Sanctification:Through the Spirit "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, be multiplied."—1 Peter 1:2 Republished from THE HERALD of February 1, 1931 The consecrated and wholly surrendered disciple of Christ soon learns that his fellowship with the Master in heavenly things involves far more than merely a mental or intellectual appreciation of spiritual truth; that the heart, the affections, and all that one possesses is involved in the great engagement that is entered into when he accepts the Master’s call to fellowship with him. Perhaps in the commencement of this study we do well to hear a word of caution on both sides of this question. Obviously it is a mistake to cultivate and appreciate only the intellectual side of God’s grace, while it is also a mistaken view to cultivate chiefly the emotions aroused by God’s grace and truth. And while we should realize that these extremes or opposites result often from a difference of temperament, this should be no reason for neglecting to alter or modify our natural tendencies, to have them conform to the Lord’s good pleasure as indicated to us in his holy word. The Master’s prayer for his people clearly indicates what is the proper means for our sanctification. He prayed, "Sanctify them through thy truth"; and then making us doubly sure of its meaning, he added "thy word is truth" (John 17:17). If any therefore attempt to be sanctified by any other process, through feelings or emotions, or by misconceptions of the truth, or in any other way than by the truth itself, such are seeking a valuable treasure, a good thing, in a wrong way; and the result will surely be unsatisfactory until the Lord’s ways and methods are applied. Importance of Heart Sanctification But we would be making no less serious a mistake if, while devouring God’s word, we get from it merely relief from fears and a certain satisfaction for our curiosity. Curiosity is insatiable; and if we fail to get what God designs to give us through the truth—sanctification— we will ere long be devouring that which may not be altogether truth, but yet it might have the effect of feeding our curiosity, and we might delude ourselves into supposing that we are continually feeding upon the truth—although at the same time well aware that each new thing devoured is soon abandoned as error, while our curiosity continues the devouring process, but never is satisfied. Such the apostle describes as "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Tim. 3:7). How manifest it is to us as we carefully and reverently contemplate the word of the Lord, that the proper course unites the head with the heart in the search for truth! The heart searches that it may know or prove what is that good and acceptable will of God, that it may please and serve him. The head, or intellect, is merely the servant of the heart and searches to test or prove the truth that the honest heart be not deceived into believing and serving amiss. But when the head undertakes to do all the truth seeking and feeding, the real design of the truth—sanctification—is not attained. The result is merely a reasoning about the truth and not a practicing of the truth. The word of truth is handled and dissected but the spirit of it is not received into a good and honest heart because it is not a heart-hunger that is being fed but a curiosity hunger. May we not in this way today account for the fact that there are large numbers of professing brethren who have considerable intellectual perception of the truth, while apparently their lives and general outlook give evidence that it has not seriously affected their hearts, their affections, and their all of earthly treasure. But where the heart hungers and thirsts after righteousness (after right views of God and of fellow men and of the proper use of our time, influence, and talents) and thehead as the heart’s servant engages in searching God’s word, the case is different; because then each morsel of truth received is at once applied to the life, and the sanctifying work begins and progresses. To this true heart, to know and comprehend the Lord’s will means to at once strive to do what it sees and not merely to see the duty and privilege. Grace and Peace Be Multiplied Where truth is seen, and when the heart falls in love with it so that it delights to conform itself to it, even at the cost of convenience, of friendship, or of other selfish advantages —there the sanctifying influence of spirit of truth is at work—there the results sought and intended by our Lord are being attained. Joy will accompany, also peace, and truth, and love. Zeal will never be lacking in a thoroughly sanctified heart, although all may not manifest it in the same way. With one it may be manifested boisterously and with great activity, as a mountain stream when suddenly swollen by a cloud burst; with another it may be that deep and unshown current of spiritual life which enables its possessor to go more calmly forward in a life of sacrifice, and in faithfulness to duty against all opposition—as an iceberg moved by the under-current of the ocean moves steadily and irresistibly with the current against all the surface currents of the ocean. Thus to enter into the spirit of the Lord’s plan and program as revealed in his word is to be sanctified by his message of truth, and this is impossible without some knowledge of it. Whoever catches the spirit of the truth will have some emotions, whether or not they are manifest to others. Sanctification is the truth acted upon, put into the affairs of life; and under present-age conditions always leads to self-denial, self-sacrifice in the service of God, the truth, and fellow men. It is evidently to these, who are being sanctified and transformed by a renewing of their minds, that the beloved Apostle Peter addresses his message: "Grace and peace be multiplied," increased unto you. This means that the experienced and developed Christian shall have advanced far beyond the point where he began the Christian life. And such will not be of the class who are disposed to refer back to the days when they took the first step as babes in Christ as the happiest days of their life. Such as do this have not been developing as they should and not experiencing that wealth of divine favor which is the privilege of every consecrated and faithful soul. Castles of Wood, Hay, and Stubble The apostle’s greeting is, "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you." If our hearts leaped for joy when we realized the first droppings of grace and peace, how should our songs abound now with the increasing evidences of divine favor—with the multiplication of grace and peace now experienced! But let us ask ourselves, Is it really so with us? Are grace and peace being multiplied unto us? The apostle’s words unmistakably indicate that should be the experience of all who have obtained like precious faith with him, and further that this increase of blessing should come through an increasing knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord. Apparently some Christians have looked for the increase of divine favor and peace through other agencies than the knowledge of God; but such is not God’s order. This knowledge of the truth is the sanctifying power, the peace and joy imparting power, and is the precious evidence of divine grace or favor. Those who expect to be sanctified without this divinely provided agency, and who are hoping to enjoy abiding peace without it, will surely be disappointed. Their peace may last while the sun of prosperity shines, and so long as they do not permit themselves to think beyond the immediate present or to consider future possibilities; or they may for a time, upon a very slight knowledge of the truth build up beautiful castles of wood, hay, and stubble, with here and there a precious stone of truth, and for a time be filled with even ecstatic joy over them. But soon such flimsy structures must fall, and the transient joy end in bitter disappointment, in a loss of faith, joy, and peace, and measurably at least, in a loss of the realization of the divine favor. Such disappointments are never realized by those whose peace has its fountain in the perennial springs of God’s eternal truth, for the apostle says, "He has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:3). But the knowledge of God is not merely an intellectual knowledge of his great and loving plan. It includes also a personal acquaintance with him, a heart to heart communion and fellowship with him, and an established sympathy and love and common interest and cooperation. Such a knowledge or acquaintance with God is gained through thestudy of his precious word with reverence and diligence coupled with obedience through the personal application of the principles of that word in the every day life, and through secret prayer and communion with him. The Wealth of Love Divine If we would have this inspiring acquaintance with God we must not forget our privilege of secret prayer. Remembering reverently the Master’s words, "Enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is invisible, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee" (Matt. 6:6). "The Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me and believe that I came out from God" (John 16:27). And again, "If a man love me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him" (John 14:23). Thus it is our privilege to know God. Only those who have had this blessed experience can appreciate how greatly the grace and peace of God can be multiplied unto us through the knowledge thus acquired of him. As we draw near to him in prayer and communion and the study of his precious word, we are made to understand the wealth of the divine favor toward us who are in Christ Jesus and who through entire consecration of ourselves to God, have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (worldly desires, ambitions) (2 Peter 1:4). We learn that to us are given exceeding great and precious promises that by these we might be made partakers of the divine nature; that we are called to be heirs of God and joint-heirs of Christ Jesus, that if we are faithful to our covenant of entire consecration to God we shall be made like him and see him as he is; that we may behold the king in his beauty, and that through us in the ages to come God will manifest the exceeding riches of his grace. Oh, what heights are we called to share with our beloved Lord, and what fathomless love is manifested toward us in Christ Jesus the Anointed! Keep Thy Heart Now let us in this connection consider that solemn admonition given by the wise man in those far off days: "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). The thought here suggested is in close relation to what we have just reviewed. The heart, which is the center and mainspring of physical life, is here used as a symbol of the affections. Keep the center of the affections right, true, and pure, and the words, and deeds, and looks, and plans emanating therefrom will be good, true, and pure, even though not always perfect. On the contrary, unless the heart is thus fixed, all attempts to otherwise regulate the life will be measurably fruitless and, at best, only spasmodic. How necessary, then, if we would live consistent Christian lives, moving steadily on in the way of righteousness, that our affections should be centered on God, that our hearts should be as true to him as the needle of the compass to the pole. The Apostle wrote, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8). A man whose affections are not centered in God, but are divided with others, or centered on self and its varied whims, cannot be otherwise than vacillating in his course through life, just as a ship’s course would be irregular if it had two rudders, one before and the other behind, operated by two masters, whose ideas as to course were generally different. They never could accomplish results satisfactory to either. If we attempt to steer our course acceptably both to the world and to God, we will fail to please either. Further, the Lord will be a party to no such contract; and when he steps out, the influence of the other master, the world, will increase, and the result will be slavery to the world. This is the mistake which so many make after coming to recognize the Lord’s goodness. Being justified by faith in Christ’s redemptive work and realizing peace with God, they do not make a covenant with the Lord, giving up to him their little all of both the present and the future. Feeling their freedom from the slavery of sin, the temptation is to stand free from God, as well as free from Satan, and to do their own pleasure —serving God or self, or, to some extent, both God and self. The Soul’s Meat and Drink Such generally agree that obedience to God, even to the extent of sacrifice, would be a reasonable service in view of his favor in their redemption; yet somehow they feel a disinclination to so fully surrender all to God, lest this should imply too great a sacrifice of self-convenience and self-will. But let no one so minded conclude that he has given his heart to God. To give the heart to God is to surrender the whole being to his will at any cost, even of self-sacrifice, if his will and his work should require it. To give the heart to God is, therefore, to meet and measurably overcome all the coming temptations at once, by acomplete surrender of the affections, and consequently, of the will, to God. It will settle every question of right and privilege, and make no attempt to distinguish between God’s positive commands and his intimated wishes, finding its meat and drink to be the doing of his will, whether pleasant or unpleasant to the flesh, and whether the outcome can be fully seen or not. Giving the heart to God in the full, complete consecration of every interest, hope, and aim, present and future, is sanctification. Those thus fully sanctified may implicitly trust divine wisdom, love, and power, and hold fast the exceeding great and precious promises. God will never leave them nor forsake them, nor suffer them to be tempted above what they are able to bear and withstand. All things shall work together for good to such. Only those thus consecrated can and do have the deep peace and joy of heart which the passing storms and difficulties of the present time cannot disturb. Let God’s Will Direct Though but few take this step of entire consecration to God’s will, still fewer live it out practically, keeping their hearts constantly submissive to the Lord’s will only; hence few keep their hearts fully in the love of God (Jude 21). Hence it is that so few enjoy the full measure of the joy and peace and communion with God, which is the privilege of all the fully consecrated and faithful. To maintain our hold upon our new relationship as consecrated sons, to maintain the spirit of adoption now, and to realize in due time our promised joint-heirship with our Lord Jesus in the divine glory, we must let, permit, and not oppose the Lord’s plan and leading—let our wills remain dead to self and subservient to God’s will, and let God’s will direct and rule all our course of action according to his plan. It is thus that we are to fulfill the apostolic instructions—"Let the peace of God rule in your hearts" (Col. 3:15); "Let this mind [this disposition of heart and consecration of will] be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, our Lord" (Phil. 2:5). It is in anticipation of our joint-heirship with Christ in glory that the fully consecrated rejoice to partake of his affliction, as the apostle exhorts, saying, "Rejoice, inasmuch as [or to the extent that] we are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Peter 4:13). In humble thankfulness let us ponder these precious promises more and more as in secret we bow at the throne of heavenly grace; and here let the holy spirit of God apply the instructions to our hearts, and so may we be filled with the spirit, and grace and peace be multiplied unto us. |