Jesus Sanctifies Himself

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lass=MsoNormal>Jesus’ High Priestly prayer- part 2  (John 17: 17-19)July 6, 2008

(Pray)

In my last sermon we entered into the holy of holies, as we looked in the 17th chapter in the book of John.  We heard the prayer of Jesus to His Father concerning us, those who have trusted Jesus as our personal Savior. 

Jesus asked the Father to keep us in the world, and to keep us from the evil. 

Jesus did not ask His Father to help us avoid trouble; but that we would be kept, by the Father, as we go through these troubles.

Now I want to continue in the 17th chapter of the book of John, and go to verse 19.    Jesus said -

 

John 17:19 “For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.  (some translation say “I consecrate Myself”)

John 17:19 καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἐγὼ ἁγιάζω ἐμαυτόν, ἵνα ὦσιν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἡγιασμένοι ἐν ἀληθείᾳ.

Sanctify means to set apart, and whenever it is used for a religious term, it means to set one’s self apart for God’s specific use.

Jesus is now setting Himself apart for the purpose that he was sent – a substutionary death on a cross.  His sacrifice is our only way out from under the wrath of a Holy God.

Jesus’ sacrifice was a sanctifying act.  He must set Himself apart for you and for me.  If Jesus does not set Himself apart for His Father’s salvation plan, you and I are lost forever.   If Jesus does not set Himself apart, you and I do not have a chance to get into Heaven. 

Jesus set Himself apart, in a willful gesture, as a lamb, in order that he would be able to die.  Jesus sanctified Himself.  What a special act on His part.  He must die, so that you and I might live.  He must die, so that you and I can live holy lives here on this earth.  Since the wages of sin is death, Jesus must set Himself apart so that He can take on our sin.

Because Jesus sanctified Himself, we can now be sanctified (that is what verse 19 is saying – reread verse 19): but my sanctifying process must come by truth, that is – by the Word of God (this is expressed in this verse and in verse 17 – Sanctify them through truth, Thy word is truth).  We cannot set ourselves apart for God’s purposes, without reading, and digesting, and, yes, by eating God’s Word.  If we do not take the time to be in God’s Word, we will not be separating for His use.  Because Jesus sanctified Himself, we are able to be sanctified by the Word of God. 

Let’s look at some other verses in God’s Word, to see this sanctification process, or as the Bible will indicate, a “holiness” process.

Jesus is the Author of my sanctification:

John 17:19 stated that Jesus sanctified Himself in order that we can be sanctified.  This makes Jesus the author of our sanctification, or holiness process.

Hebrews 13:12 states “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”

Here it states that we were specifically sanctified through Jesus’ shed blood.  The blood of Jesus is the means by which the sanctification process is started, in each of us. 

Heb 10:10, 14 tells us how Jesus accomplished this process. 

Hebrews 10:10 By this will (that is the will of Jesus saying “I have come to do They will) we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

This process is a one time deal.  Jesus died for us one time.  He started the holiness process for all who will trust in Him; and it was done one time.  This special process from God was started with the Son’s sacrifice and is being empowered by the HS, and will not stop until you personally stand in front of the Father’s throne in Heaven.  You have become a new creation in Christ Jesus; and you have been given the attribute of holiness, a godly attribute, so that you now shine as a light in this dark world.  Don’t worry what you may appear to look like to others; you are holy, a new creation.  You now are being formed into the image of God’s Son.

1 Corinthians 1:2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

Again Jesus is the Author of your sanctification, by which you are now called a saint, a holy one, one who is being sanctified, one who is being separated from the World, and being used by God.

Acts 26:18 specifically tells us that our sanctification came as a result of our faith or trust in Jesus.

In Acts 26, Paul is giving his testimony before King Agrippa and says that when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, this is what Jesus said

Acts 26:15 “And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
Acts 26:16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you;
Acts 26:17 rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’

Your sanctification process begins when you first trusted Jesus as being sufficient to save you from your sins.  Only those who trust in the finished work of Jesus, will be allowed into the presence of a holy God in Heaven.  You are not judged by your effort or by your sincerity, but by who you trust.

We have seen that Jesus is the author of our sanctification.  His blood sanctified us.  We became sanctified (holy) by placing our faith in Jesus.

2)  Author and Agent of Sanctification:

Now we are going to see that the Holy Spirit is the Agent by which we are actually sanctified.

1 Corinthians 6:11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Sanctified – made holy: Justified – my sins placed on Christ, and His righteousness placed on me.

Here we see that the Author and the Agent of our sanctification are working together. 

In Romans 15:16, Paul writes “ ..to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

Paul states that the Gentile believers are sanctified by the HS.  The HS is the agent by which you and I are sanctified, set apart for God’s use.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

Sanctification came by the HS and faith/trust in the truth of the Word of God (WOG).

Saving faith only comes from the truth found in the WOG.  We will see this more clearly in the following verses.
3) The means or process of sanctification

Ephesian 5:25-27 tells us the Jesus sanctifies His Church through His Word. 

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,
Ephesians 5:26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
Ephesians 5:27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

Jesus sanctifies, sets apart, His Church through the Word of God.  Sanctify is the holiness process.  Holiness is the attribute of God.  The Words of Jesus will sanctify, separate you from the world, and mature you in Christ.  The goal is that Jesus will present us as holy and blameless members of His Church.  You cannot be sanctified to your fullest by attending church once a week.  You need to eat, digest and meditate on the Word of God.

This goes along with John 17:17 Sanctify them in truth, Thy Word is truth.

The Word of God is the Means by which we are being sanctified.  The purpose is that we will be holy and blameless.

Acts 20:32 “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

It is the Word of God, that proclaims the Gospel - that provides this inheritance into God’s grace.  Here, we see again, that God’s Word is the means or instrument by which each of us were saved and are therefore sanctified.  This is why we also must witness to others using God’s Word.  It is not our opinion that will save others; it is God’s Word.

Sanctifying Effect on others:

Because Jesus sanctified Himself, you also have a sanctifying affect upon your family, as recorded in 1 Cor 7:14-16.  In this case, the people around you are not saved yet, but they do experience your sanctification influence.

1 Corinthians 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.
1 Corinthians 7:15 Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace.
1 Corinthians 7:16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

It does not say that the unbelieving partner, nor your unbelieving children are saved; but they are set apart for God’s use, because of your Christian influence.  Each non-believer in your family is affected by your holy presence.  Here we see that the sanctifying influence to God from the world actually begins before you became a Christian.  Somewhere down through your life, you were in the presence of at least one saint, who influenced you to Christ.  If we take this verse literally, we can see that no Christian has a useless life.  All Christians influence everyone they come in contact with.

Because Jesus sanctified Himself, I can also enter into my sanctification process:

This is shown in Romans 12:1-2

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

A saint of God, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, can now present your body as a holy sacrifice to God.  You now have the possibility of living a holy, sanctified life for God’s purpose, by simply believing that you have been given that power to give your life to God.  You and I now have the power to willfully not be conformed to the world’s image of a man or woman.

In Conclusion:

In John, chapter 17, verses 17 through 19 we are told that Jesus is the source of your sanctification.  The Word of God is the food for your sanctification.  The HS is the agent who sanctifies you.  You are affecting everyone around you, to be separated to God.  Each saint is left in this world to affect every person they come in contact with, for God’s glory.

When you accepted JC as your personal Savior, you were sanctified - made holy.  The process of sanctifying you has started.  You are a saint, a holy one.  You will grow and mature by the sanctification process.  Now, you should have a hunger for God’s Word.  You eat it, and it produces growth.  No saint of God will grow if that person does not read the Word of God.  In addition, the HS enlightens you so that you understand the Word of God and continue to grow in your Christian walk. 

You are now a new creation in Christ.  Before you trusted Christ, you were a person walking in a dark world with no light to shine on your pathway of life.  But now you have Jesus, and now you have the light of the world, shinning so that you can see where you are going.  You now have a hunger for the things of God.  And now, you are also changed, you are a new creation in Christ Jesus.  Old things are passed away, behold all things have become new.  You now are being changed from being self centered to being one-minded.

Application:  Remember that

  1. Jesus sanctified Himself so that you and I can be sanctified, made holy.
  2. Jesus is the author of your sanctification.
  3. The HS is the Agent of your sanctification.
  4. The Word of God is the means by which a Christian is set apart for God’s use.
  5. You are sanctified, holy, a new creation, set apart for God’s use.
  6. You are a sanctifying influence to everyone around you.


My Translation:

1.      Jesus spoke these things and lifting up His eyes to the heaven, he said “Faher the hour has come to give glory (glorify) your Son in order that the Son will glorify You.

2.      Just as you have given Him authority over all flesh in order that all who you have given to Him, He might give eternal life to them. 

3.      But this is eternal life that they might know You the only (one alone) true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

4.      I have glorified you on the earth, the work that you have given to Me, that I did, is completed.

5.      And now, Father, You glorify Me from Yourself with the glory that I had from you before the world existed (was).

6.      I made visible (clear) Your name to the men (people, anthropos) whom You gave to me from the world.  They were Yours and You gave them to me and Your word they have kept (guarded, watched over).

7.      Now they know that all as much as you have given to Me is from You.

8.      Because I have given to them the words (sayings, utterances) that you gave to Me and they have received them and they know truly that I came out from You and they have trusted that You delegated (sent) Me.

9.      I am asking for (about) them, I do not ask about the world but about whom you have given to Me, in order that (because) they are yours.

10.  and all mine are yours and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

11.  And I am no longer in the world and they are in the world, and I am coming to you holy Father.  Keep (watch over, guard) them in Your name that you have given to Me, in order that they might be one just as we (are). 

12.  When I was with them, I was keeping (guarding, watching over) them in Your name which You have given to Me and I guarded (watched over, the activity of the watchman) and no one (not one) has been destroyed (killed, ruined) from them, except the son of destruction (same as destroyed), in order that the writing (Scriptures) might be filled (fulfilled).

13.  But now, I am coming to You and these I speak in the world in order that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 

14.  I have given to them Your Word and the world hated (detest, be hostile to) them because they are not of (out of) the world just as I am not from the world.

15.  I do not ask that you lift them up (take out of, same word used in 15:2) the world but that you might keep (guard) them from the evil (bad).

16.  They are not from the world just as I am not from the world.

17.  Make them holy (like God is holy, separated from the world, unique) in the truth, Your word is truth.

18.  Just as you sent (apostellw) Me into the world, also I am delegating (apostellw) them into the world

19.  and on their behalf I make Myself holy in order that they also might be made holy in the truth.

20.  But I do not ask about these alone, but also about the ones trusting in Me through their word,

21.  in order that all might be one just as you, Father, are in Me and I in You, in order that they themselves might be in us, in order that the world might believe (trust) that you have delegated (apostellw) Me.

22.  And the glory that You gave Me, I have given to them, in order that they might be one just as we (are) one.

23.  I in them and You in Me, in order that they might be completed (completely prepared, filled, fulfilled, accomplish the task, John 4:34) into one, in order that they might know that you delegated Me and You love them just as You loved Me.

24.  Father I desire (want) what you have given to Me in order that where I am those also might be with me, in order that they might gaze upon my glory (splendor) which you had given to Me because you loved Me before the foundation of the world.

25.  Righteous Father, even the world does not know you, but I know You and these know that you delegated (apostellw) Me,

26.  and I made known to them Your name (John 1:12, reputation, authority) and I will make known (to them) in order that the love which You loved Me might be in them and I in them.

Sanctification

ἁγιάζω (17)

Verb, aorist, active, imperative    Sanctify
  John 17:17    Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Verb, aorist, active, optative

sanctify

  1 Thess 5:23    Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Verb, aorist, active, subjunctive

sanctify (2)

  Eph 5:26    that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
  Heb 13:12    So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.

Verb, aorist, passive, indicative

sanctified (2)

  1 Cor 6:11    And such were some of you. But you were washed, • you were sanctified, • you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
  Heb 10:29    How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?

Verb, perfect, middle, nominative

sanctified

  John 17:19    And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Verb, perfect, passive, dative

sanctified (3)

  Acts 20:32    And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.
  Acts 26:18    to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith • in me.’
  1 Cor 1:2    To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

Verb, perfect, passive, nominative

sanctified (3)

  John 17:19    And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
  Rom 15:16    to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
  Heb 10:10    And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Verb, present, active, nominative

sanctifies

  Heb 2:11    • For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why * he is not ashamed to call them brothers,

Verb, present, active, indicative

sanctify

  Heb 9:13    For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

Verb, present, passive, accusative

sanctified

  Heb 10:14    For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

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