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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (11-9-2001 Framsden Baptist Church)
Additional Reading: Galatians 5:16-26
There have been many instructions and injunctions in this
letter, as in other epistles. Can feel quite overwhelmed by it all, impossible
to live up to. Then we come to these verses at the end, which are very important
and very encouraging. The God who calls us to godly living is the God who also
produces in our lives what He requires of us. He makes us godly, holy, helps us
grow in grace, and changes us into the image of Christ. The emphasis here is
that it is God who sanctifies us, and goes on doing it till Christ returns. He
is not going to give up, He has guaranteed, pledged to do it. He will not just
forgive us and then leave us to get on with it on our own, but He gives us every
bit of help we need. God is going to sanctify us, not us! Our responsibility is
to cooperate with Him and respond and obey His work in our lives.
N.B. All three persons of the Trinity are involved in sanctification. God the Father, as mentioned in these verses; God the Son, Christ Jesus… our righteousness, holiness and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30); God the Holy Spirit, The sanctifying work of the Spirit (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
The God of Peace (1
Thessalonians 5:23), is one of Paul’s favourite phrases, it comes at the end
of five of his letters. It is God who makes peace and who gives peace. He makes
peace with us through the death of His Son – making peace through His blood
(Colossians 1:20). Because Christ has died, we can be forgiven and justified
(put right with God), and peace follows. We cannot talk about being sanctified
and made holy and being prepared for heaven till we are reconciled to God.
Necessary and primary blessing.
Those who preach “Come to
Jesus because He has a wonderful plan for your life”, or “He is the friend
who will see you through life’s problem” are not true to the Gospel. These
are blessings which follow the Gospel, but first there is the need for
reconciliation and peace with God. Must get the order right. Too often this
important first step is played down in evangelistic campaigns, and we wonder why
they do not produce Christians who have an appetite for spiritual pursuits and
the company of real Christians.
Now this God of peace who has brought us to Himself and given us peace desires we should be holy, as He is. Like Him. This was His purpose from the foundation if the world (Ephesians 1:4). He not only wills it, but from the moment we come to know Him, He begins to work in our lives to make us like Himself.
God places His Holy Spirit in
the life and we receive the very life and nature of God in our hearts. It is
God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians
2:13). He daily renews and refines
us. He separates us from a life of sin and causes us to be dedicated to Him. He
enables us to obey commands and instructions. It is quite hopeless to imagine we
can obey them on our own.
In addition He provides the
“means of grace” to enable us to get in touch with Him and cooperate with
Him. Provides the word to teach and encourage, the prayer to lay hold on Him and
His strength, the ministry of the Word and Christian fellowship to help and
encourage us. These are not ends in themselves, but the means of getting in
touch with God and keeping in touch with Him and deepening our contact with Him.
He sanctifies us through and through.
Also Paul mentions the extent of
His sanctifying work – May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept
blameless. The whole personality is meant, i.e. physical and spiritual side
of us. Often “spirit” and “soul” have the same meaning in the Bible, but
where there is a distinction, the “soul” refers to our life and our powers,
our personality and inner life and affection, and “spirit” is the part of us
which is in touch with God.
So God’s sanctifying work
extends to every part of us. Body and organs come under His control. He made it
and redeemed it, therefore it is His and it is not to be a servant of sin. It is
not to be pampered to excess, eat and drink to excess, not lazy or dirty, if it
is being sanctified. It is used for God and others – our feet used on His
errands, our hands doing good, our life speaking for Him.
Then on the spiritual side, or
inward life, sanctification affects our thought life and imagination. Affections
should be centred on God, and our conscience disciplined by the Word and the
Holy Spirit. There should be devotion to God, and our prayer life will be
stronger. As faith grows, we are more committed to His service. All this does
not happen in five minutes. There are times when we disobey and go our own way.
God has to chastise and frustrate us, we may experience heavy falls and mistakes
that drive us back to Him. There will be a lifetime of growth and development,
and it will still not be complete in this life.
But at the Second Coming for
which we are preserved and kept, we shall be blameless. There will be no
question of condemnation. God’s work will then be complete and we shall
finally be completely sanctified. When he appears, we shall be like him (1
John 3:2). The final transformation to perfection takes place when we see Him.
For now, we can be sure – The one who calls you is faithful and he will do
it (1 Thessalonians 5:24). If He says He will sanctify us, He will keep His
word. He is dependable, and will not abandon, or leave what He has done, or let
us down. He who has begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion
until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). There are no “unfinished
symphonies” with God. We are not left to a hopeless struggle on our own. The
process is guaranteed.
Then at the Second Coming, the
work will be complete. Finally the old nature will be removed and we will be
like Christ – morally, spiritually and also physically, because our new bodies
will be modelled on His glorified resurrection body.
Hold onto God’s faithfulness – The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer… He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold (Psalm 18:2). N.B. Hudson Taylor rendered Mark 11:22 – not “have faith in God”, but “Hold the faithfulness of God”. So we can step confidently despite our weakness, with absolute assurance of His work with and within us.
Must emphasise again that we cannot sanctify ourselves.
If we are trying to, we will go round in circles. This is God’s work, it is
part of His salvation of us. But we do have responsibilities. Need to note here
the teaching of Galatians 5.
In living the Christian life we
are all aware that there is within us a resistance to God’s Word. Our old
sinful nature with its bias towards sin and self is still there, and will not be
removed till the Second Coming. Many a Christian is aware of a civil war going
on within, that may tempt him to doubt whether he is in fact a Christian.
Actually, it is a good sign – proof of the two natures within, the old and the
new. The sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit
what is contrary to the sinful nature (Galatians 5:17). The A.V. uses the
word “flesh” for “sinful nature”. Essentially this is self. We are apart
from Christ and here is the hindrance to growth in Christ.
God’s remedy to the situation
– Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with
its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24). The Christian has completely
turned his back on self. He cannot just sit back and hope for his nature to
improve – he has to reject it, crucify it, else there will be no progress.
Then, he yields himself to the Holy Spirit, and gives Him complete access to
every part of the life. Live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), (literally
“walk in the Spirit”, the Greek word is peripateite),
keep in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). We present ourselves and
our bodies to God (Romans 12:1).
When the Holy Spirit has full
control we can move forward in sanctification. We are delivered from the power
of the flesh. He will sanctify us according to the measure that the Holy Spirit
fills our hearts. When He has the freedom to act, the fruit of the Spirit may be
seen. He must have freedom to work in us. Progress is made in proportion to the
will’s submission to Him. The Spirit no longer works powerfully if we are not
in submission, i.e. when we rebel or rely on our own power or try to manage our
own affairs.
Be warned, we can go back and live according to the flesh – many Christians are in that situation. But if the will is sincere, the Holy Spirit can make our wills strong. This is what happens if we yield and live by the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit. We are increasingly sanctified, the flesh is kept in a place of subjection and crucifixion. He increasingly fills and controls us. We have the abundant life of which Jesus spoke. We are able to serve the Lord effectively, and have the strength to face trials. He gives us a thankful and prayerful spirit, and Christ’s image is seen. He refines our conscience, and we are sensitive to what grieves Him. We become increasingly aware of sin, to which we were once blind. We have a close intimacy with God. We fight the good fight of faith, and put on the whole armour of God.
Fix eyes, not on temptations and weakness, but on Christ. He is made unto us sanctification by the Holy Spirit.
