paul stood and said, “And now I advise you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood by me.” The Lord’s name was sanctified before Paul’s companions through Paul.
Hence, sanctifying God’s name is making God’s name distinct in the ear of the hearer from all other names who are not God, such as the devil (John 8:44), the stomach (Phil. 3:19), and idols (Isa. 36:19). Sanctifying God’s name is to make His name distinct whenever it is mentioned.