He Who Is Holy, Let Him Continue to Be Sanctified

He Who Is Holy, Let Him Continue to Be Sanctified

Everywhere, in Christian books and publications as well as in testimonies at meetings, you can see that holiness and sanctification are mentioned as one and the same thing.

Holiness (separation, dedication), is a simple act. On the other hand, sanctification is the execution or realization of the transformation to divine nature to which we, by a complete sacrifice and a full surrender, have hallowed or dedicated ourselves once for all.

When this complete surrender to God’s will is united with faith in partaking of the death of Christ, we receive God’s power and are being set free from being in bondage to the law and to sin. Then we experience victory over sin—over the evil that we know of.

Now we are holy and are at the beginning of sanctification. Now it is vital to pursue sanctification—to perfect our sanctification; it is a matter of continuing to be sanctified.

It is precisely this “continuing” that is the vital and burning question. It is like a cone, a way that gradually becomes narrower and narrower—even until the last moment. But seeing that today the way is so narrow that I touch both sides simultaneously, how can I advance when it becomes even narrower? I can advance by decreasing in breadth, by being unclothed, by the body of sin being destroyed, by being emptied of everything of my own. We have the exhortation not to grow weary while doing good. This is truly doing good. This is precisely the point on which it is so easy to grow weary.

On this point the entire church in Corinth had grown weary. After they had been blessed abundantly in many different ways by God while they still stood at the beginning of the way, while they were still learning the ABC of sanctification, while they were still only acquainted with milk and unacquainted with solid food because they were babes in Christ, carnal and human, ignorant of the word of righteousness and without having their senses exercised to discern between good and evil, without having become spiritual and without having become wise but with their eyes opened to outward things—they had already become satisfied and rich in their own eyes.

They neither felt a need nor a desire to race ahead (inwardly) despite being zealous outwardly. They had stopped growing; they had come to an end of “continuing to be sanctified.”

The same thing had happened to the Hebrews (Ch. 3:11 until and including 6:2), and to the church in Laodicea. Rev. 3:17-18.

The majority of churches in these days are in the same state. They neither know nor desire to know anything besides being covered by grace. There—under the blood—they are safely preserved from condemnation and perdition. They are quite content in this state and of resting in the elementary principles of the doctrine of Christ.

When they speak about something that is biblical, they are implying that it is in agreement with the elementary principles concerning Christ. And when they speak about proclaiming “the whole truth,” or the “full gospel,” they mean all of the elementary principles concerning Christ as they are found in the Bible.

No one can find more than the whole truth, so the one who proclaims anything that is further ahead on the way is looked upon like a wandering star against whom you should be on guard.

However, it is useless to dispute with those who do not want to advance further; it is best to leave them alone—as well as those who cannot comprehend that there is a way forward, past the elementary principles. Leave them alone. Those who desire to and have faith to go forward must do it and be thankful and rejoice. Those who see the way should consider themselves fortunate; therefore stop disputing with those who do not see it and make every effort to advance in the truth yourself. The apostle says something remarkable about this in Hebrews 6:3: “And this we will do if God permits.” Meditate on it! Blessed are all those who are permitted to do it! I wonder what the conditions are?

Through the ministry of righteousness (the ministry of love, longsuffering, and wisdom) which we are able to perform through the faith of Christ, we continue to be sanctified by God’s stronger light increasing our understanding of everything that has to be put to death. Thus we can become more like Christ in His death and to the same degree receive His life in us.

It is self-evident that this ought to continue as long as possible—if at all possible until we came to the place that we, without fail, are like God in His fullness of goodness. If anyone attained to it, he would surely—just as Jesus Christ did—ascend to heaven.

It is therefore a complete misunderstanding to speak about being sanctified as if it meant being finished with sanctification.