THE SANCTIFIER AND THE SANCTIFIED.
By J. H. D.
“For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare Thy name unto My brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto Thee. And again, I will put my trust in Him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given Me.” Heb. 2:11–13. From the context the pronoun “he” must refer to Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels. See verse 9. Through sufferings he was made a perfect Saviour. For in his sufferings he met the temptations that come to suffering humanity, and thereby was enabled to encourage every one who suffers. He has been over the road and can take every trusting one through all sufferings so as to sanctify them through their trials. To sanctify is to make holy, to hallow, to purify. Jesus is the one who does this work. But he that can make another pure, must first be pure himself. Is this true of him that sanctifieth? “Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy.” Ps. 99:5. When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord on his throne, everything connected with his temple was holy. “Above it stood the seraphim; each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isa. 6:2, 3. The view of his holiness when viewed by sinful man led him to exclaim, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” See John 12:41. As Christ and his Father are one in their work, and Jesus is the creative agency of the Godhead, he partakes of the holiness of God. After Jesus had done his work in the flesh and ascended to heaven, the angels sang the same song that they had before he came to earth: “And the four beasts [living ones] had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within; and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.” Rev. 4:8. Christ’s word and presence bring purity wherever they abide. Sin and unrighteousness must be cast out wherever the presence of Christ is. When Christ met Moses in the desert and spoke to him out of the bush, he said, “Draw not nigh hither; put off thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” Ex. 3:5. In the beginning, when Christ made the Sabbath, he put his presence in that, so it is holy, because he is in it. See Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 20:8–11. When he came to this earth and took sinful flesh, in which to dwell among men, his presence made that flesh holy. He did not change the Godhead into flesh, but he transformed the flesh by unity with God. He made God and man one Christ. This is the nature and power of the Sanctifier, the One who humbled himself, and who took upon him the seed of Abraham. He was holy himself, and able to make all who accept him holy. He did no sin, “neither was guile found in his mouth.” Although tempted on all points like as we are tempted, yet he sinned not. This is the character of the One that sanctifies. “They Who Are Sanctified.”
If the Sanctifier is Jesus, they who are sanctified must be those who accept the Sanctifier as the abiding Christ. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” “For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified.” Heb. 10:10, 14. To sanctify is to make holy, to set apart for a holy use. By the sacrifice of himself Jesus Christ became our Sanctifier. By coming to this earth and living a holy life in the flesh, he showed to man that such a life could be lived on earth amidst all its temptations. How does he sanctify the believer?—“Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” John 17:17. Then again he says, “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and are life.” John 6:63, R. V. It is not the abstract word that is seen on the printed page, as are the words of a newspaper, that sanctifies the believer. His word as seen thus only gives the receiver knowledge, and makes him argumentative, but the life is no more holy than before. It is the word that contains the Spirit of God and is received into the heart that sanctifies. Receiving the word of truth in this way is to receive Christ. But, as before stated, where Christ takes up his abode, sin must be driven out. He is holy, and where his presence is there must be holiness. The reason so few realize this work in the heart is because they receive the word without Christ in it. The Sanctifier does not sanctify them, because he does not find a place in the heart. The part of the sanctified is to yield to the voice of the Sanctifier. The work is not done on one test, but in everything. It is true that there must come a time when he who would be made holy must decide to give up his life, his ways, and all he has, to Christ, to use in his holy service. But this is only the beginning. But the work is no more complete than was Christ’s giving himself before the foundation of the world. While he fully yielded all the glory of heaven, and freely offered himself for the sinful world, yet he had to be tested over and over again. In Gethsemane he was so burdened that he cried out, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” They are one in their temptations. “He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.” His first surrender did not save him from the severest temptations. Neither will the sanctified one’s complete surrender save him from after temptations. The Sanctifier was so pressed that he cried out for the cup to be removed if it could possibly be the Father’s will. At another time he cries, “Why hast thou forsaken me?” Yet in all these trials he refused not to yield to the trial, neither did he commit sin. So it is with the sanctified. They may be surrounded by the darkest cloud, yet as long as they yield it all to Christ, not shrinking from the severest trial, he still abides with them, and there is a growth in their sanctification. “He is not ashamed to call them brethren.” When the draught is so bitter that they are led to say, “If it be possible, let this pass,” he is not ashamed to call them brethren. When the cloud hangs so heavily over them that every ray of light is hid from their eyes, if they still reach out toward him, he will not forsake his brethren. They may be led to cry out as one forsaken, yet he is not ashamed to call them brethren. He knows their feelings, for he has passed through trials and over the ground before them. He knows how terrible is the darkness and how bitter is the cup. He can be touched with the feelings of our infirmities. When we are pained, it pains him. You ask why? Because he is abiding in us, and he is the One that is being tried again. We are to reckon ourselves as dead, and yield to him in every conflict.