Sunday Evening Service

What is Sanctification and to Sanctify?

also translated as set apart, consecrate, devote or hand over (wholly) to the Lord

Strong’s Hebrew 6942: a primitive root; to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally):--appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, hallow, (be, keep) holy(-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify(-ied one, self), X wholly.

Strong’s Greek 37: from 40; to make holy, i.e. (ceremonially) purify or consecrate; (mentally) to venerate:--hallow, be holy, sanctify.

38:from 37; properly, purification, i.e. (the state) purity; concretely (by Hebraism) a purifier:--holiness, sanctification.

40: sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated):--(most) holy (one, thing), saint.

How is it relevant to us? ;-)

John 17:13-21—Jesus actually prayed that we all (believers) would be sanctified

I Peter 1:2—it’s part of the Spirit’s work in this world/in us to sanctify us (see also Rom. 15:16)

I Thess. 5:23-24—God sanctifies our whole being to present us before Jesus at the end of time

The first teachings on “sanctify” in Scripture:

(note Genesis 2:3 marks the first time God “sanctifies” something: the Sabbath/day of rest)

Exodus 13:1-15; Deut. 15:19-20, Number 8:13-19 (home study: Ex. 4:22-23; Ex. 12)

 

First, what is God asking them to sanctify or devote to Him (Ex. 13)? (their firstborn--of human, animals)

Why does He ask them to do this?

            -because the lives of the firstborn were spared during the last plague in 

            Egypt—in that sense, perhaps “owed”

            -reminder that they did not belong to themselves or control their destiny

            -the process of sanctifying the firstborn would serve as a reminder of the 

             Passover and how God spared them and rescued them (were to teach this to their children)

(Num. 8)

            -we see God set up the Levite clan as the "substitute" for the firstborn that are owed

            -God provides a way for both redemption of the firstborn, and means for a sanctified group of   

              individuals to be able to live lives of worship before Him (since an unconsecrated people would  

              die/be unable to fulfill the call to worship)

Seeing this through the eyes of the New Covenant in the Blood of Jesus Christ:

Note Jesus as the Firstborn: (see also Ex. 4:22-23), Luke 2:22-24, Romans 8:29, Col. 1:15, 18

        -God gives His firstborn in place of ours/us!  

  

Note Jesus as the Passover and sacrificial Lamb of God: (Isaiah 53:7), John 1:29, I Peter 1:18-19, Rev. 5:5-6, 11-13, Rev. 12:10-11

Death “passes us over” because of Jesus’ blood shed in our place: Heb. 9:22-28, Matt. 26:27-28,  Rom. 3:23-25  (home study: I Cor. 5:7, Heb. 9:14, 28, I John 2:2, 4:10, Rev. 1:5)

Note: “Propitiation” (Greek #2435 in Strong’s)= “an atoning victim” (Strong’s lexicon)  “relating to an appeasing or expiating, having placating or expiating force, expiatory; a means of appeasing or expiating, a propitiation; used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins expiated); hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory” from Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for '"propitiation"' in the KJV". Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2011. 29 May 2011

The response we are called to under this new covenant: 

I Peter 2:9 (see Exodus 19:5-6 to link back to OT)   [develop the correct identity]

I Peter 1:14-23 (home study: all of I Peter 1) [purify/sanctify ourselves—through obedience, being born of the                                                                       Word; and love fervently]

I Cor. 6:19-20  [develop correct identity--know we are not our own]

Romans 6:16-23 [Paul's slave metaphor re: our slavery to sin vs. chosen submission to 

                           righteousness/sanctification becomes more vibrant in light of the Passover basis for God's 

                           first teaching on sanctification in Ex. 13]

*Romans 11:32-12:1     [in light of all of God's amazing action on our behalf, the natural response should be 

                                      to offer ourselves--our whole selves--to God daily]

Further home study: Eph. 4:1-6, Col. 1:9-12, I Thess. 2:11-12, Heb. 9 and 10 (esp. 10:19-25)

God has provided the Way for us all to be sanctified, through Jesus' redemptive death and resurrection. The natural response to realizing that we do no belong to ourselves, that our lives are "owed," and to seeing the great and loving action of God on our behalf should result in the spontaneous, daily offering of ourselves to God, to honor all He has done.

Bible Study: Gospel of Mark

Teaching and Divine Authority: Mark 1:21-28

We discussed the notes from Pastor Phil Steiger’s sermon notes on this passage (see http://hccbiblestudy.blogspot.com/2007/12/teaching-and-divine-authority-mark-121.html). 

He emphasizes how almost every time we read about Jesus performing miracles or even calling His disciples, these actions are clearly preceded by Jesus teaching the people from the Scripture. And in this first chapter of Mark, Mark sets up the divine authority of Jesus as first being evident from His authoritative teaching of the Word of God—then, His teaching is followed by healings and deliverance. To these actions of healing and deliverance, the people respond by marveling, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” (vs. 27) In the words of Pastor Steiger, “Jesus received exactly the reaction he intended. The people heard the teaching of the Kingdom of God and beheld a miracle and their response was shock at the power in the teaching. Instead of creating a group of people who see only the wild and follow only a miracle worker, Jesus properly prepared their hearts and minds by teaching them first.”

We read the story of Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:9-14), which highlights that miracles and spiritual power can come from something(s) other than God. We also read Paul’s warning in II Cor. 11:13-15 about how Satan will sometimes present himself as an “angel of light”—that evil spirits can and do deceive. Therefore, as I John 4:1-3 instructs, we must be wise about spiritual experiences, and test every spirit to see whether it is, indeed God’s Spirit. If any spirit/teaching/experience denies the divinity and humanity and salvivic work and Lordship of Jesus Christ, it is obviously not God’s Spirit. ;-)  Spiritual experiences are meant to intertwine with our study of Scripture and be part of knowing and understanding God (e.g., “taste and see that the Lord is good” Psalm 34:8). We are experiential beings, and experiential knowing is extremely powerful. The “standard” of Truth, however, is God’s Word, not an individual spiritual experience (i.e., experiences are subject to errors in interpretation, and to deception; see also Gal. 1:8). We must invest in proper teaching, studying, reading, and understanding of Scripture, even in order to properly interpret and understand spiritual experiences and the realm of the miraculous. (Admittedly, much error and deception occurs in the realm of teaching and understanding Scripture, as well, which is why we must be careful and thorough and rigorous, etc.)

As Pastor Steiger says in his closing: “Where does divine authority—the power of God—begin in my life? It begins with the Scriptures and the life transforming truths of the Kingdom of God. Then, when God reaches down and the miraculous happens, we know exactly where to give the glory.”  Amen