In this lesson we will cover another aspect of redemption, that is, sanctification. In Lesson Twenty-nine we saw that the Spirit sanctifies us unto repentance. After we have been forgiven of our sins and washed, God continues to sanctify us. Sanctification, or being made holy, is an important part of God’s salvation. Concerning the matter of sanctification, the Bible not only speaks a great deal, but it speaks with great clarity. In this lesson we will see what sanctification is according to the Scriptures.
Sanctification, whether in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament or in the Greek language of the New Testament, means primarily separation. Therefore, sanctification, or being made holy, in the Scriptures means separation from what is ordinary or common.
Holiness is the quality of God’s nature. The quality of God’s nature is not merely to be sinless, without any defilement, but it is even more to be different, distinct, from everything common. Therefore, the Bible speaks of God and the things pertaining or belonging to God as being holy. A certain thing is not holy until it is offered to God and belongs to God. Only then is it sanctified, separated. A bull or a goat, for example, is not intrinsically holy, but when it is placed on the altar, it is made holy (Matt. 23:19), because the altar separates it unto God. Gold is not holy in itself, but it is sanctified when it is placed in the temple (Matt. 23:17), because the temple separates it unto God. Food is not intrinsically holy, but it is sanctified through the saints’ prayer, because the saints’ prayer separates the food for the use of the saints of God (1 Tim. 4:4-5). Bulls, goats, gold, and food are in the world, of the world, and for the world. Hence, they are common, not holy. But the altar has separated some bulls or goats, the temple has separated some gold, and the saints’ intercession has separated some food. When these things are separated, they are unto God, of God, and directly or indirectly for God. Hence, they are sanctified.
To sanctify a certain thing is not to make it sinless but to separate it unto God. A bull, a goat, gold, and food do not have the problem of sin, but they do have the problem of the world. Although they are not evil, they are common. They belong to the world and they are for the people in the world; they are not to God or for God. Hence, they need to be sanctified, that is, to be separated unto God and to be for God. Not only do they need to be separated from sin, but even more they need to be separated from the world, from worldliness, and from everything that is not of God or for God, that they may be sanctified unto God and correspond to the quality of God’s holy nature.
Leviticus 10:10 says, “...make a distinction between the holy and the common...” (ASV). This indicates that the opposite of “holy” is not “sinful” but “common.” To be holy is to be distinct from what is common. Something which is common or ordinary may not be faulty or sinful, but it is not holy because it is not separated. A person may behave so well that in man’s eyes he is irreproachable and perfect, yet he is still common, not holy. Although he is well-behaved, he is common, ordinary, not separated from the common, the ordinary; he is, therefore, not sanctified unto God. Although he does not do evil as others do, he follows the tide of the world and walks according to the world. Hence, although he is well-behaved, he still needs to be sanctified. This is because sanctification not only separates us from wickedness and defilement but also makes us distinct from that which is common.
To be sanctified, on the negative side, is to be separated from all things other than God; on the positive side, it is to be separated unto God. Everything outside of God is common; only God and everything belonging to God are holy. All persons, matters, and things are outside of God and are worldly; hence, they are common. Sanctification is to separate these common persons, matters, and things from everything outside of God that they may be unto God and of God. Since God alone is holy, only that which is unto God and of God is holy.