I N D E X
7
not prepared to dig into the treasures of the Word of God, we shall miss much. There is little in the way of
enlightenment and understanding of the Scriptures for lazy Christians.
Sealing.
The seal speaks of the completed undertaking whether in the rational or spiritual world. The sealing of the Holy
Spirit belongs to those who are justified and perfected for ever in Christ. In 2 Corinthians 1:22 we read `... God
Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts'. In Ephesians 4:30 we are exhorted to
`grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption'. In the first chapter the
apostle Paul states:
`... Christ: in Whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation,- in Whom, having
also believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise' (Eph. 1:13 R.V.).
The student should be careful to avoid the Authorized Version rendering `after that ye heard ... after that ye
believed' which is completely misleading. There is no `after' in the original Greek. The moment of `hearing' and
`believing' was the same moment when the Holy Spirit performed His work of sealing. There is no basis here for
the second blessing or filling of the Holy Spirit after salvation as taught by the Pentecostalists, and this should be a
warning to those who seek to base doctrine on translations alone.
Sanctification.
The basic meaning of sanctification is separation for a particular purpose. Its first occurrence in the Bible gives
us this sense in connection with the Sabbath:
`And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all his work which
God created and made' (Gen. 2:3).
Here the purpose is stated; God had ceased working on the seventh day, not because He was tired, but by reason of
its typical value and the New Testament later is to tell us that this was a picture of the `rest (Sabbath) that remains to
the people of God' (Heb. 4:9 margin). God's choice and separation of us as believers in Christ was in order that we
should be `holy and without blame' (Eph. 1:4). This is absolutely basic to the purpose of the ages in bringing all
things back to spotlessness and perfection.  No wonder then that we read in Hebrews 12:14 ` ... holiness
(sanctification), without which no man shall see the Lord', and also Hebrews 10:10:
`By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all'.
This is primarily received by the believer in the same way that he is saved, namely by trust in Christ's redemptive
work on the cross:
`... Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification (holiness), and
redemption' (1 Cor. 1:30 and see Eph. 5:25-27).
It is God Who both saves and sanctifies and it is the Holy Spirit Who applies this to the believer ` ... God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth' (2 Thess.
2:13). It is absolutely impossible for any man to make himself holy. If he could do so, there would be no need for
the work of the Lord Jesus and His great sacrifice for sin.
There is however a progressive or experimental sanctification that should follow from this. The work of the
Holy Spirit in the believer enables him to walk day by day so as to please the Lord. It is written:
`For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: that every one of you
should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour' (1 Thess. 4:3,4).
Timothy was informed by Paul, that `having been sanctified' he was `meet for the Master's use, and prepared
unto every good work' (2 Tim. 2:21). Through the operation of the Holy Spirit, the work and the mighty
resurrection power of Christ is applied to the believer who is set apart by God, making him sufficient for all his