The Place of Sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:2)

1 Corinthians 1:2 (ESV)
2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

The word sanctified means “to make holy.” It refers to the state of purification one enters into the moment he or she obeys the gospel of Christ. It is important to understand that there are two kinds of sanctification…one that God did to us and one that we do ourselves. These two kinds of sanctification have been referred to as positional sanctification and progressive sanctification, respectively. When we obeyed the gospel, we were moved positionally from outside of Christ to inside of Christ (Galatians 3:27). We were moved from the darkness of the world into God’s marvelous light (Colossians 1:13); from the land of the lost to the country of Christianity, and it all happened by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:2). So, we owe our positional sanctification to God. We cannot sanctify ourselves. We cannot wash away our own sins. Only God, by the blood of His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ, can do that. This is why the Bible says that we are saved by grace. God, by his unmerited favor, sacrificed His only begotten Son so that we might be sanctified. God did what the law could not do by sending His Son to condemn sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3). If you are a Christian, be thankful everyday that you have been sanctified by God. When you lay your head down tonight, be mindful that the sweet fellowship that you have with God is only possible because Jesus was willing to give up the riches of heaven and be made poor, just so that we, by His poverty, might be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Now, does this mean we have no responsibility when it comes to sanctification? No, we have to maintain our state of sanctification. This is what progressive sanctification is. It is the willful determination to live a separated, set apart life, devoted to God. Paul said, “let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion…” (2 Corinthians 7:1). The word holiness is from the same family of words as sanctification. We perfect holiness by living sanctified lives. And there is something else for us to remember —living sanctified lives is not something we do part time. If we are the kind of obedient children that God wants us to be, then we are habitually holy. Every day we demonstrate our sanctification. Everywhere we go we demonstrate that we are set apart. Everything we do, we do it with holiness. Peter said that we are to be holy in all of our conduct (1 Peter 1:15). Someone says, “but we are surrounded by sin.” Yes, but our hearts and minds are set apart. People around us may cuss and curse, but we do not because we are set apart. They may dance, drink and do drugs, but we do not because we are set apart. People around us break the law and bend the rules, but we do not because we are set apart. They may partake in reveling and riotous living, but we do not because we have been set apart. As Christians, it does not matter what is going on in this sinful world, we have been separated, set apart and sanctified in our daily living. This kind of living can only be done in one place, that is, IN CHRIST! That is the only place that we can be called saints (1 Corinthians 1:2).

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.