The doctrine of sanctification

1. The word “saints” is a(gioj which means two things. Sometimes it means “saints” and sometimes “holy.” The same word is used for both, and adjective and a noun. The noun is “saint,” the adjective if “holy.”

There are a number of words taken out of the same root:

a(giothj which means holiness and refers in many of the passages of the NT to our relationship with God. Our relationship at the point of salvation is holiness because we are in union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

a(giosunh means sanctification and has to do with one of the 36 things we receive at the point of salvation — entrance into union with the person of Christ. This is where we are first of all sanctified.

a(giasmoj — means holiness, and there is a verb, a(giazw, which means to set apart, to sanctify, and so on.

2. Basically all words for sanctification connote some form of separation into, therefore a relationship with.

3. The agency of sanctification. a) The Son of God, Jesus Christ — Hebrews 10:10, 14. ; b) The Holy Spirit — Romans 15:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; c) The Word of God — John 17:17; Ephesians 5:26.

4. Phase one of sanctification: positional truth. God’s plan is divided into three parts.

5. Phase two sanctification is the supergrace life. It is the combination of a maximum amount of time logged in the filling of the Spirit, as per 2 Thessalonians 2:13, and the daily function of GAP, John 17:17. By the daily function of GAP over a prolonged period of time the entrance into the supergrace life is accomplished. That is the area of experiential or phase two sanctification.

6. Phase three sanctification is the believer in his resurrection body. This is often called ultimate sanctification — Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 John 3:1,2.

7. There are some other words that are connect with ultimate sanctification, beside resurrection. Many of these are words which indicate some of the results of resurrection.

No old sin nature

The removal of all of the human good which the individual has accomplished in his lifetime.

In Jude 24, “He has done exceedingly abundantly,” we have two words that indicate ultimate sanctification.

8. The principle of experiential sanctification in phase two. Experiential sanctification has several objectives.

It is to carry the believer during the intensified stage of the angelic conflict. In this intensification every believer is an ambassador for Christ and every believer is a priest, therefore in full time Christian service. This fact from the moment of salvation onward plus the intensification of the angelic conflict demands experiential sanctification and/or the entrance into the supergrace life.

Secondly, the objective of experiential sanctification is to establish divine viewpoint in the devil’s world and to provide capacity for every believer to be the rapid beneficiary of grace under all circumstances and situations.

Thirdly, the objective of experiential sanctification is to provide from the capacity for love in supergrace maximum occupation with the person of Christ. One of the great objectives of the Christian life is to appreciate who and what Jesus Christ is right now on this earth, not waiting until we get to heaven. This can only be accomplished through Bible doctrine.

The fourth objective is to glorify God through the establishment of the ECS. The ECS is reflected glory. We glorify God through the structure in the soul from which all bona fide function and all divine good must emanate.

The fifth objective is the production of triple-compound divine good. When it is it falls into the category of gold, silver, precious stones and it mean that we have accomplished something in this life that will glorify God forever. All rewards in the future do not glorify the individual who receives them, they glorify God’s grace who made them possible.

The doctrine of sanctification

1. Definition.

a) Sanctification means to be set apart as sacred, to be consecrated to God.

b) It means more than that, it means to be under contract to God forever.

c) The actual death of Christ set aside the old contract, the old covenant, the Mosaic law. We do not have a shadow contract.

d) The old contract, therefore, is annulled or abrogated.

e) The new contract/covenant, called new testament, is for the royal priesthood of the Church Age. It is for royalty, it is for priests.

f) Therefore in the strictest sense of the meaning sanctification connotes the believer of the Church Age under contract to God forever. The contract calls for the believer to be royalty.

g) The contract is provided on the basis of the efficacious once-and-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

h) You signed the contract the moment you believed in Jesus Christ. Phase one sanctification: baptism of the Holy Spirit; phase two sanctification: filling of the Holy Spirit + positive volition toward doctrine = experiential sanctification and/or supergrace; phase three sanctification: absent from the body, face to face with the Lord in a resurrection body forever.

2. The etymology of the Greek words.

a) a(goij — translated “holy” or “saint.” It is used to describe one who is under a new contract forever, member of the royal family of God. All terms of saint and sanctification apply only to the royal family. All believers of the Church Age are royal family.

b) a(giothj — holiness, the state of being under contract under the new covenant to the Church. This is our status quo as members of the royal family. It is called holiness, set apart, under contract, consecrated to God forever.

c) a(giosunh — sanctification or the state of being under consecrate.

d) a(giasmoj — consecration, sanctification, the state of being holy, it emphasises the results of being holy or in the plan of God or under contract.

e) a(giazw, the verb — to set apart, to sanctify, to consecrate, to dedicate, but what it really means is to be under contract.

3. Phase one sanctification. This is a reference to the fact that God the Holy Spirit takes each one of us at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ and enters us into union with Christ. This is called the baptism of the Spirit, the means by which we come under the contract forever — 1 Corinthians 1:2,30; Hebrews 10:10,14.

4. Phase two sanctification. This is fulfilling the tactical objective of the contract in phase two. Under the contract God at the point of salvation has assigned us a certain amount of time. He has also broken this assignment down into allotments — time to study the Bible, social life, sex, business, and for everything. So the contract calls for the assignment of time and the breakdown of that assignment into allotments. Under phase two sanctification this time is enjoyed under the principle of the filling of the Spirit — 2 Corinthians 2:13, and the daily function of GAP — John 17:17. The royal family on earth is called the body of Christ, the royal family in resurrection is called the bride of Christ, and the body of Christ is therefore under the principle of phase two sanctification.

5. Phase three sanctification. This is ultimate in which the believer is in a resurrection body, minus the old sin nature, minus all of his human good. This is the royal family living with God forever — Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 John 3:1,2

6. The agents in sanctification. God the Father is the author of the plan, therefore He is not an agent, but under Him there are three agents. The believer is not an agent. The agents do all of the work under the contract, and since under grace there is no place for human good, no place for works, there is no place for the believer to do anything. The believer is in the contract but he doesn’t work under the contract or you don’t produce the work. You produce divine good under a grace system.

a) The Son of God — Hebrews 10:10,14.

b) The Holy Spirit — Romans 15:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

c) The Word of God, Bible doctrine — John 17:17; Ephesians 5:26. The Word of God is the only source of divine revelation to the royal family.

7. All phases of sanctification are related to the angelic conflict. Phase one: regenerate mankind or royal family is positionally higher than angels. This is why Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is a relationship. God the Holy Spirit enters the believer into union with Christ. We share the life of Christ — eternal life. We share His destiny; we are predestined. We share His election; we are elected. We share His sonship, His heirship, His priesthood, His kingship. We share everything that Christ is. This is a relationship. Religion is man by man’s efforts seeking to gain the approbation of God. Christianity is God coming to man with a grace system where man doesn’t work. Religion is works; religion belongs to Satan. Christianity is grace, it belongs to God. In the first phase God the Holy Spirit puts us into union with Christ, Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father higher than angels, so that right now positionally we are higher than angels. Phase two sanctification is also related to the angelic conflict — the supergrace believer occupied with the person of Christ, glorifying God, resulting in the tactical victory. In other words, if the believer grows up in phase two that is the tactical victory. The believer is supergrace has capacity for life called the cup, and God pours blessing into that cup. God does the pouring and God gets the glory. So by reaching the tactical victory of supergrace we discover that God is the host and we are His guests in this world. Therefore the angels observe God’s blessing the individual in tactical victory. Phase three sanctification: The royal family in a resurrection body is physically superior to angels. This we anticipate for the future in resurrection bodies.