LEARNING DAILY

John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth.” Jesus

John 17:17 is part of a prayer by the Lord Jesus Christ; here He was praying for His disciples. He is praying for them and for all who would follow them to be sanctified by the truth of God’s Word. To be sanctified is to be set apart for the work of Christ. In many of Paul’s writings, he writes that the followers of Jesus Christ are “saints”, as they are set apart, made holy by the atoning work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. Believers are “saints”, “sanctified” to testify about what Jesus has done for them and to bring glory to His name.

1 Peter 2:9-10 gives more information, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” Peter is addressing the people of Israel as a chosen nation -- that still applies to today! It also applies to every Believer.  Believers today are more of a spiritual nation or family with God as our Father; Believers are a specific group, called and set apart from all other people.

As “His own special people”, we belong to God. The response should be for each of us to respond in praise and worship of Him. Yes, we sing songs to do this. However, Romans 12:1 tells us we are “to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service”. In other words, all we do, and say should be God-honoring; it is a spiritual form of worship! Because we are “sanctified”, called to be holy, our lives should be reflecting that. Every believer must understand that when you are saved, you are spiritually washed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus. That means when the Father sees you, He sees Jesus in you. It is important to remember this because we still sin, people sin against us, and we suffer. But because of the gospel God calls us “saints”; He calls us sons and daughter, part of His family. If we can grasp that, it changes how we relate to Him and to each other. We begin to respond to each other as He wants us to, as he would respond. Think for a moment about how that would change the way we talk, the way we respond to others in our conversations. What Jesus Christ has done for us when He saved us and as He changes us begins to change who we are and how we live. Can I tell you this is more than just being polite to others. We are living in a way that tells all who see us that God has done a new work in us – we are chosen and set apart to declare His praises.

No one becomes “sanctified” by their own desire or work. It only comes with accepting what Jesus did on the cross. As we walk a narrow way with Him, we must be spending time in His Word. We read/study and meditate on it because it explains to us how to walk with Him as he desires. We spend time finding out who He is and what He wants us to do. It guides us through difficult times helping us to know He is with us when we might wonder where He is. It encourages us to be strong in Him when we feel weak. It lifts us up with encouragement when we look at all the evil things happening around us. It helps us to be alert and discern the times we live in. So, “Saints” praise and worship, the King of kings and Lord of lords for saving, changing you and bringing you into His family. None of us walk alone on this narrow way into eternity in the kingdom of God! We have a lot to praise and worship Him for!