THE BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN - PART 2
SATURDAY 13 AUGUST 2022
A born again Christian died to sin and lives unto righteousness, because His spirit is alive to God. He has come into constant fellowship and progressive relationship with God through the finished work of Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Having dealt with the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit in part 1, today, we are going to consider the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spirit in a Christian's life.
Reference: 1 Corinthians 6:11 New King James Version (NKJV) "...But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
Sanctification, according to online dictionary, is the action of making or declaring something holy. To instantiate this, it noted the sanctification of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. Another online definition is the action or process of being freed from sin or purified. The third definition is the action of causing something to be or seem morally right or acceptable. However, in the context of today's topic, we have to consider the Biblical definition of sanctification, starting with the Greek translation.
The Greek rendering "hagiasmos" denotes the process of making or becoming holy, which is to set apart. It means sanctification, holiness or consecration. Now note the word, "process", which is worthy of notice. My definition: Sanctification is the process of embracing the supernatural light of salvation by which the Holy Spirit flashes Himself upon the Christian heart, and consecrates him to be wholly useful to God - by the glory which is substantial in the Name of the Lord Jesus. In this brightness, we are set apart to God because of the excess of light emanating from the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit at work in us. Hence the born again Christian finds himself being progressively transformed by the Lord into His likeness and divine nature - from glory to glory.
This is what the Scripture means when it says, "And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world's corruption caused by human desires" (2 Peter 1:4 NLT). Please do not miss the point here. This Petrine epistolary expression grants us profound insight into the reason for our process of sanctification or consecration. Beloved we are called and set apart to God, to live for Him and to demonstrate or prove to the world that we bear Christ's image, the Son of God, who is the only hope of salvation. For this reason, God gave us great and precious promises in order to navigate us into sharing His divine nature, having been separated from the world's corrupting influences. Did you get it? This is the reason our sanctification is in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God, according to referenced Scripture.
Again understand that our sanctification is done by the Spirit of God, in the name of who? "Christ" the Son of God, meaning that a name is involved. So it's not only about us getting purified, it's mainly about conforming to Christ's image in this present world on the basis of all of God's promises, by the Spirit's power. Now watch this: Before I show you the connection between 2nd Peter 1:4 and 2nd Corinthians 3:18, I want to bring your solemn attention to the importance of the great and precious promises God has given us in His Word. Remember that we have to search, study, meditate on, and chew the Scriptures to grasp these promises and possess them, which is also the process of consecrating ourselves to God. As we do so, something mysterious happens to us, and that is where 2nd Corinthians 3:18 comes into force in our lives. It reads, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (NKJV). Got it? As we focus on and claim the promises in the face or mirror of the Scriptures, we are being sanctified and transformed into the descriptions of the image we behold in the promises - from one degree of glory to another, by which agency? the Spirit of God!
For instance, divine healing or health is a divine nature, which symbolizes an image in Christ. If a Christian is attacked by a sickness, and he claims His healing by beholding a healing passage in the "Word" mirror, the role of the Holy Spirit is to purge and sanctify him from such sickness so he can bear the image of Christ - which is divine health. This is why 1st Peter 2:24 says, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed" (ESV). Christ's wounds became your healing, which reveals that every part of Christ exudes divine nature. Another Scripture reads, "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8:13 ESV). These verses signify a lifestyle of aligning ourselves with God's will and staying far from all manner of corrupting influences, including sickness and disease.
As a born again Christian, this is the kind of life you've been invited into, and by the mystery of sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit - in the name of Jesus, you are conditioned to partake of all the possibilities embedded in divine nature. Stay tuned for part 3. Shalom!
Scripture Reading - John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 2:13; Acts 26:18; Hebrews 10:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Timothy 2:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.
Guided Prayer: Thank you Father because you have chosen me according to your foreknowledge, through the sprinkled blood of the lamb and the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to walk in holiness, health, favour, abundance, untold blessings and to continually experience your ever-increasing glory in my life, through the Word and by your Spirit, in Jesus' Name, Amen!
