“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
God wanted fellowship with man from the beginning. He did not reject us, we rejected him. When Adam and Eve were placed in the garden, they were in perfect fellowship with God the Father. However, once they sinned by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that sin separated them from God. God through Jesus brought redemption for us, redemption back to that perfect fellowship.
Sanctification is being born again by the Holy Spirit. It is being separated for God’s Holy purpose. It is the coming of Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost into your heart. It is salvation from all sin. It is full redemption. Any man or woman who is sanctified is brought back into perfect fellowship with God; and God desires this for every one of us. The scripture says that: “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” Once you have sought and obtained forgiveness for the sins you committed, then you can be sanctified by the Holy Ghost, which will bring you back into fellowship with Jesus Christ. This unity bears a strong likeness to the unity of a man and wife. When a woman marries a man, she is first prepared for the ceremony by putting on a white dress. 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. As the bride reaches the groom the “vows” begin. The woman promised herself to the man, and the man to the woman. They then become one flesh. This means that a union is formed, and the woman takes the name of the man. She is accepted into the man, just as we are accepted into Christ. 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 sin. You must promise to be faithful to Christ. You must promise to be obedient to Christ. You commit everything to Christ, a total surrendering of yourself. There can be no secret sins. No other idols. No other love in your life. This is a marriage. It is all you are, for as long as you live. You are 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 say: “I am thine, wholly thine, prone to wander never. Sanctified by power divine all the Lord’s forever.” We are 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. 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. The wedding is not the marriage. It is the beginning of marriage. There is a life to live, a marriage with Christ to enjoy. The relationship has 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. Whereas death once held for us eternal damnation, it is now a welcomed release from this world, and the very thing that will usher in the world to come. Which is a home in heaven.
