“That they all may be
one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in
us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” –John 17:21
From the very
beginning God desired fellowship with man. He has always wanted a
relationship with us. It is not that he rejected us, we rejected
him. The earth and the Garden of Eden was prepared for man. We were
placed there, in perfect communion and fellowship with the Father. We
sinned, we separated ourselves from him, and yet God sought out redemption for
us; redemption back to that perfect fellowship. Sanctification is the
redemption of you back to perfect fellowship with God. God desires this for
you, but will not force it on you. After you have sought and obtained
forgiveness for the sins you committed, if you desire to be one with Christ
(thereby one with God) you can be.
The unity of Jesus and
yourself (i.e. sanctification) bears a strong likeness to the unity of a man
and wife. When a women marries a man the following happens. First,
she is prepared for the ceremony. You are prepared for Christ at
repentance. Your committed sins have been forgiven and you stand before
God and Christ ready to be married. After the bride is prepared she then
comes to the altar to meet the waiting groom. Note, though you have come
to an altar asking forgiveness of committed sin, you still must approach the
altar once more to be married to Christ. Once the bride reaches the
waiting groom the “vows” begin; the women promises herself to the man, and the
man to the woman. They then become one flesh. A union is formed, “I
present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jesus Christ.” We are accepted into Him.
We are made anew in him. Your name is changed, you are adopted into his
holiness. To be sanctified, first you must be prepared. Then you
must approach the altar and vow yourself to Christ. You must forsake the
world, flesh, and the devil. You must promise to be faithful to
him. You must promise to be obedient to him. You commit everything
to Him, a total surrendering of yourself. There can be no secret sins or
quiet “want-to’s when he’s not looking.” This is a marriage. It is all
you have, all you are, for as long as you live committed to Jesus Christ.
When the vow is made with all your heart, the Holy Ghost will come into your
heart and pronounce you wed to Christ. He will sanctify your heart to
Christ and Christ alone so you can wholly sing “I am thine, wholly thine, prone
to wonder never. Sanctified by power divine all the Lord’s forever.”
We are saved and
sanctified by grace through faith with obedience. When you obey God and
commit your all to him, you must then in faith ask for the gift of the Holy Ghost
to come in and sanctify you. To come in and cleanse out all sin to
present you one with Jesus. He will do it, and you will be brought back
into full fellowship with the Father. You will be one with Jesus
Christ. This is sanctification, and it is not the end, it is only the
beginning. Your path continues, sanctification was only the
wedding. There is a life to live, a marriage with Christ to enjoy.
The relationship is just begun. There is learning, growing, leaning, and
yielding to be done; then some more yielding, growing, leaning, and
learning. The sanctified life is just that, life! A new life, in
Christ, with Christ, and for Christ. Though you are
now sanctified your path continues on, our path continues on, but
now we are on the way to heaven.
