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in Heb. 12: 14 ". . . . . holiness (sanctification), without which no man shall see the
Lord", and also Heb. 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" (I 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" (II 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" (I 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" (II 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 needs
and daily walk, anticipating that day in resurrection, when he will be presented "holy and
without blemish", being conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 8: 29).
The Earnest.
We take the liberty of quoting from our work The Unfolding Purpose of God on this
point:
"The word rendered `earnest' is interesting. In Gen. 38: 17, 18, 20 it is used in
the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the O.T., to render the word `pledge'. In a
slightly different form it meant an engagement ring, a pledge of marriage and was used
by the Phoenicians to signify the first installment of a payment which would be made in
full later on. Just as God gave Israel a `first installment' as it were of the good land of
Canaan before they entered it, by allowing the spies to bring back the enormous grapes of
Eshcol and its luscious pomegranates and figs (Numb. 13: 17-27), so God the Holy
Spirit is graciously pleased to give us here and now glimpses of the coming glory, and
these are a divine pledge that God's will and plan cannot be frustrated. The goal must be
reached. Now we have the firstfruits of the Spirit (Rom. 8: 23). Then it will be the
reality where Christ is exalted to the Majesty on high" (Page 63).
This is further confirmed by the fact that the Holy Spirit has sealed us until the day of
redemption as we have already seen. God's seal cannot be broken either by Satan or the
believer. The Lord will not allow anything whatsoever to come between the believer and