sanctified

The Main Event

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1 On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel, 2 and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and offer them before the Lord. 3 And say to the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old without blemish, for a burnt offering, 4 and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with oil, for today the Lord will appear to you.’” 5 And they brought what Moses commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord. 6 And Moses said, “This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” 7 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Draw near to the altar and offer your sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for yourself and for the people, and bring the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as the Lord has commanded.”

8 So Aaron drew near to the altar and killed the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself. 9 And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar. 10 But the fat and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver from the sin offering he burned on the altar, as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 The flesh and the skin he burned up with fire outside the camp.

12 Then he killed the burnt offering, and Aaron’s sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar. 13 And they handed the burnt offering to him, piece by piece, and the head, and he burned them on the altar. 14 And he washed the entrails and the legs and burned them with the burnt offering on the altar.

15 Then he presented the people’s offering and took the goat of the sin offering that was for the people and killed it and offered it as a sin offering, like the first one. 16 And he presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the rule. 17 And he presented the grain offering, took a handful of it, and burned it on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning.

18 Then he killed the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings for the people. And Aaron’s sons handed him the blood, and he threw it against the sides of the altar. 19 But the fat pieces of the ox and of the ram, the fat tail and that which covers the entrails and the kidneys and the long lobe of the liver— 20 they put the fat pieces on the breasts, and he burned the fat pieces on the altar, 21 but the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved for a wave offering before the Lord, as Moses commanded.

22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out they blessed the people, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. 24 And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. – Leviticus 9:1-24 ESV

The Israelites had just constructed the elaborately designed Tabernacle and its surrounding compound. Skilled craftsmen had painstakingly fabricated all the furniture that filled its courtyard and inner recesses, all according to God’s detailed plans. The people had donated their gold, silver, and bronze jewelry and it was repurposed to decorate God’s house and to create the various sacrificial components that filled the courtyard, Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. Then Moses had led Aaron and his sons in a seven-day-long ordination ritual that involved their purification and atonement.

But why had Moses gone to such elaborate measures to carry out God’s plans for building the Tabernacle and preparing the priests for their service within it? What was the ultimate goal that Moses hoped to achieve by carrying out this massive project?

The answer is found in Exodus 29, where God told Moses His intentions behind the construction of the Tabernacle.

“I will meet the people of Israel there, in the place made holy by my glorious presence. Yes, I will consecrate the Tabernacle and the altar, and I will consecrate Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests. Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God, and they will know that I am the Lord their God. I am the one who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I could live among them. I am the Lord their God.” – Exodus 2:43-46 ESV

The Tabernacle was intended to be His earthly dwelling place. It would serve as His “mobile home” among the people of Israel as they journeyed from Sinai to the promised land. Whenever they set up camp, the Tabernacle was to be the first dwelling they erected and as long as they remained in that place, God’s presence would reside in the Holy of Holies above the Mercy Seat. It was to be a constant reminder of His presence and a visual symbol of His holiness.

So, on the eighth day, after having completed the entire dedication ceremony, Moses called Aaron, his sons, and the elders of Israel and commanded that they prepare the people of Israel for the arrival of God’s presence. This was going to be Yahweh’s move-in day. The Tabernacle was complete and fully consecrated. The priests had been purified and their sins had been atoned for. Everything was ready.

But one thing was missing. At this point, the Tabernacle was nothing more than a fancy tent filled with gold and bronze furniture, beautifully crafted tapestries, and a handful of priests dressed in their sacred robes. Smoke still rose from the bronze altar from the assortment of sacrifices Moses had offered on behalf of Aaron and his sons. But the Holy of Holies remained empty. God’s glory had yet to take up residence in His house.

There was one more thing that had to be done before God’s glory showed up, and Moses let Aaron know that the responsibility was his.

“This is the thing that the Lord commanded you to do, that the glory of the Lord may appear to you.” – Leviticus 9:6 ESV

As the newly ordained high priest, Aaron must now atone for the sins of the people so that the holy and sinless God might dwell among His people. This would be Aaron’s first act as God’s chosen mediator. So, Moses gave him concise instructions as to what to do.

“Come to the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to purify yourself and the people. Then present the offerings of the people to purify them, making them right with the Lord, just as he has commanded.” – Leviticus 9:7 NLT

Aaron and his sons had already offered a series of sacrifices to the Lord. They had been cleansed, consecrated, and ordained for their role as priests. But now the real work began. As priests, they had a job to do and it was their responsibility to prepare the hearts of the people to welcome and worship their God.

In keeping with God’s commands, Aaron and his sons offered the various offerings in their proper sequence. They began with “the calf of the sin offering, which was for himself” (Leviticus 9:8 ESV). Even though Aaron had already been consecrated, in his inaugural role as high priest, he was expected to carry out every phase of the preparatory ritual that would ensure the arrival of God’s presence. There was a non-negotiable order that had to be followed down to the last detail. Nothing could be left out. No corners could be cut. To play fast and loose with God’s plan would be to risk the arrival of His divine presence.

A series of elaborate sacrifices were carried out by Aaron and his sons. There was the sin offering, the burnt offering. grain offering, and peace offering. Each was done in proper order and according to God’s instructions. And once Aaron had completed every phase of the ritual, he pronounced a blessing on the people, then entered the Tabernacle alongside his sons. When they came back out again, he blessed the people one more time and then “the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole community” (Leviticus 9:23 NLT). God showed up.

This had been the purpose behind the whole affair. From the moment the first piece of jewelry had been donated and the final curtain had been hung to when the last word of Aaron’s second blessing had been pronounced, every effort the people had expended had been aimed at this moment. This is what they had been waiting and hoping for. And God’s arrival did not disappoint.

Fire blazed forth from the Lord’s presence and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. – Leviticus 9:24 NLT

Yahweh put on a show. But this was more than just a divine display of pyrotechnics. He was giving His Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on the Tabernacle and His people. He was pleased and gave an emphatic and powerful display to prove it. For eight days, the various sacrifices had been slow-burning on the altar but now, in a dramatic demonstration of power, God consumed everything on the altar with fire from above. In a bolt from on high, the final remnants of the sacrifices were consumed by God, and the people responded with appropriate awe and reverential worship.

When the people saw this, they shouted with joy and fell face down on the ground. – Leviticus 9:24 NLT

They could not help but worship the greatness of their God. They were filled with a mix of joy, relief, fear, awe, reverence, excitement, and wonder. The God of the universe had just approved the work of their hands. In His holiness, He had deemed to place His presence among His far-from-perfect people.

But His presence didn’t come without cost. Sacrifices had been made. Lives were lost. Blood was spilled. Confession was made. Atone was required. For the people of Israel to enjoy the abiding presence of God Almighty, they had to be purified, atoned for, forgiven, and provided with a righteousness that was not of their own making. The entire dedicatory process of the Tabernacle was designed to prepare the people for their close encounter with God. And every aspect of the Tabernacle, the sacrificial system, and the priesthood was designed to provide atonement so that the Israelites might enjoy a relationship with their holy God. And it became a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice that God provided in the form of His Son – the sinless Lamb of God.

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:21 BSB

Paul, who referred to himself as “a Hebrew of Hebrews (Philippians 3:5), also recognized that any righteousness he possessed had been provided for him by Christ and was completely unearned and undeserved.

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. – Philippians 3:9 NLT

The sacrificial system was a God-given means of making the people of Israel worthy of enjoying His abiding presence. Without it, His glory would have departed. Because of it, they were able to stand before Him fully forgiven and righteous in His eyes.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Breastpiece of Judgment

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15 “You shall make a breastpiece of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod you shall make it—of gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it. 16 It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth. 17 You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row; 18 and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19 and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20 and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree. 21 There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes. 22 You shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold. 23 And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breastpiece. 24 And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breastpiece. 25 The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod. 26 You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breastpiece, on its inside edge next to the ephod. 27 And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod. 28 And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breastpiece shall not come loose from the ephod. 29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord. 30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly.” – Exodus 28:15-30 ESV

The high priest’s sacred garment was to include a second feature: the breastpiece of judgment. This smaller, color-coordinated accessory was also made of fine linen and woven with gold, blue, purple, and scarlet yarns. It hung from two gold chains which were attached to the shoulder straps of the linen ephod. This long piece of handcrafted fabric was folded into a square and stitched on three sides, forming a pocket. Attached to the front of the breastpiece were 12 precious gems, each engraved with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. The gems were surrounded with gold filigree, accentuating the beauty and worth of each stone. Inside the pocket of the breastpiece were placed the Urim and Thummim, special stones used to discern the will of God.

“The purpose of the breastpiece was ‘for making decisions’ (v. 15). The Urim and Thummim, deposited in the pouch, were sacred lots used as the ‘means of making decisions’ (v. 30). The word ‘Urim’ begins with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and ‘Thummim’ begins with the last letter, so the lots were probably restricted to giving either positive or negative responses to questions asked of them. Strengthening that likelihood is the fact that the phrase ‘Urim and Thummim’ is best translated into English as ‘curses and perfections,’ meaning that if ‘Urim’ dominated when the lots were cast the answer would be no but if ‘Thummim’ dominated the answer would be yes.” – Ronald Youngblood, Exodus

Little is known about how the Urim and Thummim were used, but in the book of Numbers, Moses told his successor, Joshua, that these “sacred lots” were to be used to “determine everything” the Israelites were to do.

“When direction from the Lord is needed, Joshua will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord—to determine his will. This is how Joshua and the rest of the community of Israel will determine everything they should do.” – Numbers 27:21 NLT

In the book of Joshua, it appears that the Urim and Thummim were used to determine who among the Israelites was guilty of violating the command of God.

“In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes. And the tribe that the Lord takes by lot shall come near by clans. And the clan that the Lord takes shall come near by households. And the household that the Lord takes shall come near man by man.” – Joshua 7:14 ESV

Prior to their defeat of the city of Jericho, God had given the Israelites clear instructions regarding what to do with the plunder of the city.

“Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the Lord and must be brought into his treasury.” – Joshua 6:18-19 ESV

But a man named Achan had violated God’s command, and his son resulted in the Israelites’ failure to conquer the much smaller city of Ai. Apparently, the Urim and Thummim were used to determine the identity of the guilty party. For whatever reason, God chose to use this rather strange system to guide Joshua and the people of Israel. Rather than speaking to Joshua directly, as He had done with Moses, God provided the Urim and Thummim as the primary means for revealing His will. And because the Urim and Thummim were under the care of the high priest, Joshua was required to seek the aid of Eleazar in order to receive direction from God.

This breastpiece worn by the high priest was adorned with the 12 gemstones, signifying the 12 sons of Jacob and the 12 tribes of Israel. Inside the pouch formed by the breastpiece were the Urim and Thummim, which were essential tools for determining God’s will for the 12 tribes. And this vital accessory was worn next to the heart of the high priest, signifying both his role as mediator but also as shepherd of the people of God.

Two additional gold chains hung from the bottom of the breastpiece which attached to two gold rings affixed to the front of the linen ephod.

“This will hold the chestpiece securely to the ephod above the decorative sash. In this way, Aaron will carry the names of the tribes of Israel on the sacred chestpiece over his heart when he goes into the Holy Place.” – Exodus 28:28-29 NLT

Aaron was to hold the people of God close to his heart at all times, especially when serving in his role as the high priest. Every time he entered the Holy Place to offer atoning sacrifices on behalf of the people, he did so as their representative. He bore the 12 tribes on his shoulders and close to his heart. And between his heart and the 12 stones representing the people of God, were the tools for determining the will of God.

God had made it perfectly clear that in order for the Israelites to remain His treasured possession, they would have to obey His will.

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” – Exodus 19:5-6 ESV

Like priceless gems, the Israelites were of great value to God, and in his role as the high priest, Aaron was to share God’s care and concern for them. By carrying the Urim and Thummim, Aaron would play an important role in determining God’s will. But he would also serve as the agent of atonement, offering up the required blood sacrifices to cover the inevitable sins of the people.

In giving the Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant, God made His will known. He had disclosed the laws that were to regulate the behavior of the people of Israel. They knew what was expected of them. The apostle Paul summed up God’s expectations of His people when he wrote, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV). When all is said and done, what God demands of His people is a life of holiness. He expects them to live in keeping with their status as His children. The Israelites didn’t need the Urim and Thummim to determine how to live. God had already revealed that to them. These little-understood stones were to be used in special instances when the Law of God could not be applied. They were not to be used for personal decision-making but only for determining the will of God for the entire community of God. In the rare instance that the Law was not applicable, the nation was to seek the will of God through this divinely ordained decision-making system.

Every child of God wrestles with the desire to know God’s will. But as the apostle Paul points out, the will of God is quite clear: He desires our holiness. Yet we tend to want God to be more specific. Who should I marry? What career path should I take? Is this the house you want me to buy? And it is not that God has no opinion about those matters, but it is that He is more concerned about your holiness. In most cases, our decision-making would be greatly simplified if we learned to ask the question: Will this decision help or hinder my pursuit of holiness? If I marry this individual will they become a partner in my desire to live a holy life? Will that job or career path pave the way to greater sanctification or lead me to a life of self-reliance and a love of the world?

As the high priest for the people of God, Aaron was given the tools to determine God’s will. But from the sparse references to the Urim and Thummim in the Scriptures, it appears that they were infrequently utilized. Aaron knew what God expected of His people. The Decalogue and the Book of the Covenant were quite specific and left little to the imagination. God demanded holiness. And the primary role of the high priest was to help the people of God maintain their holiness by atoning for their sinfulness. Their purity was to be his highest priority.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

But By the Grace of God…

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9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. – 1 Corinthians 15:9-11 ESV

Paul had a healthy self-identity. He knew who he was and was well aware of all he had accomplished in his life, including the good and the bad. He didn’t attempt to sugarcoat his past actions or paint himself as some kind of super saint who had his proverbial act together. At one point, he told the believers in Philippi, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me” (Philippians 3:10 NLT). Paul knew he was a work in process, a personal project of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But he wasn’t God’s only reclamation project. He reminded the Philippian believers that “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

That’s why he could encourage them to “work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear” (Philippians 2:12 NLT). He wasn’t asking them to do the impossible. He was telling them to display the new nature that had been given to them by God through their faith in Christ and made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit. They had been saved for a reason and it wasn’t just so they could go to heaven one day. God had a present plan for their lives and He had equipped them with all they would need to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. 

But back to Paul and his healthy sense of self-worth. Look at what he wrote to the believers in Corinth: “But by the grace of God I am what I am.” Paul knew who he was, but he had no delusions of grandeur. He didn’t view himself as somehow deserving of God’s goodness and grace. In fact, he makes it quite clear that his past track record of persecuting the church would have been more than enough reason for God to avoid him like the plague. So, when Paul says that he is what he is by the grace of God, what is he saying? Yes, he’s obviously talking about his salvation. He stands before God as righteous, forgiven of his sins, and free from all condemnation. But as great as that is, I think Paul has more in mind.

Throughout his letters, Paul consistently introduced himself in terms that expressed his awareness of his identity.

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God… – Romans 1:1 ESV

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus… – 1 Corinthians 1:1 ESV

In virtually every letter Paul wrote, he introduced himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus. He willingly and proudly described himself as a servant or slave of Jesus. In other words, he was a servant-leader. He had been called and commissioned by Jesus Himself to take the gospel to the Gentiles, but he knew that his primary role was that of servant. And he had no problem with that role. Which is why he was able to tell the Philippian believers, “But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God” (Philippians 2:17 NLT). Paul knew who he was and what he had been called to do. He was completely at peace with his identity and his purpose.

But not only had Paul been called and commissioned, he was being constantly conditioned by virtue of his relationship with the Holy Spirit. The grace of God had made him who he was: a fully forgiven child of God; but it was also transforming him into the likeness of Jesus Himself.

Paul was confident that his entire life was in the hands of God. It was by God’s grace he even existed. It was by God’s grace he had been called. And it was by God’s grace he stood before the Corinthians as a servant and apostle of Christ. His life, from start to finish, was the work of God. He fully believed what he told the Philippian believers:

God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. – Philippians 1:6 NET

God was going to complete what He began. All according to His grace, not based on Paul’s merit or hard work. Paul’s transformation into the image of Christ was no more the byproduct of his own effort than was his deliverance from death to life. And this is why he was able to tell his brothers and sisters in Philippi that “the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort—for the sake of his good pleasure—is God” (Philippians 2:13 NET).

We should not treat lightly Paul’s admission, “I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle.” This wasn’t some kind of rhetorical flourish designed to make him appear more spiritual to the believers in Philippi. He truly believed it. He was blown away that he had been considered worthy to be an apostle. But he knew it had not been based on this own worthiness, but that of Christ. If fact, he describes himself as “one untimely born,” a very graphic term which, in the Greek, refers to a stillborn baby. Paul uses this disparaging term in reference to Jesus’ appearance to him on the road to Damascus as recorded in Acts 9. In essence, Paul was comparing himself to a lifeless, prematurely born baby. As such, he would have had no inherent value or worth, yet Jesus chose to reveal Himself to Paul. Not only that, Jesus had called him, commissioned him, and was in the process of conditioning his character so that it mirrored His own.

And Paul recognized that his transformation into the likeness of Christ was the work of God based on the grace of God, just as his salvation had been.

It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. – Galatians 2:20-21 NLT

The grace of God. For Paul, it meant everything. Without grace, Paul was one untimely born and the least-deserving of all men to be called, commissioned, or conditioned by God for His service. God’s grace left Paul slack-jawed and awe-struck. He never got over the shock of who he had once been and who he had become – in Christ. And any value he used to hold in his former life was, by his own admission, little better than dung, when compared to his current standing as a child of God.

But by the grace of God, I am what I am. That was Paul’s firm belief. He knew it to be true and he saw it lived out in his life on a daily basis. I love the way The New Living Translation puts it: “But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results.” God’s grace produces results. It transforms and conditions. It radically alters and is constantly changing us so that we “are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18 BSV).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

 

Sanctified by the Spirit

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1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you. – 1 Peter 1:1-2 ESV

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

The believer’s sanctification might be called a family affair, involving each member of the Trinity: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. First, it is God the Father who decreed from eternity past to set apart a people for Himself.

Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. – Ephesians 1:4-5 NLT

God did not have to extend the gift of holiness to anyone. Yet He did. Because He is omniscient and operates outside the bounds of time and space, God knew in advance that mankind was going to sin. And from the very beginning He had a plan in place to provide a means of restoring holiness to those who had inherited the sin and condemnation brought upon them by Adam’s transgression.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12 NLT

But Jesus had a solution in place before the first sin was committed. He had already planned to send His Son into the world as the sacrifice for the sins of mankind. And Jesus, in taking on human flesh and living in perfect obedience to God’s law and in total submission to God’s will, gave His life as an atonement for the sins of man. In doing so, He satisfied the just demands of God and provided His righteousness for those who had no righteousness of their own.

But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. – Romans 3:21-24 NLT

I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. – Philippians 3:9 NLT

It was God who set us apart for a life of holiness. It was His Son who gave His life so that we might have the righteousness necessary to enter into God’s presence. But it is the Spirit of God who secures our sanctification. Without the Spirit’s indwelling presence, there is no sanctification. Paul put it rather bluntly when he wrote: “You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)” (Romans 8:9 NLT).

In essence, there is a three-part strategy to our sanctification. In the Old Testament, a person or thing was set apart or sanctified for divine use. The people of Israel were consecrated by God as His chosen people. They were no better than anyone else. They had no inherent value that qualified them for their unique relationship with God. He sovereignly deemed them to be His own and set them apart for His use and glory. But what God sets apart for His use must be cleansed and purified before it can perform its divinely ordained responsibility. So, God provided a means by which the people of Israel could receive cleansing from their sins. He gave them the sacrificial system and commanded that they use it to purify themselves from the inevitable sins they would commit. Even the priests had to be cleansed from their impurities before they could serve as mediators for the people of God. And it’s interesting to note how much emphasis God put on the adornment of those things He set apart for His use. The decorations of the tabernacle and temple were rich and luxurient, reflecting the glory of God. The priestly garments were made of the finest fabric and adorned with priceless jewels, signifying the invaluable role these men were to play in leading the people of God in their worship of Him.

So, we see the biblical model of sanctification as including the setting apart, the cleansing, and the adorning of those things belonging to God. And the same is true in the sanctification of His saints. We have been set apart by God, cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and adorned with the Spirit of God. And it is the Spirit that makes it possible for us to produce the fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:11) or, as Paul refers to it in Galatians, the fruit of the Spirit.

In a sense, when God places His Spirit within the life of the believer, He adorns them with the divine capacity to produce, for the first time in their lives, the fruit of righteousness. Before the Spirit’s arrival into the life of the believer, they were incapable of producing anything remotely righteous because, as Isaiah declared, all their “righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6 ESV). Their sanctification had been preordained by God and their justification or right standing before God had been made possible by the blood of Christ. But it was the regenerating work of the Spirit of God that provided the capacity to recognize and receive the free gift of salvation offered to us by God through Christ.

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit  He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. – Titus 3:4-7 NLT

Jesus Himself said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all” (John 6:63 ESV). And He told the Pharisee, Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6 ESV).

And Paul reminded the believers living in Rome that they had received a new capacity to live righteous and godly lives because of the presence of the Spirit within them.

But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit. – Romans 7:6 NLT

As believers, we have been adorned by God with His Spirit. There is a picture of this adorning or anointing foreshadowed in the Old Testament when God prescribed for Moses the necessary steps in preparing the tabernacle and the priests for His service. He commanded Moses:

“Like a skilled incense maker, blend these ingredients to make a holy anointing oil. Use this sacred oil to anoint the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and all its accessories, the incense altar, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the washbasin with its stand. Consecrate them to make them absolutely holy. After this, whatever touches them will also become holy.

“Anoint Aaron and his sons also, consecrating them to serve me as priests. And say to the people of Israel, ‘This holy anointing oil is reserved for me from generation to generation. It must never be used to anoint anyone else, and you must never make any blend like it for yourselves. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. Anyone who makes a blend like it or anoints someone other than a priest will be cut off from the community.’” – Exodus 30:25-33 NLT

The anointing oil, which was considered holy by God, having been set apart for a specific use, was poured on the various elements found in the temple. It was also poured over the heads of Aaron and his fellow priests. And in one of his psalms, David describes this anointing oil as being “poured over Aaron’s head” and being of such quantity that it “ran down his beard and onto the border of his robe” (Psalm 133:2 NLT). Aaron was absolutely saturated by the oil, as it touched every part of his person and covered him with its aromatic fragrance. Aaron’s anointing was visible and undeniable. And so is ours.

The presence of God’s Spirit within us sanctifies us and sets us apart as His own. But His presence is noticeable and transformative. Because of the Spirit’s presence within us, our lives are able to display the fruit of righteousness through us. And Paul reminds us that “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God” (2 Corinthians 2:15 NLT). But our Spirit-adorned lives impact others as well. Paul goes on to say, “To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume” (2 Corinthians 2:16 NLT). All because of the sanctifying presence of the Spirit of God.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

 

Children of Light

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1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. – Ephesians 4:1-10 ESVNotagain!2018

So, in the last post, we looked at whether God finds satisfaction with the degree of our sanctification. And, to some of our shock and amazement, we discovered that God does not require more from us. Our sanctification, like our justification, was made complete through the finished work of Christ on the cross. He blood cleansed us from all unrighteousness and established us as holy in the eyes of God. If I died today, I would find myself in His presence. There would be no further sanctification required of me. I would not be damaged goods in need of further purification or requiring additional proof of my holiness. My right standing with God is based on the righteousness of Christ, which was imputed to me – in full – when I placed my faith in Him as my Savior.

But, as we saw in yesterday’s post, my status as a sanctified saint, made righteous and acceptable to God by the blood of Christ, does not mean there is nothing left us to do. Paul clearly demands that we “pursue…the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 NASB). He told Timothy to “pursue righteousness” (1 Timothy 6:11 ESV) and the Ephesian church to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (2 Timothy 2:22 ESV).

So, it is clear that God still expects His chosen ones, who have set apart by Him, to live lives that reflect their status as His children. They are to behave differently. Their righteous standing is to show up in practical, visible ways. But it is essential that we understand that the pursuit of righteousness of which Paul speaks is not a call to increase our righteousness. He is not suggesting that we are deficient or lacking in righteousness. No, he is calling us to live out or exhibit our new nature, provided for us by Christ and made possible by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

It is not about earning, but about expressing. It is not about adding to but about living out.  Look at the passage from Ephesians 4. It starts out with a call to imitate God. That sounds impossible and implausible, doesn’t it? But notice how Paul qualifies that statement: “As beloved children.” As followers of Christ, we have been united with Him and have become sons and daughters of God, adopted into His family and made joint-heirs with Christ.

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. – Romans 8:16-17 NLT

As God’s children, we have been given new natures and have the capacity to reflect His glory through our lives. When we live in submission to the Spirit and in obedience to the will of God, we bring Him glory. And that is what Paul is trying to tell the Ephesian believers and, by extension, us.

Paul tells them to “walk in love,” emulating the very same love that Jesus expressed to them. God showed His love for them by sending His Son to die for them. Jesus showed His love by sacrificing His life for them. And Paul was calling them to love in the same way, imitating both the Father and the Son.

The in verses 3-8, Paul takes a negative turn, expressing all the things the Ephesians were to avoid if they wanted to imitate God. Notice that all these things are illustrations of unholiness. They are the actions of the unsanctified, those who have not been set apart by God and who are still slaves to sin and unrighteousness. The list is dark and depressing, including such things as sexual immorality, all impurity, and covetousness. But then Paul adds a few seemingly innocuous things such as filthiness, foolish talk, and crude joking. Filthiness has to do with that which is obscene or shameful. Foolish talk is a reference to morally flippant conversation that has no regard for God. It is the talk of fools. Psalm 14:1 states, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.” The fool’s conversation flows from his heart, where God has been dethroned and self reigns supreme. Crude joking refers to those clever-sounding things that make others laugh, but that are actually vulgar and lacking any moral boundaries.

Paul associates these seemingly innocent actions with the sexually immoral, the impure, and the coveteousness. They are the unrighteous fruit of the ungodly and the unsanctified. Then Paul drops the bombshell:

…everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. – Ephesians 5:5 ESV

Those who are unsanctified, having refused to accept the gift of salvation made possible by the death of God’s Son, remain separated from Him. They are still dead in their trespasses and sins, lacking the indwelling presence of the Spirit, and are devoid of the righteousness of Christ. And, as a result, they have no place in the kingdom of Christ and God. They have no access into the presence of God. They face the wrath of God because they are the sons of disobedience. They are the descendants of Adam and have inherited his sin nature and the penalty of death that sin deserves.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12 NLT

And Paul clarifies that the sons of disobedience, those people who remain separated from God because of their sin, are people of the earth. They have not been made new. Their natures remain unredeemed and their status before God remains unsanctified.

Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. – 1 Corinthians 15:47-48 NLT

And Paul warns the Ephesians believers to “not become partners” with these people. Remember, Paul opened this chapter with the words “imitate God.” And God cannot and will not associate with ungodliness. The unholy and unrighteous have no place in the presence of God. Now, Paul is not telling the Ephesians to refuse contact with unbelievers. He is calling them to live as those who have been set apart. Their lives were not to emulate or mimic the lost. Paul clarifies his point in his letter to the church in Corinth.

I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. – 1 Corinthians 5:9-11 ESV

Paul was demanding godly behavior from the godly. He was expecting those who had been sanctified to live as what they were. Paul makes it clear that something had changed in their lives. At one time, the Ephesian believers had been living in darkness, separated from God because of their sin. Paul reminds them, “at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8 ESV). Don’t miss that little phrase, “but now you are.” It is essential to understand what Paul is saying. He does not say, “but by now you should be.” He doesn’t tell them “you should be becoming.” No, he states, “but now you are.” And what are they? Children of light. And their lives should reflect their new identity and their Spirit-enabled capacity to live in the light.

And Paul reveals that “the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true” (Ephesians 5:9 ESV). Living as children of light requires that our lives exhibit the fruit of light: that which consists of goodness, righteousness, and truth. And it is possible because we possess the light of Christ. The apostle John reminds us that “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5 ESV). And he goes on to say, “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 ESV). Children of light walk in the light of God, casting His shadow on the world around them. Their lives reflect the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of the Spirit, and the fruit of the light. And their lives not only please God, but they also bring glory to God, because He is the sole reason they can produce what is good, right, and true.

And it was his knowledge of that wonderful truth that led Paul to express this heart-felt prayer on behalf of the believers in Colossae.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:9-14 ESV

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

 

Calling Out the Called Out.

/ kdmiller55 / 1 Comment

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,

To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. – 1 Corinthians 1:1-9 ESV

Paul began this letter as he had most of his others. First, he introduces himself. This was not because they did not know him. He had actually lived among them for 18 months after he had helped found the church there on one of his missionary journeys. Paul’s point in re-introducing himself was to establish his calling as an apostle of God. This will become an important factor as his letter unfolds.

Paul was cordial, even complimentary, in his greeting to the believers in Corinth. But there was a subtle, underlying purpose behind his words. He referred to them as “the church of God in Corinth.” This too will prove to have a purpose behind it. Paul wanted them to understand that they belonged to God and no one else. He was preparing the way to deal with a problem of division that had made its way into the church there. Paul also referred to them as “sanctified in Christ Jesus” and “saints.” Paul used two words, ἁγιάζω (hagiazō) and ἅγιος (hagios) to describe the believers in Corinth. First of all, at salvation they had been set apart as God and dedicated for His purposes. They belonged to Him. And this made them saints, or set-apart ones (“G37 – hagiazō, G40 – hagios – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). They no longer belonged to themselves or to this world. And yet, as Paul would eventually point out in his letter, they were not living up to their calling as saints. Their actions were not reflecting their set-apartness.

Paul’s emphasis in the opening of his letter was on God. He even thanked God for all He had done in bringing the Corinthians to faith. It had been God who had extended His grace to them by making the good news of Jesus Christ known to them. The “testimony about Christ was confirmed” among them (1 Corinthians 1:6 ESV) as they came to faith in Christ and had their lives radically transformed. The believers there in Corinth had received the gift of the Holy Spirit and, along with Him, the gifts of the Spirit. In fact, Paul said that they were “not lacking in any gift” (1 Corinthians 1:7 ESV). God had been good to them. He had called them and He would be faithful to them as He continued His work among them. He would sustain them to the end. The problem, Paul seems to be saying, was not with God, but with them. It was the Corinthians who were proving to be unfaithful. They had lost their focus. They had lost sight of their unique standing as God’s holy people. The calling of God on their lives had taken a back seat to their own selfish agendas and worldly outlooks on life. They were missing the point.

Paul was preparing to deal harshly with his readers. He was setting them up so that he might call them out. He was not going to tolerate their behavior. The honor of God and the integrity of the gospel was at stake. Their behavior was not in keeping with their status as God’s chosen people. Rather than living as set apart and distinctive from the world around them, they were allowing themselves to blend in and take on the ungodly characteristics of the society in which they lived. Their professed beliefs and practical behavior did not seem to match. There was a disconnect between their faith and their daily practice. Their spiritual talk and their daily walk were in conflict. So Paul started his letter reminding them of who they were and to whom they belonged. Paul will remind them a little later on in this same letter, “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV). 

Paul was about to call out the called out ones. He was going to sit down the set-apart ones and give them a piece of his mind – in love. He would not tolerate their actions or excuse their sinful attitudes. God had sacrificed His Son on their behalf. He had paid a high price for their salvation and Paul was not willing to sit back and watch them waste God’s grace or bring shame to His name. It was essential that their profession of faith show up in their walk and talk. Their conduct needed to match their confession. Their status as sons and daughters of God was to be reflected in their actions and attitudes.