COMPLETE BIBLICAL SANCTIFICATION

Text: 1 Th 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Intro: The word "sanctify" used here is the verb form of the noun which means holy, or sacred. As it is used in the text, it means to make holy or to set apart for a sacred use. There are two aspects of sanctification: One is accomplished in the will and purpose of God at the time of salvation; the other is man's continual need after salvation as he struggles to be all that God desires him to be.

I God's part in Sanctification
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Heb 2:11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,

A. Jude addresses his letter to the ones God has sanctified
Jude 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
He then identifies these as those who are exhorted to contend for the faith.
Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

B. God accepts Sanctification only in and through the blood of Christ.
Heb 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Heb 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.

C. The special work of the Holy Spirit;
A. first in salvation
2 Th 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:)
and then in His Church.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Eph 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

B. Identifies the sanctified.
1 Pet 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

When the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost, God marked forever, those He had set aside. In the Book of Acts, the work of the Holy Spirit was the mark of sanctification for which Paul and others looked. We would do well to emulate them and number among the sanctified, those who manifest the Spirit in Faith, Hope and Charity and not just the outward show of service.
1 Cor 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
1 Cor 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
1 Cor 1:31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

C. God's will is that all should be saved, but they are NOT! It is His will that all the saved should be sanctified, but they are NOT.
1 Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
1 Th 4:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

II Our part in Sanctification (see text)
A. Spirit -- This is taken care of in salvation and is in God's care. 1 John 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

B. Soul, -- mind, intellect, personality.
The cognizant part of man. At salvation, the Holy Spirit begins to urge one toward knowing more of the Will of God. This is in answer to the specific prayer of Jesus;
John 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

1. There is a threefold sanctification in TRUTH
a. It marks us as a peculiar people before the world.
1 Pet 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
b. It sets us apart in our own eyes. We can see the difference!
c. It pleases the Father, who sees the difference.

C. The Body -
1 Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
1 Th 4:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

2 Tim 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

1. It belongs to Him!
1 Cor 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?1 Cor 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Belshazzar took that which had been sanctified to God and used it for his own pleasure. Beware lest we also be weighed and found wanting.