Sunday, August 3, 2014

1st Part of the Journey - Holiness

This week in my study of the Word and reading, I was taken on a journey which I will be sharing over the next few posts. It is interesting when I pick up and read different devotionals and weekly writings such as My Utmost For His Highest (MUfHH) by Oswald Chambers (http://utmost.org/) or by T. Austin Sparks (http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/openwindows/003303.html) sometimes I will read a couple of days and not be “moved” and other times the words leap off the page at me. I was impacted this week by a few writings.

First part of the journey:
I was reading MufHH from July 23rd (I was doing some catch up on ones I had not read) and his writing on Sanctification moved me.
His referrence was - But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us . . . sanctification . . .—1 Corinthians 1:30
The mystery of sanctification – perfect qualities of Jesus Christ are imparted as a gift to me, . . . instantly . . . nothing less than the holiness of Jesus becoming mine and being exhibited in my life.
- Sanctification is “Christ in you” Col. 1:27
- Sanctification means the impartation of the holy qualities of Jesus Christ to me. It is the gift of His patience, love, holiness, faith, purity, and godliness that is exhibited in and through every sanctified soul.
- Sanctification is not drawing from Jesus the power to be holy— it is drawing from Jesus the very holiness that was exhibited in Him, and that He now exhibits in me.
- Sanctification is an impartation not and imitation"

Let this be included in our thoughts this week as we live our life in the now. How can we let His holiness permeate our every NOW?

1 comment:

Sharon, Michael, Aharon said...

Amen little brother, as you said the Spirit works on us and in us. In Luke 15 we see the first work of the Spirit - which is to sanctify us (believers) even before we repent and believe. He seeks us out by enlightening us with God's word, until He finds us. During this time - He is convicting us concerning our sin (from Adam), concerning righteousness (from Christ), and from judgment (which belongs to Satan). "The seeking and convicting Spirit leads the believers to repent unto God and to receive Christ as their life supply." (taken from my online class - The Spirit with Our Spirit). In my class we spent time to really get the understanding of the sanctifying Spirit that begins His work even before we repent and believe. In 1 Peter 1:2 it says "Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied." According to God's foreknowledge, He chose us. This is so good Mike - to see that it is by the sanctifying of the Spirit that God's choice is carried out, and it is the sanctifying Spirit that bring us to obedience - to His blood, and justification.

So, (in a nutshell). After God selected us in eternity, the Spirit came to us in time to sanctify us, to set us apart, from the world so that we would obey Christ's redemption. This means that the Spirit came to separate us for the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Christ. It is the sanctifying Spirit who separates us from the world unto the obedience of Christ's blood. First, we repent and believe, and then we obey what Christ has done on the cross. Following this, we receive the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. This is the sanctifying work of the Spirit following God’s selection to carry out God’s choice and to bring us to Christ’s redemption. (I used my outline and lesson 3 from the Spirit class)