1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.
Sanctification - this thing we talk about; this thing that is one of the foundational distinctives of a holiness denomination. What is it?
What does it mean??????????
Is it just words?
Is it just some catch phrase we use to make us feel good about ourselves?
Are we deluded into thinking we’re something we’re not?
Or is it something real that God not only intends for us but requires for us?
Is it like a citizen of some foreign country becoming a US citizen? Where they have the same heart, the same soul, the same mind and the same physical makeup but only the country of citizenship on their passport has changed?
I remember a person whose name was Ambrose something or other and he hated his given name. When he became old enough he went to court and had his name changed to John Robert. When he came out of that legal proceeding his name was changed but every molecule of him was the same as when he went in.
Is that the kind of sanctification that is being spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 when it says, “May God Himself, the God of peace sanctify you through and through.”?????
Let’s take a look at another Scripture. This one is found in
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
First of all, what’s this talking about, “we all, with unveiled face”?
Tell about Moses coming down from the mountain with the second set of the Ten Commandments and how his face was radiant from being in the presence of the Lord. (Exodus 34)
The people of Israel had Moses place a veil over his face so that they would not have to look upon the radiance of God on or emanating from his face. We don’t really know if the wanted the veil to be placed over his face because of fear or because of the brightness but either way the veil hid the glory of the Lord that was present on the face of Moses from them.
The law itself could not bring the glory of the Lord to the face of Moses or to the face of the Israelites. Only the presence of the Lord could do so.
Now, earlier in the 3rd chapter of 2 Corinthians Paul speaks of the people of Israel having a veil over their faces when they only consider the books of the Old Testament and reject Christ.
2 Corinthians 3:14 (NLT) says,
“But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.”
What does a veil do? It hides or obscures …
Have you ever gone to an unveiling?
It’s almost funny sometime.
For instance the unveiling of a presidential portrait. Everyone there knows what he looks like. Most likely he’s right there but everyone is waiting with baited breath to see the portrait.
Or the unveiling of the Rocky statue in the Rocky III movie. Everyone there can see that it’s a statue of Rock with gloved fists raised high in victory but it’s like they can’t imagine what it is until the veil is removed.
I think the perfect example of unveiling is Wheel of Fortune. All of the letters are there and they start to be revealed a few at a time until it all makes sense and the revelation becomes clear.
Well, the hearts of those who read only the old covenant or the Old Testament cannot understand the fulfillment of the law because they don’t see Christ.
Jesus Christ is the unveiling. He is the revelation of God and His perfect relationship.
OK. So, let’s back up and take another look at
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
“We all, with unveiled face …” A veil not only blocks a person from seeing what is veiled but it also prevents a person who is veiled from seeing what is outside the veil.
By placing our faith in God He has removed the veil from our face and what are we seeing?
“Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord ….” That seems rather odd doesn’t it? What do you usually see when you look into a mirror. You see yourself right?
Many times people don’t see themselves.
Starving people with anorexia see fat people in the mirror.
I saw this quote by an anorexic person, “That stinking mirror doesn’t lie. Every time I walk by it shouts out, ‘Hey, Chubby, when are you going to lose those fifteen pounds of ugly flab? Do you want to stay a size four forever?’”
People who have been told all their lives that they are stupid see a dumb person in the mirror.
Narcissistic people look into the mirror and see what they believe to be God’s gift to humanity.
But, what do we as Christians, who have had the veil removed, see when we behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord?
What is the most printed book in the world? Over 2.5 billion copies.
Sometimes I wonder if the Bible is also the most neglected book in the world. Multiple copies setting around homes, in drawers, in closets, gathering dust.
“Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord …”
That is an unusual statement isn’t it, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord?
What do we see when we look into a mirror?
We normally see ourselves.
But ……… when we look into the Scriptures do we see the image of Christ superimposed over our images?
Can you imagine looking into a mirror and seeing the face of Jesus? Can you imagine the Lord revealing through His Holy Word the great expanse between what we are and what we should be?
That expanse is mind boggling and terrifying. It is impossible.
From Glory to Glory.
Like asking a 5 year old to design and build a computer from scratch.
I believe my brother in law, Patrick, could do that! He designs and implements computer components and systems as a livelihood. But he didn’t get there overnight.
Suppose a five year old set his mind on becoming an engineer but to make it more interesting to most of the people here today let’s pretend that this engineer designs firearms and ammunition.
A five year old needs a few of things in order to ever arrive at that goal. They need information and a teacher and desire.
When a child looks into their first ABC book even that seems complex, but, their parent or their teacher takes them and shows them how to make the letters. They teach them how the letters sound. The child is not an engineer yet and looking in the mirror they don’t see an engineer, but, the first step has been taken. From glory to glory.
As the years go by the child continues to look into books. Now the letters form words and the words form sentences and the sentences form complex thought and all of the time the teacher is right there to guide, explain and correct when necessary. The child is still far from being an engineer, the image they see in the mirror, but step by step they are growing into the likeness of one. From glory to glory.
Later on they are learning advanced mathematics and physics and manufacturing methods all sorts of other skills that I can’t even think of, always looking into the books for information, always being instructed by the teacher. They are still not an engineer but they are growing more like one every day. From glory to glory.
You see, that is what this verse is talking about. When we look into the mirror, the Bible we see the reflection of Christ and we see our own reflections superimposed and at first they are very, very, very different. Then the Holy Spirit starts to teach us.
We look into the Bible and see a verse telling us about what true faith and trust in Christ really looks like, the Holy Spirit instructs or teaches us how to move in that direction and we obey. When we look again into the mirror the reflection of Christ and the one of us looks a tiny bit more like each other.
The next day we look into the Bible and see a verse telling us about forgiveness of others, the Holy Spirit instructs or teaches us how to move in that direction and we obey. When we look again into the mirror the reflection of Christ and the one of us looks a tiny bit more like each other.
The next day we look into the Bible and see a verse telling us about generosity, the Holy Spirit instructs or teaches us how to move in that direction and we obey. When we look again into the mirror the reflection of Christ and the one of us looks a tiny bit more like each other.
And on and on it goes, day after day, looking into the mirror of God’s word, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us what it means, obeying what we are taught and examining ourselves in comparison to the perfect reflection of Christ found in the Holy Scripture, moving from glory to glory.
This is how we come to be more like Jesus, looking into His Word, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us and obeying the teaching.
That’s what we call progressive sanctification. And, as illogical as it sounds, progressive sanctification follows Entire Sanctification.
Back to the engineer. Suppose there is a student who is aimlessly wandering through his education. He’s a student for sure but he daydreams in class, he thinks his books are meant as a form of exercise just to carry around, he doesn’t complete most of his assignments and he’s pretty happy if he gets to move up a grade at the end of the year.
Then one day his dad takes him to visit a firearms manufacturer and they get to talk to an engineer who designs these weapons and the engineer tells the young man. If you want to do this you need to study hard and dedicate yourself to learning and set a goal. And, that is exactly what the young man does. His educational life now has direction and power. His studies increase and his grades go up and he is on his way.
Before entire sanctification a saved person is like that young student. He may have a Bible but it is only a paperweight in his bedroom. He may go half heartedly to church but it’s more out of habit or because his parents make him than from real desire. Just as the undirected student may drop out of school altogether the lukewarm Christian may abandon his faith altogether.
But when, by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, a person dedicates himself to becoming like Christ in every area of his life for the rest of his life that is what we call Entire Sanctification and that is what empowers and focuses the moving from glory to glory, that is what creates within a person the driving desire to open the Word of God and to see the image of Christ reflected against his own image. That is when this person becomes truly teachable. That is when a person can experience true victory in Christ and only then.
What about you? Is your spiritual life one dismal failure after another? Are you thinking about quitting? When you do actually look into God’s Word do you see the same pitiful reflection superimposed against the perfect image of Christ? Well, do you?
God wants to change that. God wants to pull you out of the half alive and half dead state of non-commitment to Him. He wants to teach you. He wants to take you from glory to glory!
Don’t you want to be “transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”?
Invitation
