The purpose of God in sanctification!

Today, we are going to look at "THE PURPOSE OF GOD IN SANCTIFICATION."

Our God is a God of purpose (Eccl. 3:14; Eph. 1:11). This purpose is eternal (Eph. 3:11). You are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). He has called us according to His own purpose and grace (2 Tim. 1:9).

What then is purpose? Purpose is the reason for which something exists or for which it has been done or made.

What is God’s will? God’s will is His thoughts written down on the pages of the Bible. God’s perfect will is His purpose.

What then is the purpose of God in sanctification?

1. To present to Himself a glorious church ready for Heaven (Eph. 5:26-27). It is true that you are already fit for heaven the moment you got saved. What Jesus did on the Cross is fully sufficient to fully cleanse us and make us fully ready for eternal life with God in Heaven. That very moment you got saved, in God’s eyes, you were perfectly sanctified, you were holy, and you are ready for Heaven.

It is a gift given to us by God’s grace alone, as a result of Christ’s work alone. This gift is applied to our hearts when we accept it by faith. And the Holy Spirit superintends all that transpires in our lives from that point on.

But thereafter, you need to work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12) by maintaining that holiness you got at the New Birth. You can accomplish this through progressive sanctification only. So, without sanctification you cannot remain holy.

Our text talks about “…a glorious church….” What is it that makes a church glorious? It is holiness that makes a church glorious. And holiness can be preserved (maintained, kept) through progressive sanctification only because sanctification helps you to remain holy.

Different people have different yard sticks for grading a church. One says, “This church has a great building.” The other one says, “This church has wealthy people.” And they say that because of these qualities, they believe that that church is better than the other churches. But according to the Word of God, what makes a church glorious is holiness which is maintained through the process of sanctification.

A glorious church is a holy church. If there is going to be a glorious church, there is a great need for the total sanctification of each believer in that local Assembly.

Holiness is the beauty of believers, and it is believers that make up the church of Jesus Christ. So, when the individual believers are holy, the church is said to be holy. Then, that church is said to be glorious.

So, what the church needs today in other to be glorious is the experience of total sanctification in every believer in the church.

The Bible teaches that the reason why Jesus gave Himself is for the sanctification of the church, so that He might present to Himself a glorious church.

When the church has gone through the process of total sanctification, it will become blameless (without sin).

In this state, the church is said to be glorious, and that is what Jesus wants to present to Himself.

This is why every believer that desires to enter Heaven should always go back to the Cross and say to the Lord, “I want You to forgive all my sins and purify me with the blood of Jesus such that I will not have any spot, wrinkle, or blemish on my garment of righteousness.”

In Leviticus 20:7-8 God said, “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God. 8 And ye shall keep My statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you.”

“Sanctify yourself and be holy” implies that when you sanctify yourself you will remain holy.

2. Another purpose of God in sanctification is fruitful service.

2 Timothy 2:19-21 says, “….20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 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.”

When you are sanctified you will become a vessel of honour. But if you are not sanctified, if you are not possessing your members in sanctification and honour, you will dishonor Christ, you will dishonor the church, you will dishonor the ladies or men in the church.

Let’s now go back to 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 which says, “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.”

I want to emphasize that word, “vessel.”

2 Timothy 2:21 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.”

It is wonderful to be pure through and through – your motives are pure, your attitude is pure, your emotions are pure, your desires are pure, your actions are pure, your will is pure, your mind is pure, your character is pure, even your language is pure.

Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted…” (Matt. 5:13-16).

Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…” (Jn. 15:16).

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 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” (2 Tim. 2:20-21).

You know why you have a vessel? So that you can put some water there and offer it for the people to drink. The reason why your vessel is sanctified is so that you can give the water of life (the Word of God) to the people that are thirsty.

“So, he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink” (1 Kings 17:10).

Here is the point: There are many people that claim that they are sanctified, but they never open their mouth to tell people the message of salvation. But the very purpose for which you are sanctified is so that you can be a vessel of honour fit for every good work. Telling people about the saving power of Jesus Christ is a good work. That is what you are expected to be doing as a sanctified vessel.

Basically, one of the reasons why you are a cleansed vessel is so that you can pour out to other vessels that are empty until they are full.

In 2 Kings 4:3-4 Elisha said to the widow woman, “Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.”

There are people that come to this church. They just come and go without showing any commitment whatsoever to the church that has been a blessing to them.

You, as sanctified vessels, are supposed to bring something (souls) to the house of the Lord. If you are really sanctified even in your motives, you’ll be part of the work going on here.

If you are a clean vessel you have some water of life to give to the thirsty. Why are you hording that water?

In Jeremiah 48:11 the Lord said, “Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees (sediments or dregs), and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore, his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.”

You are meant to empty what is inside you from vessel to vessel. Go from city to city to give the water of life to other people that are thirsty.

The Lord is warning that if you don’t do it voluntarily, He will make sure that He sends wanderers to you, and you will end up breaking your vessel. When you break your vessel, all that you have inside of you will be lost.

In Jeremiah 48:12 the Lord said, “Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.”

The Bible says that Paul was a chosen vessel. Why should Saul be a chosen vessel unto the Lord? So as to bear His name before the gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.

Acts 9:15-16 says, “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel, 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for My name's sake.”

But suppose Saul failed to accomplish Jesus’ purpose for his life? Then, he certainly would not have been in Heaven today.

So, always remember that the reason why you are sanctified is not just to seat there in church doing nothing for the Lord, but for you to go out and proclaim the Good News about Jesus Christ.

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit.

• ·         Your friend, I. I. Madubunyi (Senior Pastor, HOG)