February, 1941
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
49
The Holy Spirit In the Life of the Believer By RUTH PAXSON Introduction
that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (John 17:17, 19). It is the Spirit’s Work: “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salva tion through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13). The work of the Father, Son, and Spirit would be incomplete and inade quate apqrt from our sanctification.- The Meaning of Sanctification The primary meaning of the word “sanctified” is ’“set apart unto God.” The root idea is separation. This fact is seen in God’s first use of the word in Genesis 2:3: “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.” God separated the Sabbath .day from other days and set it apart as belonging'to Him. God sanctified.persons for the same reason: “ Sanctify unto me all the firstborn . . . both of man and of beast: it is mine” (Ex. 13:2). So ,the primary meaning is something or some one set gpart wholly unto God, dedicated to God alone for His possession, control, and use. The secondary meaning gives the thought of purification. That which is sanctified must be purified. We become what we are, as will be seen in the dis cussion below. We were chosen by God to be holy; therefore we should be holy. “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation [R. V. ‘living’] ; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15, 16). The Method of Sanctification Sanctification is a gift as everything in our. Christian life is a gift. It is the gift of Christ as our Sanctification (1 Oor. 1:30) and the gift of the Spirit as our Sanctifier (1 Pet, 1:2). What is the time, thè place, and the means of the believer’s sanctification? When, where, and how does his sanctifi cation take place ? On these points there is much confusion which leads to delusion regarding the. truth and de ception regarding the experience. Both could be avoided by keeping to the Scriptural meaning of the truth and the Scriptural manner of the experience. According to Scripture, the method is threefold: positional, progressive, and perfected. Positional sanctification
takes place the .moment Christ enters the life. As Saviour He separates us from Satan and all that pertains to his kingdom and separates us wholly unto Himself and all that relates to His king dom. The moment we believe on Christ, we are in Christ, and having been placed in Christ, we are set apart as Christ’s. Christ is thereby made our Sanctifica tion and the Holy Spirit our Sanctifier. Our progressive sanctification takes place as Christ abides. It becomes actual and experimental through the continu ous work of the Holy Spirit as our Sanctifier. We become progressively like Christ as He becomes experimen tally our Sanctification and our life. Our perfected sanctification will take place the moment Christ returns. Our entire sanctification will be consum mated then in our glorification when we shall become absolutely like Christ in spirit and in body. Let us then first consider our posi tional sanctification. God is primarily concerned with where we are because where we are determines what we are. Our position decides our condition. The Bible shows us there are just two posi tions in which any human being can be —one is the position of the sinner, the Other that of the saint. These two posi tions are radically different, as the ac companying chart shows. The sinner is
S ANCTIFICATION is a precious word—yet it is shunned. It is a glorious truth—yet it is feared. This is due to ignorance of the Word, refusal to have God’s best, or unscrip- turai teaching on this glorious truth. But there are. four reasons clearly given in Scripture to show that the sanctifica tion of the believer should be preached and taught as truly as his salvation. It is''God’s Will: "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification” (1 Thess. 4:3). It is God’s Purpose: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:23). It is Christ’s Prayer: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth . . And for their sakes I sanctify myself, [Beginning with this issue, T H E K IN G ’S BUSINESS brings to its readers a series of practical studies on the work of the Holy Spirit. This first portion is presented only in outline form as provided by Miss Paxson, whereas the Subsequent articles are to be pre pared from stenographic notes taken when Miss Paxson delivered the group of messages in the Church of the Open Door, L o s A n g e le s . Following her twenty years of missionary service in China, Miss Paxson has been greatly used in a Bible teaching ministry on the general theme dealt with in these ar ticles, and has addressed women’s meet ings at Keswick. England. — E ditor .1
in Satan, in the world, and in the flesh. As a re sult, he is under the dictation . of the devil, the di rection of the world, and the domination o f
C H R I S T
Satan
Christ
the flesh (Eph. 2:1-3). The sin ner’s life is Sa tan - cen tered, world-conformed, and flesh-controlled. The sinner is part of this trinity of evil and hate. Satan. Satan is a person inherently evil and irreconcilably hostile to Christ and His Church. His names and his works show him to be the enemy of God and the adversary of those who are Flesh Church. Spirit World
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