“But according to the Holy One who called you, you yourselves also be holy in all your manner of life” (1 Pet. 1:15). The Lord is holy, and since we have already been called, we are holy in position as well. Nevertheless, in our daily living, in our behavior, we should be holy also. How can we possibly be holy before God and yet unholy before men? Our daily living must express that we are a holy people separated and sanctified unto God.
“But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and the end, eternal life” (Rom. 6:22). Thank God that having been freed from sin and separated unto God, we are enslaved to God and should have our fruit unto sanctification. We should not offer the members of our body to lawlessness and unrighteousness. Instead, we should offer our members to righteousness and should belong wholly to God so that we can be slaves of God and bear the fruit of sanctification.
“Therefore since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and of spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). We should remove anything that defiles our body and spirit and anything that is not of God, and we should bear the fruit of sanctification in the fear of God.
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (John 17:17). To be sanctified in the truth is to bear the fruit of sanctification daily. This truth is the word of God. Daily as we compare our conduct with God’s truth, any conduct that is not sanctified unto God should be done away with by the word of God so that we may be cleansed. This is a matter of daily progress and cannot be accomplished all at once. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, which He performs day by day in our living, according to the truth.
Some say that sanctification is a sudden matter and that we can be sanctified instantly. This is impossible. There are indeed sudden experiences of victory over sins. We do have sudden experiences of victory over sins, but we cannot call this sanctification. Sanctification means to be separated unto God. Instant victory over sins is deliverance. An erroneous interpretation will produce an erroneous result.
“For they disciplined for a few days as it seemed good to them; but He, for what is profitable that we might partake of His holiness” (Heb. 12:10). Discipline is another way for us to bear the fruit of sanctification. When we go astray, God will guide us back to the path of holiness by His discipline so that we may be partakers of His holiness and may belong wholly to Him.
Finally, let us see that the fruit of sanctification is not only a matter of our conduct but also a matter of our experience of drawing near to God and fellowshipping with Him. “Pursue...sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). Although positionally we are holy and can boldly enter into the Holy of Holies to have intimate fellowship with God, if we do not sincerely and faithfully stand on the position of sanctification at all times, we may feel that we cannot touch God. Therefore, we must follow and pursue after holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.
“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. Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it” (1 Thes. 5:23-24).
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