Concerning the proper understanding of holiness, I have been helped by the writings of Brother Nee. More than fifty years ago, I read a booklet of his in which he says that righteousness is God’s way of doing things, holiness is God’s nature, and love is God’s heart. That word concerning holiness being God’s nature led me into a new field of exploration in the Word. During the past fifty years, I have been exploring the biblical field of holiness.
Now I see that holiness, sanctification, has both a positional and a dispositional aspect. The Brethren emphasized positional sanctification as illustrated by the gold in the temple and the gift on the altar. In this kind of sanctification, neither the gold nor the gift is changed in nature; it is changed only in position. The Brethren, however, did not see the dispositional aspect of sanctification, the sanctification that takes place in our disposition, in our being. According to the Bible, sanctification is a matter both of position and of disposition. Hence, we need positional sanctification and dispositional sanctification as well.
The books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians are concerned with a holy life for the church life. In 1 Thessalonians 3:13 Paul says, “That He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” What does it mean for our hearts to be established blameless in holiness? When we read these words in 1 Thessalonians, we may take them for granted and assume that we understand them. We should not take for granted that we understand this matter. Surely for our hearts to be established blameless in holiness involves dispositional sanctification. It is not merely positional separation or sinless perfection.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Paul says that the will of God is our sanctification, and in verse 7, that God has called us in sanctification. This is the continuation of his word regarding sanctification in 1 Thessalonians 3. At the end of 1 Thessalonians, in chapter five, verse 23, Paul says, “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Certainly this is a further development of holiness or sanctification.
First Peter 1:2 says, “According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” Here we have the foreknowledge of the Father, the sanctification of the Spirit, and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. This verse raises a significant doctrinal question: How can the sanctification by the Spirit come before the sprinkling of the blood of Christ? Theologically speaking, the sprinkling of the blood must precede the sanctification of the Spirit. But in this verse the order is reversed. According to the first chapter of 1 Peter, the blood of Christ redeems us not from sin, but from our vain manner of life received by tradition (v. 18).
Recently, as I have been considering 1 Peter 1, I have seen that this chapter is concerned with the operation of the Triune God on His elect for their participation in His full salvation. In 1 Peter 1:2 we see the Triune God, for this verse speaks of the election of the Father, according to His foreknowledge, the sanctification of the Spirit, and the sprinkling by the blood of Jesus Christ. This is the operation of the Triune God.
Beginning with verse 3 and continuing through verse 12, Peter gives a long blessing, a well-speaking regarding the Father who has regenerated us to a living hope. Here we have the operation of the Father. This chapter goes on to speak of the blood of Jesus Christ redeeming us. This is the operation of the Son. Furthermore, this chapter speaks of being purified through the Spirit (v. 22). This is the operation of the Spirit. Redemption and the sprinkling of the blood of Christ are applied to us by the Holy Spirit. Moreover, according to 1 Peter 1:12, the gospel is preached through the Spirit. Therefore, in this chapter we surely see the Triune God operating on His elect, His chosen people, so that they may participate in His full salvation.
This operation of the Triune God revealed in 1 Peter 1 has a twofold result. First, it results in a holy life. Verse 15 says, “But according to the Holy One who called you, you yourselves also become holy....” This is sanctification. This is related to the purification of our souls. “Having purified your souls by obedience to the truth unto unfeigned brotherly love, love one another from the heart fervently” (1 Pet. 1:22). The purification of our souls involves the sanctification of our being. This is the first result of the operation of the Triune God on His elect. The second result, a further issue, is unfeigned love of the brothers. Therefore, the result of the operation of the Triune God for our participation in His salvation is that we live a holy life and love the brothers.