How God entirely sanctifies His children
Many people object to the word “entire” in the doctrine of entire sanctification. Others work diligently to convince people of the process of sanctification or the personal efforts/accomplishments of the individual necessary for sanctification. I want to examine that sanctification is entire, instantaneous and by grace through faith alone.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely;
- Hebrews 10:10 we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all
- Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord
- Hebrews 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate
Sanctification in its most basic understanding is:
- Set apart – God sets apart entirely that which has been completely given to Him
- From sin
- Unto God
- For God’s purposes
- Filled full – God fills entirely that which is given to Him and emptied
- He only fills what is given to Him
- He only fills what is empty and ready to be filled
- Cleansed – God cleanses entirely that which is confessed and surrendered
- Of all sin – He only cleanses what He has been given
- Of all guilt – He doesn’t cover sin, but forgives and cleanses and purifies of all unrighteousness – Guilt remains until we give Him full control to get rid of the root
- Of all shame – Removed the condemnation and shame of defeat and bondage – Shame remains until we give Him full control to break every chain
- Delivered – God entirely delivers us from false ideologies, old masters, and destructive enemies
- He breaks the power of canceled sin
- He dethrones/crucifies the sinful nature/selfish inner man
- By the fullness of the Spirit within pushing back the powers of darkness
- Empowered – God empowers entirely that which is fully availed in weakness
- By the fullness of the Spirit within us flowing forth with holy, true and loving words, actions, attitudes, behaviors, etc
- Imparted righteousness/perfect love – God entirely makes holy that which is fully filled with and united with Himself
- He gives us a new heart, mind, spirit at justification/initial sanctification
- The heart, mind and spirit He gives us are good and perfect gifts
- The only things that are righteous and good and perfect are from God and filled with/united with God
- Therefore even the good new heart, mind and spirit have to be entirely given over to Him (along with everything else) in order for Him to release the fullness of His power into all of a believer’s life
- He changes our spiritual DNA to His heart, mind, attitude, spirit and literally makes us righteous in our union with Him
Does God only partially sanctify us?
- Only inasmuch as He will only save, sanctify, heal, redeem, use that which is given to Him
- In other words, He sanctifies the parts that He is given
- So if we give Him ourselves entirely, then He will entirely sanctify us
Therefore God entirely sanctifies that which is entirely consecrated to Him. (Also, God does not sanctify things that are unconsecrated so then for a person to go from not-born-again to born-again and fully consecrated in one setting is unlikely though not impossible.) Anything therefore that is reclaimed by man from God to serve self, world or darkness will not be sanctified any more. But furthermore, anything that remains fully consecrated, God will continually entirely sanctify and keep in a state of righteousness and holiness.
Entire sanctification does not mean:
- Perfect
- Only God is perfect in all things (wisdom, strength, love, etc)
- He makes us into His image and likeness with ever-increasing glory but He does not make us God
- Impossible to sin
- Everyone has a choice
- We choose Christ’s Lordship, give ourselves fully over to Him and ask and allow Him to entirely sanctify us
- We then have to remain continually consecrated in order to allow Him to continually entirely fill us/unite with us
- No temptation
- Jesus was tempted and yet we know He was completely holy and never sinned.
- Let us never convolute temptation with sin and thereby accuse Jesus of not being perfectly holy or sanctified or accusing Him of sinning
- The immediate, complete annihilation of the enemy of pride/sin nature/selfishness/depravity from existence in the universe
- God has chosen to allow some of His enemies to remain (in His infinite wisdom) awaiting the day when they will be completely subject to Him, placed under His feet, thrown into the lake of fire and utterly destroyed forevermore
- Pride/sinful nature/selfishness continues to exist but is dethroned, crucified, no longer our master, stripped of power in our lives
- Pride/sinful nature/selfishness is placed outside the soul/spirit of man
- Pride/sinful nature/selfishness is urged on by forces of darkness and tries to break back into the life of the entirely sanctified
- Pride/sinful nature/selfishness will be completely annihilated/destroyed and cease to exist at all in this universe when all God’s enemies are fully placed under Jesus’ feet
- However since our sin nature was given to Jesus at entire consecration and in our lives he entirely defeated it, entirely crucified it, entirely dethroned it, entirely tossed it out of our lives, the only way for our sin nature to get back into our lives, gain a stronghold or have any lasting influence in our lives is that we would personally empower it by giving heed to the words of darkness. If we only walk in the light, then the dead things will remain dead in our lives and we will remain entirely alive in the Spirit.
- OB Wilson Jr – “The carnal nature is not destroyed out of the world, but only out of those hearts that are yielded to God.”
Entire sanctification does mean:
- Entirely able to live by complete faith, in complete surrender, with a complete motive of holy, perfect love (His heart in us)
- Entirely able to say no to temptation, sin, and pride
- Entirely able to operate in His power to push back darkness, tear down strongholds, declare His gospel, actively live out righteousness and holiness
- Galatians 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (To be entirely sanctified the sin nature must be crucified)
1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. (All sin nature is not from the Father but from the world) - Romans 7:18a For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; (There is nothing good in the sin nature)
- Romans 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. (The sin nature serves sin)
- Romans 8:5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, (The sin nature thinks about the activities of sin)
- Romans 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death. (The mind thinking about selfish/sinful things is a mind of and leading to death)
- Colossians 2:11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
- Romans 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
- Romans 8:13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
- Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Pastor Michael Johnson 