Sanctified for Christ
By Scott Metz
The person who has trusted in the finished work of Christ is now sanctified or set apart through the blood of Christ. The first letter of Paul to the Corinthians is very clear on the fact that at the moment a person is saved they are “... washed,... sanctified,... justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God” (I Corinthians 6:11). This says that there is a moment when a person is sanctified in Christ by the Holy Spirit and that “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5), through the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross of Calvary (see I Corinthians 15:3,4; Ephesians 5:2).
What purpose does it serve to know that once a person has trusted in Christ, they have been justified, regenerated, sanctified, and declared righteous? Much in every way. It is most important for the Christian to realize that they are set apart, made sacred, and have been placed into God’s service. Believers must remember that their “body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Corinthians 6:19,20). This is the reason that sanctification is so important. Christians are owned by God (cf. I Corinthians 1:2).
What difference does the fact that the Christian has been set apart for God make? First, it is to bring them comfort. Comfort that they are safe and secure in the Lord. Second, they are to realize that they are to continually grow. They are sanctified in order that they may develop into the likeness of Christ, for this is the goal of the Christian life (Romans 8:29).
Having been set apart for God, and in reality owned by God (I Corinthians 6:20), believers should strive to continually be sanctified in Christ in order to be more and more holy in practice. This is a continual process. I Thessalonians 4:4 talks about the believer keeping themselves in sanctification and honor. Another Scripture reference says, “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (II Timothy 2:21). In other words, Christians are to continually seek to live holy lives in order that God may use them for His work (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14, 3:3-8 ).
It must be said that believers will never attain to perfection, i.e., absolute maturity in this life but are to strive for it. A believer is made free from the power and penalty of sin to be a servant to God, and to have fruit (growth) unto holiness with the purpose of keeping ourselves pure through the Word of God so that we may bring glory to the Lord.
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