In message eleven we pointed out that there are three aspects of the divine sanctification. Now we want to see seven steps of the divine sanctification. In this message we want to see the truth concerning sanctification from another angle. Sanctification, or being made holy, has been a great subject through the centuries in the study of the Bible. We are standing on the shoulders of many who have gone before us and have helped us to see more. They were our "ladders" and still are, so we have been unveiled to see some things which they never saw.
In this message we want to see that the divine sanctification is the holding line in the carrying out of the divine economy. It was not until the 1980s that I began to use the word economy frequently. Formerly, we used the word plan as a replacement for economy. God's economy is His plan, but the word plan does not mean as much as the word economy. Economy is a word anglicized from the Greek word oikonomia.
God's economy is the intention of His heart's desire, and God made this intention a purpose. This purpose became and still is God's economy. Sanctification is a great point in God's economy. It is the holding line in the carrying out of the divine economy. We need to see what the term holding line means. When a person goes fishing, he needs a line. That is the holding line for his fishing. The line holds his fish. In other words, the line directs his fishing. We say that sanctification is the holding line because every step of God's economy in His work with us is to make us holy.
God created the universe. Not one part of it was holy. Then God created man. Even before man's fall, he was not holy. In the whole universe, only One is holy, that is, God Himself. Regardless of how perfect and good someone is, this does not make him holy. The angels are perfect and good, but strictly speaking, they are not holy as God is. In order to be holy, you must have the holy essence. If something is called steel, it must have the essence of steel. Thus, if you are holy, you must have the holy essence, and the holy essence in the whole universe is God Himself.
The New Jerusalem is called the holy city (Rev. 21:2). It is built with gold, pearl, and precious stones on the gold (vv. 18-21). The pearls are for the gates, and the precious stones are for the wall with its foundations. These are built upon gold. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3 that he laid Christ as the unique foundation and that now we must build upon this foundation. If we build with wood, grass, and stubble, we will suffer punishment. But if we build with gold, silver, and precious stones, we will be rewarded (vv. 11-15). Here Paul said that gold is a material.
Strictly speaking, however, gold is not the material for the building. Gold is the site of the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is built on gold. When a person builds a house on a plot of land, the land is not the material for the building. The city proper of the New Jerusalem is gold. The street is gold. On this gold the gates are built. On this gold the foundations are laid and the wall is built. Gold signifies God in His divine nature. In the whole universe, only God is holy in nature.