In His great priestly prayer
Jesus was praying for His disciples, present and
future. He said to His Father, “And for their sakes
I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be
sanctified in truth” (John 17:19).
Did Jesus mean that He wished
to become holier? Was He praying for sinless
perfection? Of course, not, that would have been
impossible for the infinitely holy One to become
holier. He was already perfectly holy.
Jesus was using the correct
definition of the word saint. Jesus was setting
Himself apart to the task of making atonement for
our sins on the cross so we could become set apart
for God. A saint is one who is “set apart” for God’s
unique possession and purposes. The setting apart as
a saint is something God does apart from human
endeavor.
The person who believes on
Jesus Christ is set apart when God reaches down in
His grace and mercy through the person and work of
the Holy Spirit, regenerates him spiritually and
sets him apart for His own possession.
One of the great truths of the
reformation is, “Every Christian is a saint, and
every saint is a Christian.”
Every born again believer in
Christ is set apart from the world system and no
longer belongs to its way of life. The believer has
a new principle, new nature, new kingdom, new
master, new loyalties, new purpose and new agenda in
life.
“All Christians are saints, and
all saints must increasingly be saintly.” Because of
this new principle in life, the saint will become
progressively more and more like His Lord and Master
Jesus Christ. The new nature will produce a new kind
of life.
Moreover, because you are a
“saint” you will continue to grow in your steadfast
commitment to Christ. You will persevere in the
Christian life. You will persevere because of the
perseverance of God with His saints. You will be
able to stand firm to the end because God is
faithful to His saints to the end. Because He
perseveres with us we must persevere. We must be
faithful because He is faithful.
How is all this possible? How
can we who are weak and feeble spiritually be
saintly?
It is because you are “in
Christ” and He is “in you.” Christ cannot dwell in
someone who is not set apart to Him. The saint has
been joined to Christ in one spiritual body so that
what is true of Christ is also true of the saint.
We now live and walk and have
our being in a whole new spiritual environment. The
apostle Paul says Christ has “raised us up with Him,
and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in
Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). That is what it means to
be a saint. He has set us apart to be with Himself
in His holy presence.
We have this vital union with
Christ that is unchanging. It is the very essence of
our salvation.
Apart from Christ our spiritual
condition is absolutely hopeless. However, in Him
our spiritual life is glorious to the extreme.
Our sainthood gets eternity
into the picture. It changes our attitude toward our
current circumstances in life.
God gives us grace and power
each day to be the kind of people He wants us to be.
There is no other means of living the life of a
saint. The source of our new life is in the election
of God the Father before the foundation of the
world. Moreover, the fruit of this new life is the
glorification as the full-grown child of God.
Are you enjoying your
sainthood?
How is your practice as a saint
of God?
From whence do you draw your
strength to live like a saint?
How then shall we live since
God has set us apart to Himself?
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
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Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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