March, 1941
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
90
Phases of Positional Sanctification 1. Through the Blood of Christ By RUTH PAXSON I N THESE studies, we are thinking together of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer
proclamation of the finished work of Jesus Christ. John 1:29 says, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!” And John 1:33 gives the other aspect: “Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with [or ‘in’ ] the Holy Ghost.” The foundation stone of our sanctifica tion, then, is the blood of the Saviour poured out on Calvary’s Cross and the baptism of the Spirit poured out at Pentecost. The old creation was taken to the Cross and was taken on to the grave with Christ. The new creation was taken out of the tomb and was taken into the heavenlies with Christ. This truth of identification with Him in His death, resurrection, and ascension is given clearly in Romans 6:2 and in chapters 2 and 3 of Colossians. Clearly, the
people.” It was the Lord speaking to Pharaoh, who symbolizes the world and the flesh, as he„was a part of the world and a part of the flesh and also a sub ject and a slave of Satan. God always made a division between Satan’s people and His people. This thought is carried forward in Exodus 11:7, “That ye may know how that the Lord doth put a dif ference between the Egyptians and Is rael.” Then we see as we put those two verses together that there is a division that both provides and presumes a dif ference between the people of God and the people of Satan. It is necessary to keep in mind all through these studies that there is an exact antithesis between Sdtan and Christ, between the world and the Church, and between the flesh and the Spirit. From the first page of Scripture to the last, Satan is antagonistic to Christ, the world is antagonistic to the Church, and the flesh is antagonistic to the Spirit. They are exact opposites. Friend, if you and I could get that thought and believe it and act upon it, it would answer one thousand questions that come to us for solution day by day, and w’e would not have to answer those questions one by one, as they come, with a struggle over each answer. All we would have to know would be: Is this thing from Satan, or is it from Christ? Is it of the world, or is it a part of the Church? Is it of the flesh or o f the Spirit? When once we get that answer, then the question is answered, and we know what we must do. Thus we find that this division puts an irrevocable difference between the people of Satan and the people of Christ. In Leviticus 20:26 we read, “And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you [get the force o f the word] from other people, that ye should be mine.” So we are going to think now of the great divide; the blood of the Saviour and the bap tism with the Spirit. This is the true Scriptural basis for our sanctification, and it is given clearly in John the Baptist’s twofold
with special reference to the, believer’s sanctification. The primary reference of the word “sanctify” is to something or some one wholly set apart unto God, dedicated to God alone for His posses sion, His control* and His use. The secondary meaning is necessarily that of holiness, for that which belongs to God alone must be holy as He is holy and because He is holy. In the previous discussion [in the February KING’S BUSINESS] we were thinking of the background for this message in the two trinities that indi cate the position in which every human being is found before—and after—he accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. On the one side of the cross is the trinity of evil: Satan, the
world, and the flesh; and the only way that one can cross to the other side and become a Christian, or a “saint,” as the Apostle Paul delighted to use that word, is by putting faith in the atoning blood of the Saviour. Then the individual comes into that new position in Christ, in the Church, and in the Spirit, and becomes a part of the trinity of holi ness and of love. God always starts in His thought of us with where we are, for that determines what we are. “ The Lord Doth Put a D ifference” It is now time to think together of our positional sanctification as brought about through the blood of the Saviour, and the baptism with the Spirit. In Exodus 8:23 we read, “And I will put a division between my people and thy [This message, the second in a series of K ING 'S BUSINESS articles by Miss Paxson, has been prepared from stenographic notes taken when she gave this group of studies in the Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles. Positional sanctification in its other phase— the baptism with the Holy Spirit— is to be dealt with in a later issue .— E ditor .]
Christian is sanctified through the baptism with the Spirit which means separation unto Christ and all that per tains to Christ, a growing likeness to His image through the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit. Why the B lood o f Christ Is Needed We now come to one of the two main phases of our subject of the great divide —the blood of the Saviour. The greatest of all questions that ever comes to a human being is recorded for us in Acts 16:30, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” How can a sinner be separated from Satan, from the world, and from the flesh, and become i a Christian, a “saint” ? In order to answer that ques tion we must understand first the utter ruin that was wrought in our life by sin, and then we must understand the uttermost of salvation t h a t w a s wrought for us by the Saviour. So let us look for a moment at the utter ruin that was wrought by sin. We cannot cover the whole theme, but I mention four points as they relate to our salva tion: 1. Sin made us each a subject in Satan’s kingdom and a slave of sin;
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter